I laughed as I slid into the passenger seat of the white creeper van he was driving. “Thanks, you look good too.”
“Sorry,” he cringed as I slammed the door and he took off. “You just look…are you okay? Did someone hurt you?”
“Yes, but only with his words. The blood’s not mine.”
“Let me guess. Kane?”
“Yep,” I said, popping thep. Finn sighed and after a moment of silence I said, “thank you for coming to get me. I didn’t know who else to ask. I appreciate it more than you know.”
He smiled and patted my knee. I let out a sigh of relief as we traveled away from the mansion. I didn’t care where we were going, I was just happy to be going in the opposite direction.
“So uh, what happened? If you don’t mind me asking,” Finn said, glancing at me and focusing on the bloody dress I was wearing.
“I’m sure the entire school knows about it already. Noah decided to tell Kane that we’ve been fucking behind his back for months. I’ve never touched Noah, and I have no idea what possessed him to come up with that story, but I’m gonna fucking find out. And when I do, he’ll regret his entire existence.”
“Sheesh. And Kane believes him over you?”
“Of course he does. Noah’s hisbest friend. Little does he know, hisbest friendhas been fucking his baby sister since June. Don’t tell anyone.” So much for that plan of not telling Finn anything. Sorry, Gem.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“This whole night has been a shitshow. I just need to forget about everything for a while,” I sighed.
“I gotta stop home for a minute and change out of my work clothes. Then we can go to a late movie or something,” Finn said as he glanced down at his Fat Cats shirt.
“Isn’t that a biker bar?” I asked, feigning ignorance to see if he’d admit that it was.
Finn laughed and tousled his dirty blonde hair. “I guess it’s mostly occupied by bikers. My uncle owns it so I help out when I can.”
Oh. His uncle was tight with the Sinners.
“Cool. Um, do you mind if I use your bathroom and clean up a little? I should probably change my clothes too so people don’t think you tried to murder me,” I teased as we pulled up to a run-down, pea green trailer.
I’d never driven through Castle Grove Trailer Park, but the place was depressing. I had a feeling everyone living here had given up trying to make their homes look nice, or even maintain basic maintenance.
“Of course. Come on in,” he said, leading the way up the creaky front porch. There were no lights on inside and I didn’t want to be nosy and ask Finn about his mom. I’d heard rumors around school that she was a little flaky, but what parent wasn’t these days?
He flipped on a lamp once we walked in. The place was spotless and mostly bare. There was a single couch in the living room and a small bistro table with two chairs in the eat-in kitchen. The place was a little dated, but it smelled fresh and I didn’t see a speck of dirt or dust.
I suspected it was less that Finn’s mom was a neat freak and more of it being vacant most of the time.
My senses were tingling as Finn showed me the bathroom and left me toclean up.
I closed the door and changed as quickly as I could. I tugged on a tight pair of jeans and one of Mom’s Gilchrist Point University t-shirts. Ugh, I needed her right now. She would be disappointed in the decisions I’d made lately, but I know she would’ve had my back no matter what.
Although I was disappointed she left me with her awful husband.
Shaking all thoughts of Dad from my head, I grabbed my duffle bag and opened the bathroom door.
“Finn?” I called out. The door across the hall was shut, but the light peeking out indicated it was Finn’s room. I banged on the door a few times. “The bathroom’s free.”
“Okay, thanks!” He shouted.
“Do you mind if I get some water?”
The door swung open and Finn was standing there half-naked, wearing only a low-slung pair of jeans. His entire chest was covered in ink. “If there’s none in the fridge, you’ll have to use the sink.”
“That’s fine,” I said as I averted my eyes from his chest. Even though he was slim, he was ripped, and the ink that adorned his skin was a beautiful work of art.