You Can Always Come Home

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Quinn was sitting by her car on the side of the highway, glancing over the map that lay out in front of her. She hadn't really been keeping track of where she was going, having no set destination. She finally decided to see where she had landed and pulled into a rest stop just off the interstate. She parked her car and looked up at the sign in front her, laughing when she realized she was in Charleston , West Virginia, only a few hundred miles away from Lima. Was it just a mere coincidence that she had wound up here, or had Quinn subconsciously driven herself back home? She didn't know, but she felt her heart flutter at the thought of being home again.

Quinn hadn't been to Lima in four years, never wanting to return to the place that had caused her so much pain. She had left in the middle of her senior year, meeting and falling for the man who would change her life. He had promised her the biggest dreams and best life, wanting her to move with him to San Francisco. Quinn had never even left Ohio, much less traveled across the country, and the idea of a fresh start and new life had filled her with excitement she hadn't felt in ages. She leaned back against the car and rested, closing her eyes and thinking about the day she left behind everything she ever knew.

"I don't get it," he said sadly, "why are you doing this?" They were standing under the bleachers after the Homecoming game, her almost in tears and him fighting his hardest to make her stay.

"I just have to get out of here, ok?," she whispered, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "I can't take this place anymore, it hurts too much."

"So that's it, you're giving up on us? Just gonna quit and walk away?," he asked growing angry.

"I know you don't understand but please trust me, I just have to do this," she said as tears ran down her face, "I have to go or I'm gonna drown here." He shook his head, not even able to look her in the eye.

"Please, I need you to let me go.," she said softly. She tugged at her hand and removed the small ring from around her finger, placing it into his cold palm. They continued standing there, rain beginning to trickle down through the bleachers. She couldn't tell if it was rain or tears that were falling down his cheeks, but she knew she had to leave him now or she would change her mind. She leaned in close and hugged him tightly for one last time.

The sound of the passing cars on the highway broke Quinn's thoughts, awaking her from her memories. She shook her head, looking back down a the map. Lima, the place Quinn had thought she'd never return to, the place that she needed now more than ever. She picked up her map and pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes, getting up and getting back in her car.

She got on the highway and headed north, her mind racing now with thoughts about her friends and family back home. How would everyone react to her return? She hadn't exactly left on the best of terms with anyone, and she knew she had hurt the people who cared about her most. Would they be excited she was back and want to know all about her new life? Or would they brush her off carelessly just as she had done them years ago? Quinn turned on the radio, trying to tune out the thoughts in her head. She reassured herself that everything would be alright, feeling excitement and anxiety consume her.