Out of Mind (Out of Line #3)(11)
Author: Jen McLaughlin

She was better off without me.

And she was better off with Riley.

Chapter Five – Carrie

I took my teal cashmere cowl off and peeked into the living room. Empty. Riley came up behind me and helped me remove my coat, and I smiled at him in thanks as I strained to see if Finn was lurking somewhere. He was nowhere to be found, even though he’d been with Riley only minutes before.

Part of me wondered how that had gone. Finn had a tendency not to like guys who were my friends, so it made me think maybe Finn tried to scare Riley off. Or maybe he’d been as taken in by him at the first meeting as I’d been. Something about Riley screamed for you to like him instantly. Outside, he’d been cracking jokes to me about how much my father kept pushing him toward me, despite my very real boyfriend inside the house.

On top of that, he’d told me he’d met—and loved—Finn.

That made me like him even more. He obviously had good taste. “Where were you two hanging out?” I asked him.

“In the living room.” Riley hung my coat on the coat stand and motioned me forward. “I’m sure he’s still there. Let’s go find him.”

We walked into the living room, but it was clear he wasn’t there anymore. An empty glass sat on the table, but nothing else. “He’s not here.” I picked it up and sniffed it. Whiskey. So, he’d been drinking. “But he obviously was at one point.”

“Yeah. With me.” Riley watched me closely. Too closely. “That’s my glass, though. Not his.”

Hope surged through me. “Oh. He wasn’t drinking?”

“He was. He must have cleaned up after himself when he left.” Riley shrugged. “He must’ve put the bottle away, too.”

I swallowed hard. He’d probably taken it with him to finish it off. But Riley didn’t need to know that. I’d hoped that after last night, he might not feel the need to drink himself into oblivion. I’d hoped… It didn’t matter what I’d hoped.

It hadn’t happened.

I gave Riley my back while I composed myself. Once I was ready, I turned to him with a bright smile. “I can get you a refill, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please.” He hesitated, reached for my hand, but dropped it by his side without me having to reject him. Good, because I didn’t want to. “Are you okay, Carrie?”

“I’m great,” I said, forcing a cheerful note to my voice. “I mean, it’s hard to see him like this.” I motioned toward the empty glass. “But he’s working his way through it. We’re working our way through it.”

“I didn’t ask how he was.” He stepped closer, watching me from under his lashes. “I asked how you are.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I told you. I’m fine.”

“Carrie…” He looked over my shoulder and smiled brightly, changing his tone of voice. “Ah, there you are. We were about to send out a search party for you.”

Finn stood in the doorway, watching Riley and me with narrowed eyes. When I smiled at him, he smiled back, but I could see the look in his eyes didn’t match. Not at all. If anything, he looked sad. He set down his empty glass, and put the bottle on the table. It was almost empty. “I went looking for my dad, but I couldn’t find him.”

Riley picked up his cup and headed across the room, talking about having another drink. I trailed behind him, my eyes on Finn. He seemed as if he was being friendly enough. He hadn’t called him Miley or anything else that was close to his name, but not quite right. “I was just talking to him when I came home. He went out to the store.”

“Oh.” He ran his hand over his head. He used to tug on his curls when he was nervous. Is that what he was trying to do? “I would have gone with him if I’d known. He shouldn’t be going out alone.”

But he hadn’t wanted to go shopping with me? I wasn’t sure what that meant. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d want to.”

He smiled at me. “It’s fine. Now I get to spend time with you…and Riley.” He popped the lid off the whiskey and poured Riley a good amount. “Can’t let you drink alone, now can I?”

Riley grinned. “Course not. Short Stuff over here isn’t old enough, so I’ve only got you.”

“Yeah, she’s not quite old enough yet,” Finn murmured as he poured himself another glass. He watched me as he poured, almost as if he was daring me to say something. To start a fight with him. And, man, I wanted to. “We’ve had a few discussions about that, though, haven’t we, Carrie?”

I curled my hands into balls and bit down on my tongue. Glancing at his glass pointedly, I said, “We have. Too much alcohol is never a good thing.”

He laughed. “She thinks I drink too much when I’m stressed out.” He turned to Riley and held his glass out for a toast. “Lately, that’s been all the time, hasn’t it?”

“Finn…” I started, but he threw his arm over my shoulder and hugged me close. I stole a quick look at Riley. He was watching Finn with concern in his gaze. My cheeks heated. “You doing okay?”

“Fabulous now that you’re back.” He kissed my forehead, his lips lingering. Despite my uneasiness about his current state of mind, my heart flared to life as the gesture. It was so much like something the old Finn would do. “I missed you.”

“Did you nap?”

He fingers tightened on his glass. “Yep.”

I wanted to ask him if he’d had the nightmare again, but I wouldn’t in front of Riley. “Great. So I see you met Riley?”

“I did.” Finn led me to the couch, making sure I sat between him and the arm of the couch. Riley sat on Finn’s other side. “We were talking about the night you two became friends.”

I stole a quick glance at Riley. “Oh yeah?”

“Yep.” Riley sipped his drink, looking slightly uncomfortable if his furrowed brow was any indication. “How long are you two staying here?”

“We go back on the thirtieth.”

“Is that what we decided?” Finn blinked. “I thought we were leaving on the twenty-seventh.”

I shook my head and rested my hand on his thigh. “No, because you have an MRI that morning.” I softened my voice. “Remember? I put it on a Post-it.”

“No. I don’t remember.” Finn took a long drink, his leg going hard under my hand. I could practically feel the frustration rolling off him. “How long are you in town, Riley?”