I laughed—a sound too sharp to be sane. “I’ll call you nothing. I didn’t know you were here, okay? And if I had, it wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference. So I’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine.”
His eyes darkened, cutting through me like ice. “You would never hurt anyone, Quinn.”
That name again—that name.
I spun on him. “What would you know? What would you know about me,K? You don’t know me anymore! You made sure of that when you left me!”
The room went still. Even Dev didn’t breathe.
Suddenly, the buzzing of a phone shattered the silence—shrill and jarring, like a siren tearing through a nightmare.
“Answer it,” K ordered.
Dev nodded, stepping aside as he picked it up. The low murmur of his voice faded into the background.
K’s eyes locked on mine. “You don’t belong here, Quinn. You need to get out.”
I laughed—sharp and humourless—and leaned toward him.
“Why don’t you make an appointment with my lawyer, then? Or better yet—call my parents.”
My voice cracked, but I didn’t care.
“Tell them you told me to leave. I’m sure they’d bethrilledto hear from you.”
K just stared at me. Like he didn’t recognise me.
Good.
“Sorry, boss,” Dev said finally, breaking the silence. “That was Davis. Something’s happening with Ollie’s crew. We gotta go.”
His eyes flicked between us, wary, like he’d just walked into a minefield.
“This isn’t over, Quinn.”
“Seph.My name is Seph,” I growled.
K’s jaw flexed. “Fine, Seph. We’ll continue this conversation later.”
“No, we won’t.” I met his eyes squarely. “I’m here for a year. That’s it. We can go a year without talking—I’ve already gone three. So let’s just call it now. You leave me alone, and once my sentence is up, you never have to see me again.”
I paused. “Just like you wanted.”
Then I turned and walked away.
I didn’t look back to see his face.
I didn’t have to.
I could feel it—
that same silence that used to come before everything fell apart.
Chapter 8
Seph, age 14
I could hear him strumming from across the yard — soft, imperfect chords that still somehow reached me through the night air.
