Page 38 of Finding Finn
“If I say no, you’ll be the first to know. And Marcus? Thank you.”
“You got it, kiddo.”
I hung up the phone and tried to make sense of what just happened. This would have been a… I mean, if this had happened when I was still in New York, I’d be dancing for joy. But now… I didn’t know how to feel.
My dream could continue. In a different way, but it was still Broadway, and my name would be up there with all of the creators. This was the kind of job that people dreamed about.
But what if my dream was here?
I loved Foggy Basin. Hell, I had even gotten used to my grandma house. It had a charm, and when he had time, Jim was going to take care of the most egregious parts. Besides, if things stayed the way they had been, I might not live in this house for very long. Things were moving so fast between us.
I had to say it. I had to see if he’d say it back, and if he didn’t…
I had forty-eight hours. But I knew where my heart was. How could I ever leave?
14
JIM
“Where are you? I’ve got your burger, and Finn is looking for you.” Buffy snapped as soon as I answered the phone.
“I… I can’t…” I started to sob.
“Where are you?”
“I’m home and I… don’t want you to tell… Finn.”
“Are you ok?”
“No… I don’t think… I am.” I managed to say between breaths.
“I’m on my way over. I’ll tell him I need to go do something.” She hung up, and I sat on my couch, curled up in a blanket as I thought about the conversation I had heard.
Marcus?
How could he even consider…
I thought we had something special. It was fast. I knew that. But my feelings were real.
I loved him. I realized that pretty quickly. But love and lust are so difficult to unwind when you’re basking in the joy of something like we had. It was maddening and enthralling andtook over every molecule inside. My universe had started to expand because of him.
I found Finn at the right time, and I thought he had also found himself here in our small town with me. He made it feel like he had.
Yet, there he was on the phone telling him that he would consider going back as if I meant absolutely nothing. As if this place and his job meant absolutely nothing to him.
He was cold and cunning.
He had made me believe, and now had crushed all of it into ashes with just a few words behind closed doors. Marcus? He said he hated him for what he had done. He cheated on him, and yet he was still taking his phone calls. He was thinking about going back to him? It made no sense. It was…
Broken. He fucking broke me. Something that no other man ever had done.
I sat in silence and wiped the tears as they fell. I fucking hated crying, and I hated crying over someone who didn’t deserve it. But the tears wouldn’t stop. My heart wouldn’t stop hurting, and all I could think about was why he would do this?
I heard Buffy’s door slam shut and her heels as she ran onto the porch. My door flew open and slammed behind her.
“Jim? What the fuck is going on?”
“I… Oh, Buffy. I…” The waterworks flooded, and all I could do was gasp and convulse.
