I think back to the summer and how he worked out all the time in the gym behind his house and his increased focus on football and all the days Rose and Juliette came to the pool alone.
“I’ve never stopped thinking about you, Kenley. Not for a single day. My biggest regret is not asking you to that dance, because everything in the last three years would be different.”
My heart hammers in my chest, threatening to bust right though my rib cage. I’ve loved Finn since I was four years old. And here he is, telling me exactly what I’ve always wanted to hear, and it feels…wrong. Not just because of everything with Rose, but because of the new feelings I have for Ozzy. We’d almost kissed in the car, I know it, and I’d wanted him, too.
Just like I’d give anything for Finn to kiss me now.
I take a step back and unlatch his fingers from my jacket.
“I need to go.”
He frowns. “What?”
“I just…I need to go.”
I spin on my heel and take off in the dark, winding through the trail that leads back to where I parked my car. My nerves are shot and my mind whirls, so much information, so many secrets and, damn, a declaration from Finn.
Ezra was right about one thing, tonight was the night we all needed a drink.
24
Finn
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
I can’t believe I told Kenley all of that. It was a secret I’d kept for years. A secret I should have never told. Only a fucking idiot would willingly offer to get their heart torn out by the girl he’s secretly loved, and publicly treated like crap for years. There’s no doubt I’m an idiot.
I’m also not a creeper, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting her walk back to the car alone. Not with Rose’s disappearance. With everything we’ve uncovered, it’s looking more and more like she’d been hurt or taken. There are too many variables at play.
I follow a few steps behind and stick to the woods as she gets into her car. Once she drives away, I head back to the cottage. The guys are still inside. Ezra raises an eyebrow when I enter.
“She left. I was just making sure she got to the car safely.”
Ozzy nods. “Is she okay?”
“She feels guilty.”
“Join the club,” Ezra mutters, unscrewing the cap on the whiskey and taking a sip. He passes it to me and I swallow a gulp. It burns the hell out of my throat on the way down.
“Jesus.” I shake it off. “Can I see that dating site?”
Ozzy pulls out his phone, opens the app and hands it over.
“Your fake handle is Lolita Love?” I make a face.
“Whatever. I got hit on right away.”
“I bet.” I scroll through, looking it over. The idea is simple. Young girls, presumably eighteen and over, looking for older men for a particular kind of relationship. The situation varies depending on what people want. There are the creeps, who start with dick pics and escalate from there, but that’s not all. Some older guys seem to just want companionship—someone to have dinner with or go to the theater. Others have detailed plans of their expectations, including sex. All of them involve money.
“This whole thing is a clusterfuck,” I say. “I can’t believe Rose was on that site. I knew she had daddy issues—real ones—but to go seeking something like that?”
I’m not even sure where to begin processing how I feel about this. Embarrassed? A little. Inadequate? Sure, especially since we’d stopped fucking months ago, but that was mutual. With all the tension and distance, it felt off. But there’s something else that I feel. Worry and confusion. After all these years, it’s becoming clear that I didn’t know Rose very well at all.
“The