Falling For Disaster Read Online Free

he stared at the ceiling. It was covered with old, dark paneling and made the room feel like a tomb. He’d paint it white, eventually. Finn’s mother made a concerned sound.
    “I’m not pleased that you’re there but I know you’ll make a difference. If anything good comes out of this terrible situation it’ll be that you’ll inspire those poor children and something will change,” she said and Finn’s lips twisted as he silently doubted her. He was pretty sure he was up against a brick wall.
    “Maybe,” he said, hoping she’d move onto something else.
    “Have you met any nice people?” She asked and Finn rolled his eyes. That was her subtle way of asking if he was interested in anyone or had any romantic prospects.
    “There are lots of nice people in Blytheville,” Finn said. “One or two really attractive people as well,” he added as he pictured Saint shirtless on his porch.
    “Oh?” Finn’s mother asked excitedly and he shook his head.
    “Unfortunately, none of them are gay. If there were any gay men in Blytheville, they fled long before I got here,” he stated and he could hear his mother wilt in disappointment.
    “Finn…” She sighed heavily. “Why did you have to go and exile yourself someplace so dreadful?” She complained. “It feels like you’re punishing yourself and you didn’t do anything wrong,” she insisted and Finn shrugged and squeezed his temples.
    “I’m not punishing myself,” he mumbled.
    “Sure you are,” she argued. “How are you supposed to meet someone decent there?” She asked and Finn snorted.
    “That’s the point, mom. I don’t want to meet anyone. Decent or otherwise. I just want to be alone,” Finn explained and he could hear her giving him “the look” and he instinctively squirmed.
    “That sounds a lot like punishment. You’ve put yourself in time-out, Finn. You’ve always done this,” she said and Finn could feel himself getting defensive.
    “Done what?” He asked.
    “You’ve always been so careful, baby. When you do take a chance and it doesn’t work out, you blame yourself and you never try again. It’s like bikes and cats. You won’t learn to ride a bike because you had a bad fall and you won’t go near a cat because one was mean to you when you were four,” Finn’s mother said and he laughed sarcastically.
    “First of all, a broken arm is a little more than a bad fall. Who rides bikes anymore? No one. Second, I still have a scar on my cheek from that hell spawn,” Finn argued and his mother made a dismissive sound.
    “You can’t see that scar if you don’t know it’s there. But what Taylor did to you wasn’t your fault. I don’t want you to swear off of relationships and deny yourself the chance to be happy, honey. There’s someone perfect out there for you. I don’t want you to miss out on him because you trusted the wrong person,” she said and Finn stretched his neck, trying to ease the tightening in his shoulders.
    “Unfortunately, I seem to go for the wrong type of person,” Finn grumbled and Saint’s face filled his vision again. His mood got even darker. “Hey. I have a lot of essays to get through this weekend. I better get a start on them,” he said and heard another long sigh from his mother.
    “Call me same time next week? You know I worry about you when you get like this,” she said and Finn felt like shit.
    “I promise I’ll be fine. I’m going to keep busy reading and remodeling the house. I’ve got a beautiful lake to read by when the weather is nice and I can save the world, one classroom full of angst-filled teenagers at a time. What more could I ask for?” He joked.
    “Ok. Call me if you need anything. I love you,” she said and Finn smiled.
    “I love you too, mom. I’ll talk to you soon,” he said then hung up.
    Finn tossed his phone on the table then scrubbed his hands over his face. He wasn’t in the mood to grade papers. He wasn’t in the mood for much at the moment. He was in