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"It doesn't matter," he said, waving her in. "I have shorts on, and you've seen me in worse states than this."
"I know, I'm impressed!" she said with quiet excitement. She followed him into the room, looking down the whole time. "I'll wait over here while you see if that fits."
"What is this?"
"Max's little brother. He's your size, and he was throwing out a bunch of… anyway, I love treasure hunting, so I'm always looking through people's donation piles, and Theo had a bunch of nice clothes he was getting rid of."
Claire sat on the foot of the bed, looking down and waiting while Logan pulled on the jeans. They were a little loose on him and they rode on his hips, exposing the waistband of his boxers. He pulled on the t-shirt. There were three of them in the stack and he chose the one that was on top—a white one with the graphic design of a realistic whale in light blue. He didn't care about the name brands, even though he was pretty sure these were expensive clothes.
"Thank you for these," he said. "How much do I owe you?"
He sat next to her on the bed. He stooped to roll the cuffs of the jeans since he was barefoot and it wasn't cold in the room. He lit a cigarette and then tossed the lighter back onto the nightstand as he adjusted himself to sit cross-legged on the bed.
"Nothing," Claire said. "You don't owe me anything. Theo gave me the bag of clothes. His mom knows I look through people's hand-me-downs."
"Why do you do that?" he asked, breathing out and facing upward so he didn’t breathe smoke on her.
Claire scooted back, sitting on the bed with her back against the wall. She took off her shoes and rested her legs on the bed, looking comfortable, like she wasn't in a hurry. She reminded him of a younger Rita.
"I always look through old clothes," she said. "Anything good, I save. I'm storing clothes and accessories right now. I have part of a warehouse that my dad's letting me use. You should quit smoking," she added.
He smirked at her and shook his head. "I've quit a lot of things lately. I'll hold off on this one for now. Your grandma told me I could finish this pack in the apartment, but that I have to go outside after that."
"I know, you at least need a window." Claire looked around like she was hoping the window could open, so Logan leaned over and carefully put the cigarette out. It was a lifeline to him after he had been through so much pain in the last few days, but she had no idea, and he wasn't about to tell her. He would just light it again after she left.
"How long are you staying here?" Claire asked.
"I don't know. But you can use the shower. I'll just turn around, and you'll have to trust me."
"What?" she asked, looking at him with an offended stare.
"The shower," he said. "I thought that's why you come up to this room was to use the shower."
"I have a shower at home," she said. "I just got out of it."
"I wasn't trying to offend you. When I first got here, I heard you tell Rita that you needed to come up here to use the shower."
"Oh, no, I… I was just coming to bring you these clothes."
"Well, thank you. It was perfect timing. I just got out of the shower, and I had no… I guess I need to figure out how to use that washer and dryer sometime."
"I'll show you," Claire said, sitting up.
But he waved her off. "I'll figure it out," he said. "I'm sure it's not rocket science."
"Max can't come by for the next couple of days. He's doing his residency at the hospital and he's got to spend the next two nights up there."
"Thank you, but I don't need him. I think I've got it from here, medically speaking. I'd rather not bother your boyfriend or husband anymore, and I'm sure he feels the same about me."
"Are you saying you don't want us to come up here anymore?"
"Yeah, I mean, not him. I'm better now. I'll just go find help if I need it."
"What are you going to do from here? With your life? What's your plan?"
"I don't know yet. Rita said I could stay as long as I'm getting better and start working on a goal."
"Always be advancing," Claire said, mimicking something she heard her grandmother say dozens of times.
