The Sullivan Sisters

The Thing About Sorrys

"Where does this go?"

After lugging the last of the myriad of boxes into the living room, Paloma rose to her full height and whipped her head around to face Ava who held up a large brown box. The brunette took a stride in Ava's direction then peeped inside. In the end, she gestured towards the staircase.

"That's Quinn's. You can take it up to her room." A benevolent smile etched its way onto Paloma's lips. "I really appreciate you doing this by the way."

Matching her friend's expression, Ava waved her off. "Don't mention it. I'm happy to help."

After recent events, Paloma decided that it'd be good to go forward with buying the house that she had been looking at. Although at first, purchasing the home was just a thought, it soon became a necessity.

She couldn't stand being in her old bedroom (or anywhere in that apartment, for that matter) knowing what happened there. And while she really wanted Quinn to check the place out before she made the life-altering decision, it'd been weeks and the redhead had yet to abandon her title as the world's most tenacious holder of grudges.

By merely jogging down the staircase, Ava lulled Paloma out of her dreadful thoughts. The brunette grimaced. "Did she bite your head off?"

"Surprisingly, no. I mean, she's not saying much, but..."

Paloma gritted her teeth then allowed a huff of air to breeze past her lips. "So, she's just being a bitch to me. Fantastic." After plopping down on the couch, she wielded a box cutter and skillfully tore open the seal on a nearby box. She shot Ava a sarcastic grin. "And the best part is, now that we're living in this huge house, she can ignore me a lot more efficiently and with far greater ease."

That elicited an immediate chuckle out of Ava. "Come on, Paloma. She's just mad. She's giving you a hard time but eventually, she'll come around."

Paloma grudgingly proceeded with her task, ignoring the gentle squeeze Ava offered her shoulder. As mundane as it was, Paloma appreciated what little thought the chore required being that it allotted her the opportunity to ponder other things. It wasn't until recently that she realized, in addition to holding grudges, her sister became a master at completely ignoring people or, at the very least, herself.

After all, how else would it be possible that she could manage to uphold the silent treatment each time Paloma asked about her day, invited her to spend time together, and even begged her to give some sort of indication that things between them would eventually get better?

"Will she, though?" Paloma couldn't appear convinced even if she tried. "Come around? I mean..." She snickered but every bone in her body lacked amusement. "I don't know. It's been weeks and she's still so pissed at me. We've had fights when we were younger but this is something else entirely. She's not a little kid anymore. These days, an ice cream cone and a hug will get me a black eye." Ava couldn't help but chuckle at this but Paloma maintained her earnestness all the way. "Seriously, I don't know if she'll ever get over it."

The moment Paloma dropped her head and gaze respectively, an empathetic frown forced its way onto Ava's face. "Scooch," she demanded. Paloma did as she was told, leaving just enough space for the other woman to occupy the spot next to her. After, Ava relieved Paloma of the box cutter and set it aside.

"Look," she said tenderly. "Even if for some insane reason, Quinn never gets over it, which she will, you did the right thing. No matter what, you have to know that. What you did, it shows that you're a decent parent that actually cares. She's the one at fault. But she's a kid and kids make mistakes. Right now, she's upset with you, yeah, but she's fifteen. Don't you remember being that age? You and I both know that that pretty much makes a teenage-girl a bitch by definition." Paloma instantly giggled at this and, subsequently, Ava did, too. "Just, don't lose your shit over this. Okay?"