Lies Inside (4 page)

Rylan came over and sat down next to him, threading her arm through his. “Who gets to talk to you more than I do?”

“It was just Aiden. He wanted to know how my first day back was.”

“That was nice of him. Seems like he misses you.”

“Maybe.”

He rested their hands in his lap as they looked out on their manicured lawn that still had hints of green peeking through from beneath the frost.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he kissed her forehead. “It’s good to be home.”

At that moment, he felt more at ease than he had in years. Coming home was the right decision. He thought he might actually have to thank Veronica someday.

The next day was Friday. Lucy had trudged through the day, making it to English with Finn nowhere in sight. She begrudgingly took her seat. With a few minutes before class started, she decided to pull out her favorite book of Robert Frost poems. Unfortunately, Dave took Finn’s absence as an invitation.

“I’m having a party at my house tonight. You should drop by.”

“I don’t know, Dave. Ry has her competition tonight. I promised her I’d go.”

He seemed to think pushing the hair from her shoulders and giving her a massage would help persuade her. All he seemed to accomplish was giving her that familiar creepy feeling. She had always found Dave attractive and even sweet at times, but he always just tried too hard. To Lucy, it was a total turn off.

“She can come, too, after it’s over. Come on, Luce. It’ll be like old times.” His fingers dug into her a little harder.

“Dave, stop.” Her shoulders were beginning to ache under the pressure.

“Come on. You know you like it.” His thumbs started digging into her collarbone.

“Dave, no. Please stop.”

Dave’s hands released her shoulders rather roughly.

“She said, no!” Finn’s voice was hard and hateful as he pulled his arm back. A split second later, Finn’s fist met Dave’s jaw in a crushing blow.

Dave flew back into the next row of desks as several students gasped. Dave stood motionless, holding his jaw. Lucy saw the rage in Finn’s eyes as he waited patiently for Dave to make his move.

Dave licked the blood trailing from his lip. “Didn’t know you had it in you, O’Malley.”

Miss Fields entered the classroom, and all but Finn and Dave took their seats.

“Finn? Dave? Is there a problem?” Miss Fields asked, interrupting their staring contest.

Finn raised an eyebrow, awaiting Dave’s response.

“No problem. O’Malley and I just had a little...misunderstanding.”

Finn inched his way to his seat after Dave sat in his.

Miss Fields turned down the lights. It was the best part of the semester, comparing “Don Quixote” to the musical version. Miss Fields chose the latest version of “Man of La Mancha.”

Lucy sighed as the credits began to roll and the beautiful score filled the room. Once the first scene started, Finn’s hand found hers.

“Are you okay?” he whispered so softly she almost didn’t hear him.

“Yeah. You?” she mouthed back.

He nodded and squeezed her hand before shooting Dave another glare. It seemed to Lucy that Finn was trying to mark his territory. She knew she should have been mad that he decked Dave in the middle of class, but all she could feel was happy that maybe they were a few steps closer to where she wanted their relationship to go.

He held her hand as he walked her to her next class. She gave him a kiss on the cheek after promising to meet him after school.

Lucy sat wedged between Jack and Finn in the large auditorium waiting for Rylan and her squad to perform. Lucy couldn’t help but notice Finn’s discomfort.

“Hey.” She reached over and took Finn’s hand in hers. “You okay?”

Finn’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed and took a long cleansing breath. “I just don’t like crowds. I almost didn’t come, but I knew Ry would be really upset if I didn’t.”

“I’m glad you came.” She looked down to the hand she held and noticed the slightly bruised knuckles. “Does it hurt?” Her fingertip traced his middle knuckle.

“Not much.”

“We should probably talk about it, don’t you think?” Lucy looked up to see a strange expression on his face—anger with a little bit of what looked like fear.

“Um...yeah. I thought he was hurting you.”

“He was. I mean he sucks at massages, and I knew he just wanted his hands on me, but—”

“No one has the right to put their hands on you if you don’t want them to. I’m sorry if I upset you, but I’m not sorry I hit him.” Finn’s voice quivered a little throughout his short rant.

“I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She laughed softly as she shook her head at the memory of Dave’s shock when Finn punched him. “I wish I could have done it myself.”

“Glad to be of service.” Finn let out his own laugh, and Lucy noticed him beginning to relax.

Jack squirmed in his seat as the announcer introduced Rylan and her squad.

Rylan led the rest of the girls onto the stage floor and took her place. She winked her signature wink toward Jack just before the music started pumping.

Finn sat in awe of his sister’s leadership. She had the routine down to a science with each move flawlessly executed in time with the music.

“I didn’t know.” Finn shook his head in awe.

“She’s good, right?” Lucy grinned as Finn gave a dumbfounded nod. “This is actually kind of an audition, right Jack?” Lucy smacked her brother to get his attention.

