The Scarecrow

Chapter 49

It had been over a month since Rory had overhead Finn's covert conversation.  For the first couple of weeks, Rory had been nitpicking every detail, every word from Finn.  After she'd heard him talking to Emily, her imagination began running wild, and she'd been sleuthing, gathering every bit of information she could find.  Nothing had given her any indication of a specific direction.  She thought it may have been something to do with a birthday surprise, but it came and went without any incident causing her to re-examine everything.  She didn't want to think this way and figured there had to be some logical explanation.  She had never been distrustful of him, but when she couldn't find an answer, she became suspicious of the phone call with 'Emily'.

Then, she noticed Finn being secretive about several things like his computer use at home and taking most calls in private including those from his parents.  He'd never been like this, and it made Rory worry even more.  Outside of those actions, he'd been his normal, loving self.  At night, he would help put Tori to sleep and acted like the doting boyfriend toward Rory, which made her all the more confused.  She tried to push it out of her mind, yet it kept creeping back in, pervading her thoughts.

What's going on with Finn?  Is he seeing someone else, and if he is, why is he still with us and acting loving at home? she wondered.  Maybe I'm just not thinking about this clearly.  I've got to talk to someone before I lose my mind, but I can't talk to my mom because she's been in cahoots with him one too many times.  I think she likes him more than me sometimes.  Perhaps Paris can provide some honest insight.

Rory dialed her number and waited for an answer.  Just as she was about to hang up, Paris answered, sounding breathless.

"Hey, Rory," she said.

"Are you busy?"

"I just finished my jiu-jitsu class, so I've got a few minutes," she replied.

"I could use your advice on something," Rory said tentatively.

"I should really start charging people," Paris retorted.

"I know, I know, but I can't talk to anyone else about this," she stated.

"What kind of situation would warrant you to keep secrets from your mom?  Don't tell me it has something to do with you getting back together with Huntzberger!"

"Definitely not, and for the record, I don't tell my mom about every single detail of my life," Rory replied defensively.  "It's a.....delicate matter."

"You know I don't do delicate, Rory," she replied flatly.

"Maybe that's the wrong word for this situation.  I'm just really worried and starting to feel paranoid about Finn," Rory blurted out.

"What about him?  Think he's gone back to his rich, playboy ways?"

Wow, Paris is really good at this.  Perhaps she missed her true calling, Rory thought.  Then again, her bluntness wouldn't win her any fans in the therapy world.

"I'm not sure, to be honest.  He's been very secretive about his phone calls and computer.  He wasn't like this before the call, but now, it's like he's got two personalities," she confessed.

"Back up a minute.  What call?" Paris asked.

"I heard him talking to someone named Emily and mentioned not telling me because I didn't know anything about it.  Only, I don't know what 'it' is," she expounded.

"Your grandmother's name is Emily, right?  I'm sure that's who he was talking to," Paris said.  "If not, can you blame him?  I mean, he gave up his playboy bachelorhood for an instant family.  This type of thing happens all of the time.  I've seen it a million times."