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Secret Brigid Kemmerer 33850K 2023-08-31

She wasn’t going to wait around for hiot out of the truck and slammed the door closed

Then she pushed into the nearly e her bag on the ground beside where Adaood as Nick, despite the bare feet and cutoff sweatpants He was all unruly hair and dark eyes and cara-sleeved tee did little to hide his build

Her hair was a windblown mess, and if she took her sweatshirt off, there was probably a roll of pudge hanging over the waistband of her spandex capris God only knehat state her lanced up, but she wouldn’t o to pieces

Nick hadn’t followed her

She wanted to cry for all the wrong reasons

Adam set the clipboard down, and she could hear it in his in-drawn breath, that he was going to pry His hands were already reaching out to touch her

Just what she needed Another guy who had no interest in her

Quinn swiped at her eyes and grabbed her bag "I can’t do it tonight, Ada?"

"Not tonight," she called back She walked through the back door to the studio, bursting into the cold night air

Nick’s truck was on the other side of the building--if he’d bothered to wait at all Quinn hunched her shoulders and headed for the road

What a dick Everyone else got everything they wanted

Becca had Chris Nick had Adaave her a raft of shit the first ti false inside her head, and she told her subconscious to stick it

Aup to the curb The brakes squealed into the darkness and the door creaked open Adam took the bus all the time, but Quinn had never tried At least it was a surefire escape from Nick

She climbed the steps and sniffed back the last of her tears

"How much?"

"One sixty, one way Three fifty, ride all day"

All day Quinn wondered ould spend the entire day on a bus Then she realized it arm in here, and empty aside froht, too?" she asked

"We stop running at two"

Well, there went that She counted out a dollar sixty and cram, she realized she had no idea where she was going

Wasn’t that always the case?

Her phone chio?

Quinn deleted it

Then she started a new text

Playing sentry again tonight?

The response text took less than three seconds

Why? Need rescuing, baby girl?

Quinn smiled

Now that you mention it, yeah I do

Her phone vibrated almost immediately

What’s up?

I’m on a bus, bound for nowhere

Sweetheart, it’s a TRAIN bound for nowhere

Her heart gave a little squee at the endear all at once She smiled over her phone while she texted back

Well, I’et you?

Quinn stopped and stared at the phone Was this dangerous?

It didn’t feel dangerous Tyler had had aht and he hadn’t

When Becca had first told her about finding Chris in thelot, Quinn’s first question had been, "Why?"

She’d never gotten a good answer

She slid her thumbs across the face of her phone

Are ht and there , so she wasn’t sure if his offer to coet off the bus until she knew for sure

Then her phone lit up with a new ht Where should I pick you up?

"Excuse me," she called to the driver "What’s the next stop?"

"Annapolis Mall West side"

Next stop is Annapolis Mall West side

Well look at that You just got upgraded to a soft pretzel See you in 10

CHAPTER 12

Nick swore at his cell phone for the third time Or maybe the tenth He’d lost track