Page 29 of Once Bitten

“Oh, god, your poor mother...”

“And when I get there, they’re giving him CPR but it’s too late. The um, the...ah...” He struggles with the word and I slide my hand down to hold his.

“It’s ok. I know.”

“Yeah, well, they say that his heart just exploded, tore itself to shreds. He’d had a problem for years and it was literally a ticking time bomb but no one knew.

We never knew. He never knew. He was so healthy and fit. And then he was just gone.”

I felt a tear slide its salty trail down my cheek, remembering Finn and Heather’s Dad; how fun he was, how nice, how he never made me feel like the scruffy kid from the poor side of town. He always tried to help our family out whenever he could without making it seem like a hand out. Even my proud parents who were anti-snob in nature had to admit, Mr. O’Reilly was a great guy. And now he was gone, and left behind a devastated wife and two kids. Oh god, poor Heather.

“Anyway, after he died, I just disappeared, I took off, I couldn’t handle it, I came here first and just hid out for about a year. I spoke to about five people the whole year. I was a mess. I couldn’t even be there for Mom.”

“Finn, I...I’m so so sorry. I didn’t know. I...well, I just didn’t know.” I didn’t know how else to apologize, apologize for his father’s death, apologize for not knowing, for not being there for them. Despite everything, if I’d known, I’d have been there day and night, in a heartbeat. Our drama seemed so juvenile and insignificant compared to this.

“It’s ok. I...I know you wanted to just disappear. I get that more than anyone, trust me. I don’t blame you for wanting to be as far away from me as possible. By the time Dad died, I’d gotten the message and wasn’t trying any more.”

“Trying?”

“Trying to call you and write. After the summer, I figured it was just better to let you move on with your life.”

“I didn’t...I didn’t want to hear from you.”

“I know, I don’t blame you. I didn’t blame you. I was, I was so drunk that night, Kara, when I woke up the next day and realized what I’d done, I wanted to jump off a cliff.”

“It’s ok. It’s done. I don’t need an explanation...I’m not even looking for an apology.” I sat back on my heels and stared at my hands.

“Why? Because either way you’re not going to forgive me?”

“Finn.”

“No matter what I say? I can’t ever make it up to you? Is that right?”

I pushed myself to my feet, “I don’t want to talk about this now, Finn.”

He slid his hand along my bare thigh and I shivered at his touch.

“Why not now?”

“Because! We were never supposed to meet again, and I’m not prepared for this conversation!” I stormed towards the bedroom.

I felt him follow me, his footsteps catching up to me. He grabbed me by the shoulders from behind and pushed his face against my hair.

“Forgive me, Kara. Please. I’m so sorry about that night. It wasn’t supposed to end that way.”

I braced myself against the arched doorway, unable to push him away, “but it DID end that way. And you told me just how you felt about me.”

“NO! I didn’t! It was all a lie!” He growled into my hair, his breath hot against my neck, his hands strong sliding down my arms.

“No! It wasn’t, you made it VERY clear that it wasn’t me you wanted that night, I was just a prudey inconvenience getting in the way of your fun.”

He spun me around and pushed his body hard against me, my back hard against the wall. “No. It was a lie. It was you I wanted, I just...I didn’t know how to handle it, how to tell you that I wanted you, that… I want you.”

And with that, he pulled me hard against him and pressed his mouth against mine.

Time stood still as he kissed me, his mouth hard at first, then softened against mine and coaxing my lips open, his tongue sliding on top of my tongue in an instant, I could taste the sweet bitter fragrance of the red wine still coating the inside of his mouth. His breath came in hot, hard bursts, his hands slid over my back and gripped my ass.

“Finn...” I sighed, my whole body suddenly alive from his touch.