“Hey,” I manage, voice rough. “I—uh—I didn’t mean to interrupt. You look like you’re heading out, so maybe?—”
He blinks, still staring at me like he’s not sure I’m real. “I was,” he says slowly. “To see you.”
The words hit like a gut punch. I freeze, hand stillhalfway raised, every apology I’d rehearsed scattering in my head.
He was coming to me.
For a second, neither of us moves. I can’t. My throat’s dry, my pulse loud in my ears.
“You’re here?” he says, but it sounds like a question.
I nod, swallowing hard. “Yeah. I was gonna… I don’t know. Try to explain. Apologize.”
He exhales slowly, shoulders dropping a little, like he’s been holding his breath for days. “Guess we both had the same idea.”
A quiet laugh slips out of me, nervous and shaky. “Yeah. Figures.”
We stand there in the doorway, both of us half in, half out—like we haven’t decided if this is a beginning or an ending.
He steps back first. “You coming in or planning to stand there all night?”
I nod again, step past him, and the warmth of the apartment envelops me. It smells faintly like coffee and his shampoo, and my chest aches so bad I can barely breathe.
He closes the door behind us, and the sound feels final.
For a few seconds, I don’t know where to start. Every apology I’d rehearsed sounds too small. Too late.
Finally, I say, “I’m sorry.” It comes out rough, barely a whisper. “For freezing you out. For making you think you did something wrong.”
Logan stays quiet, watching me.
“My dad…” I pause, drag a hand down my face. “He said a lot of shit. Called it a phase. Told me I was ruining my future. Told me to leave until I got my head on straight. I tried to pretend it didn’t matter, but it did. It messed with myhead. And I didn’t know how to handle it without… breaking everything else too.”
He takes a slow step toward me, expression unreadable. “So you shut me out.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” I swallow hard, eyes burning. “I didn’t want to drag you into it. I thought if I could just get through it on my own—if I could be okay first—then maybe I’d deserve you again.”
“Deserve me?” he repeats softly, like the words sting.
I look up, finally meeting his eyes. “Yeah. I didn’t want you to look at me and see someone weak. Someone who couldn’t stand up to his own dad.”
For a long moment, he doesn’t move. Then he says quietly, “You think I give a shit about you standing up to your dad? I just wanted you tolet me in.”
Something in my chest cracks open, sharp and messy. “I know,” I whisper. “And I didn’t. I’m sorry.”
He studies me for a beat, then shakes his head. “You’re an idiot.”
“I know.”
He exhales, the tension leaving him all at once. Then, softer, “You’re also forgiven.”
I nod, biting the inside of my cheek to keep it together as tears try to fill my eyes.
He steps closer, just enough that I can smell his cologne. “Don’t disappear on me again,” he says. “If we’re going to do this, we do it together.”
I nod again, the breath leaving me in a shudder. “Together,” I echo, quiet but certain.
And when he finally reaches out and pulls me in, Ilet him.
