The sun's bright rays made its presence known once the rain, produced by the spring season, dispersed along with the dark clouds that covered the sky. Paloma's raven hair unfolded in the wind as she shut her car door and made the short journey up the driveway.

It wasn't until she heard a vehicle pull up behind her that she snapped her gaze away from the front door of her home. Her inquisitive expression dispersed once Ava killed the ignition and stepped out of the car.

Paloma expunged an exasperated sigh before rolling her eyes and quickly turning her key in the deadbolt as fast as her hands would allow. She gripped the doorknob and immediately stepped inside, despite her hasty movements, Ava still managed to prevent the brunette from closing the door in her face as she originally planned.

Ava struggled with the door while Paloma continued to lean against it, effectively keeping the redhead out.

"Really, Paloma? Can we not act like children?" Ava huffed.

"Ehh." The brunette shrugged. "I don't really have a problem with it."

The other woman peeked through the small crevice between the door and the frame and eyed Paloma earnestly. "Come on."

Once she realized the brunette still made no effort to let her in, she cocked her eyebrow. "Don't forget, I have a key to your place. I'll just end up getting in either way."

Paloma mentally cursed herself as she settled her gaze elsewhere. After several torturous moments, she lifted herself from the entrance, finally granting Ava access.

She marched into the kitchen before tossing her keys onto the counter along with a white paper bag with a red and yellow logo that read: Wilfred's Burgers and Shakes.

While a part of Paloma was still angry with Wilfred for firing Quinn, she had to admit, he made pretty damn good food and she simply couldn't pass it up, not with it being right down the street.

"Why are you here?" she deadpanned.

"You haven't been returning any of my calls, I had to make sure you weren't dead." Ava bit her lip, despite her cautious demeanor, the woman still had a playfulness about her.

The small chuckle she produced was instantly shut down the second Paloma scoffed and turned to face her, her hands resting on her hips.

"Yeah, I haven't been returning your calls for a reason," the brunette promptly retorted. "My silence wasn't an invitation for you to come on over."

Ava merely exhaled while a knot formed in her belly at the sound of Paloma's affirmation.

"Besides, I'm sure Sandra's waiting for you. You don't wanna be away from your girl too long." Paloma ripped open the paper bag that rested on the counter and reached in, snatching some french fries from the bottom before cramming them into her mouth. She cocked her eyebrow condescendingly as she chewed quietly.

"She's not my girl, alright?"

"You sure about that? Babe, who's that?" Paloma mocked with the wave of her hands. "Those were your words."

The mahogany-haired woman tensed her jaw and breathed softly through her nose. "That was just talk, okay? It's casual."

"It's not casual," the brunette challenged. "With you, it's never casual. You're an all in kind of person. I knew it would turn into this," she whispered.

A crimson tint spread over Ava's fair-skinned cheeks and Paloma instantly recognized the anger and frustration apparent in her expression. "Why the hell do you care so much?"

Paloma fought not to raise her voice, but she failed miserably. "Why do I care? Because you—." For a moment, she cut herself off, allowing the silence to linger between them.

Once Ava raised an eyebrow and motioned for the brunette to continue, she did just that.

"...Because that's how you were with me." Paloma swallowed thickly. "You claim the two of you are nothing, but..." She allowed her words to trail off as she shifted on her feet, her gaze focused on the kitchen floor.

"You're not that kind of person, Paloma. The kind that settles down, the kind that gets serious or gives a shit about anyone else," Ava muttered. "You wouldn't be that kind of person. Not with me, not with Sandra—."

Paloma's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. "Excuse me? I tried to be that way with you but the second I didn't give you exactly what you wanted, you left." Her chocolate hair swayed side to side as she shook her head. "And you have no idea what Sandra and I's relationship was like."

"Actually, I kinda do," Ava assured. "She told me."

"Please," the brunette crossed her arms over her chest and laughed, "enlighten me."

Ava chuckled as she spoke, nevertheless, the edge that was apparent in her tone didn't go unnoticed by Paloma. "Well, she said you were only interested in sex. She said every time she tried to get close, you wouldn't let her. She told me she broke things off because the relationship wasn't going anywhere and you must not have cared because you didn't go after her."

Paloma opened her mouth to speak but once she realized she didn't have any words to set free, she pressed her lips together and tangled her fingers in her hair.

"Okay, fine, that happened," she mustered out.

