Hold me closer

In the sunshine

Quinn threw a punch filled with fury. Do not get invested. Do not get invested. Her arms swung back and forth with intense speed, her mind was in fight mode. She came to the gym whenever she needed an outlet. But today, every fist that hit the punching bag felt like a loss. The confidence had left her body just like Nia's memories of last night had left hers.

Quinn let out a frustrated scream along with her last punch, and then sat down, exhausted in every way possible. She threw her boxing gloves on the floor and burried her face in her hands. Don't get invested. She's just like any other client. Quinn didn't believe herself. It was already too late. Nia Nazari was becoming her new Eve.

An hour later

Quinn got off the phone with Hal. Apparently demanding a new driver to be hired because he parked too far away was unreasonable. She just couldn't take that qritique right then. Not along with the headache and all of the feelings. Nia walked into the library, which had become Quinn's favourite spot in the house. "We're going out in an hour." Quinn sighed. At least she had learned something, at least she was trying.

"That depends. Where do you want to go?" Nia gave her a pissed look. "Relax, it's just to the pier. I'm meeting some friends." Quinn raised an eyebrow. She didn't trust this girl's judgement the slightest. "Who are your friends?" Nia, who was already on her way, turned around one last time. "Oh just fuck off already!" Quinn rolled her eyes as she listened to the klicking of Nia's heels on the old stone floor. This is just hopeless.

An hour and a half later, Quinn and Nia stepped out of the useless driver's car. The sun was shining, the sky was nearly free of clouds and seagulls could be heard in the sky. It was the perfect spring day, the kind Quinn would love to spend in her running shoes or with a good book. The kind she usually would spend overseeing a fancy garden party or being dragged around by a kid at a zoo. Today, she was so not up for spending watching a bunch of rich kids have fun. But that was the job.

Nia headed towards the fancy shopping district and Quinn followed shortly after, instinctively looking out for sketchy people. "If you're going to be here all day, at least don't act like a stalker following me." Nia walked backwards, looking Quinn in the eyes to get her point across. So Quinn caught up to her, and they walked together towards wherever Nia was going. "Anything you want to tell me about your friends? If someone shows up with a pocket knife, I will tackle them."

Nia rolled her eyes. "Relax for a moment will you? Not everyone in this world is after me." Quinn sighed. "No, just the ones with a million dollar paycheck on your head." Nia looked over at Quinn, clearly annoyed. "Do you have to be so brutal all the time?!" "Look, kid, maybe the world is all sunshine and rainbows for you, but for everyone else, it can be rough." Nia stopped walking and crossed her arms. "I thought you said I was the priced target." Quinn kept going, looking over her back. "Baby, you have yet to learn what danger looks like."

Nia looked pissed but came after her. "This is it by the way, this is our stop." Quinn turned around only to be faced with the most expensive looking breakfeast restaurant she had ever seen, in the middle of the fancy rich people district. She raised her eyebrows at Nia. "Seriously?" "What, they have good waffles!" She headed inside and Quinn was left just shaking her head. This is going to be a long day.

Twenty minutes later

Quinn was sat in a corner as usual, watching all kinds of snobs come and go whilst sipping her black coffee. She usually made a habbit of not treating herself on the job, but after last night's sleep, she needed that. Nia was sitting alone on a table in the middle of the room, scrolling slowly on her phone and looking quite down. Quinn went over to her and sat down. "They're not coming are they?" Nia sounded upset, but not in her usual bratty way. "It may have something to do with the shooting at the club I'm sure they all know you were at last night."

Nia looked at Quinn, eyes wide. "You killed someone, didn't you." "I didn't. Someone did." Nia looked confused, probably trying hard to recall what actually happened at the club. "I shot him in the hand when he pulled a gun. He shouln't be dead." Nia, fully invested in the conversation, took a bite of her waffle. "Do they know who did it?" Quinn sighed. Being aware that her client's life was constantly in danger could be exhausting. What she liked even less was talking about it.

"It might have been a test gone wrong. The guy failed his mission, boss shoots him." Nia starred at her waffle with disbelief. "But, it's more than likely that there were several people there looking for you." Quinn watched Nia's big eyes pan across the room. Maybe she would finally realise how badly she needed a bodyguard. But Quinn didn't want to get her hopes up. Nia sighed and laid her head down on the fancy wooden table.

"This day sucks." Quinn was about to say something snarky in response but felt this was not the time. "Want me to call the driver?" Nia looked up again. "No. I can't go home right now. My crappy friends would know they defeated me." Quinn nodded along with Nia pulling her hands through her gorgeous curly hair. "That's fair. So, what do you want to do?" She was expecting a "what do you care?", but it never came. "I want to stay here. With you."