Pieces (10 page)

“Can I talk to my parents and come back?” she asked.

“Of course, but classes fill up fast, so don’t take too long. And fill out that appeal paperwork as soon as you get it.”

“Thank you for your help.” She turned to leave, but stopped when Kate cleared her throat.

“Naomi, good luck. I still think you’re an exceptional student.”

Naomi smiled and thanked her one more time, then left. When she was outside, she pulled out her phone and scrolled to her mother’s number. Her hand trembled as she poised her finger over the call button. She couldn’t. Not yet. Her mother was so proud she was at Harvard, following in her footsteps, even if it wasn’t for a law degree. This would ruin everything. She remembered her mother’s bloodshot eyes that day in the office, the crushed cup.

She scrolled past her mother’s name on the phone and kept looking through the list. The list wasn’t long, but one name screamed louder than the others. Finn Giachetti.

X

W
HEN SHE ANSWERED THE KNOCK ON HER
door, Naomi found Finn standing on her front porch with a cup of iced tea and a Styrofoam box she guessed contained a slice of almond cake.

“I’m sure you could order this somewhere else,” he said with a lopsided smile as he held them out to her, “but nobody makes the combo quite like Java, and you said you wanted to order some when you got back.”

She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as her mouth started to water. “Finn, I invited you over for dinner. That didn’t mean you had to bring something.”

He rolled his eyes. “No, I invited myself over for dinner against your protests, so that
does
mean I had to bring something. Now, enjoy.” He pushed the cup and box at her. She took both. “And here’s a straw.”

She balanced it on top of the cup and stepped aside to let him in.

“What can I help with?” he asked, rubbing his hands together as he entered the kitchen. “You clearly said this isn’t a date, so I’m going to help.”

Naomi was still standing by the door. She pushed it closed with her foot and followed Finn into the kitchen. He was wearing the ripped jeans again. In fact, she was sure they were the exact same pair he always wore. She smiled at his black Jimi Hendrix shirt.

“It’s pretty much done—just spaghetti. Nothing special.”

He walked to the oven and peeked inside. She had put in a loaf of French bread earlier. “Did you make that?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

“I haven’t mastered baking yet,” she said, shrugging. “I bought the loaf at the store, but I made a garlic spread to put in the middle. It’s warming up in there.”

“Still, it looks great. And the sauce?” He lifted the lid off the stockpot and peeked inside. “Did you make this from
scratch
?”

Chuckling, Naomi walked to the counter and set down her almond cake and iced tea. “Yeah, I did. Why are you so fascinated?”

He returned the lid on the pot and turned around. “I don’t know. My mom doesn’t cook much—she never cooked when I was growing up—so, yeah, this all smells amazing. I’m used to eating at Java or boiling ramen noodles.” He put on a wicked smile. “I knew it was a good idea to invite myself over. Maybe I’ll do it more often.”

Naomi grabbed the straw on top of her iced tea and began tearing off the end of the wrapper. “Finn, about us hanging out, I called you because I’m ... well, I have a problem and I don’t think anyone will understand except you. I don’t think my housemate Becca would understand what I’ve done since she’s never dropped below a 4.0 GPA. She tends to judge people who slack off.” She finished unwrapping the straw and shoved it through the hole on the cup lid. “And my mom will kill me when she finds out. I’m not sure what I’m going to do and I ....” She picked up the tea and took a long gulp. The heavenly taste kept her tears at bay for the moment. There was no way she was going to cry in front of Finn.

He waited for her to finish. She took another sip of the drink and continued.

“And I have things I need to tell you because you seem to understand me on a level not many people do. Well, two people. You and Jesse.”

Finn nodded.

“Jesse is my boyfriend.”

“I thought as much.”

She looked down at her feet and noticed her nail polish was almost worn off. She always painted her toenails red—the same red Evelyn had used on her nails. When she looked up at Finn, he was peeking into the uncovered pot on the back burner.

“Noodles,” he said, smiling as steam rose up around his face.

Naomi rushed forward. “I need to check them.” She snatched a spaghetti spoon and leaned past Finn so she could reach the pot. He didn’t move as she twirled the spoon and caught some noodles.

