Broken Souls

Chapter 10 - Logan

When she opened the door, her shocked expression was f*****g cute. We locked eyes for a moment before she stepped aside and widened the door, "Please come in. What are you doing here?." I entered without saying a word, and as she closed the door behind her, she frowned, as though she were trying to piece something together.

“You asked me a question and thought it would be better to respond in person,” with a blank expression on my face I looked at her. There’s something about her that I can’t quite put into words, and it’s driving me f*****g crazy. “Oh,” she started to reply, but I cut her off. “Let’s grab a coffee, and I’ll answer all your questions.”

"But? there's always a 'but,' so what's the catch?"

"But we need to make it fair—every question I answer, you have to answer one of mine too, and we have to be completely honest about it." She stood there, and I thought she might refuse or kick me out of her room, "What if there are things we're afraid to share or can't reveal?" She had a point. There are things I wouldn't want to share with anyone except my brothers who already know my past and my present at least some parts. But I need to know everything about her, and this is my chance to get the answers I want and if I have to share a bit of myself, so be it. "Open book," She looked at me, confused, as if she didn't understand what I was saying. "Let's go, I'll explain what I meant by that."

We stepped into the parking lot, and I extended my hand, “keys”. Her smile was so captivating it nearly shattered my composure. "What's the magic word?", her sultry grin making it hard for me to keep a straight face, how is she doing this, making me do things I never do, I would usually just take the keys without a care in the world. I moved closer until my chest was touching hers, "Keys, please, Angel." Her laughter, which was like a melody I could listen to endlessly, filled the air. She handed me the keys, and we headed to the diner that's open 24 hours.

As soon as we walked into the diner, people stared at us, but I didn't give a f**k what they thought. I led her to a table in the back so we could have some privacy. The diner was always filled with people, mostly teenagers who used it as their hangout spot. We sat down, and Daisy walked over to us. "Hey darling, I haven’t seen you in a while," In a small town like this, where everyone knows everyone and always sticks their noses in each other’s business, people got to know us, so they tended to keep their distance. But Daisy never cared about the gossip; she had always been friendly, and I didn't mind it at all. "Yeah, we’ve been busy," keeping a blank expression. "What can I get you tonight?"

"Just two coffees," with a nod she walked away. I turned my attention back to Bailey, who was fidgeting nervously. She looked at me with a frown, "What did you mean by 'open book'?"

"Well, what I meant was that we need to be open with each other. Even if one of us asks a difficult question, we have to answer it honestly," her breathing becoming faster as if she were on the verge of a panic attack. I took her small hand in mine, "Angel, look at me, follow my breathing." She did as I instructed, and after a few minutes, her breathing returned to normal. I need to know why she is always on the brink of a panic attack, I had my brothers to support me growing up. Perhaps I can help her and teach her how to manage hers.

Daisy returned with our coffees, and I thanked her. Once she was out of earshot, I spoke to break the silence, "You asked me why I'm being nice to you?" She looked up at me without saying anything. "I don't know." She seemed confused. "Then why do it if you don't know?" Well, I didn't know how to answer that question, but I had to try if I expected her to answer mine. "I'm not a nice person. The people in this town avoid me like the plague. But when I saw you for the first time at the gas station, I don't know, it was like I was drawn to you. I thought you were just passing through and that I'd never see you again. But then, the other night at the bar, I felt so protective over you, like I wanted to take care of you. I can't really explain it because it confuses the s**t out of me. I don't know how to answer something I don't understand myself. Like you said, we are total strangers, but I still feel the way I do and want to get to know you."

I took a sip of my coffee, watching her in silence. She didn’t say a word. So I decided to break the tension between us “My turn, what’s with all the scars on you?” Her eyes widened, as if they were about to pop out. “Can you start with something else?” I shook my head. “No.” As I looked into her eyes, they began to well up with tears. Part of me felt like a real asshole, but another part was insistent on finding out.

She cleared her throat and glanced downward, avoiding eye contact, but I wasn’t having it. “Look at me while you talk,” I said firmly. Her eyes shot up, revealing the fear within them, as though she was struggling to figure out where to begin. “Would you believe me if I told you I fell?” Does she really think I would fall for that? “It would be hard to believe that a fall could cause that much damage to your body.” She let out a sigh, but I remained unmoved. “Fine, I just don’t know where to start,” she admitted.

