“I was so scared to tell you that he was the father that I kept it a secret. That I denied him those months of being a part of my pregnancy,” Isla spits at him.
“Issy,” Oscar says painfully.
“I can’t blame you for everything that has happened between Finn and me over the years, but you were to blame for a lot of my pain. Finn pushed me away out of loyalty to you. He was so scared that you would tell his secret to the world that no matter how much he loved me, it wasn’t enough. He was terrified to hurt his family if his secret came out.”
Urgh. My heart is being ripped out as I watch this all unfold. Oscar starts pacing.
“I did all this,” he says, thumping his chest. “Fuck!” he screams, and it sounds so full of agony as if he’s just realized how far he has taken his protectiveness, and how much it has cost his sister and best friend. “Fuck! I did it to protect you. I thought it was the right thing. I …” Oscar is breaking right in front of us. Isla rushes into his arms as they both break down crying. “I’m sorry, Issy. I had no idea I was hurting you this much.”
You can hear the raw honesty and regret in his words. Oscar gets it, and he is devastated. He lets go of Issy and takes a couple of steps toward his best friend. I’m ready to jump in and protect Finn, except it goes an unexpected way.
“I’m sorry, man. I amso damn sorry. I fucked up. I fucked up so much.” Oscar breaks, and pulls Finn into his arms, hugging him. Finn relents, and you can see a lifetime of stress lift off his shoulders as his best friend embraces him. “Do you still love my sister?” Oscar asks him.
“I do … but … we have a lot to discuss,” Finn tells him.
Oscar nods and takes a couple of beats as if rectifying his own mindset, because he claps Finn on the back and says, “You both have my blessing. I should never have stood in the way. I could see it. I could see how much you meant to each other. I just didn’t want anything to fuck it up, but instead, I did. I messed it all up.”
Isla and Finn both look relieved, but I don’t think my little intervention is going to help those two today. However, I’mhappy that everything is now out in the open, and that Oscar is not going to stand in their way.
“I know how you can pay me for all this damage, Ragnar. But it requires you to get onto your knees.” I smirk, breaking the awkward silence that falls upon the group.
Oscar roars laughing. “Not my kind of thing, but it is Finn’s.”
Finn stills.
Now it’s my turn to burst out laughing because I can’t believe he just said that. “That escalated quickly, that we can now joke about things.”
“Too soon?” Oscar asks.
I wince. “A little.” And that says a lot coming from me.
“Derrick’s not my type.” Finn smirks.
“Excuse you. I can assure you I’m everyone’s type,” I snap, offended by Finn’s remark. “You, baby girl, couldn’t handle all this.” I spin around.
“I think that’s my cue to leave.” Oscar grins. He looks over at Isla and Finn, and you can see he is really trying to come to terms with everything. “Fuck, guys. I … I fucked up. I fucked you guys up. I thought my intentions were good, but in the end, I ended up hurting the two people I care about the most.”
Finn steps up to his best friend and reassures him. “It’s all good, man.”
“No. It’s not. I could see the way you looked at my sister. But I thought you would treat her like one of your one-night stands. What I didn’t do was really look at all you had done for her. That you, too, protected her. That she meant more to you than I could ever have realized. And through all this, you were still my best friend and still had my back no matter what. You took my bullshit and threats, and you still didn’t curse me. Fuck, Finn, you’re a better man than me.”
“You were trying to be a protective brother,” Finn tells him.
Oscar shakes his head. “No. I was a controlling jerk off.”
“What’s done is done. We need to move on. Please, don’t cut yourself up over it. We can’t change the past, but we can make sure it’s not repeated in the future,” Isla assures her brother.
Oscar kisses Isla on her forehead. “I’ve stuck my nose between the two of you for long enough. I’ll leave you both to sort out what you need to sort out. I promise, whatever happens, you have my support. Finn, you’re family now. No matter what.” Oscar hugs Finn before saying his goodbyes and leaving.
“Well, it looks like the beast has been tamed. Now we just need to sort the two of you out.” I look between Finn and Isla.
“I think maybe we should sort that out by ourselves,” Finn states.
“I’ll go hide in my bedroom. You won’t even know I’m here,” I tell him, lightening the mood.
“Thank you for all your help, Derrick. I think Finn and I might need to sort this out one-on-one.”
“One-on-one, I get it.”
