Emily
My head feels like deadweight against the bed. My limbs are numb my head now throbbing, and when I open my eyes, the world slowly comes to life from all around me. I do not force myself to sit up, not allowing myself to move despite the urge to get up and run away.
My gut instinct screams at me to run away, to get as far away from his place as possible. As soon as my eyes landed on the familiar sight of my bedroom mirror, my heart calms itself down, and I am able to breathe again.
What happened last night? Did Jack drug me? Why would he do such a thing? How did I get home?
I try to move, but a muscular arm keeps me trapped in place. Looking to the side, I noticed Logan beside me, sleeping soundly. He stirs in his sleep, and I try to relax back into place to not wake him, but it is too late. His eyes flatter open, a slightly confused look flashing across his face, before he registers that it is me next to him and that I am awake.
I offer him a small smile, not wanting to make anything awkward by us, sharing a bed with one another. After spending so many days fighting with one another, so much time that has passed between us being on opposite sides of a never–ending battle, we are finally united as one in bed, acting as if and none of that was in our lives before.
“Good morning,” he groans. The man slowly sits up in bed, a yawn, escaping his lips, as he looks down at me. He reaches out and brush his hair out of my face, his arm, wrapping around my waist and pulling me closer to him.
There is an ache inside of my chest. Something unanswered, and it slowly begins to eat me alive. The confusion and hurt that` feel are covered by fog, no clarity shown on the matter of what happened to me last night.
“Logan,” I breathe out, closing my eyes, “what happened last night? Did Jack…do something to me?”
Logan’s jaw tightens. His eyes flicker away for a brief moment, and it feels as if my body goes cold. The fog in my mind thickens and I am left scrambling to pick up the pieces of my distorted and ruined memory.
“Jack drugged you and planned on…assaulting you while recording. He said that he had no choice in the matter, but I don’t know if I believe him,” Logan slowly talks to me.
My heart stops. My lungs squeeze, unable to breathe properly in this moment. I shake my head at him, denial coursing throughout my body, unable to believe that the sweet man I once knew my childhood could do something so cruel and disgusting like this.
My grip on Logan’s hand tightens. I close my eyes, mind running a mile a minute, trying to catch my breath as insecure and self deprecating thoughts flood my mind.
“He did tell us that it was your father who killed Derek all of those years ago,” the man continues to speak.
If I was not in shock before, then I am now. My eyes shoot open, and I look at logan who simply nods in response, confirming this to be the truth. Eyes well with tears, my hands trembling.
How could this be? How could my father do something so cruel like this? Has he always been so cold in nature? How have I not been able to see this before?
Lastly, why would he want to kill somebody as young and sweet as Derek?
“Did you
tell Dorothy? Is Derek going to get the justice that he deserves? Is my name going to be cleared?” the questions fall for my mouth at a rapid pace.
I open my mouth to talk again, but Logan quickly silences me, taking my hands on his own as he lets out a quiet groan. I shake my head, unable to believe the truth that has been laid out before me, but I allow Logan to calm my nerves, feeling his hand, slipped underneath my shirt and making stuff at home on my back rubbing gentle circles into my skin.
“Jack will be going to the station soon to give them his statement. Dorothy said that she will meet him there for us and that we don’t have to do a thing today. His mother will also be submitting her own video from that day as evidence because it shows your father pushing Derek off of the slide,” he speaks, and I hang onto every word, unable to look away or give my attention to
1/
something else.
Do in response is nod, swallowing the bitter taste that formed across my tongue. I know that I should be happy about this revelation, that justice will be served and that my father will soon be behind the bars for the crime that he’s committed. There is still, though, the lingering feeling that something else is a mess, that’s something else is bound to go wrong within the next couple of days.
I can’t help but think that this sense of peace is an alluring trap. It is tempting to believe in, to allow myself to stay off guard as my enemies move in the darkness from behind me. I know that there are evil people that work here, people that wish to see me fall, and to fail miserably in life, and I know that there is only more for me to deal with in the coming weeks.
This false sense of security has me feeling more anxious than calm My body tenses at the thought, unable to fully give in to the sweet feeling of rest and relaxation. I can feel logan pull me closer to him, swallowing my body whole, bringing my face to his chest as he lays his back down on the bed.
His rough skin drags along mine and I can feel the calluses in the palms of his hand. He presses a sweet kiss to the top of my head and let out a gentle sigh. I relax into his body, forcing myself to calm down as much as I can, despite feeling like there’s somebody outside of those doors waiting to come after me for a reason that I do not know.
“everything is going to be okay,” Logan says, his voice, both gentle and sweet as he helps calm my anxious nerves. “I won’t let anything happen to you after this. I promise.”
Oh, how I wish that could be true. Logan and I’s track record is less than ideal. We can never go a week of peace without something bad happening, without us being driven apart like we usually are.
I want to believe, though. I want to believe that everything will be okay and that Logan is going to be by my side every step of the way. All I can do now is lay here and hold onto the hope that everything is falling into its right place, that I do not need to worry about the days to come, that I can finally live the life that I deserve
