SWNOVELS Finn Rhodes Forever: Chapter 9
I RETURNED HOME THAT EVENING, optimistic about life. I had a plan to get rid of Finn, and it was only a matter of time until I found the flower. My heart squeezed with gratitude for my girls.
In the hallway upstairs from the bar, my key was in my front door lock when I heard a noise.
A rustling noise came from the wall on the other side of the hall. A sliding, scraping noise, and then a thump. My pulse picked up as adrenaline dripped into my blood.
There were two apartments above the bar, but the other one was empty. My dad used it as storage, and since it was after eleven at night, I doubted he was rustling through old photos in there.
Another scrape of something against the floor. The walls were thin. I swallowed, head tilted, staring at the door across from mine.
Maybe it was an animal. Maybe a raccoon got in and was causing chaos in there.
Footsteps thumped across the floor. Loud, clunky, and heavy. My stomach dropped. It wasn’t a raccoon. Someone was in there.
Fuck.
I glanced between my door and the staircase back down to the bar, flipping between my instinct to run inside my apartment, lock the door, and call the police, or hightail it down the stairs and get out of here. Before I could decide, the other door swung open.
Finn stood in the doorway, a devilish grin growing on his features as he crossed his arms and leaned on the frame. His black t-shirt from a local brewery stretched across his broad shoulders. My gaze snagged on his tattoos, inked over the lean, defined muscles of his arms. I recognized a few of those birds from the forest. His gray sweatpants hung low on his hips.
When my gaze returned to his, his grin widened. “Like what you see?”
Um. Yes. “No.” Shit, I was supposed to be his soulmate. “I mean, yes.”
He eyes glittered with amusement.
“What are you doing here?”
He tilted his head behind him. “I’m moving in.”
I strode over and peered past him. Boxes filled the apartment. “Like fuck you are.”
His smirk lifted higher on his lips. “My dad mentioned to your dad that I was looking for a place, and since it’s summer, there’s nothing left. I told Joe I’d be happy to clean the place up for him and do any repairs.”
Oh, fuck no. “What? No. Can’t you live in a shared house with a bunch of twenty-year-old surfers?”
He shrugged, smug gaze on me. “I think he liked the idea of someone being here in case of break-ins.”
I scoffed, blinking at him in disbelief. Our town was so safe. No one was going to break in. I loved my dad, I did, but sometimes, he was so clueless. He had no idea what happened with Finn because I didn’t talk to my parents about that kind of stuff. My mom would know better than to let him live across the hall, though.
“Besides,” Finn added, gaze raking down my body, sending shivers up my spine, “we’re together now, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
My mouth opened to protest but my brain held a hand up to stop me. Right. Together. Getting him to dump me.
Our eyes met and his eyebrows lifted, daring me, and something excited fizzed through my chest.
“Right.” I cleared my throat and offered him my own smirk. “Together.”
“Great.” His eyes glittered.
“Mhm.” I nodded, holding his gaze. “So great. Having you live here across the hall from me is going to be so great… boyfriend.”
The word almost made me gag. His mouth twitched and his eyes gleamed like he was holding back a laugh.
“Goodnight.” I whirled around, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
“Goodnight, Liv,” he called as I slammed the door closed.
I leaned my back against it, breathing deep as I listened to him close his own door. His low laugh rumbled through the walls.
Fuck.
Across the hall? Not only did I have to see the dickhead all summer while we scoured the back country, I was going to run into him every day?
We’re soulmates. Say it.
A rock landed in my stomach. This was going to be so much harder than I expected. Finn wasn’t playing around. He was throwing everything he had at me.
I thought about one of the items I had scribbled on my list of ways to get Finn to dump me, and a smile curled onto my mouth.
Ten minutes later, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, kitchen scissors in hand, a handful of my hair pulled taut in front of me. A crazed look flashed through my eyes and I smiled.
Sadie was going to scream when she saw this, but it would be worth it.
I hacked through the section of hair, shearing off a chunk of my pink waves. They fell into the sink and I stared at them, my blood rushing with delirious energy. I looked up at my reflection and let out a bark of laughter.
I looked terrible.
I snatched up another lock and began to chop.
When I was done, I studied my reflection, beaming back at myself with a look most people would describe as ‘unhinged’. Choppy, uneven bangs framed my cheeks, making my face look both too round and too long at the same time.
It was perfect.
“Hideous,” I whispered at my reflection. Delight fluttered in my chest like butterflies.
Finn wasn’t going to make this easy on me, but two could play at that game. I’d spent a long time stewing in anger over what he did. He was stubborn, but so was I.
Let the games begin.