Page 76 of Strangely Normal

“I did.” A small but distinctive voice came from the open door of the limo, and a head of white blonde hair popped up from behind the tinted window. She looked tiny next to the ridiculously long car but as usual her impact was huge.

“Finley!” I pulled away from Jude, and he staggered sideways a second but his dad caught him.

“Don’t worry about me, Valley. Just a few broken ribs and brain swelling.” Jude called to me as I raced to the limo.

I nearly knocked Finley over as I threw my arms around her. We completely ignored the scene behind us as tears and cries of joy kept us in a tight hug for several minutes.

We finally came up for air. Finley looked up at me. She was paler and thinner than when I’d last seen her, but the overwhelming sadness, the grim aura of depression had vanished. “Please come home with us, Eden. I really need you.” She glanced toward her brother and then hopped up on her toes. “And so does the ass,” she whispered. She crinkled her tiny nose. “Wow, he really took a beating.”

I looked back at Jude as he spoke to the officers. His shoulders were slightly hunched in pain and his face showed the same. “I told him there were too many of them.”

Finley wrapped her hand around my arm, and it felt as if none of the bad stuff had happened, it felt as if we were still strongly connected by friendship. “That boy never listens. I guess you’ve probably already discovered that.”

Jude looked our way and he seemed to know that we were talking about him. The poor guy looked miserable beneath the bruises and swelling. I blew him a kiss and the hurt in his face lessened some. I had to give the police my statement and then they pulled Megan from the diner to get hers.

Megan walked past me with her arms crossed tightly around herself. Then surprisingly, she stopped and looked up at me. “Thanks.”

I nodded. “No problem.”

The three guys were cuffed and put into the back of the police car, but Nicky wasn’t certain they would press charges. He didn’t want the hassle or publicity of a trial. I returned to the limo. Jude was inside holding a bag of ice on his eye. Finley was tucked in next to him holding a cold can of beer against his lips.

I leaned into the car. “Maybe he could just sit in the little refrigerator.”

Finley laughed but Jude seemed less amused. Nicky returned to the car. “Let’s get him home. My personal physician is meeting us at the house.” He motioned me to get inside, but I stopped.

“I can’t leave the diner. The owner is a really nice guy, and he’s expecting me to open up in the morning. Otherwise he’ll lose business.” I didn’t want to stay behind in the lonely little room upstairs, but I’d made a promise to Billy.

“Do you have the owner’s number?” Nicky asked.

“It’s by the phone in the diner.”

“Great,” he didn’t say another word but walked toward the diner and disappeared inside.

I looked questioningly at Finley and she shrugged. “You never know with my dad.” She patted the seat next to her and I climbed inside.

The long night had taken its toll, and I rested my head against her shoulder. “Jude,” I said quietly, “thanks.”

“So you forgive me?”

Finley and I laughed. “We’ll see,” I answered.

Finley lowered the beer can from his face. “I would not let him off that easily.”

I leaned forward and looked at him. “I don’t know. He looks pretty miserable.”

“I am miserable.”

Nicky returned and leaned in. “All taken care of. The bloke didn’t believe me at first, so I had to sing a few lines ofOblivious. Then he decided it was really me. Anyhow, he’s going to open up tomorrow and look for a new waitress. I left a couple of hundreds on his counter to compensate him for his troubles.” He looked over at Jude. “We better get Sugar Ray home. Let’s go collect up your things, Eden.” Nicky King looked at me, and for once he didn’t look like a wealthy, famous rock star who barely took notice of people around him. He looked like a dad, a dad who was grateful that his kids were safe and that I was their friend. “I’m glad you’re coming back, Eden.”

***

Finley walked around without a care in the world, but I was on the edge of a complete freak out. She smiled back at me as we headed down the stairs. She took time to tap the banisters because her doctor assured her there was no real harm in it.

A wide grin split her face. “I think you’re the one who is going to need the tranquilizers. Not your dad.”

“You don’t understand the depth of his craziness when it comes to Nicky King and Black Thunder. There is no telling how he’ll react when he meets your dad. I can’t even describe the monstrously embarrassing scenarios that keep running through me head. I’ve been having nightmares about it, Fin, nightmares.”

“Jude said your parents were really cool, and I, for one, cannot wait to have a long girl chat with Sophie.”

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