Ava nodded, her nonchalant expression proving her lack of surprise. "Why?" she scoffed. "I mean, why do you feel the need to treat people like that? Everything Sandra told me just confirmed what I already knew: you only want sex. It makes me wonder, is that all I was to you?"

The brunette vigorously shook her head in astonishment. "Of course not!"

"The more I get to know you the more I'm convinced you're just a complete asshole."

"I'm not!" Paloma promised. "Sandra's making me out to be some kind of a prick. I told her from the start that I didn't want anything serious and she agreed, probably with the plans of changing my mind, changing me. She was getting too close and I was suffocating, yes, that's right, but it wasn't my fault. I never lead people on, I let them know from the start. I tell them what I want so there's no gray areas, no confusion. How the hell does that make me an asshole, huh?" She studied Ava intently, waiting for her to conjure up another argument, she was ready to strike it down. "And...it wasn't like that with you."

Ava snapped her eyes to Paloma's. "Yes, it was, it was the exact same."

"...Do you seriously think that?"

The other woman merely shrugged her shoulders in response.

Paloma's lips instantly curved into a vicious snarl. "God, you're so infuriating," she whispered. "Just because I didn't do things when you wanted me to doesn't mean I didn't love you! Just because I didn't say it, doesn't mean I didn't feel it, alright? I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone in my entire life, our relationship was nothing like it was with Sandra. With Sandra, I didn't care, maybe I should've, but I didn't. She didn't deserve that, I agree, but it's not like she wasn't warned. It was casual and I was immature, I admit that, but that was before you. Me and you, it wasn't the same with us. It wasn't, okay? I loved you...I still do."

For a moment, the women just stood in silence, allowing the heavily weighted words to linger between them. It was Ava that eventually ripped through the quiet, "You have no right to do that," she hissed.

Paloma narrowed her eyes. "Do what?"

"Tell me this now!"

"Ava, what the hell are you talking about?" the brunette roared, her mouth agape. "I've been practically screaming this at you ever since you broke up with me!"

"Yeah, but it's different now. Now I can tell...you actually mean it."

The exasperation that was apparent in Paloma's face slowly dispersed at the sound of Ava's words.

"So...let's do something about it, about this," Paloma pleaded. She didn't raise her voice above a nearly soundless whisper in fear of breaking the small bit of placidity that finally came to fruition. Paloma bit her lip and eyed Ava carefully as she stepped forward, leaving little space between them. "Break things off with Sandra, it can just be us, like before, but better."

"No," Ava countered. She snatched her hands away before the woman could grab ahold of them. She quickly stepped back and tore her gaze away from Paloma's. She knew that if she looked into those moonlike, mesmerizing, milk chocolate eyes any longer, she'd quickly drown in them and abandon any and all sense of logic, being instantaneously dragged back into the emotional whirlpool that was Paloma.
"I can't do that to Sandra, it's not fair."

Paloma's lips parted, Ava's conviction filled words nearly startling her. "You know what's not fair? Being with her even though you love me. That's not fair."

"I can't," came Ava's simple response.

"You can." Paloma nodded. "...But you won't." She let out a sarcastic chuckle, her eyes quickly spun around in her skull as she did so. "You don't have the balls. You'd rather live a lie and commit to a relationship filled with mediocrity than just be with the person you love."

"I don't wanna hurt her," Ava corrected. "She's a good person, she deserves better. Believe it or not, I don't like hurting people...I'm not you."

"Do you think that's who I am? It's not. I know what I want and unlike you, I'm finally not afraid to go after it. You're the one that called me out on that, remember? When I wouldn't say it, when I wouldn't tell you I loved you back, you said it was because I was afraid and you weren't. So, what, now you're afraid?"

"Of course I am!" Ava snapped. " The way our relationship was, I wasn't happy. How the hell am I supposed to know things aren't just gonna go back to the way they were? "

Paloma extended her arm and allowed her palm to fall open in hopes that the redhead would take her hand into her own."You're just gonna have to trust me."

Ava gritted her teeth in frustration, and shook her head, dismissing the other woman's gesture entirely. "It's not that easy."

Paloma let her arm drop to her side, hitting her thigh with a loud clap. "It is that easy. You can do whatever you want, it's your choice. Not Sandra's..." her soothing voice lingered in the air as she slowly approached Ava. "Not mine...it's yours. So, what do you want?"

