Page 70 of Meet Cute

The way he laughs should be corny, but it’s honestly terrifying. “What if this is me? Would you still love me, then? If I’m just a gross, disgusting, weirdo who’s crazy about you?”

“You’re upset.”

“I’m not.” Finn scoffs. “Now, what do you want for breakfast?”

Shaking my head, I try to push myself up but his grasp is too strong. “I’m not hungry.”

Watching me struggle seems to amuse him, since he’s grinning like a cocky asshole. “You sure?”

“Finn.”

“Okay,” he lets go. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you.”

There’s something terrifying in his eyes, something wild and so unlike his usual self. “Again.”

“I love you, Finn.”

A kiss on my forehead and then he’s off me. As though it’s another regular morning in our perfect life together. The way he lifts me off the bed hurts a bit, but he doesn’t seem to care. The gentle edge is slipping.

“Now,” Finn kisses the top of my head, “what should we do today?”

FIFTY-THREE

The snow outside has been calming down, yet I don’t feel nearly as good about it as I thought I would. I’m running out of time. Everything is fleeting and somehow I’m being left behind. I have to get out of here.

“You look cute when you sleep,” Finn tries to cut through the idle background noise of the TV but I barely even register it at first. My attention is glued to the screen as some form of distraction. “Everything about you is really cute.”

We’re laid up on the couch, his arms wrapped around me while I rest on top of him. How can someone so soft and sweet be capable of such horrible things? The truth is ugly.

“Thanks,” I say dryly.

“Are you mad at me?”

My head tilts. “No, I… I’m just… processing. I can’t get over all this in a day, Finn.”

“I can make it up to you,” he offers weakly. “Breakfast tomorrow. The whole works. You liked it last time, right?”

“Yeah…” Wait. “Y-Yeah, okay. That would be good.”

He’ll wake up early and be totally distracted. That should give me just enough time to crawl out to the back. It won’t be easy, but it will work. All I need is to make it to a road or something. Someone will find me.

Someone has to find me, right?

“The community is still reeling over the disappearance of twenty-three year old Duncan Armette.” The neutral-voiced news anchor recites. Hearing my name immediately makes me perk up, but it’s not like I can sit up with Finn holding me so tight. “Friends and family say he was struggling with personal issues, with one friend issuing a heartfelt message to him.”

The shot cuts to Haley, but something is amiss. She isn’t halfway across the country in the California sun. Her long black hair is flowing effortlessly in the wind. The snow, the dingy mall behind her… She's here. She came for me. A lump begins forming in my throat.

“Duncan is my best friend,” she says while staring right into the camera with those bright honey eyes of hers. “Things were hard, I know that. But please, Duncan. If you’re out there… please come home. We love you so much. We all miss you. I miss you. I really hope…” Watching her take a moment to recompose herself makes me want to get out of here so much more. “I really hope you’re okay. I love you, Dunk.”

The news anchor returns, and just like that the one sliver of hope I had is reduced to another moment lost to time. Can I really ever get out of here? What would getting out of here even entail, anymore?

What is a life without Finn in it? The past few weeks have been nothing but him. Am I dependent? I could lie to myself and say I’m not, but I am. It’s hopeless and awful, but it’s the truth. I can’t even go to the bathroom without Finn, and the one chance I had at freedom I managed to blow.