Page 38 of Safety Net
I nodded, numbly, as he gave me a small smile that sent off an unfamiliar thrill racing through my veins. I didn't know what it meant, but I chalked it up to being supported and said, "I won't be afraid."
"Swear?" he said, half-teasing.
"I swear."
CHAPTER TWELVE
LINCOLN
"This is all for a one-night show, right?" Finn looked over the crude sketches I'd laid across the kitchen table. I stood across from him, eyes dry from my lack of sleep and fingers drumming on the counter, waiting for something else to sink my time into.
This musical planning was a blast. I'd spent the weekend watching clips of all the musicals Celeste had referenced in her conversations with me. Some of them were hard to get through. Others are wildly addictive. I lovedAnnie, didn't realize I could enjoy The Lion Kingany more than I already had, and was deep in theInto the Woodssubreddit.
"Yes.” I pointed at one of my sketches. "See this arch; it'll be in the opening. We start in the woods?—"
"This thing is supposed to be twenty feet tall." Finn raised a brow. "And covered in real moss."
"You're right; I'm thinking too small." I picked up my pencil and chewed on the eraser. "We could easily do another five feet. That'd matched the scope of things. And I checked the playhouse's ceiling. It's well over fifty feet tall?—"
"I'm not building a twenty-foot archway, Lincoln," Finn said. "Do you know how long that'd take?"
"You just built our coffee table and gazebo." I gestured to our backyard. "In two days, Finn. You built a gazebo in two days; imagine what you could do in two months?"
He frowned. "You can't be serious. I assembled it from a kit. It came with step-by-step, illustrated instructions."
"Did I not draw you illustrated instructions?" I grabbed the plans for the archway and studied them myself. They're not professional-grade blueprints, sure. But all the information was there. "You're more than capable of doing this. I've seen your skill, and I believe in you. I think it's high time to believe in yourself."
"It's not self-belief I lack."
"Then what is it?" I wondered, genuinely willing to do my part to help him do his part.
"Patience," he grumbled. "Time."
I held my hands up. "Easy. I could help you with that."
"Lincoln." Henrik appeared in the kitchen entryway. As soon as I looked, he tossed a tennis ball toward me. I tried to swat it away with my pen, but missed it. The ball hit my chin, and the pen slipped from my grip.
"Ow." I picked up the tennis ball and threw it at him. He caught it without blinking an eye.
"Did that look like the reaction time of a starting goalie?" Henrik asked Finn.
"Sadly…no." Finn frowned, disappointed in me times two. I would have taken offense if I hadn't spent the past few days channeling all my energy and excitement into Celeste's project. Who cared about reflexes when the beautiful girl you wanted to spend all your time with needed your help with something? I had more important things to prove than how fast I could block a puck.
"I don't have time for your surprise attacks," I said. He'd been pelting tennis balls at me all week under the guise ofhelping me keep my reflexes fresh. Honestly, I think he was trying to get me to react. Push me far enough to say what I've been leaving unsaid since Sam left.
"Make time," Henrik said. "It's painful watching Anthony nearly push you to your breaking point every session."
Finn studied me. "That's why you were asking about my painkillers?"
"You're fishing for painkillers?" Henrik crossed his arms over his chest.
"You two are being very dramatic for no reason. I take an Advil every once in a while, alert the media," I picked up my laptop and moved to the living room…which, unfortunately, didn't give me much separation considering our open floor plan.
"Sure, it's just once in a while?" Henrik's skepticism made Finn concerned enough to go to the cabinet where he stashed the last remnants of his prescriptions from his accident. I scoffed.
"You two are reaching. I know the summer's been slow and boring because I've been busy, but I promise I'll be back home to entertain as soon as I can," I said.
"I think you should consider freezing practices," Henrik said. "What's the point of doing something you don't want to do? Especially when that something means reinjuring yourself to the point where you're taking painkillers daily."
