on golden pond | fillie

august

finn's p.o.v.

i lift my head from the crook of millie's neck, eyes searching for the clock.

it reads quarter past 8 and my breath catches. 

"mills i need to get home,"
i huff.

she stirs from her slumber and blinks her eyes open.
"hmmm?"

i lift myself from her bed, kissing her gently.  "i should get home."  i repeat.

she nods.

as i'm leaving millie leans in her doorway, watching.

"hey millie?"  i turn back.

"yea loser?"

"what's the date today?"  i scratch the back of my neck.

my girlfriend bites her lip, thinking.
"uh..."  she looks down.  "shit," she mutters.

"what?"

her wide eyes meet mine.
"finn, it's august first."

-

i run down the path between our cabins, my heart racing.

august first was the one day i had to be home for, i have to be there for my mum and nick and i failed.

i failed them.

when i arrive back at the cabin guilt plagues my mind.

i look up and taste the sun, taking a deep breath before entering the cabin.

the photo album lays strewn on the kitchen table, nick's nowhere to be found.

my heart sinks when i hear muffled sobs from my mother's room.

i sit beside her on the bed.
"please don't be mad,"

she looks up at me with glassy eyes.
"i'm not mad finn,"

a smile tugs at my lips.

"just disappointed."
she gazes out her bedroom window

"mum, i'm sorry." 
i look down.

"you know i get it; this summer love thing." my mother shakes her head. "but finn-"  her voice breaks.  "-family comes first."

my shoulders fall.

"nick needed you today; i needed you."  her soft spoken voice sends chills up my spine.

her shaking hands clutch a picture of her and my father, the summer before he passed away.

my father died on august first.  he and nick went on a drive into town, a semi truck was driving the wrong way on the highway and they didn't stop.
nick survived; our dad didn't.

i take hold of my mother's hand and we sit like that for a while.

"where's nick?" 
i speak cautiously.