Unscheduled Departure by T.M. Franklin

 
    5:12 AM
    Tuesday
     
    Finn whipped the door open before I could even knock, eyes frantic and dark hair tousled like he'd been tugging at it again.
    "What's wrong?" I asked.
    "You're late."
    I frowned. "Only five minutes. I texted y—"
    "Sorry... sorry, I know." Finn ran both hands through his already crazy hair, yanking it into wild spikes around his head. "I mean I'm late. I'm going to be late. I can't find my stupid wallet." He whirled through the living room, tossing pillows that looked like they'd been tossed several times already. The living room was a mess of stacked-up boxes and furniture gathered from the other rooms. There'd been a mix-up with the movers, so I'd be meeting them the next day to make sure everything got picked up. Finn couldn't change his flight, and I'd assured him there was no need.
    He fumbled through an open box, dropping towels on the floor. "I set it aside. I know I did," he said. "I put it somewhere—"
    "Where you wouldn't forget it." I smiled when he looked up at me with frantic eyes. "It's okay. Take a breath. We'll find it."
    Finn obediently inhaled, straightening and closing his eyes for a moment. "What am I doing?" he asked quietly.
    "We'll find the—"
    "No." He rubbed his hands over his face and let out a long, shaky breath. "I mean, what am I doing? I'm moving to the other side of the country, Ro."
    I reached out to touch his hand and he gripped it tightly.
    "It's what you wanted," I said, my heart pounding heavily. "Your family needs you." I said the words, even though we both knew I didn't really believe them.
    He smiled sadly. "But you—"
    I slid my hand up his cheek and smoothed the hair over his ear. "I'll be here. Right here. I'm not going anywhere." I forced myself to meet his stormy, grey eyes and fought back my own misgivings about Finn leaving. "We'll be fine. We can do this." I smiled without feeling it.
    2,743 miles.
    Well, 2,743 miles from Seattle to Washington DC. Another thirty-five or so across the border to his family home in Virginia where he'd be living. Since his father's death, Finn's brother Aiden had run the family business, a real-estate development firm based in Springfield. But Aiden had disappeared with the office manager— a married woman nearly twice his age— and had called only to say he was sorry, he just couldn't take it anymore, and he and Meg were going to spend some time in South America to find some purpose in their lives.
    Which meant . . .
    Well, I thought it meant that it was time to sell the business, pocket the cash and move on. Finn's mother had other ideas, however. She'd called in tears, begging him to come take over —just temporarily, until they could figure out what to do next. I knew there was nothing temporary about it, though. Finn's mom had always wanted him back home, and had never approved of him moving to Seattle to study software engineering at the University of Washington.
    Finn was good at the business end of things. He was raised in board meetings and learned at an early age the art of the deal. But he didn't enjoy it. He preferred working with technology, solving problems and writing code, instead of sitting in endless business meetings.
    But he also loved his mother and was devoted to his family. And since his sister was still in high school, he didn't see an alternative to giving in to his mother's pleas. He just couldn't say no. It wasn't an easy decision for him, and I refused to make it harder. I was a lot of things, but I tried— really tried— not to be selfish in that regard.
    Which meant my boyfriend would soon be 2,743 miles away from me. And I refused to be a needy baby about it.
    "It'll be okay," I said, my voice, at least, firm and sure, even if the rest of me wasn’t. "We'll Skype and text. And I'll try to fly out for Spring Break."
    "And I'll try and be back for Christmas," he said, although I doubted that would happen. Once he got involved in Beckett Enterprises, there would be no getting out. They'd