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The song had just changed to a hip-hop tune, a raucous, flatly obscene rap It was a few years old, but still catchy, and had the added attraction of being a song no one in the room had been allowed to listen to three months earlier

Quinn and Lana danced, even bued theby Lucinda Willia,” Lana said

“I…I don’t kno to dance slow,” Quinn said

“Me neither Let’s try it, though”

So they held each other aardly and just swayed back and forth After a while Lana laid her face against Quinn’s shoulder He could feel her tears on his neck

“This is kind of a sad song,” Quinn said

“Do you dream, Quinn?” Lana asked

The question took him aback She must have felt hi for the explanation in his eyes

“I have night battle”

“You were really brave You saved those kids in the day care”

“Not all of them,” Quinn said shortly He fell silent for a moment, back in the dreaht? And…and…Okay, so I could have shot hi the kid I was so scared I’d hit that little kid, so I didn’t shoot And then it was, like, too late You know?”

Lana nodded She didn’t show any sy because if it wasn’t you, and you hadn’t been there, and you hadn’t been holding a er, and you hadn’t heard your voice co out of your throat in a scream like an open artery, and you hadn’t seen what he had seen, then you didn’t have a right to be sy You didn’t understand anything

Anything

Lana just nodded and put her palainst his heart and said, “I can’t heal that”

He nodded, fighting back the tears that had coht? Let’s see, three months, thirty days in a month, that would make it about a thousand times Maybe more Not less, not if you counted the tio-lucky Quinn sround and sobbing