Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Annorn)

Triger warning

The moment Quinn closed the door, I sit the lug of supplies on the bed, since there was no time for introductions, I decided to break the ice and introduce myself. If I can get her in realize she is sale, maybe I can get her talking to me.

From a doctor’s standpoint, I would really like to get her to a hospital. If she was raped, they will need to do a rape kit and a police report made. I will do what I can and then try to convince her to go in for a more extensive erram.

“My name is Annora.”

Her head swivels to look at me. The glassy look in her blue eyes clears for a moment and tears spill down her cheeks. What surprises is the recognition that passes through her eyes when I tell her my nami. Did Quinn talk to her about me?

“He finally found you again, huh? I am Rylan”

I give her a smile. After grabbing a pair of surgical gloves out of the box in my kit, I put them on. The wounds on her neck are nasty looking. The fingerprints stand out the most, but the cut at the hollow of her throat concerns me, too,

“I am going to examine your throat first. Tell me if there is any tenderness.”

Rylan closes her eyes and swallows before lifting her head slightly upward for me. Tenderly, I press my fingers along her neck where the red indentations of the fingerprints are. She winces a few times and I take m**l notes.

She will be bruised, but the deeper tissues seem undamaged, I clean and bandage the cuts, then look at her arms and hands. I can see a few scratches on her left arm, so I take out a few swabs to collect any evidence I can.

She flinches and pulls away from when I go to clean them. “I wasn’t raped. There is no need for that.”

“I know we don’t know each other, , but if I can collect DNA from your attacker, it will help the police catch him.”

Without saying a word, she holds up her left hand, palm up. I can see blood under her fingernails. “I scratched him before he slammed me against the wall. Take that.”

I collect what I need, then put everything in sealed plastic bags. If she wasn’t raped, then there isn’t much else I can do. Unless she strips and lets me fully examine her. Something I don’t see happening. So, I close my kit and sit on the bed beside her.

-Will

“Will you tell me what happened?”

“He seemed like a nice guy at first. We have been dating for a few weeks now. He has been nothing but a gentleman until now. Opening doors for me. Picking up the tab at dinner. Buying me flowers. Romantic gestures. I should have f**ng known it was all too good to be

True.

Rylan closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I get up and go into the bathroom to fill a glass with water. When I had it to her, she looks up at me with a ghost of a smile.

*You are prettier than he let on. I had a crush on him once. Quinn shot me down right away. Told me there was a girl back home waiting for him. I respected that and moved on.”

“He is pretty s**. I can’t really blame you for that crush.”

This time the smile she gives me is bright. However, it fades just as quickly as it appeared. Hurt and anger replaces it swiftly, I can tell her

kon

mind is back on what happened to her tonight

“He took me to dinner tonight. I thought all throughout dinner about Bally letting him do more than kiss me. We had a few hot and heavy make out sessions but I always made him stop. We went back to his house after dinner, had some wine, then things got beated”

She takes a sip from the glass, then throws it at the wall. Anger is expected, so I keep quiet. She needs to get this all out. Then later, she will have to tell Aaron and Quinn what happened. Those two will demand to know and I know they won’t let it drop until she tells them who did this to her.

“When we moved to his bedroom, something felt off. I am still not sure what it was, I asked him to stop. Instead of stopping, like he normally do, he got angry. He told me I was a tease and led him on for weeks. That was when he slammed me against the wall.”

With shaky hands, she reaches up to touch the back of her head, I follow the movement with my eyes, and I am glad that I did. I didn’t see the blood in her hair until now. The wound on her neck was my focus and was a mistake on my part.

1 stand back up and reach into my back for some gauze pads and antiseptic wipes. Keep talking while I look at this.”

“It dazed me, but not for long. He took advantage of it though and pulled me to the floor. I slapped his hand as he tried to pull my skirt up. I am not sure when his hands went around my neck. That was when I realized he meant to rape me.”

Rylan hisses as I clean the scratch on her scalp. It isn’t serious, so I put antiseptic gel on it. Once that is done, I put the gel in my kit and sit back on the bed.

“My self-defense training all came flooding back to me, but he was so much stronger than me. I scratched him and when he moved one hand off my throat, I slapped him as hard as I could. It shocked him that I was fighting back. That gave me the opening I needed. I krited him in the balls, then punched him in the throat. I got the hell out of there while he was gasping for air.”

My heart bleeds for what she went through. I am proud that she fought back and got out of there. However, there are two men outside the door waiting to hear what happened to her. I don’t know what her relationship with Quinn and Aaron is like.

For Quinn, she is his friend. He is loyal to his friends and will do anything he can to help them. That was something I loved about him when we were teenagers. The relationship he had with Aaron was deeper than friendship. They are brothers in every way that counts.

If the look on Aaron’s face is anything to go by, I would say his relationship with Rylan is different. When he looked at me before putting her on the bed, I saw pain and love in his eyes, but he looked away quickly. I would say their relationship is complicated.

That will be something to ask Quinn about later.

“Do

want to talk to Aaron and Quinn now?”

“The first thought in my mind after I left that b**d’s house was to get somewhere safe. I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going until I was at his door.” Rylan lets out a bitter laugh. “He was all dressed up to go out when he opened the door. His face fell when he saw me. No, I don’t want to talk to Aaron. I will talk to Quinn, but can you stay in here with me when I do?”

