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I was shaking. Mrs. Brooks had done so much for me. This was the woman who had taken me to my first mother and daughter dance in middle school, asking Cassie if it was okay to miss just this one. Of course, Cassie had pushed us out the door, saying she had gone to so many that she was glad not to have to go to this one. Mrs. Brooks had been the one to take me aside when she saw me tripling up on shirts, gently asking me if I would go bra shopping with her and Cassie because it would make Cassie less embarrassed to have a friend buying one with her. Cassie, who had never been embarrassed about anything in her life. It was just Mrs. Brooks’ diplomatic way of trying to make me feel at ease. These were just a couple of examples of the countless ways she had been there for me growing up. And I had abandoned her because I couldn’t take her sickness anymore. More accurately, I couldn’t take the fact that her sickness wasn’t being treated. Instead, Mr. Brooks was helping her sink herself deeper into madness.
“She needs medical help,” I insisted. “Of course I’ll come as soon as possible, but she needs a doctor, not me.”
“Please, just hurry,” he said, ignoring my comment about a doctor. I didn’t waste any more time arguing with him. Although I hadn’t agreed with his decision, I used to believe that Mr. Brooks should be the one deciding what the appropriate treatment for his wife was. Now, I wasn’t so sure. All I knew was that I was going to make sure she saw a doctor when I got there, one way or another.
I showered quickly and rushed around my apartment, packing an overnight bag because I had a feeling I would be there for a while. I rushed down the stairs of my building and out the door, intending to go to the rental car center. My hair was still wet and it instantly froze in the cold air, but I barely noticed as I stared at Logan sitting on my front stoop, his head buried in his hands.
He looked up when he heard the door open. I stifled a gasp when I saw his face. It was badly bruised and had multiple cuts. My gaze dropped down to his hands and I saw that his knuckles were scraped raw. My eyes traveled back up to his face. As bad as his face looked, what struck me the most was the bleak expression in his eyes.
He stood up slowly and I walked down the last couple of steps so I was standing in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked quietly, my breath visible in the cold air. I was too worried about Mrs. Brooks to be angry.
“Waiting for you.” Logan reached up to touch my face, but his hand fell away when I flinched. “Does your eye hurt?”
I had a nice-sized shiner today and I hadn’t bothered to try to hide it with makeup since I had been in a rush to get ready.
“I’m fine.”
Logan glanced at my overnight bag. “Where are you going?” His voice was calm, but I saw his hands clenching into fists. In his misguided jealousy, he probably thought I was going over to Mack’s. Although, on second thought, maybe his jealousy wasn’t so misguided, since Mack had admitted to having feelings for me.
“I can’t have this conversation now,” I said firmly. “I don’t have time.”
Logan lips thinned, but his voice was still calm. “Wherever you’re going, I’ll drive you.”
“I’m not going down the block. I’m going to Michigan.”
“I’ll still drive you.”
I shook my head. There was no way I was going to spend two hours with Logan in the confines of a car. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m going to rent a car.”
I could see
by his expression that he wanted to argue, but he thought better of it. “At least let me drive you to the rental car place.”
I wanted to turn down his offer, but the rental car center wasn’t in walking distance, and it would save me time to be driven there instead of taking the L or trying to hail a cab. I decided time was more important than keeping my boundaries with Logan, so I acquiesced.
“Okay, thanks.”
Logan was double parked in front of my building and we both got in, neither of us saying anything. I didn’t comment on the new car he must have bought when I had spent the day with Emily. The day I had found him in bed with Kristina. I pushed the thought from my head. I didn’t have time for that now. I couldn’t help wondering how long he had been waiting in front of my building in the freezing cold, but there was no way I was going to ask him.
We drove in silence and when we got to the rental car center, Logan started to parallel park.
“You don’t need to come in with me,” I said quickly. “You can just drop me off.”
“What if there aren’t any rental cars left?” he asked.
“Of course there’ll be rental cars left,” I scoffed, but I wasn’t so sure. I decided it wasn’t worth the fight about Logan coming in. He could do whatever he wanted. I would just ignore him.
I wanted to kick myself when I went in and found out the only available rentals were premium SUVs at an exorbitant price. I waffled a bit, wondering if I should just bite the bullet and rent it, and worry about the cost later. The fact that I didn’t know when I would be returning just compounded the problem.
“Maddie, just let me drive you. Please.”
I sighed. “Logan, I can’t do this. I can’t pretend that things are okay with us. I can’t even begin to express to you how much I don’t want to be in a car with you for two hours.”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Logan promised. “I won’t speak unless you want me to.”
The rental agent who had been helping us watched us with avid interest. I saw the way she had been eyeing Logan earlier, and now she practically drooled with anticipation as she drank in every salacious detail of our conversation. I abruptly got up.
