Page 49 of Anxious Hearts

Finn enjoyed meeting the fans of the show.

They were mostly teenage girls who came straight from school to secure his signature, but there was also the occasional grandmother or even middle-aged man, though they usually asked for the posters to be signed to their daughters.

But never before had he had a man his own age join a queue with a poster that he’d just bought for twenty bucks from the promo team.

‘How you holding up?’ Monica, his co-star, asked as two teenagers, still in their school dresses, were shepherded away and the next two were ushered to their table.

It was noisy in the shopping centre, which was a popular after-school hangout for local kids, no doubt the reason why it was chosen by the promotions department.

Finn leaned across to answer: ‘I don’t know how to spell any of these kids’ names. Why are they all called Ayesha, Ngaire and Portia?’

Monica laughed. It was throaty and alluring and, not for the first time, Finn thought about kissing her.

The coke in his veins gave him the confidence, but he wasn’t reckless enough to lean in further and taste her lips right now.

Better to wait until the crowds had dispersed and the phones were gone.

‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Portia’s not that hard.’

‘I spelled it like the car, so they had to give her a second poster for free.’

‘Does that mean there’s a spare for me?’

They way she said it, Finn couldn’t tell if she was mocking him or flirting with him. ‘You’ll always be Porsche to me.’

Monica laughed again.

Man, it felt good to make her laugh.

She straightened up and smiled at the teenage girl coming her way but spoke from the side of her mouth to Finn. ‘What’s with the creepy guy in your line who can’t stop staring at you?’

‘He’s only human,’ Finn said, which prompted more laughter from Monica.

But when Finn looked up at the man, he felt a chill, some sort of preternatural premonition of danger.

He imagined the man pulling out a knife and stabbing him in the heart right there in the shopping centre as a hundred teenage girls screamed his death cry.

He shivered but maintained his beaming smile for the blushing teenager who handed him a poster.

‘Hi, there,’ Finn said.

‘Hello,’ she blurted.

‘What’s your name?’

‘Jane.’

Finn bent over the poster with his felt-tip pen at the ready. He sneaked a sidelong glance at Monica. ‘And how do you spell that?’

Monica didn’t look up from her own signing, but he saw her smile. This was definitely happening. He wasn’t making it up. He would feel those soft, full lips on his own tonight and, hopefully, on much more.

‘Um, J-A-N-E,’ the hapless girl said, oblivious to her role in the shared joke between the soap stars.

Finn signed her poster and rewarded her with his most winning smile. ‘Thanks for coming down today, Jane. Enjoy the rest of your week.’

‘Thank you,’ she said in a rush of sound and air. Then she skipped off to a group of giggling friends.

Next up was the creepy guy. Finn could see that even the promotional team was wary of him, not chatting or getting too close to calm him down like they did with the young girls, they just pointed towards Finn as though relieved to have him off their hands.

The man approached the table with the kind of lanky, careless stride that would eat up kilometres without even trying.

His glasses were pushed high on his long nose and he had dark, slightly unkempt curls that bounced on his head in time with his steps.

He handed over his poster and stared at Finn.

The stranger’s expression was calm. Serene, even.

Finn thought maybe there was mockery or even disdain in his eyes.

Who the fuck was this guy and what did he want?

Finn smiled as best he could but even he could feel the strain that must be showing. ‘Who should I make it out to?’ he said.

‘Kelly.’

Finn flinched. It was a weird name for a guy. But there was that old professional surfer he’d heard his dad talk about years ago. ‘Like Kelly Slater?’ he said.

‘No, like Kelly O’Mara,’ the man said. His expression didn’t change.

The table spun. Finn gripped it hard.

The man leaned in. Finn recoiled.

‘Here’s the message. “Dear Kelly, I’m sorry I’m a complete fuck-up and you can’t rely on me anymore. But I’m going to make it right and you’re going to sit your exam tomorrow because I’m going to make it happen for you.”’

The penny dropped with Finn’s stomach. ‘Wait, are you Eli?’

The man didn’t look surprised.

‘Is everything all right?’ a woman said.

Finn felt a soft hand on his own. It was Monica. She’d dispatched her latest fan and had either heard the exchange or sensed something wasn’t right.

Finn tried to reassure her with a smile. ‘Yeah, yeah, fine. I just need a short break.’

Monica signalled the promo team and they arranged security around Finn.

‘My friend and I need a quick word,’ he told them. Then he led Eli through a service corridor where they stood outside in the cold beside giant garbage bins.

‘Are you high now?’ were Eli’s first words.

‘None of your fucking business,’ Finn said.

‘I thought so.’

‘What do you want?’

‘Kelly needs your help.’

Finn’s heart hardened, by necessity more than resentment. ‘Kelly hates me and never wants to see me again.’