“Want me to get out of the way?” he asked, grinning down at her.

With the spoon still poised over the pot, she looked up at him and realized he was close enough for her elbow to brush against him. He smelled like almond cake. She asked herself for the hundredth time why she had let him come over for dinner.

“No, I’m good,” she said, backing away with the spoon raised in the air. She looked at the dangling noodles dripping hot water onto the floor. The ends were beginning to turn white, which meant they were done. She lifted the spoon above her mouth and took a bite. “Perfect,” she mumbled, chewing. As soon as she noticed Finn watching her with a huge grin on his face, she turned away. “Can you drain the pot in the sink? There’s a colander already in there.”

Sure.”

Fumbling her way around the kitchen, she let Finn help her set the table and dish up the food. When they were both seated, she put her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. No matter what happened, she wouldn’t screw up. She wasn’t going to hide anymore. She was going to tell Finn the truth, trusting he would understand and be there for her when nobody else could be. She hoped confiding in him would show him how highly she thought of him. His eyes were on her. He unfolded his napkin and set it on his lap. She let out her breath and picked up her fork. “Let’s eat.”

He smiled. “Excellent.” After his first bite, he leaned forward and licked his lips. “Amazing, Naomi. It’s better than a restaurant.”

She laughed. “Thanks. Maybe I should teach you some cooking skills if you like it so much.”

“I’d love that.”

They kept eating. Naomi knew the spaghetti was nowhere near as good as Evelyn’s, but she kept trying to perfect it. It reminded her of the first time she had eaten it—not a good memory, but food seemed to be one of the things from her captivity she held on to with warm feelings. Perhaps her memory of how the spaghetti tasted was over-enhanced, but she was certain she would get it right someday. She watched Finn as he polished off one plate of spaghetti and dished up another.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said, glancing at her as a sly grin crossed his face.

“Not at all. There’s nobody but us.” Resting her chin in her palm, she smiled at him. “So tell me about your promotion.”

“Oh, that!” He swallowed. “I’ve been there for about a year now, so when the assistant manager left, I applied for the position. I didn’t think Id get it.” He looked down at his clothes. “I mean, I was just a waiter, and I don’t always present myself as super professional. Plus, there was no way I was going to cut my hair. But they didn’t seem to care about any of that. The last assistant manager was so clean and polished all the time. I thought that’s what they wanted.”

“You didn’t think you’d get it? Seriously?” She leaned back in her chair. “You’re so open with people, even if you think you’re a quiet person. You seem like a natural leader. And look, you even got me to open up and go out somewhere on my birthday. Do you have any idea how huge that is for me?”

He swallowed another bite of food as a frown spread across his face. “Actually, Naomi, I hope this doesn’t freak you out, but after the semester ended and you were gone, I tried to look you up online to see if I could find you on Facebook.”

She stopped breathing for a moment. It didn’t freak her out that he had tried to find her, but she knew typing in her name would pull up hundreds of links about her. All those news articles and TV clips—most of them she had never watched, and didn’t want to. She closed her eyes. “I’m not on any social networks. I deleted everything I could after I ... I ... that’s what I was going to tell you. I—”

“Yeah, I found out about what happened to you.”

She opened her eyes. “So now you know who Jesse is. Now you’re going to think I’m some sort of—”

His change of expression cut her off. He looked concerned.

“I have no idea what you’re going through,” he said, setting down his fork. “I understand now what you meant by the train tracks when you said you couldn’t be with him. I thought you meant he was going to university somewhere else, in another state or something. But he’s in—”

“He was in prison. He’s on parole now.”

“Right, but I take it you’re still not allowed to see him.”

“No.”

“And that’s hard for you.”

She nodded. Finn seemed to be waiting for her to speak. It was his patience with her that opened her up, she realized.

“Finn,” she said in as strong a voice as she could, “this is hard for me because ....” She glanced at his yin and yang tattoo and thought about how she felt so light and dark at the same time. She looked up into his eyes. “It’s hard for me because I like you more than anyone I’ve met in a long time, but Jesse, he’s ... I don’t even know how to explain it. He’s different, and I’ve loved him for so long, and it’s not fair to you because I know you’re interested in me, and I’m in love with someone who kidnapped me, and you probably think he’s some big creep.” She looked down at her lap. “But he’s not, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry if you feel like I’ve led you on, but now you know where I’m coming from.”

