"[color=FFE63D]I'm—[/color]"

Quinn cut herself off. She looked up at Besca next to her almost as though she was afraid she'd disappear, then back down to Doctor Follen. "[color=FFE63D]I—[/color]"

His smile made her feel safe. His office made her feel safe. They were both so warm and so comforting, and all the pictures were so happy, even if the smiles made the wound in her heart peel open that much more.

She tried again. Her voice was thin and reedy, and she couldn't clear her throat because it hurt too much. She wondered if she should smile. She wondered if she could smile. She tried. She couldn't. "[color=FFE63D]I'm...I'm okay, I guess.[/color]"

He was nice. He was really nice. His green eyes made her feel—they didn't make her feel good, but they made her feel just a little bit better.

She sniffled. "[color=FFE63D]My...my body—everything hurts, it all hurts. I can't—can't walk on my own, Besca helped me.[/color]" She opened her mouth again, then closed it. Why was he so nice to her?

He reminded her of Besca. Or of Safie. The word bounced around in her head like an echo chamber. [i]Safie. Safie. Safie.[/i]

"[color=FFE63D]And—[/color]" she choked up, tears suddenly streaming from her eye again as she pressed her hands against her face, hiding the sound of her crying. She needed to stop crying. "[color=FFE63D]And—[/color]" Besca's hand was still on her shoulder. Her warm hand, her caring hand. A minute or so passed, and the sobs faded again. She dropped her hands, staring at them, at the wetness of one and the dryness of the other.

[i]Why?[/i]

"[color=FFE63D]A—and Besca said someone put something on my back by mistake, but—[/color]" She was crying again. "[color=FFE63D]But she said she'd fix it, and she—[/color]"

[i]Why were they all so nice to her?[/i]

She was bent nearly double now, sucking breaths in through her teeth. Deep breaths in and out, fighting to keep her muffled voice from breaking again. "[color=FFE63D]She said she—she would m—make it all okay![/color]"