Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Thirteen

Finn lay staring up at the ceiling, grateful to be stretched out on a real bed instead of balled up in the backseat of his mother's car underneath that creepy old railroad bridge. He had listened at the corner of the garage, waiting until they passed through the door above before creeping slowly up the stairs. Yes, his mother had told him to wait in the car, but—free soda or not—who knew what this Cameron Shepherd guy might've been planning as he led her off into the darkness? So Finn had tailed them, and he had stayed hidden in the shadows outside the door for much longer than either of them knew.

"I don't understand..." his mother had said, and Finn rolled his eyes at the memory. Jeez, she could be dense sometimes. Even Finn got that Mr. Shepherd was offering them a place to stay, a place with a roof and a bed and hot water, for crying out loud! What's not to understand? Finn had almost whooped out loud from his hiding place outside the door, but his joy was cut short when his mother balked at the offer, and he had almost cried he was so mad at her. The guy was offering them a place to stay, and she was actually going to say No?! Sure, Finn was all for preserving one's own dignity, but on the other hand, what was dignified about living in a car? Nothing at all. Mr. Shepherd had tried again, but still his mother had hesitated, and Finn had realized then that if he didn't speak up, she was going to botch the whole deal for both of them!

And he was glad that he did, because it had gotten them here, with him lying in a soft bed and his mother—at her own insistence—camped out on the couch, neither of them suffering from any fatal blows to their pride. And this was a much better deal than the one Dickie Betts had offered when he came by their trailer a few weeks ago, when Finn had eavesdropped from the doorway of his bedroom without his mother's knowledge. He hadn't been able to hear everything that was being said, but it must have been pretty bad, because his mom had actually slapped their landlord right across the face, and after Dickie had stormed out, she took a really, really long shower, which she never did because the cost of oil was so high. Finn had been pretty proud of his mom that night, although as far as he could tell from peeking in the window of Bobby Lewis' trailer, she may have overreacted. Unlike his own mother, Bobby's had taken Dickie up on the offer, which didn't seem to involve much more than Dickie humping on top of her for a minute or so and grunting like a wild boar. Still, Finn could tell that it had really bugged Bobby to know that his mom had done that, and even though Finn never told anyone or brought it up, Bobby stopped hanging out with him after that. Plus, Finn knew that what Dickie had done was somehow related to how babies are made, and he sure didn't want his mom to have a baby with Dickie Betts! But for just a split second—when they were being kicked out of their trailer and he'd been forced to leave his Playstation behind, and his mom was lying to the sheriff about where they were going to live—Finn had been so angry that he sort of cursed his mom for not letting Dickie hump on her, because Bobby Lewis' mom had done it, and they weren't being kicked out of their home! But the second the thought had crossed his mind, Finn had hated himself for even thinking it, so much so that when his mom finally got in the car, he'd been too ashamed of himself to even look at her.

But none of that mattered now, because they had a roof over their heads, and his mom had a new job,...

And Dickie Betts is a long, long ways away! Finn rejoiced, turning onto his side and nestling his head deep into the cushy pillow.

As his eyes drifted closed, Finn smiled to himself as he recalled how horrified Mr. Shepherd had been over his mom's interpretation of the word 'arrangement'. Jeez, the poor guy had practically choked on his own tongue when he realized how she had taken his words, and Finn was kind of mad at his mom for jumping to that conclusion so quickly. Just because some guys were jerks didn't mean that they all were. But Mr. Shepherd had recovered pretty quickly, and he even gave in a little on the money issue, although Finn could tell that he really didn't want to. Plus, as he was leaving, Mr. Shepherd had given Finn the apartment key, like he was the man of the house or something, and Finn thought that was pretty cool, because grown-ups hardly ever trust kids with the really important stuff.

Finn yawned. Maybe his mom was right. Maybe that blue sky had been a good sign, after all.