Page 63 of Stay With Me

Finn stops walking. “Confused? I’ve been working with you for eight months now and you always know what to do. Is there anything I can do to help?”

I eye him for a moment. Heisdating Emily’s best friend and Shayna and Emily are about as similar as two peas in a pod. Maybe he can give some advice.

“Do you tell Shayna everything?” I ask.

“What do you mean? That sounds worrisome.” Finn chuckles nervously.

“I mean, if I talk to you about Emily, and it’s nothing that will hurt her, can I trust you not to share it with Shay? Because, believe me, those two keep very little from each other and I can’t risk Emily getting more upset with me.”

Finn smiles widely and any nervous tension that was on his face disappears. “Nah, that’s bro code stuff. I wouldn’t tell her those kinds of things if you ask me not to.”

“All right. Walk with me to the backyard so I know Garcia and Jones won’t overhear us. I don’t need their two cents.”

When Finn and I get out to the station’s outdoor area, we take a seat across from each other on the picnic table. I look around and realize it’s a gorgeous day out today. The sun is shining, the temperature is pleasant, and birds are chirping—a sure sign that summer is almost here. We’ve been so busy today I failed to appreciate how nice the day was until now.

“So, how do you figure out what you did wrong when you know Shayna is mad at you, but you aren’t sure what for?”

Finn cocks his head at me and narrows his eyes. “Well, sometimes I just ask her outright. But then if she says she’s fine or that nothing is wrong and I push, I risk making her angrier. So, there are times I just need to wait until she’s ready to tell me what’s bothering her. I’m guessing this is about Emily. Maybe she’s not even upset with you. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, and maybe I can give better advice.”

I sigh. I hate this as I’m not used to having to depend on someone else for help or input, but I’m really at a loss about the Emily situation right now. So, I spend the next ten minutes telling Finn about everything I can think of from the time Emily was last acting normal around me until now.

“So, do you think maybe she’s just busy and isn’t really mad or upset with me?” I ask, hopefully.

“Oh, no, man. She’s definitely at least upset, and maybe mad. And you’re positive you didn’t have a fight? Even a small one.”

I shake my head. “No fight. Things were literally great one minute and changed the next.”

“Well, in my experience, when women are giving me signals that something is wrong, they’re usually either angry at something I did or said—sometimes even something Ifailedto do or say—or they’re hurt or freaking out about something. If you’re pretty sure nothing happened to make Emily angry and it’s unlikely she’s freaking out, my bet is that something hurt her. You just need to figure out what it is.”

I run my hand through my hair, frustration mounting. “Why can’t she just fucking tell me? We’re friends. We should be able to tell each other if something’s bothering us.”

“That, brother, is where dealing with women stumps most of us. We process things differently. It’s what keeps things interesting, but also makes them confusing as hell sometimes.”

“So, if I’ve already asked her if she’s upset with me and she’s said no, I just have to wait her out until she’s ready to tell me what’s wrong?” God, I feel like I need to be taking notes on this.

“Pretty much. Though you could do a preemptive apology by telling her you’re sorry if you did something to make her angry or hurt. But only if you mean it.”

“Of course I would mean it. I’d never want to hurt her. And I have no idea what I might have done to make her mad. I don’t want to lose her friendship.”

“That’s good to hear, man. Just tell her that and then try to be patient with her.”

Before we can say anything else, our radio goes off, alerting us we have yetanotheremergency medical call. Finn throws his head back and sighs. “Geez, it’s just not gonna stop today, is it?”

We both rise from the picnic table and head to the garage to get back in the ambulance. “Nope. Doesn’t look like it will.”

When we get into the ambulance, I start the engine and pull out of the garage. I turn to Finn. “Hey, man, thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime.”

I reach across my seat and pat him on the shoulder. Then I flip the lights and sirens on and we’re off to the races again.

CHAPTER25

EMILY

“What in the actual hell?” Shayna says to me and Annie as we peer out the window of the party bus at the scene unfolding before our eyes.

“Don’t they hate each other?” Annie asks, innocently.

---