The redhead bit the inside of her cheek as the woman's pleading gaze gingerly met hers. Despite the space between them, she could practically feel Paloma's delicate lips against her own. The intensity of it all nearly made Ava buckle, but she shook her head in attempts to gather her thoughts.

"I'm not just gonna dump Sandra," she declared.

Paloma steeped back, the glimmer of hope in her eyes dwindled away into nothingness once the disheartening words slithered into her ears. "I knew it," she growled, her voice low and firm. "It's not casual, it's more than that. A hell of a lot more."

"...Paloma—."

"If it was casual, you wouldn't consider it dumping her, it'd be you ending your fling. This isn't that. If it was nothing, like you said, you wouldn't care. But, you care, right?" The oldest Sullivan searched Ava's eyes while she coaxed her for an answer. "So, it's not casual."

Ava met her assertion with silence.

Paloma scoffed, "So, you're gonna keep seeing her? My ex? And you call me the asshole?" she barked. "I thought there was a code, I thought we didn't do that kind of shit to each other."

"She's hardly your ex," Ava surmised. "According to her, throughout the entirety of your relationship, you guys barely left your bedroom."

"So, that justifies it?" Paloma chuckled. "Do you know how unbelievable you sound right now? What happened to I wouldn't do shit to hurt you? Well, this, you being with her, you choosing her over me, it's hurting me."

"You're the one that made things go south, Paloma. Stop acting like such a victim. What, did you think I was just gonna wait around for you forever? Following you around like a lost puppy praying that one day you'd feel the same way about me? No, not anymore. I did that shit for two years, don't you dare ask me to go back."

Paloma relaxed her tense posture and let out a bitter laugh, as a result, Ava trudged on, "And you can't lay claim on Sandra or anyone else for that matter and especially not on me," she growled through clenched teeth.

The brunette crossed her arms over her chest, the modest smile she wore perplexed Ava entirely, even so, she maintained her hardened appearance.

"You know," Paloma began, "I was fine with things being the way they were, us just being friends. I was fine being the way I was...not caring. But you made me care then you left because I wasn't who you wanted me to be. You've known me for years, I told you who I was, I showed you, but still, you waited until I was wrapped around your finger before you ran. You shit on everything we had just because one day, suddenly you decided the way I was...it wasn't good enough."

Her breathing grew rapid as her fierce gaze bored into Ava's, she looked her up and down one final time before expelling a laugh that lacked even an inkling of amusement. "So, fuck you," she sneered. "I don't even know why you came here. Get out. Go with Sandra, live your life of mediocrity."

Ava narrowed her eyes, her nose crinkling at Paloma's command. She drew her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it softly. She let out a vitriolic chuckle as she settled her gaze on the woman across from her.

The second she picked up on the grim look plastered on Paloma's face she tore a baby blue housekey from her ring of keys and slammed it on the table. "You got it." Ava turned on her on heels, her white knuckles turned a dark shade of red as she squeezed her fist tightly.

Paloma gritted her teeth and watched silently while Ava plodded out of the home, the house rumbled violently as she slammed the door and Paloma was almost certain it would come off the hinges.

The brunette ripped her gaze from the door and snatched the white, paper bag off the counter. She stomped her way into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

She scooped the television remote off the coffee table and clicked the tv on before ripping open the paper bag once more and yanking out a cheeseburger.

Paloma quickly tore into it with her teeth, tearing through the beef instantly. Her features transformed into a scowl once the cold food assaulted her tongue, her appetite suddenly vanished. She scoffed and tossed the meal back into the bag before slouching down on the cushion and resting her eyes on the television screen across from her.

Her expression softened at the sight of the words The Golden Girl's plastered on the screen. She couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across her lips once the theme song began to replace the tense air around her, however, the second her eyes retreated to the bag of fast food that sat near her, her somber features returned to her face.

After a moment, she tossed the remote onto the coffee table and sprung from the couch just before dashing her way up the staircase.

She approached Quinn's bedroom door and gently tapped her knuckles against the entrance.

"Hey, kiddo, can I come in?" Paloma queried.

"Sure," came the girl's simple response.

The brunette gripped the handle and stepped inside, the drawn shades made it difficult for her to see, nevertheless, the lamp that stood near the bed produced just enough light for her to make out her surroundings.

Her gaze traveled throughout the room, starting with the overabundance of books that were stacked on Quinn's bedside table before darting to the empty candy wrappers that were sprawled out on the bed.

