All the Ways to Here by Emily O'Beirne

Author:Emily O'Beirne [O’Beirne, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Published: 2017-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 33

Finn

When they get to Finn’s house, her mother’s putting away the shopping.

“Hey, Mum. You remember Riley?”

Anita spins, a can of tomatoes in her hand. She smiles. “Of course. Hello, Riley.”

“Hi.” Riley goes all shy, sidling closer to Finn.

Finn drops an arm around her. “The dogs will be on my bed, probably. First door in the hallway. And on the bottom shelf of my desk there’s a bunch of old DVDs. Pick one for us to watch. But be quick.”

“Okay.” She skates across the floor on her socks.

“Where did you acquire a child?” Anita asks from inside the pantry. “And will she be staying for dinner?”

“No. I’m going to Willa’s.” Finn pulls a snow pea from a bag and munches on it. “She’s really, really stressed about an essay, and her computer’s broken, so I said she could use mine while I watch a movie with Riley.”

“Am I a broken record?” Anita pulls a box of muesli out of a bag. “What do I always say on school nights?”

“It’s a student-free day tomorrow, remember?” Finn stares at the box of muesli in her mother’s hand. Why is Anita even buying it? Finn hates the stuff, and Anita doesn’t eat breakfast. She’s always forgetting and buying things only her dad eats.

“Oh, that’s right.”

“So I’m going to teach Riles how to make pizzas and help her with her spelling while Willa does her essay.” She grins. “Well, we’re making pizza toppings on a shop base because I know my cooking limitations, which are many.”

“Shouldn’t you be out doing something fun?”

“Can’t.” Finn picks out another snow pea and frowns. “Willa’s got school tomorrow, and we—”

“I meant you.”

“Since when do you tell me to go out and have fun? My sadly early curfew suggests you’re against it.”

“There are plenty of things you could do and still come home early. Go the movies. Go out for dinner.” Anita leans against the counter, giving her a sober look. “Look, I know Willa’s got a lot of troubles at the moment, but you don’t always have to be involved. You seem to be there all the time. What about your other friends?”

For a moment, Finn can only stare. “Why are you all of a sudden anti-Willa? I thought you liked her.”

“Of course I do. She’s lovely. I’m just not sure you need to be taking on someone else’s responsibilities when you have enough of your own.”

“Since when is helping someone who is having a hard time a bad thing?” Anger flushes Finn’s cheeks for the second time tonight. “And what if I don’t want to go out? I mean, I guess I could sit here in the empty house and wait for you to come home?”

There’s a flicker of a warning look, but Anita opts for resignation at the last moment. “Look, I’m just saying that you need to have some of your own time too. You can’t always be doing things for—”

She stops abruptly as Riley skips into the kitchen, a DVD in her hand and the dogs at her feet.

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