“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lincoln said.
Naomi grabbed my hand, fingers intertwining as she nodded.
“Alright,” I agreed. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Naomi
Escapingtheparkinglotunscathed was a feat, but we managed. Somehow, Sam had made his way to the van before we did and was waiting for us to unlock it.
“This night's unbelievable,” Sam said as we all piled into the van, ready to put some distance between us and the bar. As soon as we were on the road Finn said something about "having the photos" to Sam. Sam cheered so loud that Finn rolled the windows down. I laughed when the still drunk Lincoln and Henrik joined in with Sam's whooping. Like me, neither one of them knew what Sam and Finn were so excited about but that didn't too much matter. We all celebrated regardless.
"It's a start." Sam clapped Finn's shoulder.
"It is," Finn agreed and gave me a smile that said he'd explain later.
The ride back to Mendell didn’t feel as long as it did on the way there. We made it back to our house in one piece.
Despite it being late—or early, depending on how one looked at it—we were all still wired from the events of the night. I wanted ice cream. Lincoln seconded my motion. So, instead of falling into bed like we should have, we piled back into the van and went to NicMart to raid the shelves.
I convinced Finn to venture outside of his safe strawberry option. He picked up a limited-edition flavor thought up by some kid who won a contest. He wasn’t too impressed with the mash-up of six different flavors, but gave in to my pleading because I pouted.
“He’s officially whipped, folks,” Lincoln announced to the two strangers beside us at the gas station. Neither of them looked impressed.
Finn pretended to be annoyed at Lincoln’s declaration. The tips of his ears were red, and I kissed his cheek, only making them redder.
We ate our ice cream while walking through the dimly lit campus. The guys started singing a sea shanty they had no business knowing. I laughed, pretending to know the lyrics as well. Outside of the fight at the bar and my argument with Finn, this would, hands-down, be one of those nights I’d label the best in my college career. I kept glancing over at Finn, trying to gauge his enjoyment. He wasn’t going to be like the rest of us and suddenly find pleasure in doing random, silly things. That was okay. We loved him for it. But I wanted to know if his time spent doing nothing productive brought some form of enjoyment. By the amusement in his eyes, I’d say it did.
“Guess what?” I pulled on his hand, putting some space between us and the guys. They continued to sing, almost drowning out my words.
“What?” Finn smiled at me, wiping a bit of ice cream off the corner of my mouth. My cheeks warmed when he licked it off his finger.
“I read the emails. My mom’s emails,” I said. “Right before the game, I decided I wanted to read them.”
His expression changed to something a little more serious. I kept my smile intact.
“How do you feel?” he asked, leaning closer to make sure I knew he’d comfort me if I needed it.
“Good. Better.” I took a breath, and my smile wavered a bit. Not because I was upset. In fact, I hadn’t felt this light and truly happy for a long time. Now that the emails weren’t looming over me, I felt like I opened a door leading me outside. Now, I had the entire world to explore.
“She apologized.” I stirred my melting ice cream as I spoke. “Not for everything, but for the big stuff. Mainly for blaming me.”
Finn nodded, searching my face in case I was hiding my true feelings. “That’s good. Right?”
God, I loved him. He was so patient. I’d argued with him earlier out of fear, and he hugged me. Now, I was talking about my dead mom, and he was doing his best to listen and understand.
“It is. I’m not ready to forgive, but I think this will help me get closer, you know?”
“I’m happy for you, Naomi.” He reached for my hand, pulling it up to kiss the back of my palm. “If you need it, we’ll go back to the camp. As many times as it takes.”
I laughed. “Definitely. I still have to at least make a dent in one log. I’ve convinced myself if I do, I might unlock a new level of self-discovery.”
Finn chuckled. “I know you will.”
We started walking again but kept our pace slow so we wouldn’t catch up with the guys. They were still singing and jumping on benches to dance.
“You’ll still be my mod after this, right?” I asked.
