Chapter 16
Kallie
––––––––
Finn led Kallie intohis house.The door clicked shut behind them, sealing out the street, the men, the wind, the world she'd fallen through.The quiet in the small room wrapped around her, familiar in a way that made her chest ache.She remembered this place.The worn table, the narrow bed, the kitchen shelves.She'd imagined it so many times over the years that seeing it again felt like stepping into a memory she'd never fully left.
She turned toward Finn, heart still racing from the fall through the rift, from the sight of him waiting on the road just as she'd imagined all these years, from the way he'd held her as if afraid she might vanish again.He looked the same as she remembered.His brown hair was the same length.His mustache and the scruffy start of a beard covered half his face, and his eyes were still the shade of dark chocolate.And she couldn't stop staring at him.
"Finn," she said softly, stepping closer."You have no idea how long I've been searching for a way back to you.I've walked hundreds of miles, hoping I could find the right road."
The confession was different, spoken as an adult.He had to understand how important he was to her.She'd walked until her feet blistered.She'd taken buses and Ubers to nowhere.She'd memorized maps, chased rumors, and followed instincts she couldn't explain.Every road had been a question she hoped would lead her back to him.
But instead of happiness over seeing her, his expression tightened, striking panic in her.
He looked away, jaw clenching, shoulders rigid.The reaction hit her like a cold splash of water.She'd expected...something else.A smile.A softening.A warmth she'd felt from him before.Instead, he stepped back, creating a space between them she didn't understand.
Her stomach dropped.Had she been wrong?
When he pushed her through the seam last time, had he meant to keep her away for good?
"Didn't you want to see me?"she asked, barely above a whisper.
He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing a few steps away from her.Confusion pressed down on her.She'd imagined this moment so many times.Imagined him pulling her close.Imagined him saying he'd missed her.Imagined him glad she'd found her way back.
But he looked overwhelmed and upset.Almost angry.
She took a small step toward him."Finn...you have no idea how happy I am.I thought I would never make it back to you.I almost gave up so many times, but I couldn't.I needed to find you."
He froze, his back to her.For a moment, she thought he might turn around and close the distance between them.Instead, he turned slowly, his eyes meeting hers with a desperation she didn't understand.
He moved toward her and lifted his hand.His fingers brushed her cheek.A shiver ran down her spine.She leaned into it instinctively, closing her eyes for a heartbeat.How many times had she imagined him doing exactly that?
She swallowed a sob.So many times, she questioned her own sanity.No one knew about her experience of traveling to a different dimension and the years of longing she'd gone through to get here.
The only one who could understand what she'd gone through was Finn.
But just as quickly as he touched her, he pulled away as if he'd burned himself.
Kallie blinked, trying not to pepper him with questions.She pressed a hand to her aching chest.
"Did I...do something wrong?"she whispered.
He shook his head, but the tension in his shoulders remained.The silence stretched, heavy and confusing, until he finally forced out, "I need a minute."
She nodded, even though his reaction to her arrival wasn't what she'd expected.She stepped back, giving him the space he'd asked for, even though every part of her wanted to close the distance again.She'd spent four years believing that if she could get back to him, everything would make sense.
She needed him to tell her how she got here.She wanted to know what this place was compared to where she came from.She wanted to discover what Everstill meant to him.
But now, he looked like he didn't want her here.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady her breathing."I came back for you, Finn.Not for anything else.Just you."
He closed his eyes.His chest rose, and his hands curled into fists at his sides.She pressed her lips together to keep from crying.Everyone in her life had rejected her.It would kill her if Finn made her leave again.
Kallie stood by the small table, wrapping her arms around herself.What had she done wrong?Why wouldn't he look at her?Her head pounded.She'd imagined this reunion a thousand times, but none of those versions had him look so conflicted.
