Second Chance: A Military Football Romance

She looked at my car and shook her head. "Sienna hated this car."

"Get in if you want. I can drive you to the cemetery or you can hang out at my place if you want," I said.

Quinn brushed her chestnut hair back and smoothed it down. "No. I have to ride with my parents. It wouldn't look right if I wasn't with them."

I wanted to ask her what it mattered how things looked. I wanted to tell her that grief was messy. It was too late. I watched as Quinn straightened her shoulders and marched back to be the dutiful daughter.

Chapter Three

Quinn

The house was spotless when we returned from the cemetery. Even the funeral flowers had been removed. White roses replaced the normal vases of cut flowers my mother ordered, but that was the only change. It was as if nothing had happened.

I went to change clothes and then came back down to join my parents. They seemed confused.

"Oh, Quinn, you startled me," my mother said. She and my father sat in their normal spots in the living room. My father was reading and my mother was watching a raucous reality television show.

He put his book down, and my mother paused the television. The same heavy expression they had worn all day returned. If I had not reappeared, they could have convinced themselves both daughters were at UCLA and all was as it should be. I was an unwelcome reminder that Sienna was gone.

"I was just coming to say goodnight," I said.

"It’s only 8 pm," my father said.

"I'm just really tired," I rubbed my forehead.

"Sienna says studying before bed is a good idea because your mind works on what you learned all night," my mother told me.

"Yes, good idea," I said. I did not tell them I had left all my study material at school.

Upstairs again, the weight overtook me. I sank to the floor next to my bed. Sienna was gone and I could just as easily disappear. In fact, I slipped out of my parents' lives just by leaving the room. I could just leave and they would never even notice. Where would I go and what would I do?

I knew, but I was not ready to think about it.

I must have been sitting there for nearly an hour when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Quinn, I had to call. How are you?"

"Darla? Hi. I don't know. I survived," I said. I pulled myself off the floor and wandered around the room as we talked. "How are things on campus?"

"Crazy. There were about a dozen memorials for Sienna today. The administration has gone into hyperspeed about mental health. I swear to God they would screen us all if they could. There's even talk of a suicide prevention team being formed. They want you to be a part of it. I actually had to explain to them why today was not a good day to call and discuss it," Darla said.

"How am I supposed to come back?" I groaned. "Owen was right, maybe now is a good time to take a break and find out what I really want to do."

"Owen?" Darla asked. "Yes, of course he was at the funeral."

"I hid out in the basement playing video games. He found me and we hung out. It was just like old times."

"Old times like when you had a mad crush on him? Like when he was flirting with you but dating your sister?" Darla asked.

"Exactly," I said.

She sighed. "Well, at least that got a little smile out of you. I heard it."

"I know, I know, but it was really great. He's the only one I can actually talk to around here."

"And it doesn't hurt that he's a 6-foot, blue-eyed blond that's built like a Norse god," Darla said. "I'd let him comfort me anytime."

"Want to know something weird?" I asked. "My mother was crazy today and trying to place the blame on Owen. While she was ranting at him, she said the strangest thing. She said everyone knew about Owen and me. Sienna even knew how well we got along and she encouraged Owen to hang out with me."