Trigger

twenty three • lanes

Hannah gulps, stopping at a red light and turning to look at me with petrified blue eyes. "We never exited out of the conversation with Finn on Richard's phone."

x

Hannah eventually slows down after much coaxing from me and a hell a lot of convincing that Richard isn't going to realize just from that that we were looking through the conversation. I want to believe my words- I really do- but when Hannah had told me those words, I felt the air leave my lungs. I still feel like I haven't regained it completely. If Richard knows that we know, that means it's only a matter of time until Finn finds out. And then?

I don't even want to think about it.

Although both of us are eager to get home, our stomachs are just as eager to be fed, so we end up stopping to get some food. The line is long, and we're already feeling so uneasy that we end up just getting takeout to get home as quick as possible. Still, between the wait in line and the waiting for our food in the absurd busyness of the store, we waste a good half an hour there.

I eat my sandwich in under ten minutes, feeling starved. Hannah does, sighing in relief once both of us are full and the tension in the car has calmed down a bit. I guess knowing that we're farther away from town (and Richard) helps to calm the nerves.

There's still an hour and a half left to drive, though, and I know that I won't be calm until we're at the cottage- not even completely there, considering Finn is still around. God, when did things get this complicated? When did my intentions go from getting away from the annoyingness of my drunk friends to trying to figure out the true reason for a boy's- who I only knew for a few weeks- suicide? I feel so much older than I did at the beginning of the summer, so much worn out and... so much more scared.

If my theory is right- well, I wouldn't be surprised. Finn is a manipulator in the true meaning of the word. It was his fault the car crashed- he had been drinking that night and still got behind the wheel- so when he found out Levi lost his memory, he jumped at the memory to change the story around to where he was a victim. Finn wanted to seem like the good guy in all of this- that's why he was always helping Levi, running into the forest to find him, easing him inside if he was having a flashback, trying his best to give him space. It's also why he's able to create such intense fear inside of me that I kept my mouth shut after finding out what he did. After all, he had told me that no one would believe me.

And Finn Allen spoke with such conviction, neither Levi nor I had any choice but to believe him. I could have never guessed how dangerous that trait could be.

Hannah's eyebrows suddenly furrow. "What is that car doing?" she murmurs, looking in her rear view mirror.

I frown, leaning over to check out my rear view mirror to see what she's talking about. The car behind us is beginning to speed up, moving towards the left as if trying to drive around us and to get in front of us, even though we're the only two cars on the road and Hannah's driving at a good speed.

Sure enough, the car pulls into the other lane and begins to pass us, speeding up until it's in front of us. Hannah huffs, but doesn't say anything, just continues to drive. It isn't until the car begins to significantly slow down- in turn, causing us to slow down- that I begin to get really suspicious.

"What the hell...?" Hannah murmurs when we're forced to drop to thirty miles an hour to keep from crashing into the car. Hannah's eyebrows furrow as she turns on her blinker, showing that she's changing lanes and speeding up to try and pass the car. Just as we begin to get faster, the car suddenly does too, matching our pace so that we're unable to pass. Hannah continues to try, but with the way the car speeds up, it's impossible. Knowing she can't stay in the opposite lane for too long, even if it is empty, she groans and moves back.

The car begins to slow down once more.

Hannah's eye widen, as if shocked that the car actually has the audacity to do that. She curses and honks her horn, hoping the car will get the hint, but it only makes us drop back down to thirty miles an hour, then twenty, then ten...

Eventually, we've stopped.

Hannah, who is seething, pulls over to the side of the road just as the car does, hurrying to undo her seatbelt, looking ready to curse out the horrible driver. I get out too, just because Hannah looks way too angry to be out here on her own without flipping over the car. The car doors open of the car in front of us, and my heart stops.

Richard and Finn step out.

xxx

*Sighs in happiness* I love this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please be sure to COMMENT AND VOTE! Only a couple of more chapters to D: I love you all so so much, your support all means the world to me and I'm so grateful for every single one of you. (: xoxo