Page 16 of Never Again

“It really is,” Bailey said, not sure how much more of this she could take.

She just wanted to pass out until her head stopped hurting.

“I want to ask you something,” Quinn said, making her wonder why the man who should be sitting back and enjoying the show as karma finally kicked in and made her pay for leaving him on that train platform years ago was helping her.

“Can it wait until I’m not dying?” Bailey asked as she blindly reached up and searched the shelves that she’d spotted earlier when she’d stumbled in here after the toaster incident until she felt something soft and pulled it down so that she could pull it over her head.

“You’re not dying,” Quinn said softly as he took the large towel that she pressed against her head and replaced it with a small, damp towel that felt really good at the moment.

“Please don’t lie to me,” Bailey mumbled sadly, placing her hand over the towel as she prayed that she didn’t do anything stupid this time around.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Jennifer and Steve?” he asked, making her really wish that she’d kept her big mouth shut.

“There was nothing to tell,” Bailey said, hoping that he would just drop it.

“Didn’t sound that way to me,” Quinn said, shutting the bathroom light off before sitting down on the floor next to her.

“Just drop it,” Bailey said, deciding that she’d rather wait for the pills to kick in from the comfort of wherever he wouldn’t follow her, she moved to get up only to groan when more pain shot through the side of her head and had her moving to lay back down only to grumble when she found herself pulled onto Quinn’s lap.

“What are you doing?” Bailey couldn’t help but wonder as he pulled her closer until her head was tucked just beneath his chin and she couldn’t help but notice just how comfortable he was.

“Taking care of you,” Quinn murmured softly as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I can take care of myself,” Bailey mumbled, burying her face against his chest as her hand found his shirt and held on.

“You don’t have to,” Quinn murmured softly as the familiar haze slowly took over and she found herself letting go.

* * *

He fucked up.

There was no other way to put it, Quinn realized as he thought about all those times that he’d dragged the little pain in the ass home and handed her over to Jennifer and Steve, thinking that he was doing the right thing. He didn’t have many regrets, but he definitely regretted-

“Can I have a Coke, please? It would really help settle my stomach,” the small woman who looked better than she had yesterday asked as she sat on the bed, looking pathetic.

“Sure,” Quinn said, more than happy to give her a Coke if it helped. Tossing the notebook that he’d been working on back on the coffee table, Quinn moved to go grab her a Coke when he saw the devious smile playing on her lips before she managed to pull it back and did her best to appear innocent.

His eyes narrowed on her as a thought occurred to him. “Can you drink Coke?”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to drink Coke?” Bailey asked, blinking innocently at him as he sat there, watching her as he thought over the last seventy-two hours and decided to double-check something. After sending Bailey one last questioning look, Quinn pulled his phone out and sent a text message to her brother.

Does your sister react to Coke the same way that she reacts to coffee?

Don’t fucking do it!

Came the immediate response that had him looking up to find Bailey watching him with a hopeful smile.

“According to your brother, that’s not really an option,” Quinn drawled as he moved to put his phone away only to look back down at it when a small chime drew his attention and-

Don’t trust her! The little addict will say whatever it takes to get caffeine. Keep her away from coffee, soda, tea, and whatever you do, don’t let her get within ten feet of a fucking energy drink!

“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Bailey mumbled softly, drawing his attention back to the small woman blinking up at him.

“So, if I give you a Coke, you won’t go into another psychotic episode and try making friends with the squirrels in the backyard again?” Quinn asked, watching her carefully.

“Of course not,” Bailey murmured, not quite able to look him in the eye as she lied her adorable little ass off.

“I think we’ll stick with juice for now,” he drawled, going to the fridge and grabbed a small bottle of apple juice for her.

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