"You and I have been on these mountains our whole lives." I ground my teeth together. "When's the best time to ski."
"Now, but that's beside the point."
"No, it isn't. Tell me why now is the best time to ski?"
"Because the mountains are empty. Finn. I'm not playing your games right now. If your Dad is worried, then respect him, like I know you do, and get your ugly ass home."
"My ass is not ugly. Ask any girl within a five mile radius." I had to lighten the conversation. I couldn't handle much more strife.
"Finn. Go home, dude. We'll go out tomorrow and take a mountain down together."
I sighed, and resigned myself to giving into them. Everyone had their panties in a wad, and once again it was my turn to bend and comfort them. "Fine. I'm already up here and there's one fucking way down."
"Good. Enjoy it and get home. Text me if you're free later, and we'll grab a beer."
"Yeah, fuck you," I mumbled, and pulled my glasses down.
"I'm not your type, remember."
"Right. You're entirely too hairy." I smiled, not wanting to cause any stress on anyone, just wanting a moment to myself.
"Hey."
"What?" I bit my tongue.
"Whatever that mean old fucker said to you today...let it go."
"Does everyone know about this?"
"Small town, Finn." Brian laughed. "I'm hanging up. Be careful and call me later."
"Later." I pulled the phone from my face, and honestly considered lobbing it halfway across the mountain just to get a moment of peace. My Dad's problems were his problems, and I was twenty-seven. I didn't need him fixing mine.
I let my thoughts go and bent my knees, turning sharply and shoving off. The wind hit me in the face, and I took shallow breaths, turning and twisting my body as I'd been doing all my life.
Chloe's Dad's voice lifted inside my head, and I couldn't seem to shake his words.
"You stay the fuck away from my little girl. She deserves better than you could ever give her. Do you hear me? You're a piece of shit who will rot in this town, boning any available woman and dreaming about a life that will never - ever - ever be yours. Do yourself a favor and don't bring down Chloe to your level. You'll hate yourself for it later. Ask your father about that."
Was my mother like Chloe once? Was she wealthy and filled with plans? Had my father fallen in love with her and changed everything? Did it matter? She was happy.
I could remember so many happy moments with my folks. Wealth didn't matter, and building legacies didn't mean shit if there wasn't someone there to enjoy them with, someone to pass them on to.
My Dad was right about one thing... I did need to know the story. It wasn't just about him and Jonathan, but I was pretty sure it involved my mom too.
Had she been with Jonathan, and then my Dad stole her?
I lost my footing for a minute, but righted myself.
"Keep your head in the game," I grumbled, and over-corrected my next turn. There was no time to fix the error, and I covered my face and tried to relax as I flew forward, knowing it was about to get bad.
The world flew by, colors mixing and faded as I tumbled over myself over and over again. I hit something hard on the way down, and lost my vision for a minute.
I lay there for what felt like forever, trying to remember where I was, or what I needed to do to get up. It was so damn cold, and the sky was darkening. I fumbled with my phone in my pocket as dizziness rolled over me.
Pressing my Dad's number, I put the phone on my chest and closed my eyes, waiting to hear his voice.
"Finn? What's up, son? You on your way over?"
I could hear him, but I couldn't seem to respond. Fear rushed through me, and I groaned, wanting so damn bad to tell him where I was and what I was up to, but words wouldn't form.
"Finn? Stop dicking around, boy. You're scaring me." His tone sharpened and his anger seemed to burn through the phone.
Tears burned my gaze, and I let out a painful breath. My mind was blurry and even breathing was hard. I had to have punctured a lung and hit my head on something. Why else couldn't I get a word out?
"Goddammit son!" I could hear him yelling at Milly to get the truck and call 9-1-1. I let myself fade out as he continued to yell at me to stay awake and think good thoughts.
I let Chloe take up my mind, the warmth of her smile and softness of her lips keeping me busy. The sound of voices around me ushered in relief. Someone was there to help. Now if I could just flag them down, but I still had no ability to form words.
"Here. Here he is. Bring the stretcher." Someone knelt next to me and picked up the phone. "Hi, this is Leah Smith. We've found him. We're going to assess him and get him to St. Marks. Meet us there."
"Hey buddy." A male voice spoke near my ear, and as badly as I wanted to respond, I couldn't. Fuck me if I wasn't paralyzed. If I thought I wasn't good enough for Chloe before, this was a moment of clarity. "Just stay still, Finn. We're going to make sure your neck and back aren't broken, and then we'll get you to the hospital. Your Dad's gonna meet us there. Just open your eyes if you can hear me."
I tried, but nothing happened. It was like being trapped in my body with no way of communicating out.
"He's breathing, Leah, but non-responsive. Brain injury, I would assume."
They poked and prodded at me as I lay there with my eyes closed, trying to focus on breathing.
"He's got tears coming from his eyes." The female spoke. "He can hear us."
"We're going to pick you up now. If something hurts, just cry out if you can, and we'll stop." The guy patted my chest. "It's going to be fine. We've got the best doctors in the world right down the road."
I didn't remember much more other than bright lights flying by above my head as I opened my eyes for a moment and groaned. My father was running beside the bed with tears streaking down his face and I knew the shit was bad. He glanced down and pursed his lips.
"I'll see you soon. Hang in there, okay. Don't leave me. You're all I've got and I'm a selfish bastard." He patted my chest, and I tried to mumble, 'of course not', but nothing came out. I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me. It was far less frightening than knowing what the hell I'd done to myself.
If I survived, I was done taking shit for granted, and defining myself based on other people’s opinions. I knew who I was, and who I wanted to be. Outside of all of that, I knew who I wanted, and if I could have another shot at showing her, Chloe would be mine forever.
Chapter 25
Chloe
I spent the rest of the night in my room, even refusing Parker as he tried to come in with some food. By Sunday morning, I was feeling a little less manic. The fact that Finn never called was upsetting, but I would give him a day or so to cool off. My father had most likely torn him down to nothing, which still grated my nerves completely. I was somewhat pissed at Finn for letting my father affect him so much too. My Dad's opinion wasn't my own.
A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts.
I tugged the covers up around me and called out. "Come in."
Parker stuck his head in the room with a cute frown on his boyishly handsome face. "Can I come snuggle?"