The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 11

"Garrison, I... I'm so scared..."

Quinn buried her face into Garrison's shoulder, her broken sobs drifting through the air. "If anything happens to Mom and Dad..."

Garrison stood rigidly, his hands hovering awkwardly. He was never good at offering comfort, so he forced his voice to soften.

"It's going to be okay, Quinn. They're both out of danger now..."

"I know... but Garrison..." Quinn looked up, her eyes swimming with tears. Stripped of her usual resilience, she looked as fragile as a wounded animal.

"When I heard the ambulance sirens, my mind went completely blank... I was terrified. It felt just like when my biological father passed away..."

A subtle tremor ran through Garrison's body at those words.

A flash of heartache crossed his features. "That's all in the past, Quinn. They're safe now."

Quinn shook her head, the tears falling faster. "Garrison, I'm sorry... I know I shouldn't act like this... but I can't help it. If anything happened to them, I wouldn't know what to do. You and Archie are the only family I have left."

She clung to him tighter, her shoulders trembling as her scalding tears soaked into Garrison's shirt.

A moment later, Sloane watched as the tension in Garrison's jaw noticeably melted away.

The steady, powerful hands that wielded surgical scalpels hovered in the air for a few seconds before slowly, hesitantly descending.

One hand gently patted Quinn's back.

The other wrapped loosely around her waist in a deeply protective embrace.

This intimate gesture unfolded right in the middle of the sunlit cafe, under the fleeting glances of strangers.

Garrison tilted his head, his jaw practically resting against Quinn's hair. He spoke in a low, incredibly tender voice that Sloane had never heard before. "Shh, it's alright. I'm here."

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