Until Then

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Quinn

I pull the tape across another box and wipe the sweat from my forehead. Kenneth sits in the corner pouting that he isn't  able to help me lift the boxes. "Stop," I tell him, balling up a failed piece of tape and throwing it in his direction. "I have friends coming by to move them all tomorrow."

"I would have had this all moved by now. I feel useless over here." He stretches out his legs and crosses his ankles.

"I've been chatting your ear off for the last five hours. I wouldn't call that useless." I pull the last four books off the shelf and toss them in his direction. "I'm taking these with me. They were my favorite and I want to read them again if I'm up to it."

"OK," he says, sliding one at a time closer to the bag I have open. It takes a lot of his concentration, but he's getting better at it.

The bookcase my grandmother and I shared is now empty and I take a moment to look at its barren shelves. I run my hand along the top, circling my finger around the watermark where she used to set her glass of ice tea as she read. "I donated this to the children's floor." I try to picture it there among the toys, but I know I'll only ever see it here in this living room.

"And the books?" he asks.

"Library."

There's a knock at the door and I jump up to get it. Kenneth watches from his place on the floor. It's my neighbor Becky who's an emancipated teenager. She's had a rough start in life, but she's a good kid. "Hey Becky."

"Hi Quinn," she tries to sound cheerful but I can hear the quiver in her voice.

"No tears."

"I know," she says. "I'm trying."

"I packed up most of it. You can have the furniture when I leave at the end of the month. I also let them know it's yours in case..."

"Don't say it," she says, snaking her arms out to pull me into a hug. "Don't say it," she whispers into my hair. "I can't take it. My heart hurts too much. And please call me if you need anything."

"I will." I stand back so she can grab the box from the counter that has my dishes and cups. She's already taken my extra towels and rags, spare bed sheets and blankets, and the clothes I've tucked away for seasons I'll never see again.

Becky takes the box and makes it to my door. Before she leaves she turns around. "I almost gave up twice."

My heart squeezes in my chest. "Oh Becky," I say, knowing how much she'd suffered at the hands of her abuser.

"Once was the time you saw me trying to get another payday advance down the street and let me borrow the money. They had turned me down. You didn't know that, and I was too proud to tell you but I hadn't eaten in two days and I was at the end of my rope. You let me borrow that money and you fed me and I didn't have to go back." She shakes her head. "You didn't even know me that well, Quinn."

"No, but I knew that look. I'd been that hungry before. I'd been where you were."

"The next time was after Brett left. I was afraid to be alone in my apartment." She laughs like it's silly now, but I remember her knocking on my door after work asking if she could stay a while. "You brought home Killer."

"He can't protect you," I tell her with a smile.

"No, but he will yip at them until they die of cuteness. I love that Chihuahua even if he snores and refuses to eat dog food."

"We all need someone," I tell her.

"Who's your someone?"

"An old friend," I tell her. I watch relief wash over her face. She nods her head.

"I'm just down the hall if you need me. I don't care if we've only known each other for a little while. We don't have the luxury of time so I think it's only fair that I get to call you an old friend too." She adjusts the box in her grip and places a kiss on her fingers to blow to me.

I close the door behind her and turn back around to my apartment that is quickly becoming just walls and empty cupboards. Kenneth stands up and makes his way over. He wraps his strong arms around me and I rest my cheek on his chest, wishing I could feel the warmth of his skin against my face. Instead I feel the soft touch of his lips on my head.