By the time I was showered and dressed, the blankets and pillow I had left on the couch were neatly folded. Anya was making breakfast and Jasper was nowhere to be seen.
"Sleep well?" I asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know. Poor man, drank a little too much?" Anya asked. "Here. I made you coffee."
Before I could sit down, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see Quinn and her father. "Good morning?" I asked.
"He's just dropping me off on his way to see a client," Quinn said. She said goodbye, but her father followed her inside.
"Oh, how cute! Is your dad driving you to the tournament?" Anya asked.
"Yes. I've been told I need to see her play," Mr. Thomas replied.
"You can meet me there," Quinn said. "I don't want to get in the way of your work."
Her father took out his phone and sent a quick message. "It’s rescheduled. Now, how about you introduce me to your friend?" he asked me.
"Mr. Thomas, this is Anya. She is another player on the gaming scene and one of my oldest friends in the business."
"Friends?" he asked.
Anya laughed. "I'm also one of your daughter's biggest rivals. At the tournament, I mean. I'm the obstacle she's going to have to defeat if she wants to be anything but a newbie the rest of her life."
"You volunteered?" I asked Anya. I ground my teeth as she nodded and tossed her hair.
"Somebody has to put the upstarts in their place, don't you think?" she said.
"Can I use your bathroom?" Quinn asked me.
"Sure," I pretended to show her the way. "I had no idea. She just showed up last night and Jasper invited her to stay."
"Its fine. I just need a minute," Quinn said.
She shut the door in my face. In the main room, Mr. Thomas had taken the coffee Anya gave him and was looking out the picture window. I went to the kitchen to tell her to back off.
"It’s so nice that you are taking Sienna's little sister under your wing," Anya said.
I tried to grab her arm and whisper to make her stop, but Anya spun away.
"I mean, Sienna was so distraught when you broke up with her that it’s no wonder you feel guilty. You have to know it wasn't your fault, Owen. What Sienna did was her choice. It had nothing to do with your break up," Anya said.
I was rigid with anger when Quinn reappeared in the main room. "Should we go?" she asked brightly.
"A go-getter. Now, that's the right attitude," Anya said. She breezed to the door and grabbed her things. "I'm ready when you are."
I grabbed my stuff and headed to the door in a haze. It cleared abruptly when Mr. Thomas grabbed my arm. He waited until the ladies had disappeared down the stairwell.
"You broke up with Sienna? Before she died?" he asked. The white clenched lines around his lips deepened. His grip on my arm was painful. "Does Quinn know?"
"Know what?" I asked.
"That you killed her sister," Mr. Thomas said.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Quinn
I thought about canceling my participation in the tournament a hundred times on the short drive to Vegas. The Luxor Casino was an easy drive from Summerlin, but my father's ominous mood filled the car. I did not dare ask him what was wrong because I could not stand to hear another lecture about my life choices.