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“You’re a terrible liar.” I threw his earlier words back at him. “Start talking or I might assume it’s much worse than appears. I don’t have the advantage of reading your thoughts, remember?”
Brent’s squeezed my hand when I tried to pull it away. “She has a crush, that’s all.”
“No, that’s not all Brent,” I commanded, pulling my hand away, knowing there was more to the story.
“All right, she likes me and I might have led her to believe, once, that I liked her too.” Brent was looking at his shoes and I knew he wasn’t finished.
“You might have?” I pressed, not letting him off that easily.
He started pacing in front of me and my imagination started to run wild.
“Okay, I did. I tried to like her. I couldn’t, because I was in love with you. She looked so much like you and I knew you were going to be with Reese. I thought I could replace you with her but it didn’t work out, and it hurt her.”
I recalled Layken talking about Brent and the girl everyone thought he left behind. Apparently he wasn’t interested in any of the girls in town. There was a girl – me – but I wasn’t left behind. I was off limits, supposedly sealed to Reese. He tried to replace me. I didn’t want to be happy about this but I was. I felt bad Mandy was hurting, but Brent and I were designed to be together. She would have been a lot worse off if Brent had forced the relationship.
“I’m sorry, Brent,” I said.
“Why? It’s not your fault. I feel really bad about how I treated her. I never should have become involved with her. I knew my heart belonged to you even if I could never have you,” Brent confessed, my heart going out to him as shame was evident in his expression.
“But you do have me,” I reminded, drinking in his smile when he heard the words.
“Claire!” Logan stormed in to the room and grabbed me, pulling me off my feet as he hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re here and you’re safe,” Logan cheered, setting me down and saying hello to Brent.
“Logan,” Brent grimaced.
“I’m glad you’re here, Brent, because Claire’s in trouble,” Logan reported, looking at him for help.
“What are you talking about?” Brent asked condescendingly, eyeing Logan’s position as an outsider.
“Kace came to see me when I went to get my things from my parents’ house. He wanted me to bring Claire to him,” Logan explained anxiously.
“Did you tell him anything?” Brent asked, with a warning in his tone.
“No! Of course not. He was irate that I removed the Adherent and warned me he would find Claire.” Logan looked at me when he said my name and his concern made me proud.
“We are the Chaser’s, Logan, and we’ll deal with Kace when Claire is ready,” Brent scoffed.
“I don’t know about that, Brent,” Logan responded. “Kace said he could feel Claire’s presence, and it was growing stronger. He said he would find her…Claire,” Logan said, cupping my face in his hands. “He said he was going to kill you. I was so angry, but of course he disappeared, and there was nothing I could do.”
“So you got hammered and came here to harass Layken?” Brent mocked.
“Brent,” I scolded.
“He’s right, Claire. I felt helpless and I didn’t know how to handle it. Looking for help in the bottom of a bottle is what I do. I lost my cell and didn’t know how to find you so I came here. Poor Layken, I think I scared the hell out of her.” Logan said, having a seat on the sofa.
I sat next to him and draped my arm over his shoulder. “It’s okay, Logan. Layken’s fine, now. She’s in the other room with her friend. You just confused her a little.”
He frowned. “Was that because I told her I was in love with you?”
“Partly,” I admitted, biting my lip.
“Sorry about that. Both of you. Alcohol and I don’t mix. I guess I screwed up again.” Logan wallowed in his failure to stay sober. He looked like he might cry so I squeezed his hand. Logan had cried enough and I wanted him to stay focused.
“You can’t change what you did, Logan, let’s move forward, okay? Are you still going to your uncle’s?” I asked, hoping that was still his plan.
“Yeah, my truck is all packed.” He perked up a little.
“Well, that’s a start. You have to stay strong, Logan. It’s not going to be easy. But you can do it. You’re not your father. You need to remember that,” I reminded him, reassuring him that he was capab
