rogue

eight

He adjusts the strap of his backpack and winks at me. "Come on then, Stanton." Finn jogs down the stairs and holds the front door open for me. "Well...?"

I shake my head and gaze at him for a few moments.

Who is this guy and what has he done with Finn?

...

"Where should I drop you off?" He asks as he drives us towards the campus.

It's crazy to think that getting kicked out of Lin's actually did me a favor. I now live in a great neighborhood, in a renovated Victorian house with three apartments, just a five-minute walk from my favorite library.

"I—" My stomach growls. "Just drop me off at the library. I'll grab some breakfast before heading to my study group."

He gives me a sideways glance and grins. "I've brought breakfast for both of us." He nods his head towards the back seat.

I reach for his backpack and unzip it. "Finn." I grab the brown paper bag. "You didn't have to." I say, feeling a lump forming in my throat, and take one of the two delicious-looking muffins.

I nibble on my lower lip and gaze down at the treat.

Get a grip, Chloe. Don't get emotional now—it's just a damn muffin.

"It's nothing, Chloe."

Chloe. He rarely calls me that, and whenever he does, it's like a little poke at my heart.

And because we're doing the friends thing now, I say nothing and occupy my mouth with something else. I take the first bite, and my eyes roll back because it tastes so freaking good.

"Oh, my god. Where did you buy this?"

He clears his throat as he searches for a parking spot. "Didn't buy it," he says curtly and reverses the car.

"No." I choke out a half-laugh. "Don't tell me you bake."

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" He kills the engine and stares at me.

"I just didn't know... Wait, scratch that. Apparently, I don't know a lot of things about you." My mood hits rock bottom because, thinking about it... It's actually kind of sad that I don't know such a trivial thing about him. I've known him all my life, and I know nothing. He's a mystery to me.

"Another thing you don't know about me: I look incredibly sexy in an apron." He tries to lighten the mood.

"Right, Finn." My gaze lingers a little too long at his mouth, so before I get myself in trouble, I hastily open the door and stumble out of his car.

I can hear him laugh to himself behind me.

"You're such a dork," he calls after me.

And because I can't help it, I turn around to tell him off.

"You—" I begin when I see two people approaching from the corner of my eye.

Awkwardly, I stand next to his car as I watch the scenario in front of me. He's back to his usual self, cocky with a loose tongue as he greets his footballer friends. I think the blonde guy is called Taylor, and the one with the short black hair... Garret?

They're always following Finn around like little puppies. I smile at that thought. Not even jocks can resist Finn Warren's charm.

"Dude, what have you done to piss Natalie off?" I block out the conversation as soon as they mention the girl Finn kicked out last night.

"Finn, I gotta go," I say and wait for a response, but he just nods in my direction and turns to leave with his friends.

Ouch.

I didn't expect him to introduce me as his new best friend, but for him to just stop acknowledging my existence as soon as his friends showed up?

"Well, fuck you too, Finn," I grumble to myself and walk towards the library.

And because my life is just perfect, my phone starts to ring.

Dad— the caller ID says.

Damn it.

I take a deep breath and answer the call.

"Da—"

"Do you want to tell me something?" he cuts me off.

"That little son of a bitch," I say and regret it immediately. I love Noelle. "I'm going to kill him."

"Chloe Marie Stanton," my father threatens. "Watch your mouth. Do you have any idea how sad it makes me that Finn is the one calling me to tell me what is going on in your life? Do you have any idea what this does to your mom?"

I stop in my tracks and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I'm so sorry. I messed up."

"Honey, everyone messes up every now and then. That's not the problem here. This is about you not wanting to talk to your family, this is about you not asking us for help."

"I was embarrassed," I admit. "I thought I had everything under control, and then... Everything just went wrong at once. I made the firm lose a major client by messing up emails, I couldn't pay my share of the rent, I..."

"Sometimes I wish you'd be more like your mom," he sighs. "You're just like me. When I was younger, I'd rather go down on my own than ask for help. I don't think I can even blame you."

I sit down on a park bench and drop my head in defeat. "Dad," I begin, but honestly, what am I supposed to say? I fucked up big time. I've lied to him for months. "I don't know what to say. I'm trying to do better now. I don't want to disappoint you. I promise, you don't have to worry about me."

He laughs. "Chloe, you're my daughter—I'm always going to worry about you. That will never change. You'll be forty, and I will still want to make sure you have food in your tummy and a roof over your head. And... Don't ever think that I'm not proud of you. Honey, you're the best thing that ever happened to me and your mother. Just because things aren't like you want them to be right now doesn't mean I'm disappointed. You're just having a hard time; it's not the end of the world."

A little whimper escapes my mouth, and that's when I notice that I've started crying.

"Stop crying. It's not as bad as it looks. Honey, listen to me... You're now focusing on school. I know you want to work and earn your own money, but for now, school is your number one priority. I already talked to Finn; he won't take any money from you, so don't even think about going to him behind my back. We're on the same page there. He's a good boy, and I think it would be a good idea for you two to keep living together."

Finn. Just the sound of his name makes me want to go after him and scratch out his eyes. That backstabbing...

"Chloe?" My dad interrupts my train of murderous thoughts. "Everything is not as bad as you think it is."

"Okay," I say because, honestly? Looking at my life right now, and how I've handled things, it seems like I have no clue at all. So I just have to believe him.

"Okay," I repeat.

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Jessy xx