Kids These Days

Chapter 44: Ronan

So this is how it ends.

Finn finds me waiting on the porch, suitcase packed. He doesn't say anything, just sits down on the stairs next to me, shoving his hands into the pockets of his varsity jacket.

"I'm going back to New York," I tell him. (Might as well bite the bullet now. Ha.) "My mother needs me to testify at her trial."

"What happened to your hand?" he asks, as if I hadn't spoken at all. He frowns at the rust-colored scabs on my knuckles. "Did you get into a fight?"

"Nah. Got into a disagreement with a brick wall."

"It looks like the wall won."

"They usually do."

Finn gives me a level look. "When are you going to tell me what's really going on?"

"I can't. Plausible deniability, remember?"

"I'm not the one testifying," he points out. There's something in his expression that I can't place. Something that wasn't there before. "You know I'm in your corner, right? I don't care about the company. I care about what's gonna happen to you."

"You shouldn't," I say. "Not if you know what's good for you."

He smiles wryly. "I think I'll take my chances."

A breeze scuttles across the porch, jarring the wind-chimes. The hollow wooden ringing strikes an eerie contrast to the chirping of songbirds in the juniper tree. I drum my fingers restlessly against the handle of my suitcase. How much longer am I going to have to wait for this damn taxi? I'm sweating through my last clean shirt.

"Ronan," Finn says. "Can we please talk about this?"

"Let's not and say we did."

"Why do you have to go back to New York? You didn't do anything wrong."

I let out a dry laugh. "Not according to my parents."

"What do you..." To his credit, it only takes Finn a few seconds to work out my dad's allegedly bullet-proof plan. "You're going to take the fall for them? Again? Ronan, you can't --"

"I don't have a choice, do I? The company is falling apart. My mother is going to jail, my father is one misstep away from being disbarred. Someone needs to face the music, and I'm the only one with nothing to lose."

"What about high school? What about college?" His freckled face is starting to turn a blotchy pink, the way it always does when I'm really getting on his nerves. "You're almost eighteen. The court could decide to try you as an adult. Hell, with your record, and your attitude, you'll be lucky if they send you to juvie, so don't tell me you have nothing to lose. This is your future on the line. Your life."

Which, I'm starting to realize, has about as much bargaining value as a poker chip. "My parents have friends in high places. I'll be fine."

"That doesn't mean you can lie to a judge, Ronan! That's perjury."

"Are you my fucking attorney?" I demand. "This isn't a group discussion, and I don't remember asking for your advice. Just let it go, Murphy."

Finn folds his arms across his chest and scowls at me. Stubborn bastard. I knew I should've skipped town from that motel and never looked back. A clean break, that's what I need; I've got to put this summer behind me or I'll never be able to focus on the trial.

"What's this really about?" he asks. "What are you running from?"

"I'm not running," I say.

He looks unimpressed with my hypocrisy. "If this is about Jesse, I don't care that he's not a girl. I mean, I think he's kind of a jerk, but I don't care if you used to like him. Or still do. It's none of my business."