Coffee Breaks

Chapter 11: Distractions

Later That Night;

"Thanks for watching Bella again, Marley." I said as I handed the younger girl some money and walked her out.

"Of course, it's always cool to babysit Bella, she's an angel." She replied in a cheery voice as she reached for the door knob and turned to give me a heartfelt look. "I hope you find out what happened with Quinn, it's really strange seeing her all quiet like that." I nodded and gave the girl a last goodbye before closing the door. As soon as I opened the door, Quinn had made a bee line for her bedroom barely even nodding in the direction of Marley when the girl said hi. I apologized to Marley for Quinn's behavior and filled her in about what happened tonight. Like always, Marley was super understanding and just brushed it off. Now that the girl was gone I decided to check on Bella one last time before attempting to talk to Quinn.

I poked my head into Bella's room and saw the little blonde curled up under her blankets surrounded by all her stuffed animals and smiled. After making sure she was sound asleep, I made the long walk to Quinn's room. I hesitated at the closed door then brought up my hand to knock lightly.

"Quinn?" I said in a soft voice. "Quinn, can I come in?" The door didn't open, but I did hear a muffled noise. Not knowing if she said 'yes, I could come in' or 'no, I couldn't' I pushed the door open to get a clearer answer. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you.." I whispered into the darkness of her room. I could barely see, but the light from opening her door shone dimly on the blanket covered figure on the bed. I let out a sigh and walked quietly over to the bed, sitting down on it slowly then reached my hand out to rest on the form. I let my hand smooth over the material and found it was a round shape, not being able to see, I assumed it was her head. "I'm not sure what I'm touching, but I hope it's your head." I whispered, continuing to rub comfortingly.

"My head is up here, Britt.." The blonde' s voice came out in a whimper, from the opposite side of me. I whipped my head around and saw that her head was poking out from under the blankets. "That's my butt.." I felt myself blush as I dropped my hand quickly.

"Whoops." I giggled trying to cover my embarrassment. I heard her snicker but it went quiet again. I turned to face her completely and brought my legs up so that I was sitting in front of her. "Well, now that I've got your attention. Mind telling me what's going on?"

"It's complicated." She sighed and I instantly felt frustrated.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" I said angrily but then I felt bad for getting frustrated while Quinn's clearly upset. "Sorry. I'm just tired of hearing that as an explanation." I replied in a low voice. I looked up and saw she was lying on her side with her eyes lowered to the mattress. "Quinn, you know you can tell me anything right?"

"I know." She sighed then turned her head to look up at me. "I just, I don't know how to put it into words." I pressed my lips together and stared down at her.

"Just try." I suggested with a weak smile. I watched her close her eyes tightly then exhale.

"I'm-I'm so ashamed." She muttered with tears running over the bridge of her nose. I watched as her body shook from her sobbing, but I still didn't understand what this was all about. I shuffled closer to her and brought her head to rest in my lap as I brushed through her blonde hair trying to calm her crying. "I-It's about Bella."

"Okay." I said quietly, still combing through her hair with my fingers. "What about Bella?"

"I-I tried to protect her, I moved her here so she wouldn't ever have to see him again." She mumbled through her cries. "She doesn't need a father, Britt, she doesn't. All she needs is us; you, me, Sam, all our friends, we're all the family she needs."