Page 43 of When The Rain Falls

If eyes were capable of murder, Finn would be a double felon right now.

152AM FRIEND

FINN

I swearthe fucking shoes have it out for me.

I grumble as I bend down to grab the pink sneaker laying carelessly in the middle of the bottom step. I nearly tripped on the goddamn thing.

My gaze sweeps the entryway and I curse at the sea of sneakers littering my floor. Not just sneakers. Flats. Flip flops. Slippers.

Where the fuck do they all come from?

I collect the mess of footwear and begin to organize it in the shoe cubby by the front door. The shoe cubby I bought. For this very purpose.

"Egyptian night is such a lame theme." I hear Ruby's voice on the stairs.

"They should have let us vote instead of letting the class president pick it," Julie agrees. "Ezekiel has no taste."

"What even is Egyptian nights? Mummies? Dead people? Gross," Ruby adds.

"Did you do your homework?" I spin around and point a black flip flop at Ruby like it's a stick up.

"Yeah, Dad,” she says in a tone that very much suggests that I should shut up and go to hell. Joke's on her, because I'm alreadythere. I think about the way Aimee swung her long leg over that damn motorcycle. I swear I caught a glimpse of light blue panties as she did. I should not be thinking about Aimee's panties. I should not be thinking about anyone's panties. I bet she did it on purpose. To torture me. Then there was the milky white of her thighs as she slid down the wall. Right in front of where I was growing embarrassingly and obscenely hard for her.

Like I said. I'm in hell. Because no matter how loudly my body screams for more of Aimee, I know it’s lying. That if I act on it, my body will betray me all over again. I’m not going to letthathappen.

I study Ruby sternly. The older she gets, the less affect myDad eyeshave on her. I’m nearly out of parenting hacks. When she needed me for things I had so much more power.

“Really?” I ask. Judging by the way she and Julie have been talking about homecoming for the past three hours, I smell bullshit about the homework.

"Well, yeah, mostly.” She gives me the most apathetic shrug imaginable.

"Ruby, I don’t monitor your phone use anymore. Don’t make me have to change that.” I put my hands on my hips. It’s a gesture that makes me feel in control. Even though my life is actually spinning into a chaotic, black abyss.

"We're barely on our phones." Ruby rolls her eyes just as Julie's phone vibrates in her hand. Julie looks sheepish.

"Yeah, I can see that,” I mutter. I turn to walk down the hallway. Until I hear Julie's voice cut across the room.

"Hi, Aimee." I stop walking and pause. What is the little devil up to now? The devil in the light blue panties. Stop it, Finn. Stop thinking about panties.

"I don't know." Julie glances out the window. "All the lights are off. He's probably asleep. But Mom will be done with worksoon." I turn around and study Julie. I bite the inside of my cheek.Is something wrong?

"What's going on?" I ask.

"I don't know. Uber?" Julie offers into her phone.

"Julie," I say louder, to get her attention. "What's going on?"

"She wants a ride." Julie shrugs.

"Where is she?"

"Where are you?" Julie asks into her phone before looking back up at me. "Some bar.”

"Hand me the phone." I stretch out my hand and wiggle my fingers at her.

Julie tilts her head to listen into her phone again. "Aimee says not to listen to you."

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