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Finn
Finn opened his eyes, searching for Charli.
“Finn?” Charli kneeled beside him, her face contorted with concern. “Finn? Are you okay?”
He sat up, searching around him for any sign of danger. Nothing but the thrum of music and boisterous laughter and conversation filled the air. It was all in my head. Fuck. He scrambled to his feet, embarrassment heating his whole body.
“Are you okay?” Charli repeated, reaching her slender fingers around his bicep, but he ripped his arm away.
“I slipped,” he barked. She flinched and backed up.
Fuck! Why couldn’t he do anything right? Why did his head have to be so messed up!
“You can take a break if you need to. Mason can fill in at the bar. Jarod just got here to work out front,” Charli offered.
All around the bar people were staring, their unwanted gazes burning a hole in him. Could they see how broken he was?
“I’m fine,” Finn grumbled and shot past her, needing to get busy and prove he wasn’t a complete invalid.
He ignored her and focused on the line of people in front of him.
“Anyone order a beer and you get it half off,” he yelled. Beer was the easiest thing for him to get them and the quickest way to get the line down.
He spent the next forty minutes filling orders before the crowd thinned and he could take a breath. A hand slipped over his shoulder. He tensed and spun around, ready for a fight. His mother’s face greeted him instead.
Her eyebrows drew up. “Finn? What’s wrong?”
I wish everyone would stop asking me that fucking question!
“Nothing. I’m just peachy.”
Charli wiped the bar behind his mother, keeping her gaze on her work.
“Come to the office for a minute. Your dad wants to talk to you,” his mother said, leading him towards the back once again.
He entered the small room, and his mother shut the door. His father sat at the rectangular desk with his reading glasses on, clicking away at the computer as he checked the pile of invoices in front of him. “Hey, son.” His father looked up.
“Hey, Dad. Mom said you wanted to talk about something?”
His mother took a seat on the small, floral love seat at the side of the room. “Come here.” She patted the cushion next to her.
Finn obeyed.
“How were your appointments with the doctors this week?” his mother started.
Invasive as fuck. “Fine.” It seemed like every other day he had one appointment or another. Each doctor had new pills, exercises, or tests they wanted to poke and prod him with. He was just a guinea pig to them. I wish everyone would leave me alone!
“Charli was really worried about you last week,” his mother pressed.
Finn rolled his eyes and sighed. “I already got a lecture from her. I don’t need one from you too.”
“You’d better watch the way you speak to your mother, son.” His father’s tone shifted, letting him know he was on thin ice. Grown man or not, his parents wouldn’t tolerate disrespect.
“Sorry, Ma.”
She placed her hand on his. “I know this whole situation is really hard on you. But you’re not alone. You have Charli, and us, and your friends. We all just want the best for you.”
He sighed, releasing some of his pent-up frustration. “I wish I could remember more.”
