Page 58 of Hearts Adrift
“Between your career or … whatever the hell it is you think you’re doing here in this sleepy beach town with this person you’ve known for a week and some change. This?” She gives a vague gesture around us with the tablet—the house, Dreamwood Isle, my “boy toy”, who knows what she’s encompassing with that single word—and says, “This isn’t who you are.”
I sit back in my chair, annoyed, but silenced.
It’s difficult to argue with Anya. Even before she went andbecame a lawyer, back when we were just struggling actors in college laughing off our failures, she analyzed her scripts like cases in court with just as much depth and severity. I trust her implicitly. She never has any ulterior motives. She’s as to-the-point and honest as they come.
“It’s classic River,” she goes on. “Escaping. You run away from your problems. You know who else did that?”
“Don’t you dare bring up my mother.”
“Then I won’t.” She crosses her arms on the table and leans forward. “Riv … I know I’m coming off harsh, but I think right now’s a time for harsh. Get your mind out of the clouds and look around down here on earth. You’ve got a phone full of people trying to get your life back on track—whose own careers also depend on you, might I add. Sure, your boy toy’s sister gave you a head start, but that’s all that boy will be to you in another few weeks: just a toy, a souvenir of your latest life challenge, a—”
“He’s not,” I tell her firmly. “He’s not a toy. He’s kind. Andreal. He has a genuine heart of gold.”
“Fine. A boy toy with a heart of gold. Not unheard of. Still not a reason to throw it all in the trash.”
“I know what it looks like,” I stammer, rising to my feet. Anya, unaffected, listens to me like a weary litigator waiting for the defense to tire out. “I know I’ve been very irresponsible. I know I’m hiding. I know I did a lot of … of really stupid shit that brought me to this point, even long before I socked Trent Embers in his smug fucking face.” I run a finger over my knuckles. It’s likely my imagination that they still feel sensitive to the touch. “I know you’re right about that. I need to stop running.” I meet her eyes. “But Finn …Finn, his name… Finn isn’t just a souvenir.”
Anya studies my face for a while, like she’s somehow fact-checking the emotions twisting over my furled lips and twitching eyes. “Okay,” she says quietly.
“Okay?” I blurt back, still in defense mode. “What’s that mean? ‘Okay’?”
“It means I was too harsh. It means I hear you. And I’ll take your word for it. You’re really into Finn. Okay.”
I grip the back of the chair. “Okay. Good.” I take a big breath and let it out, calming myself. “That’s … good.”
“But,” she gently adds, “you still need to choose.”
Chapter 16 - Finn
Halfway through my workout, my phone dies.
Of course it would. On a day when I needed my music the most to motivate my cranky ass.
I drop a weight on my foot. It was a light dumbbell but still causes me to shout out.
I let go of the lat pull too soon, sending it crashing on down with the most obnoxiousclangthat earns me a few annoyed (and deserved) glances from all directions.
One of my sneakers comes untied and I trip myself on the way to the locker room—and crash face-first into some dude’s crotch who’s on his way out. I mumble, “Sorry,” as I clamber back to my feet. He smirks and says, “I’m not.”
Then when I’m heading out of the gym, the guy at the front counter says, “Not sleeping well lately? It shows.”
I don’t ask for clarification. I don’t need it.
Forget waking up on the wrong side of the bed. I woke up on the damned floor.
My sister might as well have climbed a mountain, the way she’s been praising herself all week for how well her efforts have gone. And she deserves it. For all intents and purposes, her work has made a huge difference. It’s kind of scary, to discover firsthand how much influence my sister has. I honestly had no idea.
“It’s part luck but mostly just good timing,” she said to me this morning, “fueled by a hunt for the truth.Everyonewants tofeel like there’s areal storyno one’s telling, and isn’t that true anyway? Thereisa real story. They don’t even need to know what it is, only that it’s out there.”
“The fact that you pulled this off,” I told her, amazed, “is astounding.”
“Itoldyou I’m good at this!” She snorted at me. “I swear, none of you give me enough credit.”
I gave some careful thought to my next words. “So … why don’t you use that marketing wizardry of yours to get the Fair some more high-spending customers?”
“If only Dad or Heather would trust me more. They’re always the ones making the decisions.” She eyed me with sudden suspicion. “Did Heather say there’s a problem?”
I swear if she had mentioned Dad instead of Heather, I might’ve slipped. “No, no,” I laughed it off. “Just curious. The more income we get, the better for us all. Vendors are so fickle lately, know what I mean?”
