by Bella Jewel
Indi yells that out loud enough half the neighborhood can hear it.
“Finn!” she cries again. “Finn!”
She’s screaming now, like a frantic woman. I slip out of Erin, bellowing in a fucking angry tone that I’m coming, and I cup Erin’s face, looking into her eyes, “Will make this up to you, babe. Fuckin’ promise.”
“It’s okay. I hope everything is okay.”
She looks pissed, but her voice is calm and she’s keeping it together. A whole lot better than I will be if I find out Indi is fucking lying to me right now. I can’t deal with much more of her. Got a strong fucking feeling that this is a ploy to get me out of Erin, and back inside. If she thinks her little fucking games are going to work, that I’m going to magically rush to her and we can live happily ever after, she’s sadly mistaken.
“Call you later,” I murmur, pressing my lips to Erin’s.
Then I do up my jeans and walk toward the door.
It doesn’t slip my knowledge that Indi is staring at Erin’s car, not at me.
She sure as shit doesn’t look like she’s in agony.
The moment she looks to me, she drops to her knees.
Fuck me.
Shit around here goes from bad to worse.
21
ERIN
“No way,” Ellie says, eyes wide. “Are you serious?”
“Yep, I can almost guarantee she was watching us. The second we started, you know … fucking, she was there, screaming and carrying on. There is something wrong with her, something seriously wrong. It’s actually concerning now.”
“Maybe you should go back and check on Finn, I’m starting to think she’s off her rocker,” Ellie worries, biting her bottom lip.
Ellie knows the worst of the people in this world, so it isn’t surprising she can see the evil where we can, think of the situations that are alarming where as we would probably overlook them.
“I have to agree with Ellie,” Shania says, crossing her legs on my sofa. “It’s not normal, honey. It’s scary to think what lengths she might go to …”
“I think she’s actually mentally unwell,” Lucy adds in.
“Do you think I should call Finn?” I ask them.
“Fuck yes.” Shania nods. “Call him, make sure he’s okay.”
I pull out my phone and find Finn’s number and dial. It goes straight to voicemail. I can’t help the uncomfortable feeling that swells in my gut. Is he okay? Maybe he’s just at the hospital and he’s got his phone turned off. Maybe we’re all looking at this a little too deeply.
“It’s off,” I tell them. “He’s probably at the hospital, right?”
Ellie is the first to nod, because she’ll always try to protect me, no matter what. The other two don’t look so convinced, and that worries me. Ellie is going to say whatever she thinks will make me feel better, whereas the other two are going to tell me the truth, no matter how cold or how hard. That leaves me with only one, horrible thought, what if something has happened?
Am I overreacting? It’s possible. I feel like I’m overreacting.
He’s probably just sitting at the hospital with her and everything is fine.
Still, something from the start of this has bothered me, and it’s continuing to bother me.
“I think you should swing by his place, if I’m being totally honest,” Shania tells me. “Something just seems off. If everything is fine, at least you’ll feel better.”
“I agree,” Lucy nods.
“I’ll come with you,” Ellie tells me.
“Okay, you’re right, I need to have peace of mind. I don’t trust Indi, not as far as I could kick her. I’ll feel a whole lot better knowing everything is okay.”
“Let’s go,” Ellie tells me.
“I’m coming, too!” Lucy says, standing.
“I have to head home, Nicolai is dropping Tommy off soon,” Shania tells us. “Let me know how it goes, okay?”
We all nod and head out to my car. Once we’re all in and we’ve said goodbye to Shania, we make the drive to Finn’s house. Nobody says a great deal as we drive, because honestly, what is there to say? Everyone is thinking the same thing. Indi is unstable, and it’s worrying what she could possibly be capable of.
That or we’re all looking too much into this, and there is nothing wrong.
She could be telling the truth. And we’re all making her look like a monster.
Either way, I need to know.
Because my gut doesn’t feel right, and I don’t like that, not for a single second.