Siberia rested her head on Quinn's knee, she blinked her eyes rapidly while she fought sleep. The woman couldn't help but grin, the once small puppy was already almost fully grown. Her large size became apparent as she stretched out, taking up over half of the bed.

Paloma produced a sympathetic smile once her eyes fell on the girl. Quinn's unruly hair spilled over onto the shoulders of her hot pink onesie, one lone earbud sat in her right ear while the other hung loosely, swaying side to side before kissing her thigh and finally coming to a halt.

Quinn wore a serious expression as her eyes scanned the words within the lengthy book that rested in her lap while she sat Indian style at the head of her bed. Her thick-rimmed glasses sat perched at the tip of her nose while she leaned forward, obviously infatuated with the novel before her.

Paloma shut the bedroom door and climbed onto the bed, sitting mere inches away from the redhead, the plethora of candy wrappers crunched beneath her.

She chuckled as she pulled a lone Twizzler from the nearly empty package and snaked it into her mouth. The strawberry licorice began to tickle her tastebuds shortly after. "Where'd you get all this candy?"

"Store," Quinn replied, her eyes never leaving her book.

Paloma giggled softly, "Are you trying to slip into a diabetic coma?"

Quinn met the woman's question with silence.

The brunette pressed on, "And all the books?"

"Library."

"Well, maybe you could put the books down and the two of us could grab some dinner. Perhaps eat some real food, some that hold actual nutritional value."

Quinn shook her head. "Not hungry."

Paloma playfully rolled her eyes as a chuckle escaped her lips, "Have you forgotten how to speak in full sentences?"

"Nope," the girl assured as she turned the page.

The woman's lighthearted smile slowly dwindled away, her earnest expression returning. "You know...I went to Wilfred's diner today."

Quinn's eyes instantly locked on her sister's, but only for a moment. She shrugged her shoulders, forcing a nonchalant appearance to return to her face, her gaze retreating back to the book that rested in her lap. "Okay."

"Wilfred told me something, something that happened...with you and Charlie." Paloma drew her eyebrows in as she attempted to gauge the girl's reaction, however, Quinn remained expressionless. "You guys broke up?" she questioned softly.

"Yeah, it was a few days ago."

Paloma sank in defeat, although she was pretty sure Wilfred wouldn't relay the disheartening information to her unless he was absolutely certain, she was still hoping he was wrong. She nudged the teenager gently, her eyes studying her intently. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just didn't."

"Well, are you okay?" Paloma scooted closer to the girl and extended her arms, however, when Quinn made no attempt to accept the embrace, she reluctantly rested her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Quinn assured.

The woman pursed her lips and exhaled softly through her nose. "Did you guys break up because of Wilfred?"

Quinn sighed and lifted the book, bringing it closer to her eyes. "No."

"Are you sure? Did he say something else to you? Did he do something?"

"No," the redhead mumbled, the bite in her tone didn't go unnoticed by her sister.

Paloma placed her hand on the girl's book, blocking the words from Quinn's sight before shutting it and pulling it into her own lap. Surprisingly, the teenager didn't object, nevertheless, she still wouldn't meet the woman's gaze. "...Then what happened? Come on, talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about. We were together, now we're not. End of discussion."

"Not end of discussion," Paloma's challenging words contrasted with her gentle tone. "Something obviously happened, I mean, this is kinda outta nowhere." She made herself comfortable on the bed before tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Just walk me through it."

"Okay." Quinn nodded. "We were together, then we weren't, now I'm here. That's it, that's the extent of it. Hope you enjoyed the walkthrough." She quickly reached out in attempts to regain custody of her book but Paloma's reflexes proved to be faster as she extended her arm, keeping the novel out of Quinn's reach.

"Come on, Quinn, seriously. There had to be a reason he broke things off. Let me help you figure this out."

Quinn narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "What? No, he didn't break up with me."

Paloma cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean? Wilfred said, you guys—."

"I broke up with him," Quinn corrected.

The woman's lips parted, her eyes widening in disbelief. She was nearly muted entirely by the redhead's admission, but after a moment, she found the strength to speak, "Why?"

"Because," was Quinn's only response.

"Because why?" Paloma coaxed, her eyes looking her sister up and down.

The girl merely ran her fingers through her hair, ignoring the question entirely.

