Page 19 of It's Just You

“Cool. Wanna come hang out with us? You had fun with Finn the other day, right?”

“Like you’d have noticed,” I retorted, slightly pissed off at him for abandoning me with Finn even though that ship had sailed. I was just edgy, and seeing Dad hurting so badly without Sam opening his fucking eyes made it worse.

Besides, I’d ended up enjoying my time with Finn.

“You told me to try with…” He swallowed. “The girl.”

So he didn’t even remember her name. Typical. I shrugged. “Finn’s fine to talk to.” I had to admit that much.

“Then come hang out with us a bit.” Sam gulped down his coffee.

“What are you planning on doing?” I asked, wary. If he was that keen on getting me to tag along, he most likely had something in mind — like using me as a distraction for Finn while he went after girls.

“Not much. Just hanging out at the mall.”

“That old mausoleum? I didn’t even know people still went there,” I told him, making a face. “Thanks, but no.”

“They still have that pretzel place you love,” he tried.

“Pass.” Not my kind of fun.

“Well, your loss.” Sam finished his bagel. “I need to grab a shower right quick. If Finn turns up, entertain him. I’ll be like two minutes.”

Liar. He never took less than twenty.

With that, he bounded up the stairs, leaving me alone in the kitchen wondering what the hell he was up to. He hadn’t even bothered to stop by Dad in the living room to say hello, which pissed me off. Dad had gone through so much to get up so he could potentially spend time with him, and Sam couldn’t even say hi? I ground my teeth. I wished I could say something, so badly, and keeping my silence was driving me insane.

I needed to get him in line, get him to talk to Dad more. Dad put on a front for him, for heaven’s sake. He could at least make some effort and at least feign interest. I knew he loved our parents, but for him, everything was just fun and games while he chased the joys of life.

Finn seemed to be completely different, oddly enough. He was beautiful, and with the amount of attention he put into his appearance, it would be easy to think he was as shallow as my brother. But despite the makeup and clothes, he’d seemed more sensitive than Sam.

I had a feeling there was a lot more to him than I’d initially thought, and even stranger, I wanted to keep discovering new things about him.

I was intrigued by him, and I couldn’t get him out of my head.

As if my thoughts had summoned him, the doorbell rang.

“Can you get it?” Sam yelled from above. A moment later, the pipes squeaked, and the water started running. Great. He’d already been up there for five minutes. What had he been doing?

If it wasn’t for the fact that it was Finn I’d be talking to, I’d be getting angry all over again.

“Got it,” I called out, not wanting Mom to get up from the sofa to open the door. I passed through the living room on my way to the door.

“He can have breakfast if he wants,” Mom offered.

I shook my head. “I’ll ask, but all we have is cereal and oatmeal.”

“All right.” She turned to Dad, asking him something, and I paused long enough to look at the two of them. He didn’t look good at all, his face pale grey, but he’d wanted to be up and around. I had to remind myself it was his choice.

“Are you okay here, Dad? Otherwise, I can help you to your room—”

“Go ahead and say hi to Finn. I’ll be fine.” He cast a pointed glance at me, most likely trying to tell me I needed to stop treating him like a child. But if he was just like one, just as helpless, how could I not ask if he was doing okay.

“All right, I’m going. Yell if you need anything.”

“Yes, I know,” he said, giving me one of those too-patient looks. He was probably fed up with my overprotectiveness, but I didn’t know how else to act with him. He needed the help whether he wanted to admit it or not.

I’d left Finn waiting outside long enough, so I went to the door and opened it. I offered him a strained smile then stepped aside. “Come in. Sam’s running late, just got in the shower and everything. You want breakfast or anything?”

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