Logan It felt nearly impossible to leave Arianna alone in her bed after she fell asle ep in my arms. I held her in that bath until the water ran cold, and then I got us out, drying us both off with a towel before tucking her into her sheets. I p eppered her face with kisses and promised her things I don’t think she’s ready to hear consciously. Then, I went back to my room where I found
Tyson hogging the entire bed. I smacked him in the head, and he woke up just enough to roll all the way to the wall. Good enough. At least I knew if he was sle eping in my room, he wouldn’t sneak into Arianna’s. Goddamnit. I’m starting to feel like a piece of shit for thinking so low of him. I know he wouldn’t do that, especially if Arianna has expressed disinterest in him. I was definitely not sle eping when they were talking at the hotel in Leavenworth. I need to give him the trust he has earned and deserve s. It’s just so much easier to operate under the guise that everyone is against you and out to get you. He isn’t the prosecutor, though, he’s not a judge. He’s my little brother. We’re all each other has in this world, and I need to st ep up and start actin g like it. I’m getting out of the shower the next morning, sliding on a pair of jeans when I feel something in my pocket. Pulling out the scraps of red lace, I smirk to myself. Almost forgot I took these as a memento last night. Tucking them back into my p ocket, I pull on a black button down because jeans are about as casual as I can get. Tyson st eps into the room, towel around his waist from using the downstairs shower, and looks at me with a suspicious gaze. “What are you smiling about?” I school my expre ssion before shaking my head. “Nothing.” Tyson sighs, shaking his head before moving to his bag. I didn’t realize he already brought it in here. “She’ll do that,” he says as he begins getting dressed. “Do what?” “Make you smile for no goddamn reason. Give you a reason to smile for no r eason. She just has this... light about her,” he says with a ghost of a smile, though it falls when his eyes come to me. “Ty...” I trail off, frowning as I look at my little brother. He shrugs like he doesn’t care when we both know that’s a lie. “No hard feelin gs, bro. I get it. You saw her first, she chose you. I’m good. We’re all good.” I don’t say anything, mainly because I don’t know what to say. As a good brother, shouldn’t I want to st ep aside? Let him be happy and have the girl? Because I don’t and I won’ t. I’ll give him whatever he wants in the whole world. Anything but her. “It’s just...” he starts as he pulls on a shirt, his eyes coming to mine. “Don’t make her regret that choice.” My brows furrow as I cock my head to the side curiously. “What do you mean ?” “I mean, be worthy of her attention, of her affection. Don’t fuck this up. She deserves your absolute best and if you can’t give that — ” “ I can. I promise, ” I say as I hold out my hand for him. He watches me for a moment like he ’ s not sure if he believes me, but slowly nods in acc eptance, taking my hand in his as he lowers his voice. “ You know I ’ ll kick the shit out of you if you hurt her, right? ” I shove him away, shaking my head smugly. “ Little boy, I ’ d like to see you try. ” He jumps at me, trying to wrap me up, but I easily twist out of his hold, ke eping him in a headlock like I did when he was a kid. He struggles against me as we move around the room, but my hold on him never wavers. Eventually, he taps out and I release him. Tyson scrubs a hand through his hair, panting heavily. “Damn, I was just joking. You didn’t have to go all Hulk smash on me,” he grunts like he wasn’t trying. I roll my eyes and pat his back, urging him forward as we make our way dow nstairs. Everyone’s already eating breakfast, but my eyes seek out
Arianna immediately and find her already looking at me. She smiles before covering it with a sip of orange juice, but I have no such tool. So, I just grin. I grin like a goddamn fool in love. Because I am, or at least it feels like love. I know that sounds psychotic, but I don’t really give a shit. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life. It’s the closest thing to love I’ll ever feel. I love that girl right there, and one day, she’ll love me too. I’ll make sure of it. Tyson and I take up the empty seats, one beside Arianna and another between Kelly and Tom. As much as I hate it, I know where we’re expected to sit. So, I take my spot beside Kelly, ignoring her presence completely as I grab some eggs and bacon from the serving plates, looking at Maris sa with a grateful smile. “Thank you for breakfast.” She waves me away like it’s nothing when Kelly speaks, effectively spoiling my good mood. “Can we talk? In private?” Her voice is just above a whisper, and I turn to look down at her. God, she looks awfu l. Her face is pale and gaunt, like she’s been puking out what little weight she has left all night. Her hair is in a greasy bun, and she’s wearing a baggy t - shirt and sle ep shorts without an ounce of makeup on her face. I know something is seriously wrong because she’d sooner be on her death bed than be seen by anyone without being fully presentable. I was her husband, and I probably saw her without makeup less than a dozen times. That’s how vain she was. “I’m not sure there is anything to say, Kelly.” Tea rs begin welling in her eyes as she looks up at me