Page 89 of Rules in Love
My hurt was mirrored back to me in the watery blue pools that studied me as he nodded and did just that. “Goodnight, Scarlett.”
I closed the door, collapsed against it, and cried. Judging by the thud I heard on the other side, I was pretty sure he did the same.
Finn
Thump!
The dull thud of my giant, stupid head smacking and sliding down the door ended my night. I remained on Scarlett’s stoop, awake and hoping she’d come down, until two a.m. After that, I either fell asleep or succumbed to hypothermia and dreamed of Scarlett’s warm breath tickling my cheek as she pressed her lips to my temple.“I love you, Finn. Come to bed.”
I woke at four with a blanket covering my freezing body and a thermos of hot cocoa resting at my feet.Maybe that kiss wasn’t a dream?At six, I gave up and left, the question of who had taken pity on me unanswered. If it wasn’t Scar, perhaps Teddy had discovered me on his way home, or Mrs. Horowitz spotted me on one of her regular curtain twitches.
Converse in hand and a possibly permanent crick in my neck, I snuck into the house, quiet as a church mouse but with none of its agility.
“You slut!” Nate was alone in the kitchen, smugly smirking with my copy ofPride and Prejudicein one hand and scratching his head with the other. He seemed confused as he turned the page and returned to reading. Being the bigger man, I ignored the slut-shaming and went for his intelligence instead.
“It’s called a book, Nate. It has lots of words and tells a story. Some even have pictures.”
“Yes, I am familiar with the concept. What I don’t get is how a girl that clearly has you so twisted that you’ve begun collecting and reading Austen is the same girl you treated like shit in my company last night.”
I threw my keys on the table and sauntered to the fridge. “I didn’t treat her like shit!” I argued, grabbing the milk. “Well, I did a bit, I guess… But Scarlett will forgive me. I think.”
“You think? Nate’s eyebrows met his hairline. ”You doing the walk of shame at dawn implies you already made up.”
“We did a bit. But not fully.”
“So, where are you creeping in from?”
Not wanting to answer, I delayed as long as I could, checking that Evie was nowhere in sight and taking a hearty mouthful straight from the carton.
“She wouldn’t let me in, so I slept on her doorstep.”
Nate clenched his eyes shut and scratched at his neck. “Jesus, Finn.”
“What? I thought she’d come back down. Waiting for forgiveness on her doorstep seemed romantic, but then I fell asleep and woke up with a cat licking my face. She did bring me hot cocoa and a blanket, so she can’t be too pissed. And I’m sure she’ll wake up and see I didn’t mean to hurt her. I was just trying to be respectful.”
“Respectful? Respectful to who? Pretending you’re not in a relationship with someone you apparently love doesn’t seem very respectful.”
“Isn’t it obvious? To you and to Shelby. I didn’t want to make you feel awkward by flaunting Scarlett in your face.”
“For fuck’s sake Finn. Shelby’s been gone over seven years, and while I miss her every day and always will, do you really think I—or she, for that matter—would want you to grieve forever? You deserve to be happy, to have a life of your own outside of the amazing one you’ve built for Iris. We all do.”
“But—”
“But nothing. You made Shelby happy her whole life. Those last few months were precious to us all, but you have to move on. Be young, have fun, have sex. Fall in love!”
I had no comeback. Another milk swig drew the ire of Evie, who walked in mid-gulp. Naturally, she punched me in the gut and took the carton from my hand. Nate laughed. I wanted to, but the predatory way he watched Evie strut in her sleep shorts and tank top made my skin crawl.
“I heard the words fun, sex, and love,” she quipped, looking directly at Nate. “Do I want to know what you’re talking about?”
“We were talking about Finn and Scarlett and no one else,” Nate snapped with a shake of his head. Further skin-shriveling uncomfortableness was caused by Evie mouthing,“What?”and shrugging. My hackles were up. Steam fogged the glass splashback as the kettle boiled. Nate took it from the stovetop and began shuffling around behind me. I watched as he made Evie a cup of tea without asking and precisely as she liked it, two sugars and flooded with milk. The milk she handed him with a lingering, twisting, almost flirtatious ticking of fingers. He then passed her the bread without looking. It was oddly intimate. They didn’t say a word but knew the very thing the other wanted.
Puzzle pieces began sliding together. The weekly emails Nate had been sending my sister. His premature trip to the States and Evie knowing about it before I, his best mate, did. Pushing me out of the way to sit next to her at dinner, ordering her food and her favorite drinks. And her joyful insistence and enthusiasm to play tour guide so I wouldn’t miss any work. Evie was rarely enthusiastic. Joy was almost unheard of.
Then, she dropped her spoon. In unison, they bent, clunking heads and giggling nose to nose, hovering over it before Nate picked it up without shifting his eyes from her smile.What the actual fuck?
“Oh, my God. You fucked my sister!!”
Evie squealed, leapt to the bench, and started buttering toast as though nothing had happened. Nate gulped, huffed out a sigh, and cautiously approached with his hands outstretched, calmly waving me down like I was a man whose vest was strapped with bombs. “Finn. Mate—”
