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."

In the restroom, Sloane retched violently, emptying every last bit of her breakfast. She spent several long minutes fixing her makeup and forcing her heart rate to slow down before finally making her way back to Room 312.

Pushing the door open, she saw Rosemary resting against the headboard while a nurse checked her blood pressure. Vincent was resting his eyes. Garrison and Quinn had already packed their things and were getting ready to leave.

"There's a medical seminar this afternoon. Quinn and I are heading over together."

Garrison walked up to her. His gaze lingered on Sloane's face for a fraction of a second, catching the faint redness around her eyes and the glassy sheen of her pupils.

"The nurses have my parents covered here. Why don't you... take Archie home to get some rest?"

"Sure," Sloane replied, not even bothering to look up.

Garrison grabbed Archie's coat and scarf, holding them out with a hint of concern in his voice. "Do you need me to call you a cab?"

Sloane took the clothes, her fingertips inevitably brushing against Garrison's. In that split second, every fiber of her being wanted to pull away, but she forced herself to endure it.