“Have you looked any further into Indi and her pregnancy?” Lucy asks me, finally breaking the silence.
“No, just the hospital. I did make Finn promise to look into it, and he agreed. Which was comforting. He feels off about it, too. But he’s hardly going to tell her she’s a liar, just in case she’s actually not.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Ellie agrees. “Imagine being Indi, if she was actually telling the truth.”
“Yeah, which is why I’m trying really hard to not overthink it and threaten her into getting the hell away from Finn before I gouge her eyeballs out.”
Lucy laughs. “Brutal, Erin.”
“I don’t like liars, but mostly, I don’t like women who lie about things like that to get men to do what they want. It’s not normal, not normal at all.”
“Well,” Ellie says, staring out the window, “I guess we’re about to find out.”
“Do you think he’ll be there?” Lucy asks.
I frown, staring out the window.
I have no idea.
Literally, no damned idea.
That’s probably the scariest part.
~*~*~*~
There’s no one home.
The whole house is locked up, lights out even though it’s daytime.
Maybe Indi really was having problems with the baby we all don’t believe in, and maybe we’ve been wrong all along. What if she truly does have something going on, and they’re still at the hospital? What if it’s really bad? Still, I would have thought Finn would have called to update, unless he couldn’t.
I don’t know.
I don’t know what to think.
“I’m going around the back,” Lucy says.
“What do you think you’ll find there?” I ask her.
“Just making sure. Something doesn’t feel right, you’re right about that.”
“You look around back, I’ll try Finn again,” I tell her.
“I’ll call Slater,” Ellie adds in. “Maybe he knows where he might be. Maybe he’s been called into work or something.”
“Maybe,” I murmur, pulling out my phone and dialing Finn.
This time, it rings.
Then the call is rejected.
Confused, I go to call it again, and it goes straight to voicemail.
It was on, I got hung up on, and then the phone was immediately turned off.
My stomach twists.
That’s not Finn. He wouldn’t hang up on me.
If he was in the middle of something major, he wouldn’t have even turned the phone on, he’d be so wrapped up in it. If he turned his phone on, then he would have probably shot me a quick text message. Which makes me think he doesn’t have his phone. I grit my teeth and turn to Ellie. “It was on, but someone rejected the call. Now it’s off again.”
“That’s strange,” Ellie murmurs, pulling out her phone to call Slater.
“Hey,” she says to him when he answers.
She listens for a moment, smiles softly, and then says, “Miss you, too. Listen, I was just calling about Finn. Have you seen or heard from him?”
She nods, and then asks, “What time?”
She listens some more.
“That is strange. We’re at his house, but he isn’t here. Last time we heard he was at the hospital with Indi, or at least, he was heading there. No one can get hold of him now, so it’s strange you got that message.”
What message?
Has Slater heard fro
m him?
“Yeah, doesn’t sound right,” Ellie says. “I’ll talk to Erin and call you back. Let me know if you hear from him.”
She turns and whispers something, laughs, and then hangs up, turning to me. “Slater said he received a message this morning, very very early, saying Finn was at the hospital with Indi, she was bleeding, and then he was taking her home once they were done. That he was really really worried about her. Slater said it made no sense, because he knows Finn doesn’t talk like that, nor does he want much to do with Indi. So that seems strange.”
“Like it wasn’t sent by him?” I question.
“Yeah, exactly,” Ellie says. “Other than that, they haven’t heard anything more.”
“And also,” I point out, “why would Finn send them a message, and not me? He wouldn’t. We got along so well last night, he told me he’d let me know, he wouldn’t send Slater a text and not me. Something is wrong.”
“Yeah,” Ellie agrees. “I think you might be right.”
“Nothing around there, the house is fully locked up,” Lucy says, appearing at the front again. “There are a few lights on inside, but they’re upstairs, I can’t see them. Probably left them on. Did you two have any luck?”
