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While he waited, Finn pulled out his phone and found a text from Nolan.
NOLAN: Any luck?
FINN: No. I’m coming home.
NOLAN: Bummer. I was looking forward to a vacation in Belize.
Finn rolled his eyes.
Jewel’s footsteps resounded.
Finn slid his phone back into his pocket and rose to greet her. “Everything set?”
“They weren’t too happy about me leaving early,” her eyes slid past him and she mumbled, “or with you, but yeah. I’m ready.”
“Don’t worry. My only intention is to see you safely home.”
“I know.” She smiled tentatively and the world stopped spinning. “I’m starting to trust you.”
Oof. Finn felt the weight of that responsibility crash on his broad shoulders.
Leaving Jewel now rather than later was a blessing in disguise. He’d rather she remember him as a friend and a champion instead of the jerk who’d used her. It was the best ending to a very short story.
“Let’s go.” He escorted her to his car.
Jewel said little on the ride back to Belize City. At one point, he glanced over and found her sleeping.
Finn smiled to himself. Something told him that Jewel falling asleep in his presence was the biggest compliment she could have handed over.
Just before entering the city, he woke her. “Jewel,” he shook her gently, “I need directions to your place.”
“What?” She peeked an eye open and stretched. As if a switch had gone off, she shot straight up and glanced around. “Did I fall asleep?”
“You were out like a light.”
A mixture of awe and embarrassment crept across her face. She swiped at her mouth. “I don’t… I don’t usually do that.”
“What? Sleep?”
She chuckled as she stretched, arms arching toward the ceiling.
“Jewls?” The nickname slipped out, but it felt right on his tongue.
She froze. “Huh?”
“Directions?”
“Oh, right.” She guided him to the south side of Belize. Finn’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as he noticed the broken-down buildings, the hooded figures loitering on the street corners and the frequent chirps of police sirens.
How is a woman as fragile as Jewel living around here?
“This is it,” she said.
Finn slammed on the brakes and glanced around, searching for her house. All he saw outside his window was marshy land and abandoned wooden squares on shaky stilts. “Where?”
She clicked her seatbelt off and pointed.
His jaw dropped. Was that a house? The place should be condemned.
