Page 68 of Fragile Heart

“You don’t get it, man.”

“Oh, I get it.” He lets out a disgusted laugh. “You know Jess got in your stupid-ass head and brainwashed you to believe that Quinn couldn’t handle herself, right? You aren’t giving Quinn enough credit. Did you even ask her how she felt?”

“A photographer literally chased us down the road,” I tell him, trying to prove my point.

“Nothing new, man. We’ve all had that happen. As long as she was prepared, she’d be fine.”

“I don’t want her to be in that situation,” I grind out, frustrated that he isn’t understanding.

He sighs and puts his hands on my shoulders. “I saw the way she looked at you. And you’ve never been happier than since you started hanging out with her. If you wanted it to work out, I’m sure you guys could compromise.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, who says you have to live in LA? Movies are filmed everywhere these days. Case in point, we’re in Georgia right now. It’s not like you can’t afford to fly out to LA for auditions and meetings now and then. You could move to Georgia. Be here with her where you feel safe.”

“Move to Georgia,” I repeat, feeling it out. Why didn’t I think of that?

“Because you saw Jessica and stuck your head up your ass,” Vaughn answers the question I didn’t realize I said out loud. “Yeah, I mean, if this girl is the real deal for you, why not? You’re always saying how much you hate LA.” I don’t move. My heart and mind are racing. What have I done? “Do you love her?”

My breath picks up. Do I love her? Of course I fucking love her. How could I not? My hands start to sweat thinking about the terrible mistake I’ve made.

“Fuck!” I shout loud enough that everyone in the studio turns to look at us. Vaughn doesn’t try to calm me down as I turn in a circle, tugging at my hair. “Fuck.”

My mind is going through every scenario on how I could possibly fix this with Quinn, but I can’t think of a single thing that would dig me out of the hole I’m in.

“What have I done, Vaughn? How do I fix it?”

He huffs. “I don’t know, man. If I were you, I’d start working on more than a speech to beg for forgiveness. You’re going to have to pull out all the stops on this one. But you can’t leave now. We’ve got one more scene to film. We’ll think of something. Just get your shit together so we can get this finished, and you can get out of here.”

I nod. All I want to do is go to Quinn and beg her to take me back, but I’ve got to think of the right thing to say. I might only have one chance to get this right.

Miraculously, we film the next scene in just two takes, and I bolt out of there. I have my driver take me straight to the diner because I assume that’s my best chance of finding her. I don’t bother calling or texting because I doubt she would answer, and everything I need to say needs to happen in person.

As soon as the car stops in front of the diner, I run through the door and look around the place. My heart drops when I don’t find Quinn anywhere. But I see the one other person in the world who might know where Quinn is.

I walk up to Holly, and she blatantly gives me the cold shoulder, which I deserve.

“Holly, do you know where Quinn is?” I ask, trying my best to keep my voice calm even though I’m panicking on the inside.

She scoffs and walks to one of her tables. Ok. I guess I know she’s at least talked to Quinn, and I can only assume Quinn told her everything I said.

“Holly. This is important.”

She whirls around to face me, and her eyes are so filled with rage that it makes me take a step back. “Oh, so now she’s important? Go fuck yourself, Hudson.” She doesn’t bother keeping her voice down.

I glance around at the tables and see that we definitely have an audience now. “I messed up. I need to talk to her.” She turns on her heels and walks away again. I follow her until she’s behind the counter but don’t press my luck by following her back there.

“Holly, come on. Is she at home? You know that’s my next stop, right?”

“Her location is none of your business. You gave up that right when you made her leave your house like she’s some kind of whore.”

I inhale sharply at her words because they’re completely true. Of course, Jake happens to be sitting at the counter. “Wait, you ended things with Quinn?” he asks, like I really want to be explaining my love life to him right now.

Holly answers for me. “Yeah, he did. Spectacularly. And it sounds like he realizes now that he fucked up, so he’s come to ask for forgiveness.” She turns to look at me. “I hope you never find her, and I hope she never forgives you. You don’t deserve her. She trusted you, and you shredded her heart.”

“I know. I know I don’t deserve her. But I love her. And I’ve got to get her back.”

Holly looks absolutely disgusted. “I’m not helping you. You need to leave.”

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