Page 72 of Meet Cute

Huffing, I stare out into the forest trail. Trees seemingly lean in on both sides, creating a narrow and very unwelcoming path for me to follow. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. The fuck was I thinking?

Am I insane? I’m not any better than Finn if I thought I was going to power my way to freedom. My legs are broken. I doubt they’ll ever work again, because even though they’re “healing” they definitely aren’t healing right.

Any pressure makes me see white, and this little adventure has effectively killed my pain receptors. Of course said pain is still there, ever present and burning, but I have to ignore it. I have to. I have to keep going.

But I’m tired…

Then a snowflake falls on the tip of my nose, and I finally break. Tears run down my cheeks like an endless faucet of despair, my head hung low in shame as the sniffles turn to ugly sobs.

Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. You’re no less pathetic than you were when you ran away from your family, Duncan. Couldn’t do it then, and I can’t do it now.

I can’t do anything.

In a feeble attempt to push onwards, I raise my hand and then let it fall into the snow. The wet coolness encompasses it entirely, numbing it of anything other than an icy sting.

Snow continues to fall, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll bury me soon. It’s almost ironic how I got what I wanted in the end, just not at all how I thought it’d be.

I guess that’s how a lot of things go though, don’t they? I wanted to be loved, and to love back—and I got it, but I got it wrong. Unless it’s not wrong? Finn’s love is intense, and not at all like what I thought it would be, but it’s still love.

Does that make it bad? Does that make it worth any less? Maybe he never ruined anything. Maybe I don’t hate him. Maybe I ruined everything, and I hate myself. God, I really do. Nobody hates me more than me. Nobody even fucking cares about me.

Except him.

Finn loves me. He loves me more than I do. More than anyone else, and it still wasn’t enough. I still threw it away like nothing. I need him. Oh, god, I need him. With a violent breath, my body begins trembling even faster than it already was.

It’s really cold. I think I’m going to die. This is worse than being plunged into freezing waters, because I’m very aware of the ground beneath me. It’s my body that won’t move, my body that won’t listen. Nobody ever listens. Nobody ever listened except Finn.

My legs hurt more than they ever have in my time at Finn’s house, which only makes me cry harder. I’m never going to heal. I’m never going to be myself again. I’m never going to know anything other than agony.

Then I hear footsteps.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Boots sinking into snow and then doing it all over again. Distant, and then close. He makes quick work of the path that took me so long to get through. I know he’s there, standing over me. What kind of face is he wearing? Anger? Worry? Indifference?

It’s not like I could turn if I wanted to, but then I feel it—his gloved hand flipping me onto my back so our eyes can meet. He’s scared, with thick brows pushed together and a trembling lower lip.

I would’ve expected anger. Screaming, crying, something to let me know he was pissed. But instead he tilts his head down at me, eyes wide and devoid of anything other than panic.

Finn’s grip on each wrist is tight, pinning me down against the dirt as snow melts underneath us. This is it, isn’t it? I’ve done it now. He’s going to kill me just like he killed his dad. He’s going to do what he should’ve done back when I was down in that awful basement.

“Come inside, Duncan.”

FIFTY-FIVE

“I-I wasn’t going t-to!” My teeth chatter as I sob in a weak attempt to win him back. “P-Please, b-believe me… I-I’m sorry, Finn. S-So sorry.” The words linger in the air like a haunting whisper.

“I know,” he says.

Finn kneels down, arms wrapping around me in that protective hold I didn’t know I missed. He picks me up, holding me close to his chest. His warmth soothes my aching heart, providing me much needed comfort as snow continues to mercilessly come down.

“Please d-don’t give up on me…” I hiccup between my ugly whimpers. Snot runs down my nose, my face red from the chilly weather. “I’m so-oory, please… P-Please stay w-with me…”

He lets out a little closed-mouth chuckle, brushing his lips against my cheek. “Never, bunny. I’d never leave you.”

The walk back to the house is a blur. Bright sunlight is replaced with the warm hues of the house, slow steps taking me to the bathroom. My clothes are stripped off of me as the bathtub fills with steamy water

Finn is gentle as he washes the hurt away from my freezing body. No inch of skin is left untouched, and then he pulls the plug. He doesn’t even care that I’m getting his clothes soaking wet with my bullshit. He doesn’t mind. He pats me dry, keeping me close as he does so.