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17
Later, the Lochkelvin nurse confirms Finlay’s assessment. My already-delicate ankle coupled with a sharp drop had been a recipe for disaster. After all those weeks and months of carefully treating my ankle by myself, it turns out it had always been vulnerable without help.
How am I supposed to dance now?
Finlay continues to munch happily on my chocolates. “You really hate Lochkelvin, eh, sassenach? Detentions, suspensions, broken legs… Ye’ll dae anything tae stop being here.”
“Wouldn’t you?” I snap, watching as he steals another of Danny’s chocolates for himself.
“I’m just saying… Ye’re no’ gonnae be able to walk very far, sassenach. Lochkelvin isnae exactly a disabled-friendly space. And you were always hobblin’ around before, but noo? Ye won’t be able to dae that at all. How are ye gonnae get tae class?”
I try to roll on my side, away from Finlay, who still seems far too cheerful as he reports on my latest tribulation. But I can’t roll away, because my foot is bound in a huge plaster boot that takes effort to even move.
“That’s where I come in.”
I stop wriggling around on the bed and turn my head in Finlay’s direction. “What?”
“Despite my best efforts tae be a cold-hearted bastard, I’m feelin’ kinda sorry for you, wi’ yer broken leg and yer wrong sex.” I should scowl at him for these words alone, but there’s an honesty there that makes me intrigued about what he’s going to say next. As I stare at him, Finlay begins to look abashed. “So let’s cut a deal, sassenach,” he adds, his bright eyes burning into my soul. “Ye huvnae got a fuckin’ clue about politics, right?”
I glare at him. “Fuck you.”
“Och, come on. Let’s no’ descend tae the arguing levels o’ the Opposition.”
I don’t really understand what this means so I decide to ignore it. “What exactly is your plan?”
“Ye’re lookin’ at it.” Finlay gestures to himself, like there couldn’t possibly be anything better to display. “Top o’ the class. Cabinet minister mother. Top Ten on theScottish Gazette’s Thirty Under Thirty for Ones tae Watch in Politics.” He clears his throat slightly, still signaling at himself. “Me.”
“Right. I get it. You’re amazing.” With a frown, I ask, “And what doyouget in return?”
Finlay’s lips tilt up. He leans in slightly, his breath fluttering against my cheek, and whispers, “A fair maiden’s kiss tae seal the deal.”
My heart begins to pulse erratically, all flickery and weird. My breath grows shallow, and I’m hyperaware of how close Finlay’s mouth is to mine.
But then his mouth widens into an amused grin, his eyes sparkling like he’s the world’s greatest comedian. “I’m just messing wi’ ye,” he declares with a bright laugh, backing off, and my heart drops into the pit of my stomach instead. “Somehow, ye’restilltop o’ the year in maths. I’m flunkin’ it like the fuckin’ ignoramus I am. You teach me, I teach you, and on oor journey it might no’ just be oor minds that grow.”
I stare at him, watching as he flicks another chocolate into his mouth. “More like stomachs,” I mutter dryly.
He ignores this, deciding to watch my face avidly instead as he chews. “Whit dae ye say, little saint? Or is yer tongue as broken as yer leg?”
With a scowl, I tell him, “I need more from you than that.”
His eyebrows rise into his dark messy hair. “I’m all ears. I thought that was a fair trade, one subject for the other.” His voice drops to a dark murmur. “But if ye’re gonnae demand evenmairfae me, then I may have tae barter for that kiss, after all.”
It’s as though fire engulfs my body. He throws words out so casually, like they meannothing, when to me… to me…
“Why do you do that? Flirt with me? You’re the only one who does. I get it, it’s so funny—”
Finlay’s eyes shutter slightly. “Funny. Hah.”
“So I’m sayingdon’t. BecauseIdon’t find it funny. In fact, it’s really annoying, and I wish you’d just leave me alone.”
His cheek is oddly indented, like he’s biting it on the inside. “Sure, sassenach,” he eventually murmurs, but then he stops and appears to mentally backtrack. “Ye dinnae ken how isolated we are. How we’ve always been.” There’s a softness to his tone, a sincerity. “We dinnae get tae hang around girls that often. Depending on your point of view, that’s a perk o’ living in the middle o’ nowhere. But no’ for me. So I get it, I may have come on too strong… but that doesnae mean I dae it forfun.” He runs a hand through his hair, ruffling the shaggy black strands. “I mean, almost everything I dae is for fun. But some fun things have consequences, and failin’ maths means I won’t have the grades tae get intae St. Camford like everyone else. Ye know how embarrassing that would be for me? For Scotland’sone tae watch?”
It’s an outpouring of every frustration and insecurity he’s kept locked inside. It’s fascinating to watch the earnest truth spill from Finlay’s lips. Perhaps it was naive of me to think of him merely a privileged asshole, part of the golden trio leading this school, when ultimately he’s his own person. After all, how often have I seen Rory and Finlay clash by now?
And there’s something there. I can’t deny it. There’s something about Finlay that makes the blood swish in my body, that makes my heart dance with interest. Any time he casts those playful green eyes on me, I feel as though I’m preening under his gaze. Whenever he flirts with me, I want him to stop, only because it would hurt too much if it were all pretend.
“Besides,” Finlay mutters with a subtle half-smile, “what else am I supposed tae dae tae get yer attention?”
