The Stories Behind Finley Robinson (Young Adult)

Nine: Whirlwinds

Finley

My leg moves and feels a coolness of the sheet beneath me. Lilly is curled up next to my leg and my movement causes her to stir and shift her weight.

There is a light knock on the front door to my flat, but I ignore it. It's must be too early for normal people if Lilly isn't bothering me to take her out.

Allowing one eye to open a sliver, I look at the window to see how much light is seeping in but the curtains are drawn too tight to make a decent assumption. The light rapping on my door continues and I continue to not give a damn. I reach for my phone, but it's not on the end table.

Instead of caring about the time, or whom is asking for my attention, I roll onto my back and go back to sleep.

***

"Finley! Good God! Are you still sleeping? It's nearly one o'clock and your friends are trying to reach you!"

A hyper or frantic Juliet pulls the curtains open, sending an arrow of light through my head. I cover my eyes with my arm.

Juliet, I think. Why are you here?

A cold pillow hits me in my privates, creating more discomfort.

"Cover yourself!" Juliet yells. "Are you always naked in your flat?"

"You are really, really, bad at waking someone up," I say, as I roll to the side. "Now, what and the bloody hell are you going on about, Juliet?"

"Well, your friends are trying to get ahold of you and you're not answering your door or your phone. Something has happened," Juliet's says, a little calmer.

"Happened?" I ask, peeking out at her from under my arm.

"Yes, something with Angela, but they have not said what. They just asked me to see if you were here, and still alive."

I sit up and look at her.

She smiles and giggles a little. "Finley, you are adorable when you wake. Your hair is a mess and you have pillow marks on your face. You look like a little boy with rosy cheeks."

I smile warmly at her and feel myself start to stiffen underneath the pillow she's thrown at me. "Why don't you get over here and see how much of a man I really am?"

Juliet rolls her eyes and to my surprise, she walks toward the bed. Just as I am about to grab her hand and pull her down, she grabs Lilly and walks away, "I'm taking her out. Get up, get dressed, find your phone, and call Kellan or Adam." She leaves my room with my dog, leaving me stranded.

"You're very bossy, you know?"

"I know," she shouts just before the front door closes.

I don't bother getting dressed. Juliet, in fact, is not in charge of me, but I do find my phone to call Kellan but the battery is drained, making it unusable. I plug it into a charger in the kitchen and make some coffee.

As soon as my phone is charged enough to turn on, it starts dinging and vibrating with text and voice messages.

Juliet was not kidding! Something has happened. I pick up the phone and dial at the same time as the front door opens.

"Kellan, its Fin. What the hell is going on?" I ask, as Juliet enters the kitchen and sees me standing there naked.

"Finley," Kellan says at the same time as Juliet shreeks and yells about being naked in the kitchen. "Can you come to Adam's right away? Angela has been arrested for the murder of her ex-husband."

"What? Angela was arrested? For murder?" I ask, in complete shock.

"Yeah Mate," Kellan says, in a rush. "Get over here as soon as you can."