Page 25 of Finn's Solace

Me: If I can figure out where to take him, yeah.

Amelia: Struggling?

Me: Like you wouldn't believe! He picked such a perfect place for our first date, and I'm worried I'll let him down by picking something lame.

It felt weird to admit something so personal to someone I hadn't talked to in close to fourteen years. At the same time, it didn't feel strange at all. Despite all the time that had passed,I still felt like I could trust Amelia with this. Maybe because Finn trusted her, or because our friendship had formed under the worst of circumstances and was stronger for it.

Amelia: I'm sure he'll like whatever you come up with. But you are talking to one of the few people he's closest to.

Me: Oh! Do you have any suggestions?

Amelia: Hmmm... I'm not sure if I should tell you.

Me: Pretty please? I want to give Finn the date of his dreams.

Amelia: Aww, that's sweet of you. Okay, I'm gonna give you one word, and then the rest is up to you.

One word, huh? I could work with that.

Me: Hit me.

Amelia: Stargazing.

That certainly wasn't what I'd been expecting, but the more I thought about it, the more romantic it sounded. My mind was already coming up with a few different scenarios.

Amelia: Levi? You still there?

Me: Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. Thanks for the help. I owe you one.

Amelia: You're welcome. I'm gonna let you plan because I have a feeling you'll be useless in a convo now. How about lunch on Monday? You can come to my place. I'll cook.

Me: Sounds good. Send me the address and I'll be there.

Amelia: See you then. Have fun on your date!

I put my phone away, then stared up at the ceiling. Stargazing, huh?

Closing my eyes, I imagined all the best spots in or around the town. I'd done a lot of driving around over the last week, and I could practically build a map of the town in my mind by now.

I must've drifted off at some point because the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by the scent of musty, dank walls, unwashed clothes, fur, and blood.

Blinking hard, I turned my head and came face to face with a younger, more haunted version of Finn. He was paler than normal, his skin sallow and sickly, but his eyes were the same bright green, and not hidden behind glasses.

"Levi, you were talking about the stars," he prompted, and I blinked, then followed his gaze to the basement ceiling. My eyes couldn't stay on the cracked ceiling for long before they were drawn back to Finn.

On his other side, Penny and Dean were asleep, curled up around each other. The twins were on their other side, and Amelia had her arm around the boys as she slept. We were the only ones awake, because Finn had woken up from a nightmare, which had woken me up too.

Stars... yeah, I'd been telling him about the constellations, making him imagine the stars on the basement ceiling so he'd be able to recognize them once we got out. Because we were going to get out.

"Right. Sorry, kiddo. Hmm, where were we?"

"We were talking about the bear."

"Yes, the Giant Bear. It's also called the Ursa Major. It has seven main stars, the brightest ones."

"Like us," Finn whispered, and I smiled.

"Yeah, exactly like us."

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