The Logan Brothers

Chapter 12 - My-Sort-of-But-Not-Really First Date (Part 2)

Chapter 12 - My-Sort-of-But-Not-Really First Date (Part 2)

My eyelids were starting to grow heavy as I laid in the cool breeze, just watching the clouds float by. There was a little break in the trees by the stream where we lay, gazing at the sky. Grayson was laying next to me, so close that if I had shifted even a millimeter to my left our shoulders would've been touching.

We had talked for what felt like hours. No pranks, no yelling at each other, just talking. We talked about the time when we were little and Grayson shoved a whole pie in my face at Thanksgiving. We talked about the time when we were thirteen and playing soccer, and I had purposefully kicked him in the balls. We even talked more about what we wanted to do with our futures; I still had a year of high school, so I had more time to figure it out, but neither of us was sure yet.

The one thing we hadn't talked about was Grayson's 'crush' on me. It had come up accidentally a few times, but we had both changed the subject just as quickly. After a while, comfortable silence had fallen around us. I didn't know how long we had been laying there before Grayson sighed and said, "We should probably go home soon."

"I don't want to," I pouted, yawning. I was half asleep and had no desire to move anywhere. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grayson push himself up on his elbows and look down at me.

"The sun's about to start setting. Won't your mother wonder where you've been?"

"Doubt it," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "She's hardly been home at all lately. She's too busy trying to keep her job at the hospital." The words came out more bitter than I had intended, surprising me. Grayson was looking at me sadly, with sympathy that I didn't understand. Everyone's parents had a job, why was he looking at me like I was an orphan?

"I can tell you miss her," He finally said, laying back down next to me. This time he grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. He didn't let go.

I bit my lip and mulled over his statement. Did I miss my mom? I mean yeah, we used to spend so much more time together, but I was a big girl. I didn't need her there every day, taking me to the park and braiding my hair. I understood that she was busy with work.

"Why should I miss her? She's just at work, it's not like she's dead." I was very aware if his hand in mine, his fingers laced with my own. I'm pretty sure my hands were getting sweaty, which was extremely embarrassing. My heart was racing faster.

"Well yeah, but you used to be really close. Now you hardly get to see her," He pointed out gently. I could tell he was looking at me, but I refused to turn my head. Our faces would have been way too close.

But he had got me thinking. The pit in my stomach that I got every time I thought about my mom wasn't because I was worried about her, it was because I missed all the time we used to spend together. I missed her, as cheesy and immature as it sounds. My mom was my best friend when I was a kid, and now I was lucky if I got to see her for more than ten minutes.

Even though his intentions were good, I still felt irritated that he was prying into a private part of my life. "Fine," I snapped without meaning to, "I miss her. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Suddenly, I didn't want to stick around anymore. "Come on, you wanted to go home. So let's go." I started to stand up, but he quickly grabbed my forearm and pulled me back to the damp grass.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I would make you upset." Finally, I looked at him. Our noses were almost touching, and my breath hitched. "If it makes you feel any better my parents have been fighting lately." I twisted arm out of his grip but settled down on the grass again.

"Really? But they get along so well." For as long as I could remember Mr. and Mrs. Logan had been the best of friends. I couldn't remember them fighting. Ever.

He nodded, "They fight about the little things. What to have for dinner, which movie to go see. I hear that's how it starts, though." Even though Grayson acted all tough and macho, he was sensitive. I was starting to see that. It was clear that this disturbed him by the way he was fidgeting uncomfortably.

"They're not going to get a divorce, Grayson," I said, placing a hand over his. "They'll get through this." He merely nodded and stood up, offering me a hand. I took it and let him pull me to my feet. I thought we were heading to the car, but he held me in place and pulled out his phone.

"This afternoon was so great, and we had to go ruin it by talking about depressing stuff," He tried to chuckle, but I could tell he didn't mean it. "Come on, dance with me. It'll be fun."

I looked at him dubiously, "We're in the middle of nowhere. This isn't a high school dance."

"But that doesn't mean we can't dance," He pointed out, placing his phone in his pocket, speaker end sticking up. All of Me by John Legend started playing, and he grabbed my hands, placing one on his shoulder. "Humor me, please."

