Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

MONSTER

FOUR WEEKS LATER

It’s a beautiful day for a drive, and I’m excited to meet Finn’s grandpa. I’m not, however, looking forward to meeting his parents or being in the same room as Donny Martin. And from the way Finn is fidgeting the closer we get to his grandpa’s house, I know he’s feeling the same way.

“Is there anything I can do to ease your nerves?” I ask him, reaching over to squeeze his knee, which is bouncing like crazy.

He shakes his head while staring out the window. “No. I’ll be fine,” he murmurs.

“I know you aren’t used to relying on people except for your grandpa and trusting people isn’t something you do freely, but know that I’m here, baby, and will do whatever you need me to. Your family can’t hurt you anymore. I promise.”

Slowly, he turns his face toward mine, and the corners of his lips turn up slightly. “Grandpa is going to love you,” he tells me with a look of adoration.

“I sure hope so,” I reply with a cheesy grin, earning me a much brighter smile from my man. “Now, how about you put on some music that will get your mind off of everything?” I encourage him, wanting that smile to stay in place.

Tonight is going to be intense, but I meant what I said. Finn’s family will never hurt him again.

The rest of the drive is uneventful, but thankfully, the majority of Finn’s nerves seem to have settled, at least until we pull into the driveway of his grandpa’s place.

“Hey, your family isn’t even here yet, and when they do show up, you’ll have me by your side. I get that you're anxious, but it’s going to be okay,” I assure him once I put the car into park.

We made sure to arrive early so that Finn could have some time to settle in before his parents and brother show up. Finn also wanted to introduce me to his grandpa without other people around.

“Unless you’re anxious about me meeting your grandpa,” I add on, suddenly feeling off myself.

Finn quickly shakes his head and grabs my hand. “It’s not that. I just can’t stop thinking about how bad tonight could go. I’ve gone to therapy to help with my childhood trauma, but it’s not something that ever goes away.”

I squeeze his hand and bring his knuckles to my mouth to give them a quick kiss. “I won’t let them hurt you,” I assure him, staring directly into his eyes. “If things get too heated, I’ll get you out of there immediately.”

Finn closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep inhale through his nose and slowly blowing it out through his mouth. When he opens his eyes again, he has a small smile on his lips and leans in to kiss me.

“Thank you for being my knight in shining armor,” he whispers against my mouth.

“Always,” I promise him.

I want to tell him that I love him, but I’m still not sure if he’s ready to hear those words just yet. One day, I’m going to tell him. I just need to make sure the timing is right.

After one more kiss, I tilt my head toward the house. “Come on. I’m sure your grandpa is waiting for us. I don’t want to give him something to dislike me so early on.”

Finn chuckles but moves to open his door and we get out of the car at the same time. I stop at the trunk to grab our overnight bags that we may or may not end up using. It truly depends on how the night goes. I won’t mind driving through the night to get us home if I have to. We both agreed to skip our morning classes tomorrow, although we do have a shit ton of homework to make up for it.

With our luggage in my hands, I follow Finn to the front door, and he lets us in without knocking.

“Grandpa,” Finn shouts. “We’re here!”

I set our bags by the door and stand up tall, suddenly being hit with nerves.

I really hope Finn’s grandpa likes me because I know how much he means to Finn, and I’m pretty sure if he hates me, Finn will find an excuse to break up with me. And I really don’t want to have my heart broken.