"Did he try something?" the brunette theorized. "Did he, maybe want you to do something you weren't comfortable with?"

"What?" Quinn scoffed. "No."

"Are you sure? Because if he did, I swear I'll—."

"No need to whip out your threats, Paloma. Charlie didn't do anything," Quinn quickly asserted. "You know he's not like that."

"...Okay." Paloma nodded her head slowly, a small wave of relief rippled through her. "If he didn't do anything then why'd you dump him?"

Quinn busied herself by twiddling her thumbs, allowing her silence to serve as her response.

"Quinn," Paloma whined. "Tell me." She gave the teenager's knee a gentle squeeze. "Please."

"Why do you wanna know? Why does it matter? It's already done," Quinn snapped. "Besides, you're not exactly my go-to person for relationship advice."

Paloma tensed her jaw, nevertheless she ignored the teenager's snarky response. "I wanna know because I care about you two. Charlie's a good kid and he was good for you, really good. And I know you loved him, something must've happened. You wouldn't just break up with him out of nowhere."

"Paloma, just drop it," Quinn demanded sternly. "Alright?"

The woman recognized the stubbornness that was apparent in Quinn's features, even so, she couldn't bring herself to respect the girl's wishes, not when she was sure something was wrong. "Look, I know a thing or two about making really, really stupid mistakes and hurting people that don't deserve it. And I especially know about regretting all of those stupid decisions later. I just wanna make sure this isn't that."

Quinn massaged her temples. "It's not."

Paloma pressed her lips together, obviously unconvinced. "Maybe not. Just talk to me, explain, prove me wrong. You always help me with my shit with Ava, let me help you. I mean, I'm your experienced and, might I add, wise older sister. This is what I'm here for."

The redhead released a frustrated sigh, "I don't need help." Paloma opened her mouth to object, by Quinn beat her to the punch. "I help you because you want help. When you ask me to back off, I always immediately back off. So, please, grant me the same courtesy."

"Even when you do need help or something's up, you never tell me," the brunette pointed out. "I should've known something was wrong. You've been acting so quiet and reserved and weird." She cursed her own lack of awareness and wondered how she didn't put the pieces together sooner.

"Paloma, it's not a big deal, don't make it into one. I don't even care, I'm over it."

"You're over it?" The brunette cocked her eyebrow in disbelief. "You're definitely not over it."

"Just stop, you don't know anything."

"I know a lot, actually," Paloma corrected. "Don't forget, I've known you your entire life. Look around, you're practically sitting in the dark with all this candy and a gigantic stack of books. If this isn't a depressed environment, I don't know what is. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you're gonna need something a bit stronger than books and sweets to forget whatever happened."

"That's not what I'm doing," Quinn hissed. "I'm not you, I don't need to mope around or try to win him back."

"You're a hell of a lot more like me than you care to admit," Paloma retorted. "And I know talking about it helps, even if you think it won't."

"And if I don't then, what, you're gonna send me back to a shrink?" Quinn starred daggers into her sister's eyes.

"No, of course not, I just—."

"Paloma, I don't wanna talk about it," Quinn declared, her words quiet yet sincere. "Don't make me." She took her sister's unguarded state to her advantage by regaining custody of her book before Paloma could object.

The oldest Sullivan observed the somber look apparent in the girl's eyes and while she was completely perplexed and longed to help her through the difficult situation, she knew that pushing her any further was simply not an option. "Okay...I get it. But, if you change your mind—."

"I won't."

"But if you do," Paloma started up again, "you know where to find me."

Quinn granted the woman a tightlipped smile before cramming her buds back into her ears, the music filling her cochleas while she resumed her earnest expression, her eyes dancing across the words on the page.

The brunette gave Quinn's shoulder a firm, reassuring squeeze before lifting herself from the bed and making her way out of the bedroom.

Paloma stepped into the hallway and pulled the door to a close before pressing her back against it and resting her head. She exhaled heavily at the desolation that was practically radiating off of the girl. The feeling was abundantly familiar to Paloma because as much as it killed her to admit, she felt it too.

I know this chapter was obnoxiously long and I'm so sorry about that. In the future, I'll try to be a bit franker and to the point.

Also, I don't typically ask this but I was just wondering if there was anything (person or event) in particular you guys would be interested in seeing. Or do you kinda like the element of surprise? Don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of things lined up that's coming for this book in the future, but if you have any requests or suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Thanks for reading! 🤗