“Slater got a weird message this morning that he said sounded nothing like Finn,” Ellie says, “so we’re thinking it’s possible Indi has his phone.”
“Why would she have his phone?” Lucy questions. “He wouldn’t just give it to her.”
“Maybe she convinced him to go to her place and he fell asleep?” Ellie suggests, always trying to be the voice of reason.
“We could check her place out,” Lucy suggests.
“Yeah, we will go there next,” I agree. “This all feels very strange.”
“If she went to a hospital, I’m assuming she would have gone to the closest one, the one she claimed to have a sonogram at,” Lucy says. “We could check to see if she’s there.”
“Yeah, you call them, I’ll call Lincoln and Damon, check if they’ve heard anything,” I tell her.
“I’ll wait in the car, we’ll go check Indi’s place out,” Ellie says, giving me a comforting smile and reaching over, squeezing my shoulder. “I’m sure he’s fine, and we’re the ones overreacting.”
But she’s wrong.
I can tell in her eyes, even she’s second guessing it now.
Indi has done something, what I don’t know … but she’s not stable, and I should have said more to Finn. Shouldn’t have left him there with her. I pull out my phone, exhaling slowly, and I call Damon and Lincoln.
They both got the same message.
Damon said it was for sure not Finn, because it sounded very feminine. But he figured maybe Indi had just taken Finn’s phone, without him knowing, and was being dramatic. He never considered it to be any sort of foul play. But when I explain it all further to him, he agrees and says he’ll meet us at Indi’s apartment, to help us find out if Finn is okay.
We all pile back into the car, none of us saying a great deal, because what is there to say.
We’re either completely off, or we’re right on the money. If we’re wrong, we’ll only look concerned, but if we’re right, we could be getting to Finn in time, because if Indi is capable of doing something crazy, god only knows what she might do. I’m not risking it. I’ll find him, no matter what. I’ll make sure that Indi does not bother him again. I should have trusted my gut, now we’re on a damned man hunt.
She could have done anything.
She could be anywhere.
Or it could be innocent.
Either way, something isn’t right.
He isn’t here, and the whole situation feels wrong.
Where the hell are you, Finn Knight?
22
FINN
24 hours earlier
I turn and glare at Indi, praying for her sake that she’s fucking telling the truth about this bleeding, because fuck knows, if she isn’t, I’m going to lose my mind. She’s already pushing on my last nerve, and after talking to Erin tonight and realizing that maybe, just fucking maybe, I’m not the only one who is suspicious about the whole thing, it’s even harder to have patience with her.
I look back to where Erin’s car was parked and think of how fucking good it felt to be inside her again. Stopping was, without a doubt, the most self-control I’ve ever had to muster up in my entire life. I don’t know how I did it, but fuck, I know it wasn’t easy. So, not only didn’t I get to finish up with Erin, I have a hysterical woman standing at my front door, who screamed so loudly the whole fucking street probably heard.
I take a deep breath, some pathetic attempt at finding calm, when god knows I don’t have any left. I walk up toward Indi who has miraculously stopped crying. She’s watching me, eyes puffy, tear-streaked cheeks, and her bottom lip is trembling. Jesus Christ, I do feel a little sorry for her, because if she’s faking this, then there must be something seriously fucking wrong inside her to make her act the way she’s acting.
A hard past.
Some sort of challenge that is mentally affecting her.
Can’t judge anyone for mental illness, but I will judge her for lying to me.
Done nothing to deserve that.
Been nice to her from day one.
“What’s goin’ on?” I mutter, crossing my arms when I reach her. “Was it necessary to carry on the way you just fuckin’ did?”
“I’m here, in pain, lonely, and you’re out there, having sex!”
Fuck me.
I had a feeling this wasn’t about the baby.
“Tell me you didn’t fuckin’ call me back in here because you got angry that I was with Erin. How many fuckin’ times do I have to tell you, whatever it is you want between us, will never happen? I’m with her. I want her. I’m supportin’ you because it’s the right thing to do, it has nothin’ to do with wantin’ to be with you, Indi. Because I don’t.”
