Shadow Souls

Chapter Eighteen

After slamming the door on Finn. I go to the kitchen to heat some leftover Chinese I find in the fridge, then sit down in the living room to have dinner with my dad. I hand him a plate and end up watching way more television than I usually would, in a pathetic attempt to avoid talking to Tyler and let him wonder where I am for once. I watch three whole episodes of Friends and when I can't stand to sit there any longer, but still wanting to kill even more time, I decide to go take a shower.

I enter my room to gather some clean clothes intent on taking the longest shower ever, so I can wash this whole weird day off me, while also buying myself some more time. I plan to completely ignore Tyler and just get what I need and get out, but when I open my bedroom door, he isn't there. Feeling partly relieved that I don't have to try and avoid him, and partly annoyed that he chose to leave again while I was working so hard to make him miss me for once, I retrieve my pajamas and start to head to the bathroom. I am almost out the door when a noise stops me in my tracks.

I look around my bedroom, trying to decipher what it could be and where it possibly came from, when I suddenly hear it again. A quick tap. tap. tap. I glance at my window and there looking at me from the other side of the glass is Finn Sawyer. Dropping the clothes in my arms I rush to the window and quickly fling it open in a panic.

"What are you doing?" I ask in a rushed whisper. "Are you trying to get me grounded?"

I am just about to tell him how my father will kill us both if he catches him here, but I get cut off before the words make their way out of my mouth. In an instant, Finn's lips are on mine, and once again the whole world has stopped spinning. I am completely lost in his kiss when he finally pulls away and fixes me with that smile of his that melts my heart. Every. Damn. Time.

He reaches out and places that same stray lock of hair behind my ear as he says, "I knew there was no way I was getting to sleep tonight, without kissing you goodnight first."

His words send butterflies throughout my entire body and for a second, I forget how to breathe. Then he is leaning in once more, but this time I'm ready for it and I have enough sense to stop him. I place my hand on his chest and gently push him back. Signaling for him to wait, I quickly rush over to close the bedroom door in case my father walks by, before finally confronting him.

"I need you to tell me what happened today," I say. "Why did you just leave like that?"

"Umm, because you slammed the door in my face," he responds like it should be obvious.

"No, I mean at school."

His eyebrows furrow and I can't tell if he is actually confused, or if he is just the world's best actor.

"Oh!" he smiles, "The bell rang and the place was filling up. I didn't think you would want to continue with an audience, so I left," he explains. "Personally, though, I am totally okay if the whole world witnesses our PDA."

He leans in again to kiss me, and again I put up a hand to stop him. It takes me a couple of seconds, but I figure out that he's talking about our make-out session in the stairwell during lunch, and now I am almost certain that this is just another game he's playing.

"Stop messing around Finn!" My sudden anger makes him flinch back in surprise. "You know damn well that I am talking about what happened in English class. Not the stairwell."

I watch his face, looking for any sign that he is messing with me, but I'm surprised when I only find genuine confusion there. "Alice, I seriously have no idea what you are talking about."

"You really don't remember walking out of English class today?"

"No, I don't. Not at all."

"Well, what do you remember?" I ask him.

I again watch his face as he searches his memory for the answers, looking for any sign that he is being less than genuine, but I find none.

"I remember rushing to class, so I could hurry and see you. Then I walked over and kissed your cheek," he says while reaching out to cup my face. "Then I remember asking you to spend the evening with me...," His voice begins to trail off as he searches his mind for what comes next.

"And then?" I prompt.

"I'm not sure. Class started I guess," he shrugs.

"Do you remember what we went over in class today?"

"Umm, no. I guess I must have zoned out," he gives me one of his half-grins, but I can see the unease on his face.

"Where are your books, Finn?"

"At home. I suppose," he says, unsure of his answer.

I reach over and grab my backpack from beside my desk. I open it and pull out his binder and textbooks and pass them to him. He looks at the items in his hands, visibly shaken by the possible circumstances behind me getting them.

"How do you have these?" he asks me. "Did I give them to you?"

"No, Finn. You left them sitting on your desk when you left," I explain and he starts to scrutinize my face like maybe I am the one playing some kind of game with him. "Do you really not remember, getting up and walking out of class today? Or me calling after you?" I ask.

He looks down at his books again and lightly touches the top, like he is trying to siphon the memories he needs straight from them. When he lifts his eyes back to me, he looks so lost and confused that it makes my chest ache.

"I don't remember any of it," he confesses, softly, "But-" He stops like he's not sure if he should say more.

"But what, Finn? You can tell me," I assure him, and I reach out and touch his face, forcing him to continue looking me in the eye.

"But I think this has happened before," he tells me hesitantly.

"What? When has this happened before?"

"I don't know, I can't remember," he nearly sobs on the last word, and the sound of his pain nearly cripples me.

"Don't worry. We will figure it out," I assure him. "Together."

This time I am the one to kiss him, and even after we break away, I continue to hold his face in my hands trying to convey as best as I can that he isn't in this alone. And when I feel like I've pushed my luck over my dad not walking in far enough, I reach down to take his books out of his hands.

"And I'll hold on to these for you until tomorrow," I tell him, knowing he would have a hard time trying to climb off the roof with them in his arms.

He kisses my cheek and nods in agreement as we say our goodbyes, then he stands up to make his leave. I lean out the window to watch him and am beyond impressed to see him stealthily walk back along the roof, and over to the garage. He then grabs a tree branch and swings himself effortlessly down to the ground below. His feet don't even make a sound as he lands.

Well, I guess that solves the mystery of how he got up here. The sexy ninja.

I close the window, pondering over this brand-new mystery I now have before me, but also grinning from ear to ear at the intimate moment I just shared with Finn Sawyer. I gently caress the spot on my cheek where his lips just touched and turn around, finally ready for my shower, only to find Tyler standing silently behind me.