“But—”
“Cherry, I know you’ve had to do everything yourself for a while, but I’m here now. So, you can argue with me if you want, but can you please do it while you get in the car?”
There’s something seriously off about Finn. He’s acting so…nice. He has been acting nicer for a while, but now it’s different somehow. There’s almost an active sense of enjoyment coming from him as he does it.
Slowly, I duck into the passenger seat of my car and watch him closely as he makes his way over to the driver’s side, pushing the seat all the way back before getting in completely.
“I’m surprised you weren’t asleep this time.”
He shrugs as he starts the engine. “I had a day off, so I took a nap and woke up around two.”
“Why do you always wait from three?”
“Your shift ends at three, doesn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, but I never finish at three.”
He backs out of the space and begins the drive to my house. “Yeah, but now what will happen is that the one time I come at five, you’ll finish at three.”
“And I’ll just drive myself home like I always did.”
His shoulders shift in a move that screams discomfort. “Um…no,” he says slowly.
“No?”
“No.”
“You’re saying I don’t have permission?”
“What? No! That’s not what I— I would never say that. I just mean that I can’t have you do that.”
“And that’s different how?”
My blood is heating now, a fresh wave of energy overtaking my body, because how dare he try and tell me what I can and can’t do.
We reach a red light and he stops, resting his head on the steering wheel. “This is coming out all wrong.”
“Yeah, no shit.”
“Just…forget I said anything.” He sighs and carries on driving.
I turn in my seat. “Happily.”
The rest of the drive is silent, and even though Finn’s words riled me up and have me still pissed off at him, I find myself falling asleep, head resting on the window.
The next thing I know, I can feel myself swaying slightly, and instead of the cold window, my head is now against something hard, but warm. Hands squeeze my side and my knees, and I groggily open my eyes.
“Shh,” a deep voice blows out. “Go back to sleep, Cherry, I got you.”
I hum as I close my eyes again, listening to the man with the nice voice. The next time my eyes open, daylight is gently warming my face and my arms, which are resting outside of my bed sheets. I’m still in my scrubs, but that’s nothing new. But I can’t really remember how I made it from my car to my bed. The car that I wasn’t driving…
Oh, yeah.
I get up and quietly change out of my scrubs and into a pair of shorts and a top with a pair of cherries on the front. I tie it up at the back and tuck the extra fabric inside the top. I run a quick brush through my hair and head to the kitchen.
Much to my surprise, I find my living room empty. No Finn, not even his sheets that are usually folded on the couch. But I can hear my washing machine running, and when I duck my head into the laundry room, I can see his red blanket turning round and round in the drum. He must have left recently.
I walk to the kitchen and find a plate that’s been covered with another plate, and a note written on a Post-it beside it.
