Spider Quinn 03: Comes Great Responsibility - Part 2

 Jane knocked on Daria’s door.

 

“Come in,” Daria said.

 

Jane entered and saw that her friend was still in her PJs and reading a book on her bed. “Daria?”

 

Daria got up and went and hugged Jane, Jane was surprised, and then hugged back.

 

 

They then both sat on the bed. “I don’t know what to say,” Jane said.

 

“That you’re here is enough,” Daria said. “It was so sudden. Like, he wasn’t the best father in the world, but he was my father. If only I had spent more time with him. I’m going to miss his cluelessness. The time spent reading the paper together and just him being there. What I’m not going to miss is his rants about his own father.”

 

Jane shrugged. “At least he was here. Not like mine, who only comes to Lawndale very infrequently.”

 

“True,” Daria said. She paused and breathed deeply, “I’m more concerned about Quinn, than myself or my mother.”

 

“How so?” Jane asked.

 

“She blames herself. Dad had gone to pick her up from a date.”

 

“I see.”

 

Daria was then silent for a while.

 

 

“Stacy!” Stacy’s mother said as she came into the room.

 

“Mom?” Stacy asked after seeing the serious look on her mother’s face.

 

“Something terrible has happened. Quinn’s father was the victim of last nights shooting.”

 

“Oh no!” Stacy said, her eyes full of tears.

 

“That was her mother on the phone. Quinn is blaming herself. She needs her friends.”

 

“Of course,” Stacy said. “I’ll go there now!”

 

 

While Stacy headed to the Morgendorffer’s, a similar conversation was happening at the Griffin’s.

 

“I’ll go now,” Sandi said.

 

“Very good, Sandi. Help Quinn.”

 

As she left the room, Linda realised that she didn’t know what she would do if she lost Tom.

 

 

Stacy rang the doorbell, and Helen answered the door. “Oh, thank you, Stacy. I’m quite beside myself about her. As if losing Jakey wasn’t enough.”

 

“I’ll go right up.”

 

 

Quinn heard the knocking on the door. “Go away!” she said, barely lifting her head from the sheets.

 

“Quinn! It’s Stacy!” her friend’s concerned voice said.

 

Quinn rushed to the door.

 

“Oh sorry, Stacy. I thought it was Mom or Daria!”

 

“It was your Mom who called me,” Stacy said as she sat on a chair and closed the door.

 

“But it was my fault, Stacy!” Quinn said. “If I had talked to him more after that spider bite, he wouldn’t have wanted to drive me last night!”

 

“Quinn, you’re not at fault. It was that guy who is at fault!” Stacy said.

 

“That’s what Daria said,” Quinn said quietly.

 

“I’m here now. You can talk to me. I’ll try to keep it together, for you.’

 

“Thanks, Stacy,” Quinn said, as she started crying again.

 

There was another knock at the door.

 

“Who’s that?” Quinn asked.

 

“Sandi,” came the answer.

 

“Let her in,” Quinn said.

 

“Are you sure?” Stacy whispered.

 

Quinn nodded.

 

 

Stacy opened the door. She saw that Sandi didn’t have her usual haughty look about her.

 

“I’m here for Quinn,” Sandi said sincerely.

 

“Come in,” Stacy said. “I think she needs both of us.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened,” Sandi said as she entered.

 

“Thanks,” Quinn said.

 

 

They were quiet for a while. Tiffany didn’t come, because Helen had forgotten her in her own grief.

 

 

After Sandi had gone up to Quinn’s room, Helen called her older sister, Rita.

 

Rita was shocked to hear that Jake had died. “I’ll get to Lawndale as soon as possible,” she said.

 

“Just let me tell Mother,” Helen said.

 

“Of course,” Rita said.

 

“I’ll hold you to that.”

 

 

After calling Rita, Helen called her other sister, Amy.

 

“I’m afraid that I can’t get to Lawndale until later this week,” Amy said. “Otherwise I would have been there today.”

 

“That’s alright,” Helen said.

 

“It will take that long to organise replacements for my lectures.”

 

“At least Eric was understanding.”

 

“How so?” Amy asked.

 

“He offered bereavement leave right away.”

 

“He probably knows that you wouldn’t be at your best right now.”

 

“True,” Helen considered.

 

 

Jane was watching Daria write something on her computer when Helen entered and held out the cordless phone. “Aunt Amy would like to talk to you,” she said.

 

“Sure,” Daria said as she took the phone.

 

 

“How are you holding up?” Amy asked her favorite niece.

 

“I’m still shocked.”

 

“Understandable. It took until the funeral to accept it when my father passed.”

 

“But I’m sure that you were well into adulthood,” Daria said.

 

“That’s true, but I don’t think one’s age matters, a sudden death still hits hard.”