Unscheduled Departure by T.M. Franklin Read Free Book Online Page A

saying on the phone, but just that he's speaking to me at all?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "Since this started, I've had this feeling that things are . . . off. Wrong. With Finn, I mean."
    She nodded slowly.
    "What if Finn didn't change his mind about going to Virginia?" I whispered.
    Lindsay's eyes widened. "You mean—"
    "What if Finn— my Finn— actually went? And he's calling me from there."
    I forgot it's still early there.
    Meetings all morning.
    We'll make it through this.
    Love you.
    "But if that's true." Lindsay lowered her voice and glanced over her shoulder. I wasn't sure why. There was nobody else nearby. "That means the Finn who's here isn't your Finn."
    "Could that really happen?" I asked. "Could they switch places somehow, and my Finn is able to reach out to me . . . because I'm supposed to fix it somehow?"
    Lindsay looked a little lost. I didn't blame her.
    "I don't know, Ro," she said finally. "But I think we have to find out. I’m just not sure how."
    I sighed and scanned the list one more time. "I think I might have an idea."
     
    11:47 AM
     
    "Are you sure about this?" Lindsay asked, glancing down the hall nervously.
    I slipped my key into Finn's front door. "I have to know," I replied.
    "Maybe you should just ask him?"
    I froze and bowed my head, bumping it against the door. "Maybe I should," I said quietly. "But if I'm wrong, I can't—I don't want him to know about all of this. And if I'm right . . . "
    The thought was overwhelming. What would I do if I was right? I had no idea.
    Lindsay pressed a hand to my back. "Okay then, let's go."
    We slipped into Finn's apartment and I called out to make sure he was really gone. He'd texted that he was heading over to talk to the dean about readmission, and we'd agreed to meet for lunch afterward. Part of me felt guilty sneaking around in his home. The other part of me —the desperate and terrified part— was pretty sure I didn't have any other option.
    "Where do we look?" Lindsay asked, taking in the unpacked boxes and stacks of books on the floor.
    "Bedroom first." I led her down the hallway and into the room. It was small, like most student housing, with a full bed in one corner and a dresser crammed in the other, the right side jutting into the closet opening a couple of inches. A small desk and bookshelf took up the rest of the room, with a glass door leading to a small balcony bringing in some natural light. He’d unpacked this room, the empty boxes folded neatly and stacked behind the door.
    I headed straight for the closet and flipped on the light. I grabbed the small clothes hamper tucked behind the door and dumped it on the floor.
    "What are we looking for?" Lindsay asked as I picked through the dirty laundry.
    "White button down," I replied, "with a coffee stain on the sleeve. He has another hamper in the bathroom. Can you check there?"
    She nodded and disappeared out the door, only to return a few seconds later. "Only a towel in that one," she said. "Any luck?"
    I picked up a blue shirt, and threw it back down. "No, it's not here."
    "Maybe he washed it already?" Lindsay suggested, hesitating as she reached for a dresser drawer.
    "I'll look in there. You check the closet?"
    We went to work, Lindsay holding up a shirt every now and then for me to review. With each moment that passed, my heart sank further into my stomach.
    "It's no use," I said, not even bothering to close the bottom drawer. "It's not here."
    "What's not here?" a familiar voice said from the doorway.
    I turned to see Finn looking at us with a baffled expression, taking in the mess on the floor, the open drawers, and the two women apparently searching his bedroom.
    Well, no apparently about it.
    "Ro? What are you doing?" he asked.
    "Uh—" I looked to Lindsay, but she was just as stunned as I was. "I thought you were meeting with the dean?"
    "He had a family emergency and had to reschedule," he said. "Ro, what’s going on here?"
    I cleared my throat. "I was, uh, looking for your