pleadingly. “Please, Logan. I need to apologize. Explain. I’ve just been under so much pressure at work, and I’m so lonely all the time. I miss you more than anything in the world. I just didn’t want to sc rew that up and — ” “ Drop it, ” I say lowly, my eyes moving around the table. Everyone is pretending to mind their own business, but make no mistake, every last one of them is eavesdropping. “ I can ’ t! ” she says, reaching her hand out to my thigh. “ Marissa told me what happened last night. I’m so embarrassed. So ashamed. Can you please forgive me?” Fuck, this is exhausting. “You don’t need my forgiveness, Kelly.” “I do, though!” she says, her hand moving to hold onto me tighter like that will stop anything. “I need you to forgive me so that we can — ” Her words stop abruptly, a strange look passing her face before she looks down. Slowly, she lifts up torn - up red lace panties. Fuck. She holds them high above the table, capturing everyone ’ s attention. Her eyes stay on them for a long time, like her brain is carefully analyzing them in an attempt to figure out what they were doing in my pocket. My eyes move across the table to see Arianna wide - eyed with terror, Tyson’s mouth hanging open and Melanie and Brady watching with confused expressions. Marissa quietly leans over to them, whispering something before they quickly get up and move upstairs. That seems to set Kelly off. “What the FUCK!” she snaps, shoving her chair back so violently it ro cks the table. She’s on her feet instantly, her eyes wild and furious as she screams. “Why the fuck do you have ripped panties in your pocket, Logan?!” I don’t say anything because I have nothing to feel guilty for. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true, bu t it’s not like I’m going to apologize to her for it. I won’t lie or backpedal. So, I just let her rage. “Are you serious right now? You’re so
fucking serious? You come all the way out here to try to reconcile with me, and what? Accidently slip into her?” My face remains impassive, and she lets out a humorless chuckle that sounds downright diabolical before turning to the table. I watch Tyson place a protective arm across Arianna, like he’s ready to push her away at any second. Instead, Kelly’s eyes come to Marissa. “You fucking skank!” she screams. Marissa looks taken aback as she stares at her sister . “What are you talking about?” “You! You fucked him! You took the one man I’ve ever loved and fucked him right when I was just getting him back!” What? Marissa jumps to her feet, brows pinched in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re on about but — ” “ Did you tell her, Tom? Is that what this is? Some disgusting revenge plot?” Kelly snarls. Tom turns as white as a ghost as Marissa’s brows knit together. She looks down at her husband before back to her sister. “Tell me what, Tom?” He stares straight ahead, not moving a muscle as Kelly lets out another wicked sounding laugh. “We’ve been fucking for years. When you’re not looking, he comes onto me hard, sometimes I give in if I’m drunk enough. He fucked me for the first time the night before your wedding. He begged me to marry him instead, saying we’d run away together before he dumped his load i nside me.” Shock ricochets around the table as Kelly continues. “So, did he tell you? Is that why you tried to steal the only sliver of happiness I had in this life? Or did you hear us Friday night? I told him to stop moaning so goddamn loud.” “Wait, wait, wait. Wait. You’re saying that you’ve been fucking my husband for fifteen years? You’re saying that you fucked him as recently as Friday? Like this last Friday? Four days ago? With me and our children in the house, that’s what you’re saying?” Marissa stam mers. A vengeful smile spreads across Kelly’s face as she nods. “He told me that I was the best pussy he’s ever had.” Oh god. When he was drunk, yammering in the rec room with me. He wasn’t talking about Marissa, he was confessing his affair with Kelly. “A fter he told me that he was in love with me,” she says with a raise of her eyebrow. Marissa stares down at Tom, pure heartbreak in her eyes, her voice cracking as she speaks. “Tom...” He takes a sip of his juice, still not looking up at the trainwreck around us. “I want a divorce,” he says stoically. A broken sound es capes Marissa as the hurt in her eyes transforms into something dangerous. “You fucking WHORE!” she screams as she leaps across the table, smacking, scratching, and beating the absolute shit out of each other. “You’ve ruined my life!” Marissa shouts. “You’ve ruined mine! How could you fuck Logan?” A sharp slap jerks Kelly’s face to the side as Marissa laughs bitterly. “How could I... How could you fuck my HUSBAND?” “He always initiated. I’d never do that to you,” Kelly defends. Marissa’s eyes widen in disbelief because, honestly, what kind of fucking excuse is that? “What you did was so much worse,” Kelly snarls as she sho ves away from Marissa, standing to her feet. “My Logan would never have come onto you, which means you seduced him!” Her moral compass is so fucking skewed it’s incomprehensible. “You stupid cunt,
