Love Unspoken

Quinn's lips moved, but she had no clue what to say.

For a sec, she didn't know if she should be relieved that she could hand over the info to him without a hitch or be pissed that he said Alexander wouldn't come back and just kick him out. They locked eyes, and the office's fluorescent light was kinda harsh, making it tough for Quinn to see Walter's face clearly.

After a beat, she said nothing and just walked past him, leaving the office.

Kyle, who'd been waiting outside, was almost dozing off. Hearing footsteps, he snapped awake from the couch, rubbed his eyes, and ran towards Quinn.

"Mrs. Kennedy, you done for the day?" he asked.

Quinn nodded.

Kyle trailed her downstairs and drove her home.

He'd been swamped all day, juggling all the company stuff. He really didn't have the time to slowly teach Quinn; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten her an assistant.

In the car, he carefully brought up the Walter situation with Quinn. After all, it was partly his idea to use Walter, and he was worried Quinn might blame him.

"I know," Quinn replied coolly, 'cause she had already seen it coming. She told Kyle, "Let's not stress about that for now."

As for the future, they'd deal with it when it came.

Just 'cause she didn't get these things now didn't mean she never would. Her time was tight, and she needed to get up to speed fast.

"That's good," Kyle said, secretly letting out a sigh of relief as he focused on driving.

As the night wore on, there were barely any people on the road.

Most of the shops on the street were closed, with just a few late-night snack joints still open.

The day's hustle and bustle had faded, leaving only desolation and trash everywhere.

Freya was sweeping the street, holding a broom and sweeping along. Peanut followed behind her, carrying a small nylon bag.

When Freya saw a bottle on the ground, she'd bend down to pick it up and put it in the bag.

When there were too many bottles for Peanut to carry, he'd drag the bag on the ground. The bag made scraping sounds as the bottles inside clinked together.

At first, Freya would wear a mask, but now she seemed to have given up. No matter how dirty the bottles in the trash were, she'd pick them up with her hands. This was something that neither she nor anyone else could have imagined three years ago.

But she had no choice; she couldn't find any other job. Whenever she felt like she couldn't go on, she'd look back at Peanut.

Peanut was so well-behaved and obedient. No matter how menial her job was, he still followed her closely. He didn't look down on her, so what right did she have to look down on Peanut? Although Peanut had intellectual disabilities, after watching Freya pick up bottles for a long time, he'd run over to pick up bottles whenever he saw them and clumsily put them in the bag. Freya was afraid he'd get lost, so she'd look back from time to time.

When she looked back, she saw him lying at the mouth of a storm drain, reaching out to pick up a bottle from the gutter and then carefully putting it in the bag. It seemed less like he was picking up a bottle but more like he had found a treasure.

At this sight, Freya's eyes couldn't help but get a little teary.