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somewhat resolute that she’d done the right thing, even if it

was the hard thing. Right things usually were hard. She

measured how right it was by how wrong it felt. Maybe that

was a bullshit meter. She spent a few hours thinking about that

too.

When the doorbell rang before dinner, Quinn didn’t get off

the couch. She’d had a bath after Danica dropped her off and

was still in her robe and slippers hours later. She figured it had

to be a member of her family standing out there. Probably

Danica. She didn’t want to answer it. She was done with the

conversations for one day. The one with Dallas had almost

killed her. It took all her willpower not to tell Dallas that she

was getting another ticket and getting on the first plane out of

Topeka. She knew that she needed time to do what Dallas

advised her to do. Think.

The bell rang again and Quinn groaned. “Go away!” she

yelled, even though she was fairly certain that her condo was

sealed up tight enough that Danica or Billy or her parents

couldn’t hear her.

When it rang a third time, she leaped off the couch. She

nearly stepped on the hem of her long, fuzzy purple robe and

went flying. The robe was a gift from her parents the year

before. She had been sure, when she opened it, that it was

meant for a kid, since it was a bright purple unicorn complete

with a hood that sported eyes and a horn and everything, but

when she put it on for the first time, it was a perfect fit. Not

kid sized at all.

Her slippers were ancient, a ratty pink plush pair that she

loved so much she couldn’t get rid of them even though to say

they’d seen better days was an extreme understatement.