AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It doesn’t work.At all.And by the time we’re two hours into the event, I want to break something, or someone.Douchebag footballer will do.His hands have been on Dani all fucking night, and even though I know that it’s fake and I’m pissed off at her, it still really fucking irks me.
“You should take a break now, while there’s not much going on,” Amy says after we’ve both been roaming around the room for twenty minutes. “The speeches start in about thirty minutes and I’ll need you then.”
A break is the last thing I need, but as Amy walks away without giving me the chance to argue, I guess I’m taking one. And some air can’t hurt.
Pushing through the closest emergency exit doors, I pray that they don’t set off any alarms. The faster I’m out of there, the better. And as luck would have it, I escape unnoticed.
When I take in my surroundings, I find myself standing at the entrance to the theater. The doors are still open—it was part of a tour they did earlier for potential donors—but the inside is now plagued in darkness.Exactly what I need.
Walking down the steps toward the stage, I use the light from the hallway to guide my way, and have just passed into the shadows when Dani calls out from behind me, stopping me in my tracks. “Logan, wait!Please.”
I don’t turn around, but I also don’t walk away, so she keeps talking, her voice getting louder as she approaches.
“I’m so sorry, Logan. I don’t know if you’ve listened to any of my messages, but I know you haven’t read my texts, and I wanted to explain myself. To tell you exactly why I have to do this. Why Iwantto do this.” She pauses for a second, most likely waiting for a response, but when I still don’t acknowledge her existence, she continues on. “I had planned to talk to you and your mom about it before I filed. But my mother found out about your dad’s death, and she threatened to file her own custody application if I didn’t.”
At her bullshit excuses, I start walking away again. Dani, her mother, what’s it matter? It’s all the same.
“Logan, if I don’t go through with this,she will.” Her voice gets significantly louder as her panic grows, and when she’s almost yelling, I internally curse. I don’t need everyone knowing my business.
“I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t—”
“Stop!” I yell, finally turning around and running back to meet her, pulling her through the doorway that leads backstage. “Please stop,” I repeat in a more reasonable tone as I study her face. Her eyes are wide with shock and her cheeks slightly flushed. I shouldn’t be thinking this right now, but an irrational part of me wants to ask if I’m the one who made her cheeks darken or if it’s the douchebag that has her all worked up. Instead, I focus on the present issue.
“Your words are meaningless, Dani. They change nothing. They don’t offer me any comfort, so I’d prefer you just left me alone. It’s done. You said so yourself…you have to go through with it, so it’s done.We’redone. You don’t need to apologize because it doesn’t change anything, so I no longer care.” I push against the electrical box beside me and look away, trying to slow my heart as it threatens to beat out of my chest.
I feel Dani’s eyes on me, and when I look back at her, she’s gaping in a mix of shock and disgust. “You don’t care?” she huffs out. “You. Don’t. Care? Like it’s that simple. Not everything is black and white, Logan. Not everything fits into athis isrightorthis is wrongcategory.”
God, she makes me mad.Why can’t she see?
“This does, Dani.” I take a step closer, seething as I speak. “This fits exactly into athis is wrongcategory. Why couldn’t you have helpedmymom, if you're so against yours gaining custody?”
“Because it’s not about that. I’m the one that should be raising Liam. Me!” she yells, throwing her hands in the air before turning away and pacing for a second, her heels clacking on the wooden floor as she goes. When she turns back to me, she’s fuming. “You’re being so fucking selfish, Logan. I can’t believe how selfish you are. I—”
“I’mselfish? This isn’t even aboutme. Remember. It’s about my mom.”
“God, are you even going to let me talk?”
“I never asked you to explain. You just wanted me to hear your excuses. But nothing you say will make me understand this. I just want you to fix it.”
Dani takes a step forward, getting right up in my face, and I suck in a breath, watching her painted lips as she speaks. “I am fixing this. Because whether my mom is in the picture or not, Liam should be with me. So this is me, fixing it. I’m doing what’s best for Liam. And deep down, you know that’s true.”
She turns to walk away again and pauses, looking over her shoulder as my heart pounds in my chest, waiting to hear what she says before I argue.
Taking a deep breath, she shakes her head as her eyes shimmer with the sudden appearance of tears. “To think, I was falling in love with you,” she says, repeating my words back to me, hitting me in the chest like a freight train at full speed.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Dani
Logan’sfacefalls,andwhile I feel a little sick, I knew those words would hurt him. I wanted it to be a gut punch, just like my next words will be. I’m so mad at him.Why doesn’t he get it?
“I’ve said what I wanted to say. At least, Itried. And it’s done. I’m going back to the event. My date’s waiting.”
Logan springs toward me before I’ve even finished the last word, pressing my back against the wall, anguish clear across his face as his body engulfs mine, caging me in. “Don’t do this. Even with everything going on, don’t go back to him. I don’t think I can handle it anymore.”
My breath hitches as my heart beats erratically in my chest. “Logan,” I plead, my anger disappearing as I suddenly need him to touch me more than I need air.
His lips crash to mine, and he doesn’t waste any time, pushing his tongue into my mouth before lifting one of my legs and grinding against me. This is wrong on so many levels, but I let him, because I want it just as much.
