Amongst The Water-Fresh Waters

Chapter 14: Revelations! Part 4

(First Uploaded: March 2014  Dates updated: January or February 2018; October 30 2019; Jan. 23, 2020)

       Finn looks at Kylie watching Jacob leave. He wants to hold her and kiss her so bad, but it'd certainly be the wrong thing to do so soon after a breakup. Finn points at the leftover food from the picnic she made up for Jacob. "You want to finish the food." He looks at her teary-eyed face. "I'm sorry about you and Jacob and everything. I know it wasn't my right to stand up for you, but I couldn't take it how he was talking to you. My anger kept building up and I just blurted it out without thinking. I was on my way to walk the trail behind the Crab Shack and I saw you two. I didn't know what to do, so I hid behind the trees. I considered leaving because I didn't want you to be alright. Then I'd be a pervert. But then I heard you tell him to stop several times and he kept going farther. So, that's when I came out and pulled him off of you." Finn apologizes hiding the tension between them. He looks into her eyes to avoid looking anywhere else. Kylie smiles at Finn. She looks at his face. He's awkwardly staring straight into her eyes. She looks down at her unbuttoned dress. Her face heats up. "Oh my gosh!" She quickly buttons it up. Finn looks at her apologizing. "Sorry. I should have told you it was still unbuttoned, but I didn't know how to tell you." Finn scratches his head nervously. Kylie smiles at him, feeling her face redden. "It's fine, I guess. At least you told me. I think you were a gentleman about it. If you were looking at anything, I would've noticed. Trust me Jacob does it too often." Kylie babbles. Finn's anger starts to rise up hearing about Jacob. But he pushes it back and smiles at her. His attractive smiles always makes her feel better. She shyly looks at her purple converse peeking at Finn every few seconds. Finn looks down at her and lifts her chin up. "You're really cute when you're nervous." He says filling the silence. Kylie's cheeks flush. A corner of Finn's mouth turns up, forming a flirty smile. Kylie bites her lip. "I didn't know how to react when Jacob mentioned those other girls, so you helped me out. And I'm glad you are here. Thank you, Finn. I didn't know how far he'd go if you didn't stop him." A tear rolls down her cheek. "Thank you. You seem to always be there for me." She shyly smiles at him and quickly sends a text to her dad telling him about the breakup and Jacob is on his way back and he should be watched over and distracted. She finishes the text then takes Finns hand and sits down. He follows her. She picks up her half-eaten sandwich. She takes a bite. When she finishes chewing, she looks into Finn's eyes. "I feel embarrassed you saw what we were doing." Finn looks at Kylie trying to hide her face with her sandwich. Finn smiles, adoring her shyness. He pulls her hand down. "You don't have to be embarrassed. You are a teenager. And I've done stuff too. And you don't have to be so shy around me. We have had several Surfing lessons and have been hanging out a lot Kylie. You're like the only real friend I have." Finn admits. Kylie's blushes. "And you seem to always be there for me too." He smiles and reaches for Kylie's hand. Her heart races. She looks at Finn and smiles. She squeezes his hand. "I'm sorry about Jacob. He has a lot of issues and medical things going on and we have a," She pulls down her dress trying to cover up the long scar that runs from her upper thigh to a few inches above her knee. Finn's eyes widen. He points to the scar. "Did he do that to you?!" He asks her his voice raising. She nods. "That's one reason why I don't wear anything above my knee. And I don't like to wear short things." She tugs at her dress again wondering why she didn't wear leggings underneath like normal. Finn shakes his head. "That's terrible. I'm so sorry you had to go through so much with him." Kylie holds back a sob. He squeezes her hand and she smiles at him. He nudges her. "And you probably should consider wearing things without leggings sometimes if you don't want to sweat all the time here. Because the leggings you always wear underneath will probably make you uncomfortable from the heat." She shifts uncomfortably even thinking of that and she finds it a bit odd he mentioned that.

Finn looks at her and lets her know that she can tell him anything whenever she is ready. Kylie smiles at him and takes a few deep breaths. Then she tells him everything about her and Jacob's past as if she's known Finn for years. He was very comforting when she told him about the 3 incidents. The second one she just recently remembered. And only told her dad and Jacobs parents. (But only minor details). She also told Finn only minor details. Just enough so he'd understand what happened. That second incident she thought Jacob really did force himself onto her. But after the medical exams came back; she found out that Jacob didn't force himself onto her. She just thought he did because they both were indecent, and he was on top of her caressing her. She was dizzy and mostly out of it but the memories slowly were coming back and Jacob helped her remember them. Jacob says he also took ecstasy and that's why he thinks he practically raped her. She also tells Finn about Jacob's anger issues, his addiction to ecstasy, his depression, and personality disorder, and his bipolar. The time he was sent away only helped with his alcohol. Then he started taking ecstasy. And his meds for bipolar and depression were still new to him. So, he had a lot of things always going through his head. "Gosh, Kylie. I'm so sorry." Finn says almost crying. He takes her in his arms and holds her as she cries. " I don't know him, but I hope he gets the help he needs Kylie. I really do." She then throws up. He gives her some water and wipes her lips off with a napkin from the picnic basket. "Sorry. I guess all that is making me sick. Mainly the part about Jacob and those girls. I thought I was alright, but I guess it's all coming back to me." She says. Then throws up again. Finn holds her hair back and rubs her back soothing her. Then he wipes her face again and helps her lift her water. And he tells her to lay in his lap and relax. "I know he needs help. And I really do hope he gets it. But you don't deserve that." Finn strokes her hair. "Or him." Kylie's heart beats fast. "I know." She takes a deep breath. "I deserve you Finn." She looks up at him. "I mean it. Thank you. For everything. Most guys would leave hearing any of what I told you. Actually, MOST people would." She says playing with the loosened strap on her dress. Finns face flushes. Happiness fills him. He smiles. "Well, I'm not most guys. I've had a past. Which I was going to tell you about it soon. Until Jacob showed up earlier today and he and I both saw you as..." "A mermaid." She finishes for him. "Yeah. It's pretty unreal. I still can't believe it."

She laughs. "Out of the two of you. I would have thought that you would be freaked out that I'm a mermaid and not Jacob." Kylie says staring at the Crab Shack in the distance. Finn stays silent not wanting to tell her what he really thinks. With his family's history with mer-folk, he doesn't' like the idea of Kylie being one. But he didn't think it would have been a good time to turn his back on her after her breakup. And he certainly couldn't have left after Jacob left. He couldn't leave her alone crying and depressed and no one to console her. So, he decided to be a man and do the right thing and suck it up and be there for a friend. Something he knows Kylie needs. And he wants to be that for her.