YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO ASK
"Will you love me still?" Quinn said while she choked on her words, hands laced while resting on her lap, her blond hair being blown by the distant wind, her hazel eyes as hollow as the sky forming above us.
"Of course, I will… I always will."
"No, I mean… After everything that's happened, after everything that we fought for… Before we got to this point… Us, together. Will you love me still?"
Those words… Quinn. My life.
Quinn sat beside me, eyes affixed on the children playing at the playground, as she trailed off of her own river of thoughts again.
How many times have I found her losing herself at the sight of children? I lost count…
I lost count how she always gets reminiscent whenever she sees kids… Whenever they hear their laughter… Whenever they see them running to their moms… Whenever they are crying, it feels like Quinn wants to run to their side and wipe their tears off of her face. It's as if she's wiping her own when she does that.
And then… And then she would take a deep breath, as if trying to make more room to breathe. She'd clasp her hands after, eyes closed for a good few seconds while a small bitter smile curves on her hesitant lips. She'd take a little more time and fiddle on her fingers with their tears—feeling it with her bare hands, as if… As if having their tears against her fingers is the closest thing she can get to her. To Beth.
I know… I can feel… I… Her, kids… It feels like a distant memory for her. It feels like someone else is living a different version her life.
"I love you. I love you, Quinn. Nothing's gonna change that," I muttered these words as I try to soothe her hurting soul.
Silence.
"I love you too, Emily," she finally said while she laced her hands with mine.