Stick around (RINNEY)

4

When Finney enters the house, he's met with the familiar sound of almost deafening silence. His dad was blacked out on the sofa, a beer bottle stuck in his hand and the TV still on, quietly playing some catchy jingle for an advertisement.

Finn guessed Gwen was already asleep as she had been going to bed earlier than usual a lot lately, when Finney asked why she just blamed it on homework, saying she had too much.

Finney sighed at the pitiful sight in front of him. He really hated being at home sometimes. It was like always having the whole weight of the house on his shoulders, daring to collapse at any given moment. It was like being covered in a blanket of loneliness 24/7 that is slowly suffocating him, slowly killing him. He was trapped. Trapped in the house of trauma. It was almost impossible for anyone to believe that this house, so dead and cold, was once filled with so much love and warmth.

He grabbed the TV remote from beside his dad, turning it off, the room descending into complete silence. The only bit of light was coming from the old lamp sat on the wooden table. Finn removed the beer bottle from his father's hand, placing it to one side. He made sure not to turn off the light just in case his dad woke up and needed to see where he was going.

Finney made his way into the kitchen, turning on the light. His eyes draw to the high stacks of dirty dishes layed out just waiting to be cleaned. He knew no one else was going to do it, so he put the plug in the sink and started filling it with warm, soapy water. He picked up the wash cloth and started on the plates.

When he was nearly done with washing up, he heard some movement coming from the living room. He dismissed it as his dad shuffling in his sleep, but then he heard footsteps slowly approaching the kitchen.

"Finney?" His dad slurs from behind him. "Finney, is that you?" Finn stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at his father, who was swaying side to side at the door frame that connects the kitchen to the living room.

"Yeah, it's me." He nodded gently.

"Have you...uh-Have you eaten?" Terrance asks in a low raspy voice.

"Yeah." Finney lied. He knew there was currently nothing in the fridge other than beer. But it was ok because Finney didn't eat a lot anyway.

"Good." They stayed quiet for a bit, an uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding Finney's side. He watches as Terry stumbles slightly, catching the wall in the last second. Finney put his hands out and walked over to him, trying his best to keep the other steady.

"Come on. Let's get you to bed." Finney whispered. Leading him down the hall towards his parents' bedroom. Finney was grateful in that moment that they didn't have stairs in the house. He couldn't imagine how much harder that would be. He uses one hand to turn the door knob, gently opening it. He guided his dad to the bed, carefully placing him down. He was going to leave, but before he could, his dad grabbed his wrist, causing his head to snap towards him.

"I don't say this enough, but I love you." He says, his grip loosening slightly. "I might not always show it, but I truly couldn't get on without you, boy." His ears started to tear up slightly. Finney didn't know what to do. He just sucked in a breath and nodded.

"I know, dad." He watched as his breathing began to slow, and his eyes began to close. His chest rose and fell, soft snores escaping his lips, and his arm dropped down, releasing Finney's arm.

Finney quietly left, knowing his dad would be back to his normal self in the morning.

He started heading down the hall, towards his own bedroom, wanting to get out of his outside clothes quickly.

The door to Gwenny's room creaked opened and she came out, a small blanket thrown across her shoulders and a tired yet confused look on her face.

"Finney?" She forced out, stopping him from entering his own room.

"Gwen? I thought you were asleep?" Finney pointed out. She merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Is dad alright?" She asked in worry. Finney nodded his head reassuringly.

"Yeah. He'll be fine." He said.

"Can I stay in your room tonight? Like we used to?" When they were younger, Gwenny had really bad and vivid nightmares, she would come into Finney's room, and they would talk until she fell asleep. For some reason, she felt safe in Finney's room. Like nothing bad would ever happen to her as long as she was with her big brother.

"You're having nightmares again?" She bowed her head, staring at her feet as she nodded slightly. Finney let out a small sigh. "Ok. I didn't feel like going to sleep straight away anyway." He said, opening his door for her. "Stay here. I'll go get dressed in the bathroom." He said, picking up the pile of clothes from his chair, allowing her to sit down on it.

"Thank you." She muttered quietly as Finney was leaving.

When he comes back from the bathroom, he sees Gwen spinning herself around on the chair for entertainment, waiting patiently for him to come back.

"You better not hog all the blankets tonight." Finney said, putting his outside clothes in his top draw. Gwenny puts her hands up.

"What! I would never." She giggled, causing Finn to roll his eyes. "Anyway..." She sang, dragging out the y. "Did you speak to Robin?" Finney looked to his feet, an uncontrollable smile growing on his face.

"I might have." Gwenny's face lit up, and she sat up straighter, inching to find out more.

"And?" She smirked.

"And he lost the wrapper with my number on it and asked for it again."

"I told you!" She yelled before calming herself back down, remembering the person asleep, only across the hall from them. "You should've just asked him before jumping to a conclusion."

"I know." Finney replied, moving over to sit on his bed. "I just always expect the worst." He shrugged. They both quieted down as they got lost in thought. Finney remembered Robin in that old blue car with Vance. "Hey, did you know that Robin and Vance Hopper are friends?" Finney spoke, breaking the peace.

"Well, it makes sense." She started. "The two most toughest kids in school hanging out with each other. They're practically untouchable together." Finney hummed in response as he started to think. He bet Robin and Vance never had to run in fear of getting beat up.

"It's still kinda weird. I mean, Vance is two years older than us." Finney pointed out.

"His own fault for getting held back twice."

"Yeah, I guess." Finney mumbled.

"Ever way, I'm glad you've got a friend." Gwen rested her head back, her eyes starting to become heavy.

"Yeah. Me too." Finney answered, feeling his own eyes grow heavy.