Page 97 of Heir of Fire
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her visit. It was last minute, and I wanted to get you over here, but something tells me you wouldn’t have wanted to otherwise,” Luna said.
“You’re right about that. I wasn’t prepared for this at all,” he said.
“I’m not expecting you to forgive me or to understand anything. Seeing you though, that is amazing. You’ve grown up so much since I last saw you.”
“I’ve changed a lot since you’ve last seen me.”
“Luna told me about some of it.”
“She sure loves to talk,” Finn said, rolling his eyes.
“Come on, I have to fill her in. You’re her son,” Luna said, throwing her hands up.
That he was. And being her son left him feeling so fucking unsure of where to go with their relationship. He wished there was a perfect way to approach these types of situations, but there wasn’t. It was up to him to make these decisions for himself, and it drove him wild.
He exhaled a long breath. “Listen, I can’t decide right now what is going to happen with our relationship, but I’m open to reconnecting. Slowly. Over time. It’s been a really long couple of weeks, and I need some time to clear my mind and think about everything before I can make any serious decisions.”
Eleanora nodded. “I understand completely. Whenever you feel comfortable, I’m here for you.”
Finn nodded his head, standing from the couch. “I’m going to head out. I’ll let you guys continue your lunch.”
“I’ll call you later, Finn,” Luna called out as he walked back to the front door.
He just waved his hand and walked out of the house, taking a long and deep breath. The walk back was necessary. He was exhausted, probably more than he had ever been in his life. First the shit with his father, and then his mother entering back into his life. These were the relationships in his life that weren’t supposed to be so complicated and yet they were.
He needed Gianna. She always knew what to say and how to handle these situations. He pulled out his phone, noticing there still wasn’t anything from her.
By the time he was in front of the home, he saw that Allister’s car was parked out front instead of the garage like he usually did. It was also done so haphazardly, as if he’d just pulled in and parked the car before he left it. In fact, the keys were still in the ignition, which was completely unlike Allister.
Immediate alarm filled his body. With hurried steps, he made his way to the front door that was also just thrown open. Finn looked everywhere, trying to find Gianna or Allister. The living room, kitchen, bathrooms, everything on the main level was empty. He ran up the stairs, finally hearing some life in the house coming from the room furthest down the hall: her room.
Finn ran in, looking around frantically to find that Gianna’s room was trashed. Mirrors were smashed, pictures were shattered, and Gianna sat on the floor crying her eyes out, nearly suffocating while Allister desperately tried to get her to breathe.
Finn immediately fell into action, pushing Allister out of the way as he looked at Gianna. She looked completely broken. More importantly, her face was red, and she was gasping for air.
“Gianna, princess, look at me, breathe,” he said, grabbing her shoulders and trying to shake her out of it.
It didn’t work. Fuck.
“Gianna. Fucking breathe,” Allister screamed from beside him.
Finn grabbed her cheeks, pushing her hair out from her face and started blowing air into her mouth. He traded off from her nose to her mouth, desperately trying to get her to suck in some air before she fucking harmed herself.
His heart beat frantically in his chest. The panic only grew when it didn’t work like it did before.
He rubbed at her throat, trying to do anything he could to just get her to breathe. “Come on, princess. Breathe for me. You can do it. I know you can.”
Finn blew air into her mouth once again, rubbing her throat and her back at the same time. Like some kind of miracle, she finally inhaled, coughing as she sucked in breaths of air. Her chest heaved and she looked stunned, but she was breathing.
What had only been less than a minute felt like a lifetime to Finn as he continued rubbing her back. He tried to regulate his own heartbeat, but that would take an eternity after what he just went through.
“You’re okay, princess,” he murmured into her ear. “Just keep breathing.”
“Finn,” she whispered, letting tears escape her eyes once more.
“Don’t work yourself up. Take it easy. Just breathe for now and then you can tell me what happened.”
She nodded, leaning her head against his chest. Finn sat there, holding her tighter than he had ever held her in his life. He looked over at Allister who looked completely drained. Physically and emotionally.
