No Salt

20- the betrayal

Part of me felt shocked, and the other part of me didn't know how to feel.

Finn, trying out for the brookies?

It wasn't right, he could go there.

They would destroy him.

I pushed open the front door of Luke's house, not even realizing tears were going down my face.

Everything was happening so fast, being that close to Josh without Luke or Ryan around. Finding out about Finns try out.

Josh had no doubt done that on purpose, it was probably planned by Kia.

Last time I was a mess, my surfing went down hill. That was probably their plan.

Luke's mom who was standing in the kitchen turned to look at me, concern immediately crossed her face.

"Nora are you alright dear?" She asked putting down the bowl she was currently stirring.

I took in a few deep breaths, realizing I had been running the entire way here.

"Yeah, where luke?" I asked scanning the kitchen area for him.

"Up in his room sweat heart." She said kindly

Allowing me to run up the stairs to his room.

I didn't bother knocking, I don't think I'd ever had, and pushed open the door.

Luke was just laying on his bed scrolling through his phone.

He glanced at me for a moment before sitting up straight in bed.

"Nora, what? Are you ok?" He immediately began asking as he stood up from his bed.

I shook my head no.

"Finns trying out for the Brookies, and I saw Josh, and he's surfing with Josh, and Finns gonna become a brookie, and-" I took a moment to take in a breath, the words just flowing out of my mouth with no room for air.

"Wait, wait, wait, Finns trying out for brookers?" Luke asked the tension of concern growing on his face.

I was still breathing heavily and felt unable to talk.

"Jesus, they are gonna eat him alive." Luke stated turning around and putting his hands behind his head.

He looked out the window towards the ocean before he realized something and turned around.

"You said Josh was there?" He asked

And again I nodded my head, biting down on my upper lip so bad it hurt.

"Are you ok? Did he touch you? Did he try to do anything?" Luke's voice began to fill with concern and anger.

The thought of Josh being anywhere near me never made him happy, but Josh near me while I was alone I think scared him.

One could almost forget that Luke lived a bad life till the age of 14, but when he got angery you quickly remembered. Lord help the person who made Luke angery.

I shook my head no.

"No, Finn was there."

Luke licked his lips in an anxious tick as a type of relief crossed his face.

"Ok good." Was all he said

Luke turned and sat back down on the edge of his bed, he set his elbows on his knees and looked up at me wanting me to say something. Express how I was feeling.

"I don't want him to be a brookie Luke." I stated my voice cracking.

"Nora we can't chose where Finn surfs , he's his own person."

I hugged myself as I stood in Luke's room.

His room wasn't much different from the one at my house, just slightly more decorated and lived in.

"I know. But the thought of them doing what they did to me, to Finn." I explained

Luke didn't say anything, the thought had crossed his mind too.

Him and Finn had growing close in the last month Finn had been here. To see Finn decide to be a brookie, well it doesn't feel good to anyone.

I let out a sigh before walking over and sitting next to Luke, biting the inside of my cheek as I thought.

None of this was good, Luke was right, they were going to eat him alive. Not with surfing, but mentally, they were going to turn him into someone he wasn't.

The kind, uncaring Finn would soon be gone, and I wasn't ready to give that up.

"Nora, even though I'm not showing it this does bug me." Luke said softly easing into the heavy conversation.

"But I think it hurts you more, because you know whats its like to be a brookie and you don't want that to happen to Finn."

Yes he was right, but it wasn't just that. There was another feeling of hurt in my heart.

"That and you know you're about to lose the Finn you like, maybe love." He said the last part with caution, awaiting my reaction.

I gave him none, instead I looked down at his hard wood floor. Holding back tears I decided to play dumb.

"I'm not in love with Finn." I stated my voice hushed and denying.

Luke, didn't like my awnser, he didn't believe it.

"I'm your brother Nora, you really can't lie to me." Was all Luke said before standing up.

The bed rose slightly from his lack of weight and I looked up at him.

Deep down I knew I was lying to Luke, maybe even lying to myself because I didn't want to admit it.

Last time I thought I was in love, It wasn't. I was so caught up in the idea I dont realize how bad everything was. All I wanted was to date someone like me, someone who was good at surfing understood the pressure.

Now, I hadn't even tried to fall for Finn. In fact I'd tried to avoid it with him being my roommate.

But it didn't matter now. Not with him being apart of the brookies, I can't stand to be around them and sooner or later Finn would become one of them.

Thats just what the Brookies did, no matter the type of person you were. They manipulated you until you were just like them, it was almost a brand imagine, their toxicity.

"Its doesn't matter if I do like him Luke." I paused for a moment, realizing that I had finally admitted.

At some point or another of Finn being in Ocean Bay, I fell for him. Hard and fast, there was no other way to explain it.

"Because sooner or later he'll become someone that I didn't fall for."

Luke looked at me with pitty and I could even look back at him.

Life had decided to fuck me over again,and it hurt. But I guess I'd gotten so used to it that it no longer felt like pain.

It felt numb, I cared but I didn't.

There was nothing I could do, so why bother.

I couldn't deal with the brookies, I could barely look at them without remembering everything they'd done.

Finn had dug his grave,unfortunately.

And I wasn't going down 6 feet with him.

All I could do was stand there and wait for him to ask for help out of the hole.

Words: 1165