I never fucked Logan!” Marissa shouts. Here we go. “Yeah, right.” Kelly laughs like she doesn’t believe a word. I see Tyson positioning himself between him and Kelly more as Marissa continues. “Yeah. Right. Never. Those aren’t my panties, and they aren’t y our panties, so I wonder who they could belong to,” she says, giving Kelly a deadpan stare. The fury in Kelly’s eyes shifts for a moment, confusion clouding her gaze before understanding clicks in. Like something out of a horror movie, she slowly turns her head to face Arianna. Guilt is etched all over my sweet girl’s face before an animalistic screech rips out of Kelly. She dives for Arianna, landing a sharp slap across her cheek before Tyson holds her back, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulde r. He walks her to the other side of the room where she rages like a wild animal. I rush over to her, cupping her face tenderly as I examine where her mother struck her. “We messed up so bad,” she whispers softly. “No, we didn’t, Sparrow.” She opens her mouth to say something when Tyson screams. “The bitch bit me!” Kelly storms across the room towards her daughter as I interc ept her, holding her by her arms. “Kelly! Enough!” She thrashes against my hold, vibrating with fera l rage as I shake her harshly. “I said enough! Do you hear me! You’ve done enough!” “Me?” she gasps. “What about you! You’ve been fucking my daughter! How long? How long have you been fucking us both? Since we got married? Before? Did you leave me for her?” “No, Kelly, we aren’t all disgusting homewreckers like you!” Marissa shouts. “Shut up!” Kelly screams before looking back at me. “Arianna and I were together long after you and I divorced.” “But not long after you were inside me!” she snarls. “Remember that, Ari. Remember when you walked in on your boyfriend inside your mommy?” she says , sneering every name as she gnashes her teeth. Arianna looks like she’s going to be sick as she looks away. “If you’re gonna be a slut, at least own it. You’re fucking a man old enough to be your father. Hell, he was your father. St ep up and claim your pr ize, you worthless fucking whore!” “SHUT UP!” I thunder, loud enough to stun the entire room into silence. “Shut your fucking mouth right now. You are done. You are selfish, miserable, and ugly as fuck on the inside. You’ve betrayed your sister, happily it seems, for decades. You’ve attacked your daughter and reduced her to nothing her entire life. All you see is yourself, your goals, and your desires. No one else in the world matters besides you. That’s why I left you. Not to mention you cheated on me. Sou nds like it was more than once if you and Tom were fucking while we were married. Tom?” I ask for clarification. The slimy bastard seems to have no shame as his eyes cut to me, and he gives a quick nod. Thought so. A horrified sob es capes Marissa as she ru ns off to the bathroom, slamming the door shut as she does. Tom sighs, standing to his feet and heading for the back porch. He’s not even going to attempt to console his wife or apologize or anything. Real nice guy. Tears are streaming down Kelly’s face as she looks up at me hopelessly. I’m not finished with her yet, though. “We are nothing, we’ve always been nothing. Even when we were married, clearly, it meant nothing. Do not call me, do
not reach out to me. If you so much as take a st ep closer than three hundred yards to myself or Arianna, I will have you arrested on site. We will be filing a restraining order against you, today. Goodbye, Kelly. It’s been a complete displeasure to know you.” She sobs, falling to her knees as she lays on the floor. I don’t try to soften the blow, and I don’t pay her an ounce of attention as I hold my hand out for Arianna. I ’m surprised how quickly she takes it, lacing our fingers together as we make our way up the stairs. When we get to the top, Brady and Melanie are staring at us with looks of concern and heartbreak. I give them sympathetic frowns as we move past them, head ing for Arianna’s room first. Wordlessly, I begin helping her pack when Ty comes in, staring at his forearm with a frown. “Fucking bitch. You think I could get rabies? Or whatever STD she no doubt has.” My stomach sours at that. I didn’t consider STDs when I fucked her on the pool table. I should have, though, knowing her. Arianna and I share a worried look, and I rest my hand on her shoulder as I nod, letting her know I understand her fears and we’ll take care of anything when we get back to Seattle. Once Arianna is all packed, we grab mine and Tyson’s things before heading downstairs. I look out the back window to see Tom and Marissa arguing before Marissa slaps him across the face. Good for her. Kelly is still curled up into a ball, sobbing a puddle of te ars on the floor. None of us give her a second look before we are out the door and heading to our cars. I hate that Arianna has to drive right now, given everything. With the state of things, though, I don’t trust that her car would be safe here. Tyson starts up his car while we load our bags. He comes around to hug Arianna, whispering s omething into her ear that I miss. She hugs him tightly, nodding before giving him a watery smile. He returns it, taking her hand and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it before getting in his car. Arianna turns to me, and I immediately pull her into m y arms. “I’m so sorry. I know that was probably the worst case scenario.” “It’s fine. I just want to go home.” I couldn’t agree more. “I’m gonna take you home, Sparrow. Follow me.” She swallows, giving me a shaky nod before I lift her chin up, bending down to press my lips to hers.