Page 46 of Sins or Secrets
“It’s so serene here,” Bree says in a reverent whisper.“Even with the way the place looks.I still like it. It’s going to be gorgeous when it’s all done up.I don’t know if I’d sell it.” She starts laughing.
“Oh don’t tempt me.” I bring my hands together.
“Can you be tempted?” She makes a show of wiggling her brows.
“I don’t think so. Being back here is nice, and I'm sure everything will look amazing when it's fixed up, but I want to stick to my plans.Besides, keeping the house isn't entirely up to me.Remember, I only own half the place.”
“But if it were all yours, would you keep it?”
It’s a tough question. “Maybe, for the memories but I don’t really believe in keeping things I’m not going to use.I know it sounds stupid because I could rent it out but I’m not sure how I’d feel about that either because it would be a place that means a lot to me with other people living there when I could bethere.”
“Quinn, you are one complicated being.” She grins and tosses her hair over her shoulder.“It sounds like you’re attached but you want to sever the attachment.”
“Yeah, that’s it. I just don’t think I could live here.Even in the past, I wanted to head to New York because ofJuilliard.But I guess I had different plans then.” Because of Logan.
We were going to live there. Buy a home when we could and start our lives, both of us pursuing our dreams.Me, the dancer, and him the marine.
“Sounds like you might have similar plans now”
“I guess. Dancing is the one constant in my life.I control it. It’s never let me down and I know what to expect from it and myself.I’m just at the stage now where I need to find myself and that’s New York for me.”
“I’ve never heard anyone sound so…” Her voice trails off.
“Broken,” I fill in. It’s not a question to clarify her meaning it feels like a statement of fact.
“I don’t want to call you that.I hate that word for the connotations associated with it.Like the damage is so great that you can’t be fixed.”
“That’s how I feel Bree,” I confide and tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“Do you think you’d be able to tell me what really went on with you before the six months is up?I want to help even if it’s a listening ear.”
“You’re helping now, and yeah maybe I will tell you before I go.It’s just all so hard to talk about.”
“I get it. We were such great friends, Quinn, and I feel like I wasn’t there when you needed me.I was here and it just felt like you had a different life that someone like me wouldn’t fit into.”
“What do you mean by someone like you?” I look over my friend who clearly must be having an off day because she’s gorgeous with a sense of style that would give any of those valley girls a run fortheir money.
“You know what I mean. I’m a country bumpkin, I can’t even fake Blanche DuBois and sound all Street Car Called Desire glamorous like Monica.”
We both burst out laughing as she attempts her best Blanche DuBois accent.It’s actually pretty good.
“Bree there’s nothing wrong with you.”
“Thank you. What I meant though was that I thought maybe you had better friends.It sucks hearing you didn’t.”
“I didn’t have anybody, Bree. Dad was protective of his money and I was little more than an asset to him.”
“Really Quinn?”
“Yeah. It was very clear. It felt like I was under house arrest a lot of the time.A prisoner in my own house.”
I was practically kept under lock and key.I had a guard who monitored my every move when I wasat Julliard and when I danced with the ballet company.Then when I married Riley I was kept under constant surveillance by his henchmen.
“What was Riley like?”
“He cheated every chance he got.Every damn chance.”
Her mouth drops. “I would never have believed that.”
