“Well, I’d say sorry for waking you, but I don’t really feel sorry.” I chuckle at that. Of course she wouldn’t. Sophie hasn’t gotten to truly sleep in three years. “Actually, I’m calling because I need a huge favour.”
“Oh?” I perk up. I hardly ever get the chance to help her out, but if she’s asking for once, I’m not going to say no.
“How quickly can you be at my house?”
“Um …” I mentally calculate the time it’s going to take me to get dressed and look halfway decent, plus drive there. “Forty-five minutes, maybe?”
“Okay. Great.”
“Why? What’s up?”
“Something came up. Matthew’s at work, and I need emergency babysitting for a few hours, STAT. I’ve got enough pumped milk to keep Heather fed for much longer than I’ll be gone.”
My heart skips a beat. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, no worries. I can tell you all about it when you get here. Is that okay?”
I smile. I’m up for this challenge. “Of course, Soph. I’ll be right over.”
“Thank you,” she almost yells in her phone. “You’re a lifesaver. Okay, see you soon, then.”
I don’t waste any time getting ready. I quickly brush my teeth, pull my hair into a messy bun without even brushing through it first, and grab the first outfit I see in my drawer. It’s a ratty Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt I’ve had since high school and some jean shorts. Good enough for babysitting. And I can make myself some coffee once I get to Sophie’s place.
Because it’s close to noon on a weekday, there’s hardly any traffic to drive all the way to Verdun, so I make it there in good time. I park in front of the house and hurry to her door, still secretly hoping everything is okay.
Sophie greets me with a big grin and ushers me in. “Awesome, you’re here!” Weird. There’s something off about her smile. She almost seems too happy. Why would she?—
And that’s when I see him and freeze.
Logan is sitting at Sophie’s kitchen table, holding Heather in his arms. His eyes are already staring right at me. My chest constricts. Seeing him like this is a shock to my entire system.
What’s going on?
A rush of warmth and ice spreads through my limbs all at once. He shouldn’t be here. But now that he is, I can’t ignore what seeing him is doing to me. Especially the way he’s holding Sophie’s daughter. It looks so natural on him, and this tableau is beautiful, andheis beautiful, and?—
I realize I’ve been standing there, my mouth half open like an idiot. I look back at Sophie, who’s smirking, then back at Logan, whose eyes are lit up and warm. “What …” The words won’t come out.
Sophie strides to meet Logan and grabs Heather from his arms. “I can’t say I’m too surprised by your reaction,” she says with a chuckle. Now that Logan’s arms are free, he stands, seeming unsure of where to go. He’s motionless by the table, one hand on it as if to steady himself, and I’m still by the door, a good fifteen feet away. “Maybe I should explain.”
“But—the babysitting—the—” I stammer, unable to put words together.
“I figured that would be the easiest way to get you here without any argument,” Sophie explains as she starts rocking her daughter. “Because here’s the thing, Avery. When you told me about everything with Logan right here,”—she gives him a soft tap on the shoulder—“it didn’t sit right with me at first, but I didn’t know why. And when you left for that retreat, I thought it over. And you know what conclusion I came to?”
“What?” I keep looking from her to Logan. But his gaze is steady. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of me, not even for a split second.
“That excuse you gave for breaking it off? It’s bullshit.” A dagger pierces through my chest. “And you and I both know it.”
“What? I don’t—” I get out a few more incomplete words.
“So I reached out to Logan to get his opinion. And, well …” she looks at him and backs away. “I’ll let you do the honour, Logan.” She then proceeds to stride out of the room, leaving Logan and me completely alone.
Logan takes a step forward. I don’t move yet. “I’m not going to call what you said bullshit,” he starts. Hearing his voice is like warm honey. I close my eyes as if to steady myself. He takes another step forward. “But Sophie’s not entirely wrong.”
I gather my thoughts. It shouldn’t be this hard to speak. I puff up my chest. I need to stay strong. “Logan …” my voice trails off.
Wow. What a great start.
Logan takes yet another step forward. I both want to close the gap between us and run away as far as I can at the same time. “And, okay. Maybe you are sort of fucked up, and maybe I’m not quite right, either. Maybe we both need a bit of healing. I’m not going to argue against that. Don’t we all?” Another step. I’m still frozen in place. “And you’re right that you might push hard sometimes. You might snap, and you might panic, and you might say or do hurtful things. And you know what? It might be difficult for me to hear. That much is true. All of it is true.”