Her eyes flash with something, and if I didn’t know better, I would say it’s desperation. Pure desperation. Like she just can’t handle the fact that I’m not giving in to her, that whatever twisted fucking plan she has in her head, isn’t working. Just because she’s pregnant doesn’t mean her and I are going to go off and live happily ever after.
It ain’t going to happen.
“Does this baby mean nothing to you?” she cries.
“Fuck me,” I growl. “You can’t put that shit on me, Indi. You fuckin’ have no right to. You know how I feel about this situation, and I’m doin’ the best I can to fuckin’ be there for you the best I know how.”
She softens, just a touch. “I know you’re trying, but I’m scared, Finn.”
Cue the tears again.
“I’m so scared, and I don’t want to do it alone.”
Now she’s crying.
Fuck me.
I reach out and pat her shoulder. “I told you you’re not goin’ to do it alone, and I meant that, but my personal life has nothin’ to do with you, Indi. Not a fuckin’ thing.”
“Erin hates me, of course it does. She doesn’t want me here. She doesn’t want me to have your baby. She’s making up lies about me!”
“Erin hasn’t said a fuckin’ word about you.”
That’s not true, she has, but it has only been words of concern, nothing horrible or mean. She’s been more supportive toward me than most girls would.
“That’s because she knows you’ll get angry, she’s trying to look like she is okay with it, but she’s jealous. I know she doesn’t believe I’m pregnant.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes I don’t either.”
She gasps, pressing a hand to her chest, and the tears fall harder. Fuck me, either she’s really a good actor, or she genuinely is hurt and I’m being a dick right about now. The time has come for her to prove it to me properly. I don’t feel right about it, so if she’s really pregnant and she wants my full support, she needs to be willing to let me come to the doctor with her and get the confirmation.
&nbs
p; “You haven’t made it easy for me to believe you,” I say to her when she continues to cry and shake her head, muttering something about me being an asshole.
“I don’t deserve this!” she cries. “I don’t deserve it.”
Fuck.
“Listen, you gotta understand it from my point of view. If you want my full support, then let me come to the appointment with you tomorrow. Let me hear the doctor confirm it. Then, and only then, will I give you my full support.”
She blinks at me, sniffling. “What is it you don’t believe? I showed you the test. Are you honestly serious in saying you think I could be faking it! This isn’t you talking, Finn. It’s Erin.”
“No, Indi, it’s fuckin’ me. Now, you either agree, or you can go back to your house and we’ll go our separate ways until I have my proof, which will be you getting rounder.”
She grits her teeth and clenches her jaw, but snaps out, “Fine, Finn. I have no issue with you coming to the doctor with me tomorrow. But tonight, I want to stay at my sister’s house.”
She has a fucking sister?
Since when?
“Never knew you had a sister?”
“She’s married and she’s away on vacation at the moment, but she said I can use her house whenever I need, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay there to clear my head. You can pick me up and take me to my appointment tomorrow.”
I grit my teeth. I need to be calm about this. For everyone’s sakes.
“Okay, fine, go and grab your things and I’ll take you over there now.”
She nods, turning and walking inside.
I gather the keys, thankful I didn’t drink any more than two beers. If Erin didn’t distract me with her gorgeous fucking ass, I would have had more, and that would have meant Indi had to stay another night. I’m more than happy to take her to her sister’s house, because it means I get a night off. I need a fucking night off. More than anything. Might even go finish what I started with Erin.
“I’m ready.”
I turn and see Indi standing with a small bag in her hands, not all her things, so she’s serious about only staying a damned night.
I nod and we both go out and get into my car. She gives me directions, but other than that, neither of us says anything. Not really much to say, if I’m being honest. She’s pissed at me, and I’ve had enough. The drive is silent, just the way I like it.