Page 36 of The Moment Promised

As much as I wish things were different, I know my mom would protect me. No matter what. If Jason ever hurt me the way he does her, we’d be out of here.

I just wish she had the same courtesy for herself.

11

NOW

Waking up from a nap in the middle of the afternoon is always so disorienting. I blink my eyes several times, urging myself to fully wake up. I dig around my sheets, searching for my phone—found it.

I rub the sleep from my eyes, the brightness from the screen causes them to ache. I have three missed calls and a single text message from Finn that reads,I’m coming over.

I look at the time the text was sent—over an hour ago.

Shit.

Static buzzes through my head as I sit up, panic consumes me as I check his location.

He never comes to my house, what if there’s an emergency?

If he made it here, he would’ve woken me up.

What if he got in a car accid—will this stupid thing load already?!

I throw my phone across the room, my thoughts all over the place. I push off the bed and barge into the hallway, but I don’t get more than three feet before I pause.

My hand flies up to my chest in relief as I overlook the living room. Their voices ease my worry.

“Mom… Finn?” I ask, slowly creeping down the stairs.

“Hey, puffin, you’re awake!” My mom sips something from a mug.

I immediately imagine my appearance, not having the chance to look in a mirror. I self-consciously bring my hand to my face, pretending to scratch my cheek.

“We figured we’d let you sleep,” Finn says, smiling up at me from the sofa. He holds a mug in his hand too.

Fury builds rapidly in my chest, burning me from the inside out. My eyes ping pong between the mug in Finn’s hand and the mug in my mother’s. Why the hell would Finn think drinking with my mom would be a good idea?

“Would you like some tea?” My mother stands, setting her mug on the coffee table and walking into the kitchen.

Oh.

I follow her, rounding the corner and audibly gasping at the difference.

My kitchen isclean.

Like…spotless.

I slowly turn my head, watching Finn mindlessly sip tea in my living room. Did he do all of this?

I lower my voice, so only my mom can hear, “What happened in here?”

My mom gives me a confused look. She laughs under her breath. “Finn brought some groceries over for us.” She lowers her voice like mine. She grins, pulling a bag of Hershey Kisses out from a grocery bag. “Look!”

I swallow.

My favorite candy.

“What else did he bring?” I ask, a little stunned from the last three minutes of waking up.

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