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Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Delaney had every intention of heading home to the funeral alone. Her mother was afraid her father's family would blame her for his death, since it happened less than a year after the move. Aunt Georgina had called recanting a tragedy of a man who fell apart, and was gripped by sadness after his family deserted him. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that living with her father had caused them to fall apart and they'd been gripped by sadness for over a decade. But it didn't matter now; he was gone and wouldn't be hurting them anymore—unless he was able to reach them by way of guilt. Avoid Aunt Georgina, she thought to herself as she shoved her toiletry kit into her overnight bag.

"I hope you don't mind," Shane said as he appeared at her side. "I booked a flight. I'm going with you." He draped his arm around her, giving her a side hug.

Panic began to race through her, feeling as if it may shoot straight from her fingertips like laser beams. "Um...," she began, hedging.

"Don't worry, if you're uncomfortable I'll stay in the hotel. I just thought you wouldn't want to be alone," he said as he firmed up his grip on her.

She sighed. Maybe Fin was right after all; he did appear to understand. "Thank you," she said as fresh tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She turned to hug him full on, squeezing him tight and burying her head in his navy sweatshirt. "We'll see how it goes. If it's a circus, I'd rather deal with it alone if you don't mind."

"You don't need to be embarrassed, you know. You're not responsible for anything he did."

"I know," she said. However she wasn't entirely sure she meant it. When you live with an addict, sometimes it's easy to blame yourself. After all, it's usually the little things the family does that end up setting off a tirade. And it's particularly difficult not to blame yourself when you're the one that left the roller skates on the floor, resulting in two lamps being smashed through the front window.

Shane had been a rock for the last two days, supporting Delaney any way she needed. He talked to Fin for half an hour getting the rundown on her history with her dad. And he never once made her feel awkward that Fin knew everything about a past she never shared with him. He held her when she cried, stroked her hair to calm her when she yelled and silently listened when she talked. And most importantly, he never pried.

"I'll wait out here for you." He dropped a kiss on her forehead. She heard the muffled voices as he joined her mom in the living room, and for once she wasn't nervous about her past coming back to haunt her. It felt really good to have it out in the open.

She backtracked through her room, making sure she didn't forget anything. She tossed in Fin's gray wool cardigan to go over her dress; she'd almost forgotten how cold it would be in Michigan. As she was about to head out of the room, her phone rang.

"Hi," Fin said as she pressed the receiver to her ear.

Her knees went weak upon hearing his voice for the first time in so many months and she quickly sat down on the edge of the bed. "Fin," she said simply. It was all she could manage.

"How are you holding up?" His voice was soft and soothing.

She took in a deep breath to steady herself. "Okay, I guess," she exhaled loudly. She fell back into the pillows. "It's really good to hear your voice."

He paused. "Yours too," he said quietly. "So, I'm in Miami. If you need me to I can come up to the funeral."

Her insides felt all warm and squishy in response. "Thank you." She fought back tears that had begun their descent, yet again. "Shane's going to come, so I think I'll be okay." Really, she wanted more than anything for him to be there, but she didn't want him by default and only because he was feeling sorry for her.