Maybe, probably.

Chapter 17: Quinn

"Great job baby. Now, we are going to add the chocolate chips." Gram ran her hand in Quinn's brown curls before handing the young child a bag of semisweet chips.

Quinn took it with grubby hands and tilted the bag to pour in the chocolate, but she accidentally poured the entire thing into the bowl of cookie dough. "Oh no..." she whined, turning guilty eyes to her grandmother who was smiling so gently and kindly at her granddaughter.

"It's alright buttercup. The more chocolate, the better," she brushed Quinn's flour dusted cheeks and sighed. "Life can never be too sweet. Hold on to the good for me, my love. Always be kind and as sweet as chocolate to anyone you meet, you hear me?"  Quinn nodded quickly like she understood what her grandmother was rambling about. "Yes, Gram."

Her grandmother shook her head then gave Quinn the wooden spoon. "Now, we stir...."

*****

"Quinn?"

I jumped as Asher touched my shoulder and pulled me from the abyss of memories that clouded my mind and began to fade away.

What is happening to me...?

"What?" I asked, watching how everyone in the car besides Xander who was driving, although I could see his eyes in the rear view mirror watching me, were staring at me in concern. Asher massaged my shoulder. "I said we are almost there..." My eyes focused and then unfocused, so I blinked a few times. He leaned forward. "Are you ok?" He whispered.

I blinked one last time and regained my smile.
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah I'm great," I exclaimed, making the burning stares in the room ease the slightest bit but Asher's pitying glance was still on me.

I tried to start some sort of small talk to get Asher to stop looking at me like that. "Um, where are we going, exactly?" I inquired, trying to peek out of the tinted windows but it was no use. The windows were completely filled in. Andre saw where I was watching and mentioned, "You won't see anything out those, Quinn,"

I turned my head slowly to meet his eyes. He shrugged but kept his brown eyes in mine. "Can't have you knowing where we work yet." He smiled slightly but looked away. I pressed my lips together and wrung my hands.

Why wouldn't they want me to know...? Do they not trust—

Asher's hand brushed my own, halting my fidgeting. "All your questions will be answered soon. I promise." The touch startled me so badly I yanked my hand back, sucking in my breath.

Asher's face flushed with scarlet, and Xander chuckled. "Alright lovebirds, we are approaching the gate. You know what to do."
Their faces turned dead serious, making me sweat with anxiety.

"What is-"

Before I could get the words out, a black bag was shoved onto my head and I screamed, thrashing against the hands on my arms holding me still.

"QUINN!!" Asher pleaded, shaking my body until I stopped screaming. "It's ok!! It's ok!! Listen to me. My voice. It's just a precaution. We have to do this, boss's orders."

I whimpered, confused. "But I can't even see through the windows." Asher sighed, Irritated. "I know. It's stupid but we have to. So just," he grabbed my hands that were clutched on the opening of the cloth and pulled them back down to my lap. "Relax." He whispered, rubbing my hands.

I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding and sagged against the seat. "Good. We are almost there."

The car moved for another 5 minutes until it rumbled to a stop. Xander sighed, fumbling with the keys before opening the door. The others filed out, or so I heard, and left me and Asher still breathing deep in the car.

"You ready for this?" Asher whispered in my ear, making me jump then settle back into my chair. "I-I guess." I laughed quietly, weirdly comfortable with his closeness.

I could feel his smile, wild and smug. "Let's go."

He pulled open the door and gently picked my hands up into his own and led me out of the van. "There we go. Watch your step," he guided me out, to where the others were probably waiting.

Where the heck are we?

He stopped moving me and stepped closer to my face, to the point I could hear his heartbeat. Somewhere around us Andre coughed and quietly mentioned something to Asher I couldn't hear.  

I felt him sag a bit, as if he was relieved of something. But then he regained his posture. "Ok. I'm going to take off your blindfold now. Please don't do anything rash. Promise me?"

He sounded scared. Like truely worried I would run or hide from him. "I promise." I smiled beneath my mask.

Like I would run from my only true friend. Someone who saw me, not the fragile, all a's little girl. But Quinn.

The hood was pulled off and I blinked a couple of times, eyes adjusting to the blinding light of the sun. When they focused, I looked at an enormous building, maybe 10 stories, with a large logo on the front.

"What. The. Heck." I hissed, staring at the building.

Exadon industries

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Thanks for reading and sorry its been a while since I've updated!😭 I'm going to update as much as I can being summer and all! Thanks for being amazing and so supportive!

XOXO
WriterGirl❤️