Page 116 of Whispers of Wisteria

The air shiftedas my silent retreat was disturbed. I didn’t even have to look to know who it was. No one else would have dared to bother me out here. They’d pretended not to notice how I crawled onto the roof to be alone.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, not turning my attention from the dusky skyline.

The sky was streaked with red, orange, and purple, and the white, round moon was already high in the sky. There were no clouds, and the temperature was dropping quickly.

“We need to talk,” Finn said, sitting next to me.

I sighed. I was too tired to care anymore.

Besides, this was the umpteenth time he’d come to me with this line, and unless I finally gave in, it would probably not be the last. I might as well get it over with.

“What do you want?”

“You can’t avoid me forever. I’m an Officer—I’ll always be around. Can’t we…” he started, then paused. His shoulders tightened, and he touched the bridge of his glasses. “What?”

“What do you want?” I asked. “I guess I’ll listen.”

Finn blinked and pressed his palm flat against the roof. “Oh.” He looked away and tapped his finger against the tiles. “Well…”

His words trailed off, and his voice was rougher when he spoke next. “Give me a moment.”

I glared at him.

How many more moments did he need? He’d been the one harping about this for weeks!

“Don’t look at me like that!” Finn’s shoulders tensed, and his mouth dipped; still, he could not look me in the eyes. “I expected you to ignore this conversation for at least another six months.”

Really?

“You can see the future,” I pointed out. “You had to know this would happen at some point.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Finn was frowning at his feet. “Especially not with you.”

I lifted my temples from my knees, my interest piqued. “What do you mean?”

He clenched his jaw, voice tight. “I knew you’d hate me, but that was about it.”

“You… knew I’d hate you?” A pang shot through me.

“Yes,” he replied, lips thinning.

“But you did it anyway?”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” Finn shrugged, his words quickening. “I never had any friends, and I had no idea how to help you otherwise.” He slumped his shoulders, and a lock of his light hair fell over his eyes. “But I should have refused to lie. I never wanted to hurt you.”

A breeze passed over us, and my breath caught as his words rang around my head.

I squeezed my fingers into my blanket. “Last time we had this discussion, you refused to acknowledge you were wrong.”

And that’s what had hurt the most.

“What changed?” I asked.

Finn’s reply was instantaneous. “Damen.”

I blinked at him. “How?”

“He’s been treating you like you’re an idiot.” Finn’s tense expression morphed into a glower. “It makes me feel like I’m looking into a mirror. I get what he’s trying to do, but he’s starting to act on our worst traits. I didn’t realize I’d been doing the same thing.”