Page 30 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Finn
Ryan was back, and he’d kissed me, he’dsleptwith me, and he’d said that he wanted to be mine. I should have been happy. But I wasn’t. I mean, yes, for the most part, I was fuckingecstaticat some of the events of the past day, but beyond all that, I could tell that something wasn’t right. And it wasn’tjustbecause the man I loved had turned up with bruises all over his body. Oh yeah, I knew why he wanted the lights off—and it made me furious. Not at Ryan, but the man who’d put him in that position.
What kind of persondidthat?
But that wasn’t all. Something else was bothering Ryan. I simply couldn’t figure out what. And I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I was, once again, messing up band practice—much to the displeasure of my band mates. I could hear Zed groan already, and it didn’t take long for my friend to call for a break.
But it was Lowen who spoke up first. “Is this how you're going to be playing our show next week?”
I put my guitar aside, frustrated. “I'm trying, okay?”
“Well, try harder,” Lowen muttered, laying his drum sticks down. He was usually a lot more patient than that, but he got nervous before shows.
I let my head drop like a school boy in front of the principal. “I'm sorry.”
“It'll be fine,” Zed said, taking my arm. “Come outside with me.”
I did, even thoughoutsidewas kind of cold lately. We were only a few days away from winter solstice after all.
Zed closed the door behind us and turned to me. “Tell me what's going on? You went to Ryan's yesterday, didn't you?”
“I did.”
“Aren't you glad that he's made it home safe?”
“Of course I am!” I said a bit too forcefully, as Zed's eyebrows shot up.Calm down, Finn. He's your friend and there's no reason for you to unload your frustration on him.Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. “I'm sorry. Yes, I'm glad he's back. But Zed, you should have seen him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, remember that time he told us he walked into a door? Pretty sure it wasn't a door this time.” Instinctively, I balled my hands into fists at the thought of what--who--had covered Ryan in bruises.
“Is it bad?” Zed asked, putting his hand on my arm as if trying to comfort me. I wasn't the one hurt.
“Kind of. Yeah. I can't stand seeing him like that.”
“No, it must be difficult. I'm sorry I didn't believe you last time.”
I shook my head. “Forget about that.” I was never one to get hung up on the past. “It's enough if you believe me now.”
“I do.” He squeezed my arm. “You think it's his boyfriend doing this to him?”
“Yes, he told me he was with his boyfriend.” I looked up. “He's also told me he broke up with the guy.”
Zed's lips curved up. ”Well, that's good to hear.”
I smiled. “Yeah. I mean, I'm sorry it didn't work out for him and that his boyfriend was such an asshole, but...”
“But now it's your turn?”
“Exactly.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I feel like I shouldn't be glad that Ryan's relationship is over, but yeah. I can't help it. I actually spent last night at his place.”
Zed raised one eyebrow at me, his grin growing a little bigger. “Did you...?”
“Yeah.” I grinned back at my friend. “Twice!”
“Good for you!” Zed lightly punched my arm. “So is that what's distracting you from practice? Thoughts of last night?”
“Not exactly.” Although those thoughts did enter my mind every now and then. No lies. Ryan was on my mind in one way or another pretty much all the time. “I just feel like he's not really happy. Like he pretends to be, but something's bothering him.”
