For Once In My Life (Stevens Book 2)

Chapter 2

Dana slept hard that night. She couldn't remember the last time that had happened. When she woke, it was to see a gray sky outside of her window. It was misting, but the rain wasn't heavy. She took in her surroundings. The room was a cheery yellow with white accents, and the old yellow pine floors added even more warmth.

She flexed her ankle and winced a little when she got out of bed, and testing it slowly, and found that she could hobble on it quite well. It was tender but not painful. She felt the bump on her head and figured as long as she didn't poke it she should be fine. She tried to remember the last day that she had woken up without pain and couldn't.

Her next thought was whether she should stay in her room or venture out to see what was going on in the rest of the house. Part of her wanted to stay where she was; she felt warm and secure because Marcus wouldn't be able to get to her if a Doctor couldn't.

A day without fear, her lips turned up in a slight smile at the thought, but the little voice in the back of her head said, "But what about tomorrow?" She shook it away and moved over to the closet. She remembered Bertie telling he the night before that she could use the clothes there. Lizzy, whoever she was, was about her size because the pajamas fit her well.

Pants were out of the question, so she looked in the closet and found a cute little green sundress.

She walked over to the mirror and took in her appearance, groaning at the sight she made. Her hair was a mess, and she had horrible circles under her eyes. She looked much older than her twenty-two years.

Dana rooted through Lizzy's stuff managing to find something to pull her hair back with when she noticed some old makeup, and she was deliberating if she should use it or not when there was an unexpected knock at the door making her jump.

"Who is it?" she called.

"It's Quinn, I came to see if I could help you down the stairs for breakfast."

Dana rose and limped over to the door, slowly opening it. "Thanks, but I think I can manage."

He gave her a warm smile. "Let's not risk it since I'm here." He turned his side to her and offered her his arm.

She blushed a little at the old-fashioned gesture but linked her arm through his. He was wearing the same shirt he had been wearing the night before, and she could feel the muscles in his forearms as he adjusted to take her arm.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you, and I would like to thank Lizzy, whoever she is, for the loan of her clothes and bed." Dana was curious to know who the woman was, but her manners held her back from asking outright.

"Lizzy would be my sister. She's about your age and size, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding something to wear."

Dana was forced to lean against him as they went down the stairs.

Since she had been worrying that she looked older than her age, she couldn't help but test her theory.

"How old would that be?"

"Lizzy? She would be about twenty-six or twenty- seven now."

Dana felt her spirits sink. He thought she was that close to thirty?

As if he could sense the change in her he stopped and looked at her. "Did I say something wrong?"

Dana looked up into his kind blue eyes and felt the tears begin to form. How long had it been since she had cried? How long since she had felt sorry for herself.

Then the floodgates opened, and she couldn't stop them.

He helped her to sit right there in the middle of the staircase, and he took her in his arms and just let her cry.