This was not a good idea. I knew Grayson liked me, and I didn't want to string him along. I couldn't date him, not when I knew Wesley also had feelings for me. But I couldn't pull away, I couldn't hurt him like that. So instead I looked at him and said, "You like this song?"

"Shut up," He muttered, "It's a good song." Roughly, he put his hand on my waist and pulled me to him. I slammed into his chest, gasping in surprise. He was muscular, really muscular. I could feel his abs through our clothes.

We swayed through the whole song, Grayson humming softly to the melody. Halfway through he leaned his head down and pressed it against mine, his chin resting next to my temple. Sighing, I closed my eyes. As much as I hated it, I was enjoying myself. It felt nice to be so close to someone, and for someone to want to be so close to me. I felt wanted, needed, and appreciated, as silly as it sounds.

When it ended, Grayson pulled back slowly but didn't release his hold from my body. He looked down at me, our faces inches away, and whispered, "Now we can go home," I was shaking, which I was positive he could feel. He was intimidating, even if he didn't know it.

I forced myself to move away. "Okay," I whispered, turning to walk back to the car. The soft grass squished under my feet as I walked, forcing one leg in front of the other. I was still shaking.

As he swung himself into the car, Grayson said, "I think we should go visit your mom at the hospital."

"Why?" I whipped my head around, surprised. I never visited my mom at the hospital just for the fun of it. She was always working, too busy to spare me a second glance. It shouldn't have hurt me, but it felt like she just didn't care anymore.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate us bringing her some dinner, and I have a leftover sandwich. Come on, it'll be fun." He nudged me playfully with his elbow, and I laughed. Whatever tenseness had been there moments before was gone now.

"Fine, we can bring her dinner," I crossed my arms stubbornly, "But don't expect her to have a conversation with us."

Getting out of the forest was even scarier than going in. Grayson decided to back out, which meant he was navigating his way through the extremely narrow trees backward. I almost had a heart attack several times, to which he just laughed and shook his head. "Trust me," He had said, which was really hard to do when he had spent the first sixteen years of my life torturing me to death.

I knew I was being spiteful and unforgiving, but I couldn't help it. There was this part of my brain that was trained not to trust Grayson, it had been wired that way for as long as I could remember. I couldn't fix that in one afternoon, no matter how much I wanted to. Not even for little things like driving a car, which I'm sure he was perfectly capable of.

We didn't talk much on the way back home, partly because the top was still down and whipping my hair in every direction possible. Grayson did keep glancing at me, though. I pretended not to notice, but I was hypersensitive to every move he made. It was hard not to stiffen even when he spared me the smallest to glances.

So instead of focusing on him, I turned my head and set my gaze firmly on the world flying by us. It was easier than looking at him but allowed my mind to wander to our time in the woods. I knew it wasn't a date, I had never agreed to that, but it sure seemed like one. We had spent our time laughing and having fun, but it had seemed more intimate than just a friend hangs out.

Plus Grayson and I weren't exactly friends.

We pulled up to the hospital sometime later; the sun had just sunk below the horizon and the air was starting to cool off. I felt like I should say something to Grayson to ease the tension, but when I turned to him he was already out of the car, stalking towards the front doors. As he started walking away, my gut clenched. I really didn't want to go in there. "Grayson, stop."

He froze, and slowly turned to face me, "Aren't you coming?"

"No," I whimpered weakly, lowering my head. I was such a baby, but I was worried she would yell at me for showing up. It had happened before.

"What?"

"I'm not going in there," I said more determinedly, wringing my hands together.

"Imogen, come on, let's just go say hi and-"

"I said no," I snapped, finally getting frustrated. I looked at him angrily. "Get your ass back in this car and take me home. Now." He looked at me for a moment, blinking, before getting back in the car. I flinched when he slammed the door but continued to stare straight ahead. If I showed him I was scared, he would take advantage of it.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, he said, "I just don't understand why you didn't want to see your mom. You miss her, there's nothing wrong with that. You just have to show her and start spending more time with her." I blinked back angry tears; he would never understand.

"Just drop it, Grayson," I whispered. I wasn't even sure if he heard me, but he didn't speak again until we pulled into his driveway, so he must have. Just as I was about to get out of the car, he grabbed my hand.

"Hey, hold on," His stern voice sent shivers down my spine. "I'm sorry if I was being too forceful. I had a great time today and I don't want it to end like this."

