Heartless Legacy (Heartless Heirs of Canyon Falls #4)

41. Finn

Chapter 41

Finn

I ’m in line behind Thea, but she hasn’t spoken to me. That’s fine. We don’t need words to communicate. For instance, the death glare she’s giving me is supposed to remind me she wants me to leave her alone. As if I could ever do that. In what world does she think I’d want to do that? That fantasy world doesn’t exist.

I think back over our conversation in the classroom. I’m missing something. Nothing she said is reason enough to end things. I agree that Pax’s relationship is highly problematic, but the rest of it doesn’t make sense.

How is Pax’s fuck up, our fuck up? Doesn’t she understand how badly he’s betrayed us too? Didn’t we tell her how we feel about that? No. No, we didn’t. Which is why she’s lumping us in with him. Holden and I don’t agree with Pax’s actions. We’re pissed off too, but as a group we decided to get answers from her, and even though we were in a locked room, we were still in a public space and couldn’t risk anyone knowing we’re at odds.

Fucking Trium. Fucking Pax. He’s interfering in my twisted fairytale again. There’s no way I should be penalized because of this. If Thea wants to kick him out of the group. Fine. I’ll take one ass cheek, she can have the other. But I’m not gonna keep sleeping in my bed, alone , now that she’s back.

The line hasn’t moved, but that doesn’t stop me from stepping forward. I’m close enough that I can see my breath stirring the tendrils of hair on the nape of her neck. She finally hisses, “Finn, I’m not in the mood for your shit today.”

“What about tomorrow?” She lets out the cutest little growl. “Fine. Don’t be in the mood today, tomorrow, or even next week. I heard you when you said you’re moving on, and I respect that.”

“How close you’re standing doesn’t feel respectful.”

I amend, “I want to respect that.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“You are, Pet. I don’t know how to give you what you want and get what I want at the same time.”

“The simple answer is that you can’t. Someone can’t have what they want.”

Shaking my head, I say, “That mindset doesn’t work for me.”

“And yet, none of what I need is about you, or making things good for you. I’m putting me and my mental health first.”

“Good idea. You do that. I support that. But I’m not letting you freeze me out. You’re mad at Pax . I get it. But I didn’t have anything to do with his decision to match with Eloise.”

“I’ve heard Eloise talking Finn. They’re not just matched. They’re engaged.”

“Unofficially. Yes. But I had nothing to do with that either. I was trying to get her out of my life. My plan wouldn’t have included tossing her over to Pax.”

“And yet, that sounds exactly like the plan you had. For all of you to share me.”

“You’re not Eloise. And yes, we planned to share you. This is not the same situation for me. Or Holden.”

She takes a step forward, and I do the same, eating up the distance between us once again. “It’s not just that, Finn. This whole thing was way too complicated, anyway.”

“It’s not.” I say, ignoring her use of the past tense. “It’s unconventional, sure. But who wants to conform? What we have works, and we’re just going through some hiccups because Pax is an idiot. Holden and I are not, and I guess neither is Deacon. So the three of us will pick up Pax’s slack until his head is screwed back on right, or we officially vote him off the island.”

“Finn.” She sighs, “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me.”

“He’s with Eloise now. I’m not just gonna hang out with her.”

“Then we don’t hang out with her.” She shifts, angling her body to the side, so I’m no longer directly behind her. She’s got this cute little crinkle in the middle of her forehead. “What? Was I supposed to complain? Thea, you’re my girl. You’re the person I need to make happy. Trust me, it’s no hardship to avoid Eloise.” I nudge her forward towards the order station. “Starting now.” Pointing to the menu, I say, “Order anything you like. It’s on me.”

“Unless you fucked with it, my meal account is paid in full.”

“I know. But saying that made me feel useful.” There’s the barest twist of her lips, before she’s looking at me blank eyed again. Barest twist is a start.

She orders her food and stands off to the side, watching as the guy she gave her order to walks into the kitchen area. It reminds me of what Holden does. I guess he rubbed off on her. I place my order on the other side of the station and wait for her to get her food. When the guy emerges with her tray, there’s a slice of cake on it that isn’t on the desert station.

I check out the server again. Is he new here? I don’t remember seeing him before, and he might not get seen again if he’s giving extra special deserts to my girl. He says, “I’ll see you next time, T.”

“Thanks, G.”

His gaze flick to me and he smiles. Fucking smiles. Which is the last thing he should do when I’m plotting his murder.

“You’re friendly with the staff.”

“The staff?” Looking back at the serving line, she asks, “You mean G?”

“Oh, is G, his name?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. That’s what I call him.”

“And he calls you T. How cute. Is he the new life you’re trying to lead?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “If he is, that would be none of your business.”

“I think we’ve already established that everything you do is my business, even when you don’t want it to be.”

I can feel Pax staring at me as we make our way to Thea’s table, but I ignore him for now. This is what Thea needs. She doesn’t want to be around him and Eloise. Actually, she never wanted to sit at the legacy table to begin with. She only did it to make things easier for Pax.

Fuck giving the school the wrong impression. She’s making a statement. Showing she’s not just okay with what everyone and the three blind mice would see as a betrayal. Sitting beside her where she’s most comfortable, it’s the least I can do to show I’m still here for her. Still want her.

My phone buzzes with a text from Holden. Perceptive as always, he wants to know if I need him to come over here, too. I send back a reply.

Finn

No man, stay over there. After the shit Thea said in the classroom, I won’t be able to eat if I have to look at Pax and Eloise.

Holden

You think I can?

We can’t both abandon Pax. Even if he is an idiot for hooking up with Eloise.

Fine. But the next meal you get to suffer over here and I get to be with Thea.

We’ll see about that. Thea ignores me the entire time we’re eating. I know what she’s doing. Leaning in so no one hears, I say,. “It’s not gonna happen, Pet. Getting rid of me. It’s never gonna happen. You take time to yourself, but I’m not going away.”

She doesn’t respond, but I can tell she’s listening. The height of her shoulders lower as she interacts with her friends. I comment if asked a direction question, but other than that, I let her pretend I’m not here. When she’s finished, she stands to leave and I walk her to the door, holding it open for her.

Thea shoots me a look I can’t decipher, slips through it, and hurries down the path that leads to the athletic building. While I wait for Pax and Holden, I think of other ways I can give Thea space while I’m spending time with her.