Page 55 of Scars Like Wings
At least Maisie was swayed enough by my ruse. She pulled Simone along, and the girls left to return to the cousins. I took another second to compose myself. I swallowed any other worry that remained. I took out my phone. I checked my makeup. I adjusted my bodysuit and righted my shacket. Finally, when I felt ready enough, I made my way to the go-karts.
Quinn was leaning against the fencing for the ride. Her leg bounced anxiously as she bit her bottom lip. I hated that I caused her to worry. Another wave of cold went through me.
“Hey, babe,” I said as I approached. “I’m so sorry I made you worry, and that I took a second.”
Quinn stared into my eyes for a while. I noticed hers were dark, like caramel that may have cooked for too long. She asked after several moments, “Are you okay?”
I bit the inside of my lip. I didn’t want to lie to her. If I hadn’t pushed my worries away already, I would definitelynotbe okay right now. I mean, I thought that what happened to me was set in stone?—
No. We aren’t doing that. We aren’t diving into things. We aren’t thinking about it.
We also aren’t lying to Quinn.
Not now.
Not ever.
“I honestly just want to have fun and would rather not think about this right now. Is that okay?” I answered her with a halfhearted shrug.
A beat passed. Then two. Then three. The entire time, her eyes remained on mine. It’s like they were searching for something. I was reminded of when we first met, how I felt like Quinn could see me unlike anyone else.
Finally, she nodded and held out her hand. When I took it, she squeezed it. Lightning and heat coursed through me, instantly staving off the chills and shivers.
“Well, let’s paint this place red, sweetness,” She winked.
True to her word, we had fun. Alotof fun. More than enough to actually make me forget. We raced each other on the go-karts with her winning practically every time, riding it until others joined the line for their turn. We went through the entire mini-golf course and gave up keeping score in favor of just seeing how many times I could struggle to get the damn ball in the hole before we devolved into laughter. We played laser tag, where I whooped her ass with my sniping skills that had cultivated from hours of video games. We did the rope course, which went horribly, given my clumsiness. But she was right there to save me and pull me up and hold me close so we could complete it together. We played arcade games together, and we got Icees, with all the flavors mixed into it like a frozen witch’s brew.
I don’t remember when I stopped thinking about my back scars or when Quinn’s brows finally relaxed. I also didn’t know when we started holding hands literally everywhere we went throughout Chill’s. Or when I first noticed the side glances Quinn would give sometimes. Or how often I would look at Quinn just to see her smile. I didn’t know when Quinn started winking at me along with keeping that smirk as a permanent fixture on her face. I don’t know when I started seeking the warmth of her laughter. I don’t know when falling in like with the idea of Quinn became too good of an opportunity for me to pass up.
All I knew was that Ididlike her.
And I didn’t want any of this to stop anytime soon.
PART THREE
Citrine
SUN, SUCCESS, OR MONEY STONE
A transparent variety of crystalline quartz that can come in pale yellow, red-orange, orange-yellow, or brownish orange.
A common stone of abundance, Citrine is honey, love, lemons, sunlight, and all things good. Many believe the stone was a gift from the sun, giving it the warm color that brightens moods. The stone keeps sunlight in, granting warmth and offering balance. It helps us achieve what we want from life, manifesting more wealth, health, and positive vibes. Citrine opens your mind to encourage you to release feelings of negativity, anger, confusion, depression, and destructive tendencies. It teaches you to let go of the things that no longer make you feel soaked in sunshine and take accountability for your own safety. With this stone, you cantap into powers of manifestation to feel like anything is possible. The stone is so bright and blessed that it is unable to hold on to bad energy, allowing you to transform tough times into something special. Citrine gifts grounding while also inviting a sense of flexibility. Strengthening your personal power, Citrine is a summer holiday for your soul.
Hourglass
When I woke up the next day, cold bit at my skin and sank its fangs into my bones.
I pulled the many, many blankets even further up around my chin to find any reprieve. The move only made me hiss. The cold made me feel stiff and made moving close to painful. Usually, my bedroom’s massive windows were cracked open overnight to allow for a cool autumn breeze to caress my face during this time of year. The chill of the wind was rarely too much for me, and I preferred to be cold over being hot, anyway. But today, my windows were closed. Every blanket I owned was piled on top of me. Dinah’s fat ass laying on me as the warming weighted blanket she tended to be wasn’t doing anything, either. Even clinging to my stuffed bunny, Stella Love, I had since I was a baby did nothing for me like it usually did when I was on my period or feeling sick.
I just couldn’t seem to get warm.
Once we had left Chill’s, the outside had been warm enough to combat the cold. In the car, Quinn blasted the heat and turned on the seat warmers for everyone—Seat warmers in every seat? Theluxury. We were all cold and decided a coffee trip was in order. After some hot coffees and chocolates to warm us fromthe inside out, we headed back to their mansion to say our goodbyes. Cole made out with Simone, and Quinn gave me a quick soft kiss on the lips. Both were enough to illicit jokes from Cody and a swift elbow in his ribs from Maisie. On the drive home, I kept my seat warmers and my personal vents blasted on the highest heat the car could muster. Even at home, the cold refused to leave me.
Was I getting sick from being on the ice so long without a coat or something?
“Hey, Cleo?” She lit up on my nightstand. “Can you start my morning shower routine but on the hottest possible setting?”
“Too easy! Consider it done.”