Page 97
Days turn into weeks.
Before I know it, a whole month passes and the only sign of life from Logan is the rise and fall of his chest.
According to the doctors, there's been no increase in brain activity, either. He's just… there. Alive, but not. A shell of the man I fell in love with.
But I'll never give up hope.
“I really think you should consider it, Salem,” his mom says softly, broaching the same subject she's been trying for days. Taylor looks up from his chair by the window, deep frown lines bracketing his mouth.
My hand tightens on the clippers as I pause trimming Logan’s facial hair. “We aren't talking about this.”
He looks really good with beard. I'll have to tell him so when he wakes up. Bet it'll make him smile. I can't wait to see him smile again.
Sarah sighs, and I can tell she's losing patience with me. Joel already did yesterday, inciting a screaming match that the nurses had to break up, which led to him storming off.
“It's just that the doctor thinks he's—”
“Have you heard from Devon?” I interrupt, glancing over at Taylor. “Either of you?”
Tay blows out a breath and shakes his head grimly. Sarah does the same.
A sickening relief washes over me as I focus on getting the little hairs under Logan’s chin. “Well, let me know when you do.”
Asshole’s in the wind. As soon as Tay dropped him off at his place when they'd gotten back into town, the fucker vanished. No one knows where he is except for me, but I’m not telling. As long as he stays missing, I can keep shoving this issue back until they all hopefully forget about it and leave Logan alone.
Huckslee's dad, Aaron, had visited the other day to pray over him, for fuck's sake. I allowed it, though, only because I'll take all the miracles I can get.
A whole slew of Logan’s family have been stopping by, including his grandparents—the people who raised Dev. Honestly, I get why he's messed up because that little meeting had been condescending as hell. They'd taken one look at my clothes, my belly piercing, and turned their noses up at me. His grandfather said that this is Logan’s price for not living a devout life, and he needed to “repent before the Good Lord deems him worthy enough to return.”
Yeah… I may or may not have run them out of the room, wielding the clippers like a weapon. Tay found it hilarious, but Joel and Sarah were not impressed.
“Salem,” Taylor starts slowly. "How do we know if we'll even find Dev? I don't think he wants to be found.”
Good. Stay gone, dickweed.
Let me hold onto Logan for as long as I can.
When I don't answer, he exchanges a look with Sarah, and she nods like she's coming to a decision. “I'll have the doctor come in and talk with you again tomorrow.”
“Don't bother,” I mutter, setting the clippers down before cupping Logan’s face in my hands. “I'm not doing shit until Devon is found. So until then, this conversation is over.”
Don't fucking bring it up again.
Sarah says her goodbyes, but I tune her out and rub my thumbs over Logan’s cheekbones. They're so prominent now, the skin on his face gaunt and hollowed out. With nothing more than the feeding tube for sustenance, he’s losing weight quickly. When he wakes up, I'll feed him anything he wants. Pizza, ice cream, cake. We'll have a party. Just me and him.
Taylor's arms slide around me from behind as he rests his chin on my shoulder. “Salem. We need to talk about it.”
“I said no, Taylor.”
He sighs and drops his forehead to my back. There's a beat of silence where I think he might push the issue, but he squeezes me tight. “Okay. How about we just talk about him, instead?”
I relax into his arms without letting go of Logan. “Yeah. I'd like that.”
Tay settles into the chair beside me, keeping one arm around my waist like a tether. “I remember during freshman year of high school, I made fun of him for crying during Marley & Me in our film history class. Then I ran to the bathroom and bawled like a baby, because that movie fucked me up.”
With a smile, I blink back tears. “He cried during Brother Bear, too. And Star Wars.”
“He had a Darth Vader lunch box until like tenth grade.”
