By the time they reached the lab parking lot, Elena had reconstructed her professional demeanor piece by piece. When she spoke, her voice was professional. "Thank you for the ride, Laura," she said as the car stopped. "And for... tonight."
"Anytime," Laura replied, her voice softer than usual. "Call me tomorrow?"
Elena nodded, then turned to Finn with a polite smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks for tonight," she said, the formality a wall between them.
"Of course," he managed. "Goodnight, Dr. Herrera."
A flicker of hurt flashed in her eyes. Then, she was gone.
Finn let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Had he done the right thing? Protected her from a complication that could destroy everything she'd worked for? Or had he added another layer of hurt to a situation already painful enough?
"You okay back there?" Laura asked as the Uber pulled away.
"Fine," Finn replied automatically.
Laura's eyes met his in the rearview mirror, knowing and sympathetic. "For what it's worth," she said, "I think you're good for her. Just... not right now."
As the car turned the corner, Finn stared out the window at the passing city lights. He’d done the right thing. He couldn’t add to the list of things making her life impossible right now.
He’d done the right thing.
Chapter Twenty-Three
FINN
The lab door opened and Miguel walked in, backpack hanging off of one shoulder.
"Hey, Miguel," Finn said, offering a small wave.
Miguel smiled and waved back at Finn. He made his way to Elena’s desk and dropped his backpack. Elena looked up, her expression softening into a distracted smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Hi, sweetheart. How was school?" she asked, already turning back to her screen before Miguel could answer.
"Mr. Roberts gave us a surprise history test on the Civil War, and I think I did pretty good, except for the question about Antietam because I couldn't remember what state it was in."
"Mmm-hmm," Elena murmured, her fingers still typing.
"And then at lunch, there was this whole drama with Jayden and Zack," Miguel continued, his voice growing more animated as he described some complex socialconflict involving table territory and who had the right to sit where. "So now everyone's taking sides, and it's like this whole big thing, you know?"
"That's nice," Elena replied automatically, her eyes never leaving the data.
Miguel waited for her to look up, expecting a follow-up question. When she never did, his shoulders dropped.
"And then aliens landed on the playground and took over the school. I had to kill five of them and now I am scarred forever.”
"Oh really?" Elena nodded, still scrolling through her analysis.
Miguel glanced over at Finn, catching him watching. Finn tried to offer an encouraging smile, but Miguel just looked away.
"I'm going to get a snack," Miguel announced.
Elena made a sound of acknowledgment, her focus unwavering.
His chest tightened as he watched Miguel walk away, his feet dragging. Finn turned back to his screen, trying to focus on the patient data. All the way from the break room, he could hear the cabinet doors banging. Then Miguel, yelling out: “You gotta be kidding me!Unflavoredpotato chips?” When Miguel came back with only a sad juice box, his expression had hardened.
"Mom," Miguel said. "You're coming to the science fair tomorrow, right?"
Elena’s hands stopped moving. Then, she slowly turned to face her son. Even from across the room, Finn could see the color drain from her face. “The science fair," she repeated. "Oh God, Miguel, I..." Elena turned fully to her son for the first time since he'd arrived. Finn could see her scrambling for words, for excuses, for anything.
