Beyond the Veil

Chapter 15

Sera woke up early the next morning and prepared a sizable breakfast for when Quinn got up. She was sure Quinn was bound to be hungover.

She poured a glass of orange juice, set it on the counter, and just as she set a plate of hot food down, she heard the shuffling behind the bedroom door, and Quinn came stumbling out.

She winced at the bright light streaming in through the living room, and when she looked at Sera a deep blush of humiliation ran down her entire neck.

Sera was still hurt by last night, but she tried not to let it show. "Here. For you." She said quietly, indicating toward the food.

Quinn sat down at the counter, she picked up her fork and prodded at the food gently. Her stomach growled, but she kept her head down and didn't eat any of the food.

Sera took a sip of her coffee and watched her carefully. "You should eat. I know you didn't eat yesterday."

"Sera..." Quinn said quietly, she looked like she was trying to find the words to say. "I love you. I'm sorry."

"I know, Quinn. But love hurts sometimes." Sera said, her voice soft, subtly conveying her hurt she felt.

Quinn took a bite of the eggs, and folded them over a slice of bacon. It has been a long time since Sera saw Quinn this downtrodden. She had gotten used to Quinn's overly enthusiastic happy side.

The reality of it is, Quinn wasn't just the lovable, loud, extrovert, she was also a hurt and broken person, prone to rampant insecurities and harsh fits of lashing out. Regardless of how hard Quinn tried to overcompensate to hide her past, she needed Sera, because no one else knew this side of her. Sera knew it well and loved her anyway.

"We need to get your grades up." Sera said curtly.

Quinn set down her fork, "yeah..." she drawled.

"I was really sad to see you drinking again." Sera added.

Quinn looked at the counter for a long moment, "Sera, I didn't mean any of that shit I said last night."

"I know, Quinn, but you still said it. Do you think I'm a bad friend to you?"

She was silent for a moment before she answered, " I was hurt that you were giving all your attention to your new friends, and I guess I wanted you to feel the hurt that I felt. But I was drunk and it was totally out of line, and I just don't want things to be like this..."

"I'm sorry." Sera said. " I haven't been a very good friend to you, honestly, I've been caught up in so much going on in my own life, there is just a lot I've been dealing with.You shouldn't have had to deal with this alone, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"You were there for me last night. Thanks for taking care of me." Quinn replied.

Sera smiled gently and finished off her coffee, placing it in the sink.

"Wanna talk about what's been going on with you?" Quinn asked.

Sera thought back to how Saul interacted with Quinn that one day in the library, he seemed to make her forget everything she had said in an instant. "I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to." Sera said solemnly.

"I see." She nodded.

Sera began to pack her school supplies into her backpack, and she packed together some empty notebooks for Quinn, as her backpack was still at her house.

Quinn was still finishing up her food. As Sera left the room, Quinn began to shovel her breakfast as fast as she could. She was forcing it down, because despite being very hungry, she didn't really want to eat. It was hard to work up an appetite with a throbbing headache and a heavy heart.