I've been avoiding Zac and Ryder for the past three weeks. I know that they can tell, and I know Zac feels bad, even though he doesn't know what happened. He's been at work a lot lately.
I told Ari about the dream, and what happened with Zac, Ryder, and Aaron. They said the same thing Lio said, about it's okay to love again.
Micah definitely knows something's up, but he hasn't asked. Lio's been holding off on interviews to stay at the house with me. I think he's considering working with DJ at the business he owns.
Ryder and Micah have forgiven each other. Micah shoved a box of hair dye in his hands, and walked off, and that was enough of a thank you. They both dyed their hair back.
Today, Lio and I are walking to go meet Ari at the beach. The house is farther from the beach than our old apartment, so it takes longer.
My phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket. Finn.
"Hey, what's up?"
"J-Jake?"
I frown, stopping. "Finn? What's wrong? Are you crying?"
"W-Where are you?"
I glance at Lio. "I'm downtown, with Lio, near the beach."
"Can you-can you come to me?"
"Yeah, sure, where are you?"
"In the a-alley, by that old pawnshop."
"Finn, what happened?" I ask.
"P-Please just hurry."
"Okay, we're coming, do you want me to hang up?"
"No!" He says quickly. "Please don't."
"Okay. Just a second." I say, looking over at Lio. "Something happened with Finn."
"Where is he?" He asks.
"Trader Vintage." I tell him. "Can you text Ari, and tell them we won't make it?"
He nods, and we start walking towards the pawnshop. I stay on the phone with Finn, who is definitely crying, trying to console him, and keep him calm.
"We're here, Finn," I tell him as we reach the pawnshop. "Where are you?"
"Jake," Lio says, gesturing towards an alley on the side of the building. I gasp when I see Finn, moving over to him.
"What happened?" I ask quietly.
His eye is bruised, and his nose is bleeding, and his face streaked with tears. He's holding his arm, and his leg looks like it's broken.
"These guys jumped me," He mumbles. "I can't walk. I think my leg is broken."
"Did you call anyone?" I ask.
He looks down. "Ryder, Micah, and Zac didn't answer. I called them all at least five times."
"Did you call the hospital?"
His eyes get wide, and he grabs my hand. "Please don't call them. I don't want to go to the hospital."
"Finn, if your leg is broken-"
"Please, Jake." He whispers. "Just get me home, please."
I glance at Lio, who's tapping at his phone. "I'm calling DJ to come get you." He says.
Finn nods, closing his eyes. "Okay. Okay. Please don't take me to the hospital."
"We won't, Finn." I say, squeezing his hand. "Do you know who jumped you?"
He shakes his head. "It was three guys. They just beat me up and took my stuff."
"And you can't walk at all?"
"No. It hurts to move my leg."
I remember suddenly, Zac telling me that Finn needs constant reminders that they love him. Them not answering the phone when he's like this probably isn't good.
"Finn," I say. "Are you okay?"
His eyes are still closed. "I don't know."
"They...they probably had a reason they didn't answer the phone."
He sighs. "They always leave their phones on. Even if they're busy. Micah always answers."
"Oh..."
"It's alright. You're probably right. They had reasons."
"Lio!"
We both turn to see DJ jogging over to us, his sunglasses perched on his head. His eyes widen at the sight of Finn, and he kneels beside us.
"What happened?" He asks.
Finn repeats what he told me. DJ lifts him carefully, and carries him to a car that's parked by the curb. I watch him set Finn down in the back. Lio squeezes my hand.
"We'll walk back, alright?" He says.
I bite my lip. "N-No, it's okay. We c-can go with them."
"Are you sure?" He asks.
I nod slowly. I want to make sure Finn's okay.
He nods, and goes over to DJ to talk to him quietly. He gestures to me, and I walk over to the car, sliding into the back seat. Lio sits in the passenger seat, and I can see DJ giving him an affectionate look.
I swallow, closing the door, then buckling the seatbelt. I haven't been in a car in a long time.
"Jake," Finn says. The car is wide enough for him to sit with his leg propped up on the seat. "Can you...can you try to call Ryder?"
I frown, but pull out my phone. "Why?"
"Do you think he's mad? And that's why he didn't answer?"
"He's not mad at you, Finn." I say.
"Can you call him?"
I nod, and press the call button.
Please don't pick up.
It rings one, two, three...seven times before going to the dial tone. I look over at Finn, who looks relieved.
I glance up at the front. DJ's focused on the road-thank god-but Lio has his eyes squeezed shut, and is hyperventilating. DJ is talking to him quietly, but I can't tell if it's helping or not.
Lio never panics. If Lio's panicking, is something really wrong? Should we have gotten in the car? Is it going to crash? Are we going to get hurt? What-
"Jake, can you call Micah?"
"Finn," I say gently. "They aren't mad at you."
"But what if they are? I texted all of them, too, and they could've at least told me they were busy. Did I do something wrong?"
I'm so focused on trying to convince him that he didn't do anything wrong, and that they aren't mad, that I don't realize we pull up to the house till Lio stumbles out of the car.
DJ comes around to get Finn, and carry him to the door. I go over to Lio, who looks sick.
"I don't like cars," He mumbles as we go inside.
Finn's laying on the couch in the living room, his leg propped on the coffee table. and DJ's has his phone to his ear. After a couple seconds, he scowls.
"What the hell, Ryder?" He snaps. "You need to get home."
It's a little muffled, but I can hear Ryder on the other end.
"DJ, I'm at work, I can't come home with no-"
"Finn's hurt. He got jumped, and he said he called all of you guys at least five times!"
"He's hurt?"
"His leg is broken, Ryder." DJ says as he walks towards the kitchen. "Get home. Call Micah and Zac, too."
Lio follows DJ, and I sit down by Finn. "Are you okay?"
"My leg hurts," He says quietly. "But, yeah."
Ten minutes later, I hear the front door open. Finn and I started a movie, and I'm sitting beside him.
Micah, Ryder and Zac all come into the room, looking worried. Finn bites his lip, but doesn't look at them.
I start to get up, but Finn grabs my hand. "Don't go. Please."
I nod slowly, sitting down again. Ryder moves in front of Finn, cutting off his view of the t.v.
"Finn, are you okay?" He asks softly.
Finn nods, looking down at his lap. "I'm fine."
Micah sits by him, taking his hand, and kissing his knuckles softly. "I'm sorry I didn't answer the phone."
"Why?" Finn mumbles. "Why didn't any of you answer?"
"I was in a meeting," Micah says. "My phone was off."
"You usually answer."
"I know, Finny, I'm so sorry."
Finn glances at Zac, who looks down.
"My phone died. I didn't have a charger at the bakery. I'm really sorry, Finn."
He looks over at Ryder. "Why didn't you answer?" He asks, his lip trembling.
"I..." He sighs. "I was busy. I'm sorry. I didn't think it was so important. I turned my phone off."
Finn looks away from him, tears spilling down his cheeks. They all look guilty. I feel like I shouldn't be watching this, but Finn has a tight grip on my hand.
"I think I'm going to sleep for a while," He mumbles, making it clear he doesn't want them here. Zac looks close to tears, but nods, getting up, and going to the stairs. Micah follows, but Ryder stays.
"Finn, I promise I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine. You're fine. I'm tired."
Ryder nods, standing, and walking to the door. I glance at Finn. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know." He murmurs.