Blame It On the Beach

Chapter Twenty-four

"I still feel like shit," Quinn says on Thursday when I walk into her room, where she's laying on the bed.

"You look like it, too," I tell her, looking at her red-rimmed eyes and pale skin. She glares at me, and I suppress a laugh and feel her forehead. "Yeah, you still have a fever."

She groans, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose. "This sucks."

"Well, at least it's a shitty day, so it's not like you're missing out on anything," I tell her, looking out at the window, which is streaked with raindrops. "We would've been inside right now anyway."

Quinn sits up a little, looking out at the rain. "Oh, I didn't even notice it was raining. Did it just start?"

I nod. "Like, ten minutes ago," I tell her. "My parents are lucky they left early, they didn't get caught." They left around 10 to go visit our family friends in Sag Harbor, around a 30 minute drive away. We would've gone too, but Quinn woke up today feeling sick, and I said I'd stay with her.

"Is it gonna rain all day?" Quinn asks.

I shake my head. "The forecast didn't even show rain when we checked last night," I say. "It should stop in the next hour."

We sit in silence for a minute, Quinn sniffling every now and then. "What time is it?" she asks.

I take my phone out of the waistband of my pajama shorts. "It is... 1:08 p.m." I announce. "Want me to make you anything?"

"Chicken soup, maybe?" she replies.

"Uhh, I don't think we have any," I say. "But I'll go to the store and pick some up, just 'cause I love you."

"Aww, you'd do that?" Quinn says, her voice raspy.

"Yeah, just stay away from me, I don't wanna get sick," I say, and jump off the bed. "Maybe I'll invite Milo over, too."

"Yeah, you should," she says. "What's going on with you guys now?"

I shrug. "We just both like each other," I say. "But nothing further than that. I don't want a boyfriend, if that's what you're hinting," I add, seeing her raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah," Quinn says, waving me off. "Now go get me my soup, please. My throat hurts." I look out at the window, where the rain has gotten a little harder.

I sigh wistfully. "Damn, it's tough being such a good friend," I say, walking out of the room. "You owe me!"

"Love you!" I hear her say, sounding like a dying frog, and I change into a pair of jean shorts, put on my rain boots, and grab my wallet from the table. 

I text Milo while I'm walking down the stairs, telling him that I'm going to the store and he can come over whenever he wants. I take a hoodie from the closet and throw it on, before throwing my hair up into a bun and walking outside.

I cringe inwardly as the cold drops of water hit my bare legs, feeling like tiny needles, and I put on my hood as I get my bike from the shed. There's a small grocery store a few minutes away, and once I get there, I lock my bike in the rack outside and walk in, shivering a little when the air-conditioning makes contact with my wet skin.

I get a can of chicken noodle soup and some cookie dough to make chocolate chip cookies-- Quinn's favorite dessert, and a bottle of sparkling water, before paying and exiting the store, putting the plastic bag in the basket of my bike and starting the short ride back home.

The rain has slowed to a slight drizzle by the time I've put my bike away in the shed, and I'm walking up the driveway when I hear my name being called, and I turn around to see Milo jogging down the steps of his house.