DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Finn Rhodes Forever: Chapter 46
“THANK you so much for helping today,” Miri said as Liv and I loaded the boxes into the trunk and backseat of my Mustang.
Tomorrow, we were heading out on another hiking trip, but today, we were helping Miri with some errands around town. With her packed schedule of volunteering and social events, she was busy, so when I offered to help her out, she jumped at the chance. She had been thrilled when I dragged Liv with me.
“Don’t forget the box with the holes in it,” Miri added. “They need to go to the turtle sanctuary. They’ve got air and food so they should be fine for a couple hours. They’re still half-frozen so they’re a little loopy, anyway.” She whirled her finger around her temple in the sign for crazy.
Liv and I exchanged an alarmed look.
Miri shoved the list into my hand with all the deliveries for today. “Thanks, you two, you’re lifesavers!”
“Bye, Miri,” Liv called as I studied the list. The boxes of books in my car were going to the school. After that, we’d pick up meals from local restaurants and drop them off with people who were homebound. It was a town program for people who were unable to leave the house. There was a box that needed to go to town hall, and then there was the box with air holes. A rustling sound came from inside and I winced.
“I’m going to put this one in the backseat,” I told Liv, and she wrinkled her nose and nodded.
We climbed into the car, I pulled out of Miri’s driveway, and Liv examined me from across the front seat.
“Are you Mr. Volunteer now?”
I shot her my most winning smile. “Sure. Something like that.”
Her eyes narrowed, but the corner of her mouth twitched up. “What do you have planned?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “We’re just running errands for Miri.”
This was one more way to show Liv and the town that I wasn’t the irresponsible, reckless brat from a decade ago. That guy never would have volunteered a whole day of his time to do deliveries.
“You’re trying to cause mayhem?” Liv prodded.
I choked with laughter. “No.”
She arched a brow in amused disbelief, and I shook my head.
“I promise,” I told her, grinning. “I’m an upstanding, responsible, community-oriented guy, like Emmett.”
She snorted. “Okay.”
“Miri trusts me.”
“Mhm.” She smiled out the open window.
“No mayhem, no chaos, no getting in trouble today. Just good old-fashioned volunteering.”
She grinned. “You’re so weird.”
I reached across the seat and placed my hand on her thigh, giving her a light squeeze. “Thanks for coming with me today. This’ll be way more fun with you around.”
Her eyes met mine, and the warmth in them made my heart flip. She shrugged. “Happy to.”
THREE HOURS LATER, we had two deliveries left—the box to town hall and the box that was going to the turtle sanctuary. It felt like we’d run into every person in town today, and I felt a funny pride in my chest, helping out like this. Catching up with people I hadn’t seen in a while, making conversation with some of the older folks we delivered meals to who didn’t get out much, and even seeing how excited the teachers were when the books arrived—it felt nice. Rewarding, even. It felt like I was a part of something.
I’d keep this up, volunteering with Miri. It felt good to be a part of the town again, and not just be counting down until I left.
We pulled up to town hall, and Liv turned around to study the box with the holes in it. A rustling noise came from inside.
“We can’t leave them in the car,” she said. “It’s getting too hot.”
We climbed out and I pulled the box for town hall out of the trunk.
“Here,” I said, handing it to her. “This one’s light. I’ll take the turtles inside with us.”
Inside, the receptionist glanced up from her phone. “Hi, you two.”
“Hey, Anna. We’ve got a delivery for Div.”
She pointed down the hall before swiping left on a dating app. “He should be in his office. Go right in.”
“Thanks.” I gestured to the box in my arms. “Can we leave this with you for a moment? We’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing.” She turned back to her phone and gestured over her shoulder. “Just leave it on the floor.”
I slid the box down below the desk, and when I straightened up, Emmett was passing through the lobby, carrying a takeout bag from Avery’s restaurant.
“Hey,” he called, waving. “What are you two up to?”
My gaze met Liv’s and she rolled her lips to hide a smile. I widened my eyes, a silent way of saying don’t tell Emmett what’s in the box.
