Page 32 of Lord of the Lock

“Hi, Lewis,” I muttered. He was swaying slightly. Still drunk then.

“I’ve…I’ve missed you,” he said. I reached for Finn’s hand again and gripped it harder than before. He’d been unusually silent for one so talkative and determined to protect me. It was time for me to use the fake boyfriend trick for it’s intended purpose.

“Finn, this is Lewis, my ex,” I started. “And Lewis, this is Finn. Finn is my-”

“Fiancé,” Finn cut across, reaching out one hand to shake Lewis’. “Lovely to meet you.”

Shit.Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

16

Chapter Sixteen - Finn

The words had tumbled from my mouth before I could take them back. My brain, already not the fastest worker in any situation, had fumbled through a couple of options when I realised the bastard stood in front of me was the one who’d made Nathan so miserable for so long.

The options rushing through that thick skull had come so quickly I couldn’t keep up. I could beat him into a pulp, which would be the most satisfying option and would see the bastard never look at Nathan again without remembering my fist crunching through his nose. I could intimidate him with words, which would maybe have the same effect. I had a good six inches of height on him as well as bulk and I bet he’d shit his pants if I so much as mentioned what I could do to him.

But I didn’t do either of those things. Because Nathan didn’t like men who did that kind of thing, and I never wanted him to be afraid of me. I never wanted him to see me use these fists to harm.

“Fiancé,” I said. And watched two faces fall in unison. Lewis took an immediate step back, and I felt Nathan’s grip on my hand loosen. “So we’ll just be on our way.”

It wasn’t until we were long out of sight and earshot of the smokers’ group that Nathan wrenched his hand from mine and stalked ahead of us. “I cannot believe you, Finn!”

“What?” I was dumbfounded. “I just thought, out of all the things…”

Nathan was lit from above by one of the street lights, my beautiful little man like a light in the darkness of my life. And he was furious with me. “Why the fuck did you have to go and make this more complicated?

“I just…I didn’t know what to say,” I said honestly. “And I didn’t want him in your head. I didn’t want him able…able to hurt you.”

“And you decided saying you were my fiancé was the best option?” Nathan asked. “The whole point of thefake boyfriendsthing was to get that kind of thing off my back, to make my life a little easier, and to give you a cover. And you just complicated it all to hell, didn’t you? All I had to do was introduce you as my boyfriend and that should’ve gotten him off my back.

“But…” I knew my excuse, and I knew it sounded pathetic. “I wanted it to sound more permanent.”

“But we aren’t permanent, are we? Much we might like that idea, just a little bit, this relationship is designed to fail once we’ve served our purpose to one another. And you just made breaking it off that much harder.”

Nathan turned away and walked out of the light, towards home. And I knew I’d done wrong. I wanted to make sure he got home safe and sound, wanted to know that he was OK. But that wasn’t the right thing to do, because Nathan needed me not to impose myself again. I’d fucked up. I’d fucked up bad.

I headed home slowly, willing myself not to cry. I managed to keep the tears from falling until I finally made it inside. The fridge was fully stocked with beers and I had a nice couple of bottles of wine in the cupboard. I could get through the night.

* * *

My head was pounding.Tap tap tap.Tap tap tap.I tried to swat the noise away but failed.Taptaptap. BANG BANG BANG.Then I realised the source of the noise, and remembered why my head hurt. The collection of bottles on the table was indication enough of the head pain and I could see the shadow in the front door from my position laying on the carpet. I pushed myself up from the floor - I’d fallen asleep cradling a bottle of red wine which was now staining the carpet. If Nathan was behind the door and saw me like this…

What the hell. He knows I’m pathetic anyway.I headed for the door, unlocked the chain and opened it.

“Oh, hi, Rhod,” I gestured him in. Despite the hangover pain in my head I was pretty sure I was still a little bit drunk.

Rhod looked up at me with disappointment in his eyes as he sidled past me and into the living room.

“Oh, fucking hell. What the fuck have you done, Finn?”

“Cuppa?” I offered. “Alexa, make me a coffee please. Double espresso, add some sugar. And some whiskey whilst you’re at it.” I swayed in place a bit and grabbed the sofa for support, suddenly worried I was going to be sick on it.

Rhod yanked on the curtains and I shielded myself from the sudden glare like a vampire. “What thefuck,Rhod? It’s Saturday,” I muttered.

“Yes, and you’re the idiot missing the first friendly match of the season because you’ve decided to drink yourself half to death,” Rhod replied, The worst thing was the lack of anger in his voice. He sounded just as resigned to the situation as I was. I wanted him to be angry at me. Someone else needed to be.

“Bad night,” I muttered as I tripped over the step into the kitchen to grab my coffee. My hand shook as I brought the mug to my lips and I managed to burn my tongue on the scalding hot coffee. “Shit.”

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