Page 89 of King of Ruin

His face buried itself against the side of her neck, his arms locked around her waist with a desperation she'd never felt from him before.

Elise stood frozen for a second, caught completely off guard.

"...Logan?"

Slowly, she lifted one hand and rested it against his back.

Only then did she notice how tense he felt beneath her palm.

His breathing was uneven.

His shoulders were stiff.

It was as though he'd been holding himself together for hours and had only now allowed himself to fall apart.

Concern immediately settled over her.

"Logan..."

She gently pushed against his shoulders until he reluctantly loosened his hold enough for her to look at him.

The sight that greeted her made her heart sink.

He looked nothing like the cheerful young man who always greeted her with an infectious grin.

His shirt was badly wrinkled, as though he'd pulled it on without bothering to button it properly the first time. His jacket hung unevenly over one shoulder, his usually tidy hair was in complete disarray, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes that hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him.

She reached up almost instinctively, smoothing a few unruly strands of hair away from his forehead before lightly touching his cheek.

"What happened?"

Her voice softened with worry.

"Why do you look like this?"

Logan leaned into the touch for the briefest moment before closing his hand around her wrist, not to stop her from moving, but as though he simply needed to hold onto her.

"I want to live with you."

Elise blinked, certain she had misheard him.

"...What?"

"I want to stay with you."

His eyes searched hers with an intensity she'd never seen before.

"I'm not asking forever." His fingers tightened slightly around her wrist. "Just... for a little while."

She stared at him, trying to understand where this had come from.

Then she slowly shook her head.

"Logan… You're not a little boy anymore."

She gently slipped her wrist from his grasp and smoothed the front of his rumpled jacket as if tidying him might somehow make everything better.

"If you don't want to live with your parents anymore, then find a place of your own. I'll even help you look. But you can't stay with me."