True Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Chapter 39

"Hello?"

The concern in Simon's voice set Finn off-kilter. His brother was always so happy-go-lucky. "Simon? It's Finn."

There was a whoosh of air on the other side of the line. "Whew. I thought it might be..." Simon didn't finish his sentence, but Finn understood. He thought it might be someone else using Finn's phone with bad news. He hadn't thought of that. Their usual form of communication was texting. After the incident last year, Campbell had called Simon as his next of kin. 

"Sorry," the apology spilled from his mouth.

"Hey, no worries brother. Always happy to hear from you." And jovial Simon was back. "Where are you? Or can't you say?"

"Actually, I'm stateside again. In Washington." Finn didn't know where to begin, how to tell Simon he had put Emily in danger, how it was his fault Emily was in the hospital now with a hole in her side. But it all came pouring out of him. All the guilt. It was almost cathartic to release it all.

For his part, Simon listened. A surprised oh here and there. When Finn finally wore himself out, Simon took the opportunity to fill the silence.

"That's...it just insane. I... Is Emily going to be okay?"

"Yes. Luckily the bullet didn't hit anything major." Finn swallowed. "But she'll have a scar." The thought sent rolls of regret through him.

His perfect Emily will forever be marred because of his stupidity.

"I see," Simon drew out the last word. "Do... do you want me to come down there?"

The suggestion shocked Finn. Although they had been close as kids, after their parent's died, their lives grew apart.

Aside from the summer Finn spent in Bridgetown, the summer he met Emily, they didn't spend much time together. If Finn was around during holidays or birthdays Simon would come to Washington to see him. Finn never went to Bridgetown to see Simon. Too many memories.

Truth be told, he was afraid to see Emily there. Simon never mentioned the Montgomery family selling the lake house. Simon never spoke about the Montgomery family at all. And Finn never asked.

Finn considered the offer hanging in the air. Under any other circumstances, he would want to see his brother. But now he didn't want to move from Emily's room. "Thanks. But it'd be a wasted trip."

"Okay. You let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Simon," Finn didn't quite know how to start. "There is something. Emily's father..." Finn rubbed his chest, trying to remove the lump there. "He said some stuff. It doesn't make sense."

"What stuff?" The concern from earlier was back in Simon's voice.

"He... he made it sound like ... he accused me of abandoning Emily."

There was silence on the line. Finn expected Simon to call the old man senile or complain about him.

"Simon, are you there?"

"I'm here. Did he say anything else?"

"Well, yes. He implied Emily had a rough time 'getting over me', said she was devastated." Finn heard rustling from Simon, but no denial. "Which is crazy because she ran away from me. I was the one who was... devastated. You remember what it was like."

"I remember," Simon mumbled. Finn didn't understand. He expected Simon to be more irate for his sake.

"Tell me the truth. You saw her over the years. Did Emily appear upset?"