“Yeah.” He turned his head back to the stage floor. “There’s a bunch of college scouts here. She’ll get a shitload of scholarship offers after this. Look at her!”

Finn and Lucy turned their attention back to Rylan as Jack beamed with pride for his girl.

“I missed so much.”

“You’re here now.” Lucy gently squeezed his hand. “That’s all that matters now.”

Finn instantly calmed at Lucy’s touch.

The routine ended with screaming applause from the entire audience. Rylan jumped up and down before doing several handsprings off the stage.

“Come on.” Jack pulled Lucy up by the hand, which caused her to jerk Finn up with them.

They all ran down to the stage floor and off to the side where Rylan and the squad were celebrating their magnificent performance.

Jack scooped Rylan up bridal style and twirled her around before setting her down.

“I’m so proud of you. You guys rocked out there.” Jack swooped in for several kisses as Rylan giggled like a little girl.

Her happiness began to rub off on both Finn and Lucy when they both lunged to hug her as soon as Jack released her.

The three of them began laughing hysterically as they shared a three-way hug.

“I’ve never seen you like that. You were amazing.” Finn pulled back and pinched Rylan’s cheek.

“Thanks, little bro. There will be plenty more if we win this thing. It’s only fair that you be at every one since I sat through all those recitals.”

The overhead speaker announced that all the squads needed to return to the stage. Rylan went off with the rest of the girls while Jack, Lucy, and Finn found a good spot to watch the ceremony.

When Clarkstown High School North was announced as the winner, the crowd broke out in a roar.

Jack grabbed Lucy and spun her around before passing her over to Finn.

She held Finn tight as several things happened all at once. The scent of his tangy cologne lingered on his skin just beneath her nose as her face tucked into the nook of his neck. She inhaled and the intoxication hit her immediately. She pressed her lips to his jaw before gently swiping them across his lips.

Once she realized what she had done, she pulled back to look into his eyes. Her hand went up to her face to cover the pink blush on her cheeks.

“Don’t.” Finn took her hand away from her face.

Finn took a deep breath before placing his hand on the back of Lucy’s neck. He brought his lips to hers in a passionate kiss.

Every part of Lucy felt as if it were on fire. She never expected that kind of passion from Finn. Until his mouth met hers, he never thought he was capable of it. Their lips melted together. Their tongues tangling in perfect harmony. She wanted more, so much more. She felt her fingers running through his hair, pulling him closer. His hands were at the back of her waist pulling her hips closer to his. She could feel the burn travel lower inside of her becoming an ache between her thighs she had never experienced before. She knew he felt it too as something rather hard pressed against her.

Finn slowed the intensity of their kiss but couldn’t bring himself to stop. He pecked her lips several times before kissing her forehead.

“I know he’s my brother and all, but that...was hot.” Lucy turned to see Rylan fanning herself as she wrapped her arms around Jack’s waist.

“Hey, she’s my sister.”

That’s when Lucy decided to give her big brother a little payback. “That’s just a taste of what you’ve put me through for years.”

Finn brought his finger to her chin. “I am willing to help you give him another taste.”

“Oh...really?”

“Yes, really.” He lifted her chin, his lips brushing against hers.

They heard Jack clear his throat, loudly. Finn squeezed her hand while he stared into her eyes.

“Um, yeah. I think Finn and I need to take off.” Lucy edged Finn toward the exit.

“How am I supposed to get home?” Jack yelled over the sea of cheerleaders.

“Rylan!” Finn and Lucy screamed at the same time before running out to jump into the Four.

She remained quiet as she found her way back onto the highway, waiting for him to say something. He wiped his hands across his jeans and then gripped the edge of the seat between his fingers. He kept his head lowered in an attempt to compose himself.

“I want you to know, I’ve...I’ve never done anything like that before. I’m sorry.”

When he looked up, he saw her teeth tugging at that top lip of hers. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

He sighed in relief. “I just got really caught up in the moment and everything.”

“Oh, was that all?” Disappointment echoed in her voice.

“No, no. Shit. This isn’t coming out right.” He scratched at his forehead several times before he spoke again. “I wanted to do it. It’s just not how I would’ve planned it. I mean, not in front of everybody like that.”

“You were planning on kissing me like that?” She eyed him while she continued to watch the road.

“We’ll...I...I wanted to. It’s just...like I said, this is uncharted territory for me.”

“Oh.” She looked over at him confused. “Wait. So, you’re telling me, you’ve never kissed a girl before?”

“No, I’ve kissed a few random girls at school, just never like that—never with that much passion. I don’t think I’ve felt passion like that for anything except my music.”

“Then, you’ve never had a girlfriend?”

“Girls that were friends but not anyone I really dated.”

“‘Kay.” She bit on the inside of her cheek as she tried to think and watch the road at the same time.

“Really...I’m dying here. I’ve got to know what you’re thinking.” He smiled.