That Girl

Alex shouldn't have been eavesdropping on the entire conversation. But he was. He retreated back to the couch when he had heard enough and pulled the blankets over his head. He pulled his phone out from under the pillow, where he had shoved it after he finished changing, and he checked the time. It was only a little after one in the morning. And he wasn't sure if it was coming down from the adrenaline or over-hearing Finley's conversation with her father, but he felt exhausted.

He heard Finley walk out of the kitchen and back to her room, but there was no way he was stupid enough to try to stop her. When he heard Robert leave as well, that was when he felt comfortable enough to remove the blanket covering his head. He texted Jack quickly, telling him that he had a place to stay and that they could get dinner the next night, before setting the phone on the coffee table before drifting off to sleep.

Alex woke up the next morning to the sound of pans hitting one another. It wasn't loud, and he doubted whoever was doing it was doing so on purpose, but it woke him up nonetheless. He sat up and stretched, thankful that his head wasn't throbbing. Of course, he didn't have as much to drink the night before as he usually did. He grabbed his phone to see that it was a little after eleven in the morning. He ran a hand through his hair before standing up and making his way into the kitchen.

"Good morning."

Finley glanced up from the stove, a half-smile on her face. "Morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Surprisingly very well," Alex told her, walking over to the counter next to the stove. He jumped up to sit on the counter, his feet hitting the cabinets.

Finley nodded and flipped the piece of French toast that she was making.

"Thanks for letting me stay here last night."

She shrugged.

Alex nodded slowly. "So…are we back to barely speaking again?"

Finley sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just not in the best mood."

"Did you not sleep well?"

She shrugged. "Just a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Finley briefly met his eyes before shaking her head. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled is perfect."

"Good. How many slices of French toast do you want?"

"However many you make," he told her with a shrug.

She nodded and flipped the slice onto a plate already full. "Can you set these on the table?" she asked him before finishing up the eggs.

Alex nodded and walked them over to the table, setting them down. He sat down at the table, hands folded in his lap. "Do you need any help?"

Finley shook her head. "Coffee or milk?"

"Coffee sounds wonderful, actually."

"Cream and sugar?"

"More sugar, less cream."

Finley fixed him a cup of coffee before pouring herself a cup of milk, carrying both over to the table and setting them down. She picked up the plate of eggs and two plates and silverware before walking back to the table. "Dig in." She picked a few slices of French toast and a generous helping of eggs before slathering them with syrup.

Alex did the same and took a tentative bite. He wasn't used to home cooking, since his mother was usually pretty busy, and he could honestly say that he was surprised when, okay, it was actually really frickin' good. Before he even realized it, he had engulfed four slices of French toast and his entire cup of coffee.

Finley couldn't help but smile just a little bit. "Are you even tasting it?"

Alex paused and looked up at her. "Yeah, it's delicious."

"Thank you."

"Thanks for making me breakfast," he told her.

"When you're done, I'll take you wherever you need to go," Robert announced walking into the kitchen.

Finley set her fork down next to her plate, taking a drink of her milk.

"Thank you, sir."

"I can drive him home, dad."

Robert frowned. "Make it quick. We're expecting company in a little over an hour."

"Of course, Mr. McAdams," Alex said with a nod.

"Thank you," Robert said before walking out of the kitchen.

Finley stood up and carried her plate to the sink before rinsing it off.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you ready to go?" Finley asked.

Alex nodded. "I'm going to change real quick and use the restroom."

"Okay."

Alex didn't press the issue before walking out of the room.

Finley let out a shaky breath. She was growing frustrated with her father. She knew she really shouldn't, and that only made her frustration grow even more. She left the kitchen silently before walking back to her room. She changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of skinny jeans, a black v-neck, and a jacket. She slid on her moccasins and tied her hair into a ponytail before grabbing her wallet and walking out of her room. Sucking in a deep breath, she knocked on her father's bedroom door.

"Yes?"

"Can I borrow your car keys, please?"

Robert nodded, handing her the keys to their car. "Don't take long, Finley. Marshall Walker will be here soon."

"Okay," Finley said, biting the inside of her cheek. She didn't say anything else to her father as she walked into the living room. "Oh, shit, sorry," she apologized, turning around. She hadn't been expecting Alex to change in the middle of the living room. Alright. To each their own, she supposed.

"It's cool," Alex told her, sliding on his shirt from the night before. "You ready?"

Finley nodded before leading him out to the car. She didn't bother turning on the radio. It wasn't as if she would really be able to focus on anything but the road anyway. She already had too many thoughts running through her head.

"What are you hiding from me?" Alex asked suddenly.

Finley glanced over at him, frowning. "Plenty of things. Where do you live?"

"Off of Maple. Plenty of things like what?"

She didn't answer. In fact, she pretty much ignored Alex unless he was giving her directions to his house. When she pulled into the driveway, she unlocked the doors and waited. A couple of minutes later, Alex still hadn't moved. "Alex, I have to get home."

Alex nodded. "I know. I want some answers."

Finley scoffed. "Get out of the car, Alex."

"No."

Finley threw the car in park and turned to look at him. "I'm trying very hard to keep my cool right now, Alex. I'm not in a good mood, and I have a lot on my mind. Now, it would be wonderful if you could not add to that and get your ass out of my car."

Alex smiled. "I'd rather not."

Finley pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, letting out a sigh. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Finley, I heard you and your dad last night. What is going on?"

She scoffed. "Get out of the car, Alex. I'm not talking about this with you."

"You're hiding something from me, and I deserve to know what it is," Alex told her, his tone changing abruptly.

"Fuck that," she spat. "I saved your ass, Alex. I got us away from the cops so neither one of us got in trouble. I found you a place to stay for the night. I don't owe you shit."

Alex bit his lip. "So what happens now? We pretend as if this weekend never happened?"

"Sounds perfect to me."

"Finley, come on. Last night was awesome--"

"Last night is over," she said quietly.

Alex nodded slowly before leaning over and pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Thank you," he told her quietly before climbing out of the car and walking into his house.

Finley bit her lip as she pulled out of Alex's driveway and headed home. She couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. She didn't want to be a bitch to Alex, she really didn't. But she had to think about what was best for her and her father. And she was starting to resign herself to the fact that maybe the best thing didn't include Alex.

No matter how much she wanted it to.