“Anyone who can’t see that you’re the fucking trophy can fuck right off.”
Dead silence follows as heat blazes across my cheeks. Dane isn’t even coughing now, hopefully not because he heard my embarrassing outburst.
Would Allen have said something like that?
Shit.I might’ve gone too far.
I clamp my mouth shut and drive. Eventually, I glance at Finn again to find him frowning at me. He searches my face then, and those stupid butterflies I’ve been pretending not to feel take off in a frenzy.
Fuck.
I clear my throat and force a smirk. “So… who’s the new guy? We can trip him during track walk. I hear falling into a rock garden hurts like a motherfucker.”
He doesn’t laugh like I hoped.
“She’s with Raine now.” The name punches the air from my lungs like I’ve been kicked. “Yeah,” Finn agrees flatly, seeing my reaction. “She likes standing next to a ‘real winner.’” For the first time, his voice takes on a bitter edge.
I glance at him again.
Is he bitter because of how things went, or is he still in love with her?
“I didn’t love her,” he states, like he could read the question off my face. “Not really. I loved the way it felt to not be alone for a while. She filled a space, but not the one who mattered. Just so we’re clear on that.”
Before I can even think of how to answer that, a loud bang explodes beneath us, followed by the bus violently jerking to the right.
“Shit!” My foot slams the brake while I try to course correct and keep us from swerving off the narrow mountain road.
“Front tire’s blown,” Finn cuts in from where he’s now standing beside me, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Just ease it. Slow it down…”
The steering wheel bucks like it’s alive, and I fight it, but the whole damn bus feels like it wants to roll over and die in that ditch, and I’m not strong enough to stop it.
No, no, no.
Finn takes charge by grabbing the wheel, his arm pressing into mine.
“It’s okay,” he says softly. “I’ve got you. We’ve got this.”
The wheel jerks again, and I gasp, but his hand stays firm, and the panic crawling through my ribs starts to slow, just a little, becauseFinn is here.We’re still moving, lurching toward the shoulder, but it’s less wild now.
“Almost there,” he murmurs right near my ear. “Just keep it straight. Let it roll out.”
And somehow, I do.Wedo.
The bus finally groans to a stop, leaning hard on one side like a wounded animal. My hands are glued to the wheel like it might take off without me, and Finn’s hand is still there too. We just breathe for a moment. The silence wraps tight around us, heavy with everything that could’ve gone wrong.
Then he moves, not away but closer. His fingers lift a strand of my short hair from where it’s stuck on my temple and gently tucks it away. Then his palm brushes over my shoulder, down to the middle of my back in a steady, soothing line, making goose bumps erupt all over my spine.
“You did good,” he says quietly. “We’re okay.”
I swallow hard and nod, even though I’m not sure I believe it.
“Thanks,” I murmur shakily.
He gives me one last look and then moves toward the back. “I’ll check on Dane.”
As soon as he disappears down the aisle, I drop my forehead to the wheel and let out a subtle, wounded sound.
God.