Rubbing her knees again, she tried to lift her focus to Finn, but could only get as far as her plate of spaghetti. “I need a friend right now who can try to understand where I’m at,” she continued. “You make me feel comfortable with myself, so that’s why I called you.” Before Finn could say anything, she forced herself to look at him. “And I kissed you because I think you’re hot and you’re nice and you listen to me. At that point, I thought Jesse wouldn’t get out of prison for three more years. I was lonely and I like you and I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”

Her hands were shaking now and she steadied them against her knees. “There, I said it. Now you know.”

Finn lifted his napkin from his lap and set it on the table. He rested his hand near his water glass and ran a finger along the base. “I don’t know why you think you’ve led me on,” he said, smiling gently. “You told me you have a boyfriend, and I’ve already told you I was sorry for the kiss, so we’re on even ground. There’s nothing to worry about. I hope you understand I’m not expecting anything outside of friendship.” His smile widened. “Although I’ll be disappointed if I can’t come over and eat all the time.”

His honesty settled her down. The trembling in her hands subsided. “Friends with benefits, huh?” she asked with a smirk.

“Sure, even if the benefits are food, I’ll take it.”

She laughed.

Later, after Finn had helped clean up the dishes, they went outside to take a walk to the nearest park. The sun would set soon. Naomi liked the way it fell across the sidewalk in golden patches. The smell of freshly-cut grass hung in the air.

“There’s one thing,” Finn said as they walked side-by-side. He kept his hands shoved into his pockets. His hair fell across his forehead as he looked at the ground. “You said your housemate wouldn’t understand because of her GPA, and your mom will kill you when she finds out. What does that have to do with your kidnapping?”

“Oh.” Everything rushed back to her as she realized how easily she had forgotten about the scholarship and her grades. She told Finn about what had happened earlier that day when she tried to register and that she had called him right after she left her advisor’s office.

“I’ve never had bad grades before,” she said, finishing the story. “I feel like a huge failure, and you’re the only one I can talk to about it. I don’t know if I should use the money I have to pay for my tuition and register while I can, or if I should call and ask my parents what they think I should do. They’ll be so disappointed.” The very thought made her mouth go dry.

They had reached the park by this point. Finn guided her to a bench and sat down. She sat next to him and watched a lady walking three Pekingese a few yards away. They trotted in front of their owner, constantly looking back as if seeking approval.

“I know you don’t want to,” Finn said, leaning forward, “but I think you should call your parents. They’re going to find out eventually, and the longer you take to tell them, the worse it’s going to look.”

Naomi wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, you’re right. Of course you’re right.” She tapped the bench with her fingernails, her thoughts slipping along the figures in her bank account. She could use that money and postpone telling her parents. Her mother wouldn’t check the account for weeks. Maybe. But who was she kidding? “You’re too nice, Finn,” she said, still tapping.

“Too nice, huh?”

The lady with the dogs was getting closer. “I don’t mean it in a bad way, honestly.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She sighed, knowing she had to explain further. “See, I had this boyfriend in high school. His name was Brad. His mother wasn’t rich, but he acted like he was. He dressed in all these stupid name-brand clothes, and he wore expensive cologne. We’d always go to these parties on the beach where everyone would get drunk, and then he’d take me to his house and he’d, well, he was a jerk and he was abusive. I’m over all of that now, but the way you are, how different you are from him, it makes me happy. I used to think every guy was like Brad. I didn’t know any different, but then I met Jesse, and now you.” She stopped and watched the lady pass them, her dogs yipping at her and Finn.

“Hush, now!” the lady hissed at them, yanking on their hot-pink leashes.

“Yeah,” Finn said, chuckling. “I’m not an abusive preppy wanna-be.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Naomi leaned forward, bending in half as she pressed her forehead to her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the edge of the bench. She wanted to fold in on herself and disappear, but that wouldn’t solve anything. That much she knew. She breathed slowly, knowing she had to make Finn understand.