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I hang up the phone just as another wave of nausea takes over, and I drop to the ground, closing my eyes as I try to calm down.
How could she? What has she done?
Chapter Thirty-One
Dani
Whatthehelljusthappened?I fall to the floor hyperventilating, my heart racing and a tightness in my chest.
“To think I was falling in love with you.”
With everything that came out of Logan’s mouth, why are they the words stuck on repeat in my head? Why do they hurt the most?
Because I’m falling in love with him too.
Why and how is this happening?
I didn’t do it.I asked them to wait. I—oh, fuck.They called over a week ago. How could I have forgotten that?
I pick up my phone from where I dropped it when Logan hung up. Ignoring the now cracked screen, I search through my voice messages until I come across my lawyer’s and press go.
“Hi, Daniela, it’s Chelsea Larkin. I’m calling on behalf of Mr. Cain. This is just a courtesy to say that we’ve received notice of Mr. Taylor’s death and have begun the process for the custody hearing as per the initial paperwork. I’m sorry we haven’t been in touch sooner, but Jacob’s—I mean, Mr. Cain’s—assistant, Jackie, is currently on personal leave, so it’s taking some time to sort through information that would normally filter through her. Our aim is to have this ready to go by the end of the month. Feel free to call me or Mr. Cain if you have any questions. Bye.”
My stomach sinks.Oh, God. I spoke with Jackie. I put a stop to this the second I left Logan’s after finding out his dad had died. I never expected it to fall through the cracks.
And Logan…my God, Logan. The hurt in his voice was almost too much to handle. I feel sick. I can’t believe he didn’t let me explain, but at the same time, I’m not shocked. I would have been livid if roles had been reversed. The evidence is there. His mom’s been served. I’m the one fighting them. It doesn’t get much clearer than that. And yet, it’s not clear at all. It’s so fucking messy that I don’t know what to do.
I wasn’t planning on going through with it just yet, not until I’d talked it through with them, told them of my feelings. But now that it’s filed…now that it’s happening, I don’t know if I want to stop it. I may not know what the hell I’m doing, but something deep in my soul is telling me that Liam should be with me. And maybe this error is fate’s way of making that happen.
I’m not sure how long I stay curled up in a ball on the floor, but I’m stiff when I try to move, and the foot I have tucked under me is numb. I’ve spent every second since I hung up with Logan trying to sort through my thoughts, wanting to decide on a course of action, but I’m getting nowhere. And I think a lot of it has to do with his near parting words. The words I can’t get out of my head.Are they true?Is he falling in love with me?Was he?Was. It’s definitely past tense now. Because the hatred in his voice was as clear as day. They say that there’s a fine line between love and hate. And apparently, we’re teetering on the edge.
No…as my stomach churns, I realize, I’m wrong. We’ve actually tumbled over already.And God, does that hurt.
I need to talk to someone. I can’t make this decision on my own. It was supposed to be easy. In the event that Liam lost his father, my custody application would be filed. It makes perfect sense. Liam should be with me. But it was one thing to do it when I didn’t know anyone else in Liam’s life. Now, I’ve gotten to know Jenny and Logan.God, what is this going to do to me and Logan? Who am I kidding, there is no me and Logan anymore.
Without thinking, I call Lucy, hoping that it’ll stop me from going insane on my own. But as soon as it starts ringing, I realize my mistake. I can’t speak to her about this. She may be one of the only people that knows the gist of what’s going on, but she’s Logan’s friend. Agoodfriend. And I can’t put her in the middle of us. It’s not fair. Not to mention, a little part of me knows she wouldn’t side with me if it came to that. I’m the one in the wrong. Mostly.
I try calling Charles, my dad’s best friend, next, but he doesn’t answer, nor does his wife, my godmother, Eileen.
I only call three people and have exhausted all my options.Three. And yet, there are so many people out there that would go to bat for me if I hadn’t done what I’d done. If I hadn’t tried to force a situation instead of talking about it.
Logan is right… What does Liam want? Does he even know how much I love him and that I’d do just about anything for him? Or am I just the fun aunt that takes him out on weekends? I know he cares for Jenny, but at the funeral he wantedme. But am I what’s good for him? I definitely want to be.
My stomach rumbles, but I still can’t motivate myself to move, not until I’ve figured out what to do. But when someone knocks on my door, I have no choice.
Making my way slowly to the entry, I open the door a sliver and catch Lucy’s back as she walks away.
“Lucy?”
She turns around so quickly, I worry she’s going to fall over. “Oh, good, you’re here. I wasn’t really sure where to try next. We’re friends, and I know next to nothing about you. We need to change that.”
“There’s not much to know,” I reply, always selling myself short.
“I find that hard to believe,” she says, walking toward me. “For one, I didn’t know you were even considering going for custody of Liam.”
I gulp as a lump lodges in my throat.Did Logan call her?
“I…I didn’t tell anyone. It was only something I was considering if Liam ever lost his dad. I didn’t think it would happen so soon, or at all for that matter.”