"Start from the beginning and don’t skip anything”, her gaze growing more intense. I braced myself for another story I would find hard to believe, but to my surprise, she began to speak.“The scars were caused by a guy named Winston, who went to the same school as me.” She looked down, a tear slipping down her cheek. It seemed as though she was struggling to find the words. “Is that the whole story?” She shook her head. “I’m going to need the whole story.” Her eyes met mine, and my black heart shattered at the sight of the profound sadness in them. “I don’t think I can tell you everything without having a panic attack,” she admitted. I kept my expression neutral. “Don’t look away. Just focus on me; I’m right here.”

She took a deep breath. Five years ago, I woke up one morning tied to a chair in my parents' bedroom. My head was throbbing as if I had drunk excessively the night before, and my vision was a bit blurry. As I tried to make sense of the situation, I looked up and saw my parents bound to their bed with their mouths gagged. The terror in their eyes was unmistakable. I attempted to comfort my mom and stop her from crying because I wasn't sure how many people there were. While I was talking to her, two gunshots rang out. I couldn’t pinpoint their source, when I looked back, my parents were lying lifelessly in a pool of blood. I screamed at them and struggled to free myself from the chair, but I was trapped.” Tears streamed down her face as she recounted the scene. I gently squeezed her hand to encourage her to continue. “I screamed at them to not leave me. I must have cried out for hours until my voice was barely a whisper. Then I heard a noise coming from the kitchen, and the next thing I knew there was a guy standing in the doorway. I only realized who he was when he moved closer and took a knife out from behind his back. Fear quickly took over me.” She kept wiping away her tears, as if she was trying to hold herself together. As I listened to her, anger boiled inside me, but I had to hide my feelings and let her continue. For a few minutes, she was silent, and I worried she might just get up and leave, unsure about sharing her story with a stranger.

“He began cutting me, and the pain was f*****g excruciating. For hours, he never stopped, yelling at me and cutting me as if I were livestock. After what felt like an eternity, though it was only six hours, I began praying for death, begging him to kill me since I was losing so much blood, I was sure I would bleed out anyway . Then unexpectedly, he stopped and began tending to my wounds, bandaging the cuts. When I asked him why, he said he has been trying to get my attention for three years, but I was too much of a b***h to see what was right in front of me. Though I knew I shouldn’t have, but anger took over, and I taunted him, shouting at him that he needed go deal with his f*****g mommy issues. That’s when he punched me in the face. I tried to stay awake, but I couldn’t, so I let the darkness engulf me, hoping I wouldn’t wake up again.”

I couldn't bear to listen any longer; it felt like I was on the verge of losing all self-control, but I was doing my best to hold it together for her. My life was chaotic, but compared to hers, it was a f*****g breeze. “My brief sense of hope vanished when I woke up tied to my bed, lying on my stomach. I begged him to end it; do you know what he said?” I shook my head, unwilling to speak, and kept my expression neutral. “He told me I would only die when he was ready to leave this world with me, and he wasn't finished with me yet. For the next eight hours, he cut my back. My bed was soaked with blood. Eventually, I was so weak that I could hardly feel the cuts anymore. When he finally stopped, he loosened my restraints and carried me to the bathroom to clean me up. He set me down by the bathtub, and I knew if I didn't act now, I was as good as dead. When he turned his back, I seized my chance and pushed him into the shower, he hit his head on the faucet. I stood there, fearing I had killed him, but saw he was still breathing. I knew I had to escape, so I grabbed the first aid kit and the car keys and ran. I’ve been running ever since. Even when I thought I had escaped far enough and tried to settle down, he tracked me down at the bar where I worked. I didn’t give him a chance to get his hands on me; as soon as I had the opportunity, I ran again and didn't stop. Until now, I ran out of money and I know I can’t afford to get too comfortable, because he will find me he always does, and I can't let that happen."

Before I knew it, I was up and sitting beside her, not saying a word, just holding her and shielding her from the rest of the people in the diner. It wasn’t hard to do since her body is much smaller compared to mine. She buried her face in my chest, clinging to my shirt for dear life, and I let her cry quietly. "I’m right here," I whispered to her.