Broken Souls

Chapter 17 - Bailey

Logan told me I would be accompanying him to work. I didn't object, as it would be interesting to observe them in their natural environment. After getting dressed, we all met at the front door. I retrieved my keys from my purse as I approached my car, while the guys got on their bikes. On the way to the shop, I played my music loudly and sang along. When I glanced in my rearview mirror, I noticed they were all behind me, which was odd since they were on bikes and could navigate traffic more quickly.

As I parked my car and checked that everything was in my purse, the door opened, and Logan was waiting for me. I gave him a suspicious glare as I got out. He looked incredibly hot today in his tight jeans and red shirt, which was showing off his tattoos. While I stared at him like an i***t, he took my hand and led me to the front door.

I wandered around the shop, inspecting everything while the guys were working. Logan was busy in the office managing orders for the rest of the week. I eventually grew bored and decided to head to the mall to look for more clothes. When I walked into the office, I saw Logan was on the phone with a supplier. Not wanting to interrupt, I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He gave me a puzzled look, so I pointed to his phone and sent him a message.

Me: "I'm heading to the mall to buy some clothes since my wardrobe is quite limited. I'll be back in about an hour. ;)"

He glanced at his phone and his expression changed. Not sure why, but I waved him goodbye.

The office is located at the back of the shop. As I walked toward my car, my mind wandering, I found myself puzzled by the strange behavior of the guys who had been acting oddly today. When I reached the car I was busy connecting my Bluetooth to my phone. Suddenly, the passenger door flew open, startling me into a small scream. Julian got into the car. "What the f**k is wrong with you? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?." He tilted his head, "I decided to go with you. I haven't been to the mall in a while." I looked at him as if he was out of his mind, but before I could say anything, he raised his hand to stop me.

I chose to stay silent and drove to the mall while enjoying my upbeat playlist. I couldn’t help but laugh when Julian started singing—he really shouldn’t attempt high notes, as his voice isn’t suited for them.

We arrived at the mall and wandered around while I looked for clothes. Fortunately, finding clothes isn’t difficult for me since I only wear pants. I spotted a few shirts and picked up three more pairs of jeans. Julian was just following behind not buying anything, “Hey, what about this?” holding up a yellow dress. “No way, I don’t wear dresses, and if I did, that one would make me look like a sore pimple.” Julian burst into laughter at my description. “Don’t all women wear dresses? I know some who have more dresses and shoes than food in their house.” I laughed at his comment. When I reached the counter to pay, Julian handed the cashier a card. I immediately stopped them,“oh no you don’t, take back the card now or I’m kicking you in the balls” Julian’s eyes widened at my threat, and the cashier looked shocked. “Sorry, I can’t, You’ll have to kick the owner of the card in the balls, which is Logan. So, please, leave my balls out of this.” He gestured for the cashier to continue.

I felt frustrated. I told him that I wasn’t his problem. It seemed like everyone around me was losing their minds today, while I felt like the only sane one. As we walked from the mall to the car, I was so lost in thought looking down that I didn’t notice Julian had stopped. Before I realized, I bumped into him and fell back landing on my ass. He turned around, confused about what had just happened. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t see you stopped,” Still puzzled, he helped me up. “Are you okay?”. He glanced toward the car and then back at me. “Yes, sorry about that. I’m not sure what came over me.”

I chose to leave things as they were, and we got into the car to drive back to the shop. I glanced at Julian a few times and noticed a worried expression on his face. “Are you sure you’re okay? It looked like you saw a ghost back there.” He kept staring out the window, not meeting my gaze. “Yeah, everything’s fine. My mind’s just a bit occupied,” The silence in the car was unbearable, so I turned on the music. He seemed fine while we were shopping, but his mood shifted once we left. I tried to push the thought away and focused on the song playing.

We arrived at the shop, and I asked him to stay where he was. Looking confused, he followed my instructions. I got out of the car, and dashed around to the passenger side, opening his door for him “your highness” bowing my head. He began laughing at me, "That’s much better, I like it when you laugh” he shook his head and we headed back inside.

When I walked into Logan’s office, he was so absorbed in his paperwork that he didn’t notice me sitting in the chair. I stayed silent, just watching him as if I were a predator sizing up my prey. After a few minutes, he looked up and finally noticed me. “Hey, when did you get back?” I flashed him a grin, “I could have stolen everything in this office, including the clothes off your back, and you wouldn’t have even noticed.” He laughed heartily. I got up, and walked around his desk, kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to sit on the couch and read so I don’t disturb you,” as I turned to walk away. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into his lap. “What are you doing?” he gave me a quick peck on the lips. “You’ll never bother me even if you tried.”

I was so engrossed in the book I was reading that I hadn’t noticed how quickly time had flown by. “Ready to go?” Logan’s voice snapped me out of it. “Yeah, just let me put my book away.” We all headed out, and Brian locked the doors behind us. As we drove to their house, I noticed they were behaving the same way as they had this morning, and I began to feel infuriated by their strange behavior.

We all arrived at the house and went inside. Before anyone could say or do anything, I directed everyone to the living room. Once they were settled, I decided to get to the bottom of everything. "Can someone please explain what’s going on? You’ve all been acting odd—this morning and on the way back here. Did you forget you were on bikes, or do you just enjoy driving slowly? And when I wanted to go to the mall, why did Julian come with me? He didn’t need anything from the mall, so don’t give me the bullshit that you haven’t been there in a while.” Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, “so I’m waiting, and someone better start talking."

They exchanged glances. "I knew she'd figure it out eventually, but I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly," Logan said, still looking at the others. "Figure out what? What are you talking about? Am I the only one who's thinking clearly here? When did you all lose your minds?"