Page 24 of Cabin Fever

“You think I don't know that?”

At first I can’t tell who owns the second voice. It’s tight and barely more than a whisper. But then he growls in frustration, and I place it instantly. Theo. He made that sound once while trying to change the oil in Dahlia’s car.

“Then tell her.” There’s a pause, then the sound of Finn exhaling like he just set down something heavy. “Hey. Look at me. I will stand next to you for every minute of it, whatever she says. But you have to tell her before Saturday. Before the vows, Theo. Not after. You’re better than that.”

The service door thunks—a crew member with a cart—and I'm already retreating with my tablet.

Chapter Nine

I don't say a word on the walk back to 6042. Finn catches up to me at the elevator and fills the silence. Narrating the elevator buttons, rating the hallway carpet. I give him nothing. Not because I’m mad. I understand holding confidences for your friends. But because my heart is breaking for my sister.

Theo has a secret, and he hasn’t told her, which means my head is spinning at the possibilities. Did he cheat on her? Does he have cold feet?

By the time the door clicks shut behind us, the space between us feels a mile wide.

Finn slips off his shoes. “You want the bathroom first, or⁠—“

“I heard you.” I spin, wobbling on my heels.

Finn goes still, one hand on his collar button. “Heard me what?”

“Behind the pillar. After the rehearsal.” I set my tablet on the desk. “You and Theo. You have to tell her before Saturday. Before the vows.” I cross my arms over my chest to hold in my pounding heart. “I’m assuming you were talking about Dahlia, so what does he need to tell her?”

Finn blows out a breath. “It's not mine to tell.”

“Of course it's not. But I need you to tell me.”

“Harper—“

“My sister is getting married in three days.” I don’t mean to pause, but my voice wobbles. I take a breath and swallow the lump in my throat. “If he cheated on her⁠—“

“No, Harper.” Finn takes my hand and leads me to his bed. We sit, and Finn hunches over his knees. “He didn’t cheat on her. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then why can’t he tell her?”

Finn is silent, his jaw working.

My voice frays. “I'm so tired, Finn. I'm not mad, I'm just scared for her.”

He looks at his hands for a long time. Finally, he says, “Money.”

I lift my head.

“Theo's engineering firm took a hit last year. A big client walked, and then a second one, and he leveraged stuff to cover payroll.” His thumb runs along a callus on his palm, back and forth. “It got away from him.”

“And he hasn't told Dahlia? Any of it?”

He shakes his head. “I think she knows about the clients. She doesn’t know the rest.”

I curse under my breath. “It’s not the money that will⁠—”

“No, I know. Trust me.”

We sit there thinking the exact same thing. It’s not only the money that will break her. It’s that Theo’s been keeping a secret. Just like my dad did.

“That's why you thought they should wait,” I murmur.

Finn nods and rakes a hand through his hair. “Theo’s going to kill me.”