The Sullivan Sisters

Bootless Bravery

Warm winds traveled through the air, signaling the swiftly approaching Summer season. Quinn groaned in annoyance, the breeze making it infinitely more difficult to hang the dwindling stack of flyers that rested in her arms.

As the days trudged on, Siberia still failed to inform the Sullivans of her whereabouts thus resulting in Quinn's incessant worrying. Although she failed to locate the dog on her own, she hoped that the community could aid her in the quest.

Quinn bit her lip as she studied the flyer, the dog's oceanic blue eye sparkled even on the dull, white paper while the other, a warm and inviting brown, reminded the girl of the husky's sweet personality.

Once Paloma nudged her gently, Quinn tore herself from her reminiscent thoughts and looked up towards the woman.

"Almost done?"

Quinn nodded. "Almost."

They walked along the sidewalk, their eyes straining as they lost the battle against the sun's bright rays. At first, only the windchimes that whistled through the breeze, the soft melodic tune produced by the birds, and the faint giggles of children could be heard through the quiet neighborhood until Paloma disturbed the ambiance.

"Maybe Charlie's seen her around," she cautiously started. "Did you ask him about it? I mean, have you guys—"

"Don't wanna talk about it," came Quinn's simple response.

Paloma let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. "I wish for once you'd listen to me and just talk to him."

The redhead simply continued walking, her gaze remaining straight ahead, fixed on nothing in particular. At that moment, Paloma was instantly reminded of her sister's stubbornness.

"Listen—"

"We've already talked about this, Paloma. You're acting just like mom." She glanced at her sister while wearing an expression that was completely condescending. "Stop."

Paloma gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes once more, even so, she heeded her sister's request by dropping the topic. For now.

"Well, if you don't wanna talk about Charlie, then what do you wanna talk about?" she huffed.

"How about Ava?" Once the name fell from Quinn's lips and slithered into Paloma's ears, the woman sent the girl a side-eyed glare. Quinn let out a soft chuckle at this. "Not so much fun on the receiving in is it?"

The redhead stopped and nailed yet another flyer to a nearby tree. "We don't have to talk, I just wanna get these up."

"No, you know what? We can talk. As a matter of fact, we can talk about Ava. You know why?"

Quinn ambled on, ignoring the brunette's question entirely.

"Because I'm a grown ass woman who can actually talk about things without ignoring them like a child."

The teenager immediately picked up on the accusation in her sister's declaration. She scoffed her response and allowed Paloma to continue.

Paloma opened her mouth to speak, however, after a moment she realized she didn't have any words to set free. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about the other woman, especially considering they saw one another on a daily basis, however, now that she was put on the spot, or put herself on the spot rather, she didn't know what to say about her and Ava but most of all, she realized there really wasn't a 'her and Ava' at all.

"Well?" Quinn coaxed.

The elder Sullivan but her lip. "Well, we haven't talked, obviously, and...it's really awkward sitting only a few feet away from her without saying anything or addressing the massive elephant in the room. Things are tense, extremely tense, and she ignores me completely, not that I've really tried speaking to her but..." she trailed off.