Emmett didn’t like turtles. As a kid, he accidentally rode his bike over one and killed it, and ever since, he’d had a thing against them. When they were dating, Avery dragged him to the turtle sanctuary. Behind Miri’s back, he called it Miri’s House of Turtle Horrors.
I shrugged. “Just dropping a box off for Div.”
He brightened up. “Nice.” He glanced at his watch. “Gotta go, there’s a class from the school doing a tour here soon.” He nodded at us. “See ya.”
“Bye, Emmett,” Liv said lightly as he walked away. “We need to get that box out of here now.”
I laughed. “Okay, let’s go then.”
When we arrived at his office, Div sat at his desk, typing an email. As always, he wore a full suit. He turned to see us in the doorway and gave us a discerning expression.
“Olivia. Finn.” He nodded once, looking me up and down with an arched brow. “Nice to see you with clothes on.”
I burst out laughing and my ears heated. I’d been getting a few comments around town after my stunt the other night at the community center.
For the thousandth time, I pictured the hot, glazed look on Liv’s face as I pulled her beneath me amidst the screaming crowd.
It had been so worth it.
I rubbed my jaw, thinking. “Div, were you the one who threw a hundred-dollar bill at me?”
He cleared his throat and Liv laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said lightly.
I grinned at him. “Well, the Queen’s Cove fire department thanks whoever made that donation. We gave all the proceeds to the food bank.”
Div shrugged, all innocence, before tilting his chin at the box we brought.
“What’s that?”
Liv set it on his desk. “We have a box for you from Miri.”
When he flipped it open, his eyes lit up and he gasped.
“Thank you, Miri,” he murmured, pulling out a platform orange shoe and inspecting it. “These are practically new.” He wiggled his eyebrows at us. “And my size.”
“Nice.” Liv perched on the edge of his desk as he kicked his dress shoes off and tried on the orange heels. “When’s your next show?”
Outside of being Emmett’s assistant at town hall, Div performed in drag shows at a bar in the next town. I’d gone to see a show with my brothers and my sisters-in-law. It was fun, and Div was an incredible singer. In drag, he let a totally different side of himself out.
“Two Saturdays from now,” he told us. “It’s tropical themed.”
Liv nudged me. “We should go.”
“Sure. I’d love to.”
Div pulled out his phone to send us the details, and we chatted for a few minutes about the drag show, town events, and the next reality TV show night he sometimes hosted with Liv, Hannah, Avery, and Sadie.
His email pinged, snagging his attention.
“We should head out,” Liv said, pulling me by the hand. “Bye, Div.”
He waved goodbye over his shoulder, already distracted by his screen, and we headed back to the lobby.
When we returned to the front desk, Anna was still consumed by her phone, swiping left at an impressive speed. I stepped behind the reception desk to grab the—
The box was gone.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
Liv saw my face and came to my side. Her jaw dropped when she saw the box was gone, and eyes wide, we stared at each other.
“Hey, Anna?” I asked.
Anna’s eyes were on her phone. “Mmm?”
“Where’d that box go?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, swiping left on a guy wearing a Santa hat.
Liv and I stared at each other before she snorted with laughter, covering her mouth.
I looked around wildly, scanning the lobby. “We have to find that box.”
“I know.” Liv shook with laughter.
“Miri is going to kill us.” I grabbed Liv’s hand and tried to seem casual as we surveyed the lobby. Where was it? Who would have taken it?
Beside me, Liv stiffened. Her gaze was on a group of school kids passing through the lobby and out the doors. They were young, seven or eight years old.
She made eye contact with me and pointed at one of the kids.
“Oh, shit,” I snorted, shaking with laughter.
To the complete unawareness of the teacher or chaperones, one of the kids dragged an empty box—the box—behind him by the lid.
Liv covered her mouth, doubled over with laughter.
“No, no, no,” I said, smothering my own chuckles. “We have to find them.”
A loud, blood-curdling shriek rang out, echoing throughout town hall, and we froze.
“Was that Emmett?” she whispered.
