The Internet café was nothing more than a Starbucks, which made Jaci laugh out loud. “Serving coffee and Internet since 1971. I should have known.” She settled down at a table and opened up her laptop, already searching for the hotspot.
“Would you like a drink?” Finn asked.
She waved him off, her nerves kicking into high gear as her computer booted up. The Internet connected, and she opened her app.
Ricky wasn’t online. It didn’t even look like he’d gotten on yet today, which meant he hadn’t seen her earlier message.
She exhaled and leaned back in her seat. Her fingers caressed the keyboard anxiously, desperate for him to get online. She opened up her email and quickly typed out a message.
Hey Ricky, I really need to talk to you. Please let me know when you will be online. I don’t have Internet, so I will have to go somewhere to use my computer. Whatever you hear, don’t be mad at me.
That was all she could say. She couldn’t reveal any more in an email because she and her father were both fairly certain her email account was being monitored by the FBI, and they needed to believe she’d fallen madly in love also.
That same knot tightened in her stomach, and she understood Finn’s kiss from earlier. They had to make it believable that she had gone off on her own free will. She looked over at him, sitting across the table from her and slurping on an iced coffee while he checked something on his phone.
“Hey,” she said, “we need a selfie.”
He glanced up at her, then scooted around the table and pressed his check to hers, grinning as she held her phone up and snapped a picture. Jaci sighed, then pulled up the media account Amanda had helped her set up just days ago. She’d been posting pictures of their trip every hour, just so her new behavior would seem more real. She uploaded the picture.
Having the time of my life in Switzerland. You’ll never believe what I found. She added a series of hashtags and hesitated one moment before pressing the final button. This was putting it out there. Not only would she fool her mom and the police, but she would fool everyone she knew.
She hit Submit and then put her face in her hands.
Finn made polite conversation as they left the café, slurping on his iced coffee and pointing out different stores and restaurants and landmarks to her. The wind picked up as the afternoon grew later, and Jaci was quite relieved to duck inside a boutique and look for clothing. Finn busied himself by a waiting table piled high with magazines, leaving Jaci alone while she tried on clothing. The tailored cuts and neutral colors were very different from her usual style. She checked herself out in the mirror with her short bob haircut and the form-fitting button up blouse tucked into dark pants. She looked more like an office employee than a high school student. Very different from the track star she had been up until she sprained her ankle.
She changed out of those clothes and tried on a pair of dark jeans with a gray T-shirt. Even these were much classier than anything she would wear back home. They would have to do.
She selected two more pairs of pants in a similar style and several more long-sleeved shirts, as well as a few sweaters. She felt a little guilty, dropping so much money on clothing, but if she was going to stay with her father for several more days, she needed something to wear besides what she had on.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
“Come on,” she said to Finn, jerking her head at him as she grabbed her purchases.
Finn stepped up to her and took two of her bags. “Looks like you found something you like.”
She shrugged, a bit self-consciously. “This is not my usual style.”
“But it’s good quality.”
She lowered her voice as they left the store. “It was so expensive.”
Finn nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m sure your father’s not hurting for money.”
She frowned. She really had no idea how much her father made, though she knew he sent money home every month. Her mom refused to use it. Instead she put it in Jaci’s college account, since Jaci had no issues with it.
It was already dark when they stepped outside. A quick check to her phone showed it was a little after four p.m.
“Can we stop by Starbucks again real quick?” she asked.
Finn shuffled closer to her, his hands in his pockets, brushing against her side as they walked. “That should be fine. Just text your dad and let him know.”
Jaci did so, then ducked into the coffee shop while Finn held the door for her.
She didn’t bother getting her computer out. As soon as she locked her phone onto the Wi-Fi, her notifications blew up. She only had a handful of friends in high school; all of them knew she’d dated Joey and then he dumped her because she cheated on him. She read through some of the comments on her photo with Finn.
A new guy??
Great job, Jaci, he’s super cute!
Serious? I’m going with you to Switzerland next time!
But nothing from Ricky. He might not even know she had this account, since she just set it up. Her stomach knotted up and she opened her messaging app. Why couldn’t he be online right now? She typed out a hurried message. We really need to talk. Tell me a time and I’ll be here. Why hadn’t she heard anything from him? Surely he would’ve checked his account by now. He had to be getting ready for work. She scrolled through her messages and saw that, indeed, he had read her previous note. Just chosen not to respond, then.
A text came through from her dad. Time to come home.
A moment later, Finn’s head popped around the corner. “Your dad says we need to leave.”
Jaci gritted her teeth together. Was this charade really worth it? “What are you, his lap dog?”
A trace of a smile graced Finn’s lips. “No one messes with your dad.”
Still glaring, she followed Finn out to the street, grinding her teeth together as the cold wind bruised her cheeks. Her phone lost internet almost immediately, and with a wistful sigh, she dropped it back into her pocket.
----------------------------------------
They arrived at the three-bedroom apartment thirty minutes later. Her father stood in the entryway talking to a tall muscular man with a buzzed head. Finn’s dad, she supposed. Both were dressed in black and turned their heads toward them when Finn unlocked the door.
“Change your clothes,” the other man said to Finn, his English just as crisp as his son’s, with its slight accent.
Finn nodded and disappeared down the hall.
Her father turned to her. “Time to make that last phone call. Tell them you’re not coming back.”
Jaci sucked in a breath and steeled herself. “Okay.”
She called Amanda’s phone, and Amanda answered right away.
“Jaci?”
“Hey, yeah, it’s me.”
“How are you? How was the movie? And the boy?” Amanda giggled as if it were the most normal girl chat ever.
Jaci ran with it. “He’s amazing, Amanda. So sweet and funny. And his accent! I’m not sure I paid any attention to the movie.”
“Oh, Jaci, I’m so happy for you! You deserve it, after Joey!”
Jaci scowled. “No kidding.”
“So when are you coming back?”
Jaci gave a little laugh. “That’s the funny part. I think I’d rather spend my week with Finn.”
Amanda paused just for a moment, and Jaci could imagine her trying to figure out the best way to play this. “Um, what?”
“So.” Her laugh was definitely awkward this time. “We booked a tour at this castle. Some bed and breakfast. Just for a few days.”
“Just you and him?” Amanda stage-whispered.
“No, no, of course not, there’s a whole group. I’ll find the website and send it to you.”
She heard Mr. Murphy’s voice in the background, and Amanda said, “She’d rather spend the week with her new boyfriend than me.” But she sounded delighted rather than offended. “She said she’ll meet up with us later.”
Amanda’s father was saying something, and then suddenly his voice was on the line.
“Jaci, what’s going on?”
image [https://cdn-gcs.inkitt.com/story_images/big_9f4e345fe02caeb6d8626c8cdaf302e0.jpeg]