Anxiety Attack

Chapter 48

Finley's P.O.V

"Wait! Fin!" he shouted, banging on the door.

I flinched, even though I wasn't close enough to get hit. "Go away!" I shouted.

"Not until you hear me out!" Eli yelled. "I've tried calling you, I've tried texting you, and this is my last resort, Fin, I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving until you let me explain."

"Then you're going to be there a long time," I snapped.

"I'm prepared to wait," Eli said, through the door and I heard him slide down and I imagined that he was sitting with his back to the door.

I bit my lip and I decided to do the same thing. I sank against the door and closed my eyes. Eli was exhausting. Loving him was exhausting and my heart was tired but a heart is a muscle that works on its own and it won't stop loving him no matter what my head says.

"Finley," someone whispered.

I glanced to the side and noticed Luke coming down the stairs. He had crawled over to me.

"Why are you crawling?" I whispered.

"So Eli doesn't see me," he replied.

"So what do you want?" I asked. "I'm a bit busy here."

"Busy imitating Eli like some sad chick flick," Luke muttered. I made to hit him but he moved out of my reach. "But, here's my advice- I'm a guy."

"I never noticed," I muttered sarcastically.

Luke shot me a glance but continued. "I'm a guy. I get it. Eli loved, loves," he corrected himself. "You a lot. He probably has a good explanation for that picture. Maybe it was Photoshop. Maybe the skank forced herself onto him and the picture was snapped before he could push her away."

"Maybe..." I trailed off.

"So just hear him out," Luke reasoned. "It won't kill you."

"It might kill my heart if he did it willingly," I muttered.

Luke shot me a death glare before crawling away. I shook my head. He clearly thought he was some kind of ninja or something.

"Okay," I said, loud enough so Eli could hear it through the door. "Explain."

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"No," I answered. "Just talk."

"I didn't kiss her because I wanted to," he began earnestly.

My heart sank. "But you did kiss her," I murmured.

I was about to walk away when Eli shouted, "But they made me! Trey and Mika!"

I paused, halfway in motion. "You have two minutes to explain."

Eli began talking very quickly. "Trey and Mika, they teamed up, they had this master plan. Mika wanted me, but I told her to fuck off and she didn't like that. Trey was there, he was the one who took the picture and was in charge of showing you. Mika cornered me before school. She told me to kiss her and I refused.

"She pushed me up against the lockers and told me if I didn't kiss her something bad would happen and I laughed in her face," this is where Eli's voice faltered. "I... I didn't want to. But then she told me that if I didn't kiss her, and for as long as she wanted Trey would..." Eli stopped. "I can't say it," he whispered. "I can't."

"You have to," I said, startled by how harsh my tone was.

I could hear Eli swallow and get up.

"She said that if I didn't kiss her Trey would rape you," he said it so quietly that the only reason I heard it was because I had my ear pressed against the door and Eli sounded like he was pressed against it too.