Eli scoffed. ‘How fucking thick are you, mate? Kelly fucking loves you. Though I can’t for the life of me work out why.’

The solid ground of Finn’s conviction suddenly felt like melting ice on a frozen lake, shifting and cracking and ready to give way at any moment. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Somebody took a video of you two at the cafe the other day. They didn’t get the part where you abused the staff, but they’ve got Kelly storming through the place and trashing people’s phones to protect you.’

Finn thought about what that meant for him. Nothing if they hadn’t caught him on the video. Nothing they could prove anyway, though the cafe owner would likely be interviewed. ‘How do you know this?’

‘Evan Banbury called Kelly.’

‘The journalist?’

‘He tried to kill the story but it’s going live this week.’

‘Well, that’s fucked, mate, but I’m not sure what you want me to do about it.’

‘I don’t want you to do anything about the video. I want you to do something about Kelly.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘She’s convinced that her career will be over when the video comes out. She had her Society membership suspended until her exam and she did some other shit that landed her in trouble with the hospital.’

‘What sort of other shit?’

Eli looked away. Bit his lip. Turned back. ‘Don’t worry about that.’

Finn narrowed his eyes. It was clear this guy was not the boy scout he pretended to be. But that would have to wait. His stone heart began to transform back to flesh. Despite, or perhaps because of the drugs, it felt like his lifeblood was returning. Kelly was again pumping through his veins.

‘So what am I supposed to do?’

‘Convince her to sit her exam and get her to Newcastle tonight.’

‘Newcastle? In New South Wales?’

‘Her clinical is at the hospital there tomorrow. Starts at nine a.m. and she was supposed to fly up today, but she delib-erately missed her flight.’

‘And how exactly am I supposed to do all this?’

Eli waved his arms about in frustration. ‘I don’t know. You’re the celebrity. Hire a jet or call in some favours or some shit. Aren’t you supposed to be able to do all that?’

There was absolutely no way Finn had the presence or clarity of mind to be able to organise any of that. He looked Eli up and down and realised he had no other choice.

‘Will you help me?’

***

The first thing Finn did was two lines of cocaine.

It was high risk, but the security team commandeered a disabled toilet and he locked himself away to carefully line up the powder on his portable mirror.

He waited a moment for the power surge then burst out of the toilet like a gladiator entering the arena.

The security guards had to walk double time to keep up with him as he and Eli talked details.

Finn suspected Eli knew he was high – the dude was a doctor, after all, even if only for kids – but he didn’t say anything.

Finn apologised to Monica, the promo crew and the crowd, saying he’d been called away on an urgent family matter.

The throng of girls groaned collectively, some even shedding tears, but helping a family member in distress would only boost his likeability, even if it was complete bullshit. He left a hero.

Eli was navigating the crowds with his head down, scrolling, with only the occasional glance up to avoid a collision.

‘There are two flights left today,’ Eli said. ‘Five fifteen and seven o’clock.’

Finn looked at his watch. It was already three thirty. ‘We’ll never make the five fifteen. Book the seven.’

Eli handed Finn his phone. ‘You do it. It’ll be quicker if you fill in all the details for you both.’

Finn did as instructed but then realised they were business class seats. This would cost him money he didn’t have spare – his account was down to dangerously low figures and he needed everything he had to feed his coke habit. ‘Why’d you book business class?’

‘They’re the only seats left.’

‘To Newcastle? Who the hell is going to Newcastle? I thought it was a shithole.’

‘Maybe they’re Silverchair fans.’

‘It’s two grand just for the flights!’

Eli looked at him as if to say So what?

‘I don’t have my credit card,’ Finn lied.

‘And you don’t know the number?’ Eli asked through barely concealed contempt.

Finn shook his head.

Eli took the phone back, plugged his numbers in and booked the seats.

Finn felt a pang of guilt when they reached the car park and he saw the heap of shit Eli was driving, but it didn’t last long. The guy was a doctor and would soon be a specialist. They made good money, right?

They drove in silence to Kelly’s apartment.

Finn chafed against the constriction of the seat belt and his leg was bouncing.

Eli watched him from the corner of his eye but didn’t say anything.

When they reached Kelly’s place, Finn jumped out like he’d escaped prison and bounded up the steps.

Eli wasn’t following him. He was still sitting in the driver’s seat.

‘What are you doing? Hurry up,’ Finn said.

Eli shook his head. ‘I’m not coming up.’

This was his idea. He had to come up. No way would Kelly talk to Finn alone.

‘What? Why not?’

‘You two need to work this out yourselves.’

‘No, we need your help.’

Eli just shook his head and gave a sad smile.

‘Can you at least give us a lift to the airport?’

But Eli drove away.

Finn took a deep breath. ‘Fuck,’ he said out loud.

He punched in the security code to her apartment lobby. The door unlocked with a click. He pushed it open and strode inside.