Over breakfast, Edwards informed me that my dad was conscious throughout most of their journey home, but that he was far from being in his right mind. It was the transition through the dimensional door that took the strength out of him. I put our few dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and then we headed across the street.
Finn was making his way down the stairs just as we stepped inside. When his eyes landed on me, they seemed conflicted. I guessed he wasn’t happy about me spending another night at Ethan’s. He didn’t comment on it though; instead he focused his attention on Edwards.
“I just checked on Martin. He’s still sleeping,” Finn said, before pulling something from his back pocket and handing it to me. Edwards passed by us to go upstairs to see Dad. I glanced down and saw he’d given me a brand-new passport.
“For your old man, as promised,” Finn said before moving to go by me.
“Thank you,” I whispered, opening it up to see a picture of my dad inside. “Wait. How did you get the photo?”
“I hacked into the database of the school he used to work at. It wasn’t difficult.”
“Oh, well, thanks. This means a lot.” Reaching out, I pulled him into a gentle hug. He seemed taken off guard by the gesture, stiffening a little before relaxing into it.
“You’re such a good person, Finn. I really don’t deserve you as a friend.”
He patted me on the back, a hint of humour in his voice. “Yeah, well, not many people do.”
I pulled back, turning to follow Edwards upstairs. Before I made it to the first step, Finn touched my shoulder. His eyes met mine before flicking to the floor as he spoke, “I just wanted to say …” he trailed off, some conflict warring behind his gaze, and my breath caught. Oh, no, please don’t let this be what I thought it was. If Finn had feelings for me, I didn’t want him to say it, because then things would be awkward, and I selfishly wanted them to stay how they were. He swallowed thickly before continuing, “Listen, I can give you advice, but I can’t tell you what to do, but please promise me you won’t do anything stupid for that vampire?”
“Finn, I’m not going to—”
“Look, I know you have feelings for him. I’m not blind. And yeah, I’ll admit I’m jealous because I really like you and I thought there might be something between us. But I’m not going to make a fool of myself and beg you to choose me. That would be pointless. Just know that you’ll always have a friend in me and that I’m here if you ever need me.”
Great, now I was going to cry. Finn was the salt of the earth. He deserved better than me, and I just hoped one day some girl would come along and love him like he deserved to be loved.
“That goes both ways. I’m not sure how it happened, but I think you might be my best friend. I’m here if you ever need me, too.”
He squeezed my shoulder, sucking in a breath as though trying to keep a handle on his emotions. “Go see your dad. Give a shout if you need anything.”
With that, he went, and I continued up the stairs, where I found Edwards peeling off the lotions he put on my dad yesterday. They’d formed into a solid skin, and when he peeled it back, I was amazed to see that the blisters had disappeared, leaving new, pink skin in their place.
“How incredible,” I said in awe, sitting down on the edge of the bed. The moment I sat, my dad’s face whipped to me. His eyes were open, but they weren’t their usual colour. They were all murky, like a swamp. I startled and stood. One side of his mouth tilted up, an unsettling expression on his face.
“Dad,” I whispered. “It’s me, Tegan.”
Edwards placed a hand on my elbow. “There’s no point, dear. He doesn’t recognise you right now. His mind is somewhere else.”
Dad still stared at me, almost like he was sneering. For the second time this morning I felt like crying. It felt wrong on a deep and disturbing level to have Dad look at me with eyes that weren’t his own.
Edwards placed several bottles containing dark liquids by the nightstand. Dad turned to watch him, his face calming when he looked at the