Page 106 of Until Then

And, perhaps the best comment of all, is from a verified account with more than fifty thousand likes on it alone.

@LUX: Good to see you back. Don’t let the haters win. Muah.

My phone clatters to the floor, and dumbstruck, I blink at Finneas.

Laughing, he claps, and I swear he’s bouncing in his seat. “Looks like my girl is no longer canceled.”

“I…” My stomach twists in an unexpected way. “I thought it was going to be like the last time I posted.”

“People have moved on,” he says with a dismissive shrug. “Far worse stuff has happened since then.”

I don’t ask because I don’t want to know. “I… even Lux commented.”

“I know.” He reaches offscreen, then brings an iced coffee to his lips. “Lux must’ve felt horrible about the hate you got. A few days after your last post, when people were still being dicks, she made a post calling them out.”

My throat tightens, making it hard to speak. “I didn’t know.”

After that incident, I locked myself out of my apps to help quell the temptation to look.

“Looks like you’re back, girl. If you want to be, that is.”

“I want to be,” I say carefully, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

Finneas visibly cringes again at the state of my nails, pulling a laugh from me.

“I’m not sure how I want to go about it, though. My content is going to change, and people might hate that but?—”

“But your devoted followers will stick around,” he interrupts. “You’d be surprised by how many people follow your account because ofyourather than what you’re doing.”

A wave of gratitude for this man swells inside me. “Thanks, Finneas.”

“I’m really going to miss you.”

My chest pangs with sadness. “Me, too, but we’ll still see each other. Bestie vacations, right?”

“You bet. And Jordan and I will come in the fall.”

“Please!”

“I better go,” he says, tapping his fingers on his desk. “And you, little missy, need to get yourself to the nail salon.”

I roll my eyes. “I will.”

“Today. I’ll be waiting for pictures.”

“Fine,” I groan. “I’ll see if Via wants to go.”

“And if she doesn’t”—he wags a finger at me—“then you go anyway.”

With a mock salute, I say, “You bet.”

“Talk to you later.” Finneas blows me a kiss, and then he’s gone.

My heart aches just a little as I log out of the video chat browser. As happy as I am with my decision to move here permanently, I am sad to be leaving him. He’s one of the good ones.

With a cleansing inhale, I snatch my phone from the floor. Then I shoot Via a text about getting our nails done. Since Reid is with Derrick and Layla—headed out to see the property and talk about Derrick’s plans for it, as well as get their blessing to sell the house, since it’s where they were raised—Via might actually be available.

Via: Sure, I can go.

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