Finn
It shouldn't hurt as much as it does. I wanted to be with Lilah more than anything, but of course all my poor family cares about is money.
I don't love Maddie. She doesn't love me either. It's our families that are pushing us together. My parents want money, and Maddie's parents were counting on me to help get her act together. Obviously that hasn't gone over very well. The only thing that's come out of this for her is popularity.
I unlocked my front door and went to my room, getting out the homework for today, to get it over with.
About a half hour into it, I hear the front door open and close, letting me know that someone was home. I got up from my bed and walked out into the kitchen.
"Hey Finn." My mother greeted as she set her grocery bags on the counter. I immediately went to help her put them away.
"How was school today?" She made small talk as we put away the food she bought.
"It was fine." I lied, and she raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, it was bad."
She set down the bag of apples she was about to pour into the fruit basket and turned to look at me. "What made it bad?"
I can talk to my mom about anything. It's always been like that since I was little. We'd mainly just complain about my dad.
"You know that girl I mentioned, Lilah?" Of course she knew who I was talking about. I talked about her all the time, she even knows about Lilah's kidnapping.
"Do I? No, I don't remember you mentioning her." Mom joked, and I laughed with her.
"Anyways, I had to friend zone her today. I didn't want to. You know how I feel about her, mom." I told her.
"I'm so sorry. I wish things could be different but I can't get your father to agree with me. I keep telling him that we'll find another way to make the money, but he just won't have it."
"It's okay. I know you don't really have a say in how things go. The worst part though, was looking into her eyes and seeing her heart break."
"I will try to talk to your father again." She promised before kissing me on the forehead.
We continued to put the groceries away, this time in silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I jolted awake at the sound of yelling from the kitchen. I looked over at my phone to see that it's 2:00 am.
I reluctantly got out of bed and speed walked out into the kitchen to see what was going on.
"You need to let him choose what's best for himself!" I heard my mom yell as I walked down the hallway. When I got into the kitchen, I saw my mom and dad standing across from each other. They both had angry looks on their faces.
"As long as he's living in this house, I'm the one who's gonna decide what's best for him!" My dad shouted. I shrunk into the corner as I listened in on their conversation.
"Fine. Then I guess he just won't live in this house anymore." Mom snapped.
"What did you just say?" Dad's face turned red.
"I said, we're leaving." My mom spoke, bitterness in her tone. "And the only time i'm ever going to see you again is when we're filing the papers for divorce."
I gasped, audibly and she whipped around towards me. A mix of shock and worry were engraved on her face.
"Finn... How long were you standing there?"
"Uhm... not long." I stuttered.
"Who cares? We need to talk this through. This is a decision we are supposed to make together. You can't just spring it on me!" Dad shouted.
"This is for Finn and me. I'm not letting you have a say in it." She spoke. "You're the one who said that Finn could leave."
"Yeah. Finn. Not you!" He yelled, and my heart wrenched. How could he even say that? Sure, we never really got along, but he was my father.
"Finn is our son. Wherever he goes, I go." She shot back before walking into her room.
I followed after her and saw that she had started packing a bag.
"Mom! Are you serious, right now?"
"Yes. I am serious." She said, turning to look at me. "This will be good for us. We'll be free to live the way we want to."
"Mom we don't have anywhere to go."
"We'll stay in hotels until we find a place. Things will work out. We just need to get out of here." I heard the front door slam.
"I might have an idea. Don't get your hopes up." I said, pulling out my phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thanks again, Alice for letting us stay here." My mom said as she set her bag down.
"Of course. You guys are good friends. We help friends in need." Alice smiled. Logan came down the stairs just to engulf me in a hug.
"Hey man. I'm sorry about what happened."
"It's okay. I'll get through it." I muttered into his shoulder.
Logan let go of me and motioned for me to follow him. When we got to his room, there was an air mattress with a comforter and pillows on it.
"I hope this works for you." He gestured to the air mattress.
"Yeah. It's perfect, thanks." I nodded before setting my bag down beside it.
It was now about 4:00 am so we decided to go to bed since we still had to go to school the next day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lilah had been avoiding me all day. I've made eye contact with her a couple times. She looks so heartbroken.
It was lunch time when I finally decided that it was time to get it over with. So, instead of sitting at my normal lunch table. I asked Maddie to meet me out in the courtyard, where no one really ate.
"Why do we have to sit out here? All the girls and I were gonna plan the party for tomorrow night. Oh yeah, don't forget to wear navy blue to go with my white dress." Maddie sat down at one of the picnic tables.
"I'm not going to your party Maddie." I stated starting off the conversation.
"What? You have to go! You're my boyfriend! Everyone needs to see us there together. With matching outfits." She begged.
"Maddie. We need to talk."
"We are talking, silly." She giggled and grabbed my hands. I just stared down at them.
"Maddie. I want to break up." The smile on her face turned to a frown, and tears started to pool in her eyes.
"What? Finn, why? This is good for both of us. I've actually started to like you."
"Maddie, I don't love you. You know that. The only reason we're even in this relationship is because it's what our families want."
"Finn, your being crazy. This is how it should be. We're the perfect match! It doesn't matter how we feel about it. It's what is supposed to happen." She tried to reason.
"That's where your wrong. Your supposed to be with someone because you want to be with them, because you love them. I see the way you flirt with other guys. I know that you don't want to be tied down anymore."
"I just don't want my parents to be disappointed in me." A sob escaped her throat.
"I know. They won't be. They'll be disappointed in me. It was my decision. Not yours." I pulled her into a hug and she sobbed into my shoulder.
"It's that Lilah girl, isn't it?" She said softly.
"What?"
"Finn, I know you love her. I can see it in your eyes when you look at her or talk about her. I'm holding you back from her." I sighed and let go of her, slowly nodding my head. "Go tell her how you feel. Don't worry about me."
"Thank you Maddie. For understanding."
"Of course." She gave me a small smile before she walked back into the school.
Maddie didn't deserve this. Although she seems a little rough from the outside, she's really a sweet girl who would do anything for the people she cares about.
I couldn't say that I regret the past five months with her. It was actually pretty nice. I always saw her as more of a friend though.
Now it was time for me to find the girl that I always said was just a friend, and tell her that she's so much more than that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Have you seen Lilah anywhere?" I asked Kayla while we walked out of the building. She pointed to the street just in time to see Lilah's care drive out of the parking lot.
"No! Are you kidding me?" I yelled, gaining a few looks from the students around us. I ran out the door trying to get her attention but it was too late. Her car was already driving out of sight. I hear footsteps behind me.
"I'm sorry Finn. I don't know what's up with her." Kayla said softly, putting her arm on my shoulder.
"She's been avoiding me all day."
"Maybe because you friend zoned her and I don't think she's able to hide her feelings."
"I broke up with Maddie."
"You what?!" The hand was removed from my shoulder and Kayla moved so she was standing in front of me.
"We don't belong together. I want to be with Lilah. She knows that so she told me to tell her before it was too late."
"Wow. You should drive over there and tell her." She suggested.
"I'm sure she doesn't want to see me."
"Trust me, she does." Kayla thought for a moment. "I'll come with you. I'll try to convince her to talk to you."
"If anyone can, it's you." I agreed, before pulling my keys out of my pocket and swinging them around my finger. "Let's go."
Thanks for reading! Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. We're nearing the end of the book now! Stay tuned for the last couple chapters.
Please vote and comment if you liked it!
~haylie♥