“Come on.” I pulled her in the direction of the shriek—the same direction as Emmett’s office.
We hustled down the hallway, and when we turned the corner, Emmett cowered at the end of the hall, clutching his sandwich to his chest, dry heaving.
Five small turtles advanced on him, inching forward at a glacial pace.
“Oh my god.” Liv’s hand came to her mouth.
“Those kids brought them into my office.” Emmett tried to climb onto the windowsill, eyes wide with terror as he watched the turtles crawl. He gagged again. “I escaped but they followed me. I’m going to puke.”
Liv was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. Her laughing made me laugh, and soon the two of us were doubled over, slapping each other and holding on to each other for support as Emmett dry heaved.
“They’re predators. They smell my blood!” Emmett’s voice had taken on a delirious edge. His eyes darted to us then back to the turtles. “Stop laughing.”
“They smell your food,” I called back, wiping my eyes. “Step over them.”
Emmett glared at the one in the front. “I recognize her. That one’s Sara Beth. She wants revenge!”
Liv let out another peal of laughter. “I’m going to pee,” she wheezed.
A small group of people was gathering behind us, watching the spectacle.
“Emmett, come on.” I gestured to him. “You’re going to make Liv pee herself.”
Emmett’s gaze flicked to the red fire alarm on the wall. He clutched his stomach. “I’m going to pull the fire alarm.”
“No,” Liv and I yelled in unison, laughing even harder.
My abs hurt from laughing. “Don’t do that. That’s not going to help.”
“What’s going on?” Div asked behind us. He saw Emmett and rolled his eyes. “Oh my god. How did those get in here? We have a policy.” He sighed and turned around. “Can we get a box, please?”
“I’m going to do it,” Emmett yelled, nostrils flaring as his gaze jumped between the turtles five feet away and the fire alarm. He slid an inch over on the windowsill. “I’m getting closer.” His stomach heaved.
One turtle paused, lagging behind, and Emmett stiffened.
“That’s one’s going to jump,” he said, pointing at the small one at the back of the pack.
“Emmett,” I called, shaking my head, trying not to laugh. “It’s not going to jump. That one’s probably tired.”
“Alright, take a deep breath,” Div said, breezing past us with a cardboard box. He scooped the turtles up with impressive efficiency before snapping the lid closed and handing it over to me. “Can you deal with that, please?”
Liv and I winced at him. “Sorry, Div,” I told him.
“It’s fine.” He gestured at the box. “But please, get them out of here. Now.”
With the turtles safely in the box, we hurried through town hall, which was empty since everyone was gathered in the hallway watching their mayor have a meltdown. We passed Anna at reception, still swiping left, and burst out the front doors.
“Mr. Volunteer, everyone,” Liv said, applauding me as we set the box in the backseat of my car. Her eyes danced with amusement.
I did a quick bow. “Thank you. I’m available to help where I can.”
We climbed into the car and I pulled out onto the street, heading in the direction of the turtle sanctuary.
“No mayhem, no chaos, no getting in trouble,” she listed off on her fingers, recalling my earlier words.
“Okay.” My chest shook with laughter. “Olivia. You were there. That wasn’t my fault.”
She shook her head at me. “Wherever you go, trouble finds you, huh?” Her eyes were so bright and warm, they made my throat tight.
She was perfect like this, laughing with me.
“Maybe it’s you,” I shot back, beaming at her. “You’re my little bad luck charm.”
Her eyebrows wiggled up and down. “You going to get rid of me?”
“No way.” My heart expanded in my chest, glancing at her as I drove. “Not a chance.”
Right now, it felt like everything was perfect, like everything was so simple, and even though today hadn’t turned out like I wanted, it didn’t matter. Where it counted, I was the guy Liv needed. I was there for her, I showed up for her, and I wasn’t leaving. Seeing her laugh until she couldn’t breathe had lit my soul on fire.
We felt like us again.
Her head fell back and she howled with a big laugh. “They can smell my blood!”
“They’re predators!”
We laughed all the way home, and I begged the universe for this to last forever.