Page 53 of Faking Ever After

But I had invited Richie long before I fell for Finn.

Some distant voice whispered,what could you have done?But I knew. Deep in my heart, I knew I shouldn’t have let things unfold on their own. I should have talked to Finn sooner.

All our shared moments since the marble village in the mountains had left little room in my head to think about much of anything. I thought of Finn in all my waking hours. I thought ofmy Finn. And then I let him run away, never once thinking to reassure him that my feelings for Richie had long faded away into nothingness.

I didn’t realize that I had been standing in the little hallway, holding the bracelet in one hand, for an endless while. It was only when Emily stepped behind me that I realized the shadows had deepened significantly in the room, and my cheeks were wet with hot, devastating tears.

I’d let him run away.

No. It was worse than that. I had done nothing to remove the reasons for his decision.

“Oh, Percy,” Emily whispered softly, her hand on my shoulder.

“Gone,” I said, surprised at the dullness of my voice. “He’s gone.” My fist closed around the bracelet. Why hadn’t he keptit? Perhaps he didn’t want anything to do with me. Perhaps he didn’t want to be reminded of me.

Had I done it so badly that he would have a reason to hate me?

Insensitive, selfish, careless old me, taking him for granted and never once thinking about the consequences.

Emily hugged me gently but persistently. There was no pulling away, even if I could get the hang of using my feet. I was stuck here, being hugged warmly and kindly by my sister as new tears welled in my eyes.

Finn

I trembled as I kicked up the sand with each step. My hand clutched the flash drive in a steel-like grip. As I moved through the crowd of people enjoying the sunset on the beach, I imagined that each and every one of them saw right through me.

Maybe I’d made a terrible mistake fleeing without thinking, but it was better than putting my trust in Richard and hoping that Percy and his family wouldn’t turn on me. They’d known Richard for much longer. No matter how some of them felt about him, they had known Richard for years, and they had known me for only a few days longer than Benny Tupper.

I fled aimlessly, thinking I would figure it out when I got lost in the bustle of the busy town. I had gone down a few narrow streets and took a few misguided turns before finding that I had walked for over half an hour only to end up on the beach. But I knew my way from there. The beach connected Percy’s house to my distant left and the much nearer town to my right. And right, it was.

The many street lamps were on, as well as the endless canopies of lights covering the terraces of the many bars and restaurants around the harbor. Percy’s yacht was there, tilting left and right with the rising tide.

I looked away from it in shame. After everything, I still couldn’t make myself trust him. But it wasn’t as simple as that. I would have trusted him with my life. I just wasn’t sure I could trust him with Richard’s freedom.

The man would haunt me and taunt me. He would out me to the Davenports, who had more than enough reason to be suspicious of strangers. And however much I told myself that Percy and his family weren’t like all the other people of the upper echelon, I failed to bridge the gap between the thoughts and the fears that lived in my heart.

I slipped deeper into the town and away from the harbor after a few minutes and searched for hostels that might take a lonely traveler for a night or two. I was dipping deep into my pitiful savings and running out of options. So when some higher power led me through warmly lit allies to Hermes’ Hearth, a clean, cool, rustic inn with a hostel upstairs, it felt like the god of travelers and thieves had looked down on me with something like kindness.

The lady who ran Hermes’ Hearth showed me into my room. Once I shut the door and turned the key in the lock, I discovered just how trapped I felt. The room was cozy, snug, and wonderfully decorated in the same Aegean aesthetic as Apollo’s Lantern, but it was much smaller and much closer to Richard Harrison, who was barely three miles south of here.

I lay on the bed and stared at the white ceiling. I tossed, turned, huffed, and sat up as anxiety battered on the thinning shield I had put around myself. I didn’t even dare look back on the snap decision to flee. I had leftPercybehind. Maybe there was a way to…

What? Fix it? Have him forgive you? Be redeemed for theft and lack of trust?

I didn’t want to argue with this voice. It was completely futile.

Fumbling with my phone in my hands, I wondered if Percy had my contact. I wondered if Kim had given it to him. Would he call me if she had?

Kim…

God, but I needed a friend. Even before I made a conscious decision, Kim’s profile was up on my screen, and my thumb was reaching for the call button. As soon as it started ringing, I pressed the phone hard against my ear and waited for the eruption of fear to thunder through me.

“Finn?” Kim’s voice crackled through the speaker and I squeezed my eyes shut. It was good to hear her voice. There were so few people left I could turn to and she had never judged me before.But there’s a first time for everything, some cynical voice reminded me.

“Hey, Kim,” I said.

“What’s up? How’s Greece treating you?” her conversational tone suggested she had no clue that I had left Percy on his own. “If you don’t bring me a fridge magnet, we’re no longer friends.”

A short, sudden chuckle burst out of me and I choked up a moment later. “God, I missed you,” I said.

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