she knows - tara carpenter

꧁nine: requel-sequel꧁

QUINN SEARCHED THROUGH the kitchen cabinets for the bottle of Advil that he knew Tara needed, whether or not she wanted to admit it to him.

He grabbed it off the shelf, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge as well before heading off to Tara's room. He stopped when he saw Quinn Bailey standing in her doorway.

They called Quinn Bailey "QB" because there was already a Quinn in the group. She didn't mind,
in fact, she liked the nickname. She thought it made her more unique.

"Hi, Quinn." QB raised her brows suggestively at Tara momentarily, who looked away with a scowl. "I'm sorry, I'll get out of your hair."

"Bye, QB." waved Quinn, before heading into Tara's bedroom. He jumped when QB slammed the door shut behind her.

His eyes fell on Tara, who was sitting in the middle of her bed. She stared at him expectantly.

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly, holding up the Advil and water bottles. "Just figured... for..." he motioned to his head, "the headache..."

"Thank you." whispered Tara, her voice softer than Quinn had heard it in months.

It seemed that they'd been fighting nonstop. Quinn wasn't sure why, other than the fact that she brought up Amber a lot. He wanted to forget about her. Even if it wasn't possible.

"Yeah, sure." his voice cracked as he spoke, placing the objects on her dresser. He hesitated, before asking, "Hey, can we talk?"

Tara swallowed thickly, before moving over and motioning to the newly-opened spot beside her. He sighed, resting his arms on his knees.

"You okay?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Me?" Tara pointed to her chest, her brows raising. "I-I'm fine... why... why do you ask?"

"Just..." Quinn ran a hand through his hair. "You seem different, that's all. I just... I'm worried about you."

"I promise you, I'm alright." she mumbled, playing with her hands. "Like I told Sam, I can handle myself. I don't want to be stuck in the past."

"About Sam... I don't think you should be so hard on her." Quinn spoke slowly, his eyes meeting the floor. He was too nervous to look at Tara, for he wasn't sure what she would say. "She went through a lot. She's still going through a lot. People blame her for being the killer-"

"People blame you for being the killer," Tara interjected, biting her lip. "You don't watch over me like a hawk."

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean I don't do it." Quinn teased, elbowing her playfully. Tara smiled at him, a real smile. She looked down at his lips, and his heart jolted. It wasn't right.

The door flew open and QB was back in the doorway. "I think I left my phone-" she stopped when she saw the intense stare Tara held on Quinn, however the boy was looking up at QB. "Oh, sorry! Jesus."

"Sorry for what?" queried Quinn, standing up. "Don't worry about it, QB. I've gotta get back to Anika."

A switch flipped in Tara and she scowled deeply, crossing her arms while Quinn absentmindedly exited the room. He saw Chad walk in, and Quinn could hear his fatherly voice down the hallway telling both the girls to get some sleep.

Anika was sprawled out on the couch in the living room, her legs on Mindy. Even her ankles reached down to Alicia, who was whispering in Mindy's ear with a small, flirtatious smile.

"You're back!" Anika beamed, yet clutched her chest like she was having a heart attack. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Don't fret, darling." Quinn outstretched an arm towards her with just as much dramatic flare. Anika sat up so he could sit beside her before laying her upper body across his lap.