Beaches, Booze and Falling
Chapter Two
He had been surprised to say the least when she walked through the doors of the pub with a young man he didn't know and took a seat at a table next to the window. That had been twenty minutes ago and he still hadn't taken his eyes off her. She hadn't noticed him watching and she wouldn't either. He was sitting in the center of his group of friends slouched down low in his chair as his friends shrieked with laughter and merriment. He scowled at the thought.
All day the feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach seemed to grow. He felt sick to his stomach every time he had to ask "what?" or "when did that happen?" He barely knew whom his friends were anymore, hell, he didn't even know who his own brother was anymore. That caused the most guilt. Growing up he and his brother had been closer than close and now he didn't know what to say to him.
Lunch with his parents had been even worse if that was possible. No words had been spoken. But their silence had been worse than any words could have been. He knew though, once the anger had sunk into his father and he had contemplated it there would be words. Words Finn didn't want to hear but he knew they were inevitable. The lecture would start with, "Phineas, your mother and I are very disappointed..." and end with "If this happens one more time I will personally bring you home from America and put you to work at the firm." It is how things always seemed to go and he was sure they always would. No matter how bad Finn screwed up his father would never do anything to him that would ruin society's view on him. The Rothschild's were the epitome of grace and grandeur. Darren Rothschild would never want his image of perfect father to be diminished no matter how mad he was at his son.
His gaze was still locked on the brunette girl. Her eyes lit up as she listened attentively to the man sitting across from her. A smile was gracing her lips; it was nothing like the smile she had given him at the beach. This smile was one of happiness. Where as the one he had sent his way had been full of disgust.
He could still hear her words floating through his mind every few minutes. She had said she didn't want to know who he was because: manor born? How did that make any sense? To Finn it didn't. He had tried to come up with some coherent explanation to her words but he couldn't make hide or hare of it.
"Give it up, mate."
Finn flicked his stare towards Jarrah before he turned back to look at the girl. "Give what up?"
"You've been staring at her since she walked in ... with another man. Give it up," he said. "You have no chance."
"I haven't been staring at her," Finn all but growled out.
Jarrah snorted.
"I've been ... observing her," he finished lamely. He knew his explanation sounded ridiculous even, to his own ears.
"Right."
"Shut up," Finn hissed as he chanced a glare at his friend.
The girl wasn't smiling anymore. He noticed that the moment his gaze returned to her table. Her delicate hand was cradling her head as she stared glumly up at the man. This small fact caused Finn to sit up straight in his seat knocking his beer over. He didn't care though.
"Whoa, Finn, mate, what's up?" Ryan asked hurrying to pick up the over turned beer bottle.
Finn didn't answer him. He just continued to watch the scene unfold before him.
The man hung up his cell phone that he had been talking on and said a few words to the girls that Finn couldn't hear.
"You always do this!" the girl hissed across the table. "You said this trip was so you could prove you weren't the flake you always turned out to be in the past. You are just proving my hypothesis right once again!"
"I'm sorry, Hun, but this is important," the man said.
"I can't believe you are conducting business on our vacation!" the girl berated the man.
The man had stood up, he handed the brunette a few bills, kissed the top of her head and walked out of the pub pulling out his cell phone as he did so. He held an apologetic look on his face but Finn could tell this wasn't the first time the man had disappointed the blue-eyed goddess, nor would it be the last. At that moment Finn felt an eternal hatred for the man as he saw the girls face contort into one of discouragement mixed with anger.
"Isn't that the girl from the beach?" Talia wondered aloud.
James smiled, "yeah, you know, the girl who turned you down?"
"Yes, James, her. Thank you for your commentary. It was much appreciated," Finn said dryly as he kept his eyes on the girl.
"Aw, Finn's in love," Talia said in a singsong voice.
It took Finn all but ten seconds to make his plan. He stood from his table and strode across the room. "Hello love," he said cheerfully as he took the seat the man had occupied moments before. He ignored the jeers his friends were sending silently his way and kept his gaze focused intently on the girl.
"I'm not your love," she said rolling her eyes.
Finn eyes narrowed. "So was he your love, your one and only? Your bloke?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked sounding sincerely confused.
"You know," Finn said impatiently, "that man you were with. The one that left not five minutes ago? Have you forgotten already—what is so funny?"
"That bloke was my dad," she said through her laughter so it was barely distinguishable.
"Your father?" Finn said slowly. "Your father." He smiled brilliantly. "That man was your father!"
"Yes, yes he was?" she said uncertainly. "Was there something you wanted?"
"Now that you mention it, your name darling." He grabbed her dainty hand in his larger rough one and cradled it delicately.
She yanked her hand back. "How about no."
His eyebrows furrowed together. "Why not?"
"Like I said this morning. Manor born."
"What does that mean?"
She sighed and blew a stray hair away from her face before speaking. "Look, I know people like you. I go to school with people like you, actually. You are all the same. No depth. you are all the same. You are given everything and you take it all for granted. You walk around thinking the world exists just for you. Your idea of a relaxing night is a wild party that will lead to you stumbling home with a girl whose name you don't even know. You will treat her like she's the only woman in the universe then forget all about her but lunchtime the next day. I don't like people like you. You represent everything I despise in a person. you are shallow, cold and don't have a care in the world.
"I'm not like that." But he knew she could tell he was lying.
"This morning did a trashy girl not walk right up to you and inquire about a night you two spent together which you didn't even remember? Truthfully tell me that did not happen and I'll give you my name," she offered.
Finn stayed silent. She was right and she knew it. He scowled.
She looked at him with what seemed to be an almost apologetic expression. "I have to go."
He blinked and he missed it. She was gone that fast. Was he really as repulsive as she seemed to think? Was her description of him really that real? Was that how he appeared to others?
"What happened? She shut you down again?" Jarrah teased as he took her vacant spot. "What did she do?"
He looked at the door, which the nameless girl had exited through. "A reality check."