“I will stay as long as you need me.”

1

After getting

up off the bed, I walk to the door. Before I open it, she mutters. “I love a man who I can never have. I don’t want him to see me as weak or broken. Do you have anything I can change into besides this dress?”

Rylan is close in size to me, so anything I have will fit her well. I nod my head, then leave the room as quietly as possible. I don’t want to alest the two men downstairs, so I make my way to my room quickly, yet quietly. After grabbing a pair of jeans, a shirt, socks, and a fresh pair of underwear, I head back downstairs.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Quinn is waiting for me in the hallway.

“How is she?”

“She has superficial wounds, and I have treated them. I would still

won’t.”

I like her to go to the hospital for treatment, but I have a feeling she

He not’s his head. “She can be very stubborn. Did she tell you what happened?”

glance at the door, then look back at him. “She did.”

“Will she tell me and Aaron who did it?”

“No, she will only tell you. Let me give her these clothes and then I will let you in when she is ready.”

(Rylan)

When Annora leaves the room, the tears I have been holding back slip free. I feel like what happened tonight was my fault. I teased him for weeks just to see if he was really interested in more than sex. That b**d proved me wrong.

In my mind, all I wanted was a place to go that I could feel safe after that. I drove straight to the one place I should have avoided. To the one man I hoped would make me feel the anger I needed. His reaction when he saw me was exactly what I expected.

Aaron was dressed to impress. It meant he was going out. No doubt to a nightclub or some other seedy nighttime establishment. Somewhere he can lose himself in-between the thighs of another woman. He has thrown his wh**s in my face before.

It always hurt.

When he opened that door and saw me standing there, he sighed, like I was that last person he wanted to see on his doorstep. I was. Yet for some reason I keep deluding myself into thinking he will come around.

After the way he kissed me in his office today, my heart leapt with joy. My entire body was on fire as his mouth devoured mine. The way his body reacted to mine as he pressed us closer together was almost o**ic.

I would have let him f**k me right there in his office. As long as he touched me in the way I dreamed of for years. Then, just like that, reality came crashing back in on us. He tore his mouth from mine and gave me such a hateful look.

I slapped him hard, then stormed out of his office. Going to his house tonight was a mistake. I don’t know what I was doing. All I could think of was the way I felt safe in his arms while he kissed me. That was an illusion.

When I saw his face after he opened the door, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. I am in love and obsessed with a man who has no heart. Yes, he let me in and comforted me, but this time I am no longer delusional about him.

Aaron Carter will never love me.

So, after tonight, I will build a wall around my heart. There will be no communication with him unless it pertains to my job and the veteran’s program. He will be nothing more to me than one owner of my place of employment

I will thank him for bringing me here, then I will go home.

The door opening makes me wipe my face before I look up. Annora enters the room with a handful of clothes. Her eyes are soft and warm.

I would love to get to know her better. Quinn deserves to be happy. I can see the two of us being good friends,

“Here. These should fit you. We are about the same size.”

“Thank

You

“Quinn is outside.”

“Where is Aaron?”

“Quinn took him downstairs. 116 is outside on the balcony. Do you ward him up here?

“Absolutely not.”

She nods her head then leaves the room so can get changes. The jeant she gave me dit perfectly, which makes me smile, I try harm a new shopping buildy. The shirt she gives me makes me laughs. It is a flags Bunny and Road Romper scene.

I

Bless her heart, she even brought me fresh panties. The lace is nice. I like her taste. After getting dressed and throwing all my clothes in the trash can in the bathroom, I open the bedroom door.

bo

Quinn is leaning against the wall across from the door with Annora wrapped in his arms. My heart throbs in pain at seeing how they k together, but not out of jealousy because I want to be where she is. I wint what they have together with someone who values me.

His eyes flicker to mine when he hears me step into the doorway. The warmth I see there makes a s*b c**log my throat. He steps away from Annora and opens his arms. He was a brother in arms at one time in my life. Now he is the brother I need right now.

I step into his arms, and he wraps them around me, then he leads me into the bedroom. Annora follows us and closes the door behind her. As soon as the door closes, the dam on my emotions breaks again. Quinn moves me to the edge of the bed, then sits with me while I

This time my tears are for what I went through tonight and what I never had with Aaron. I feel like a lovesick schoolgirl crying in her father’s arms after a boy I liked broke my heart. I didn’t really do that then, so I need to stop doing it now.

1 amy stronger than this.

This will not break me. Neither of those men is worth my tears. I will go on with my life.

“What happened Ry?”

“I wasn’t raped. He tried to, but I stopped him.”

“Who was it? We can make a police report.”

“He is a pathetic man who I thought was different.”

Quinn looks at me with anger in his eyes, I know if I tell him who did this to me, he will find him and hurt him. As satisfying as that would be, it would only cause more trouble that it is worth. However, something occurs to me as Quinn looks at me.

If I say nothing, that b**d could do this to someone else. If he hasn’t already in the past. His kind are usually serial offenders.

“He is a doctor at Mercy General. We have been dating for the last few weeks. Tonight, he refused to take no for an answer. After I tell you, can you take me to a different hospital and call the police?”

“Tell me his name and I will do whatever you want.”

“Jake Paulson.”