"Like what?" I asked, turning to face him slowly. I'm pretty sure I had goosebumps all over my body because he was still holding my hand. It was more to keep me in place than a tender gesture, but physical contact tended to make me nervous.

"You're mad at me," He deadpanned, looking me straight in the eye. "And I don't want you to be."

I sighed, "I'm not mad at you."

"Well, it sure as hell seems like it."

"I'm not, I promise," I said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. He frowned but released his hold on me, nodding. Because I felt like I had to say something else, I added, "I had a nice time too."

He smirked, "Not bad for a first date, huh?" I choked on my own saliva I was so startled, making him laugh. It wasn't a date, I had not agreed to anything! My heart was beating a thousand times faster than it was supposed to.

"It wasn't a date," I scoffed, blushing. Even though it was dark outside I could tell Grayson could see the dark crimson shade my face had turned. His eyes were sparkling.

"Whatever you say, Ginny," He shook his head and got out of the car. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Not likely," I muttered bitterly to myself, crossing my arms as I exited his convertible. It was a mystery to me how he had so much control over me. Hardly anyone could walk all over me like that, but sometimes I just couldn't stop it. I didn't have enough backbone to stand up to people like Grayson Logan.

As I approached my house, I saw a figure sitting on my front steps. They had been sitting there, unmoving, for a while, because the sensor light had turned off. All I could see was a dark shadow that vaguely resembled a human body. I smiled slightly, expecting it to be Leah. It was about time we made up and forgave each other.

But it was Elsie sitting there, eyes wide with panic. The light came on as I approached, shedding her with light. She had her arm clutched tightly to her chest, protectively. It was obviously broken, you could see the snapped bone pressing against her skin.

"Grayson!" I cried, running over to Elsie as quickly as I could. I hoped he hadn't gone inside yet and would come running. My voice had sure sounded panicked enough.

She smiled meekly, "Hey, what's going on?" Up close, I could see the bruises that lined her arms, and the black eye that was starting to form. Her bottom lip was split slightly on the left side, and there was a small cut along her cheekbone.

"What the hell happened to you?" I breathed, heart pounding. My mind went to all the worse case scenarios; an abusive boyfriend, an abusive family member, maybe even an abusive stranger. Whatever had happened, it was not good.

"What's wrong?!" Grayson exclaimed, coming up behind me. When his eyes landed on Elsie, he sucked in a breath. "Holy shit."

"Not very pretty, is it?" She was trying to be funny and make jokes, but I could tell she was in pain. There were tears sliding silently down her cheeks that she was trying to hide.

"Come on, we're going to the hospital," I said, standing from my crouched position. She visibly stiffened, but then winced.

"No hospital," She gasped, breathing hard. "That's why I'm here. I can't go to the hospital." Grayson was next to me now, placing a hand on my shoulder. He was trying to tell me something, but I didn't know what.

"Elsie, have you seen yourself? You could have internal injuries!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. "We have to get you help." She just shook her head stubbornly and looked at me with pleading eyes. My stomach clenched; I knew what the right thing to do was, but she wasn't leaving me with many options. Finally, I said, "Grayson, get her inside."

"What?!" He exclaimed. "She's too hurt, Imogen. Call an ambulance or-"

"If you don't help her inside, I will," I said firmly, staring him down. He looked at me for a few seconds before rolling his eyes. I'm pretty sure I heard him mutter, 'Jesus Christ,' under his breath, and I couldn't help but agree. I had no clue what I was getting myself into.

As Grayson picked her up, I rushed to the front door to open it, trying to ignore Elsie's whimpers of pain. I called over my shoulder, "Take her up to my room," Before sprinting to the kitchen. I grabbed the strongest pain medicine that we had in the house from the cabinet; it was left over from when I had my wisdom teeth removed and I knew it would work well. I just didn't know if it would work well enough.

After I had grabbed everything I thought I would need, I ran up to my room. Elsie was leaning back on my bed, teeth clenched, still holding her arm across her chest. When I walked in, she looked at me. "What are you going to do?"

It was a good question, even though I didn't really know. I wasn't a doctor, I didn't know how to deal with these types of things. I ignored her question and held out three small, white pills. "Take these."

"Imogen, what are you doing?" Grayson asked, hovering over me. He watched carefully as I poured some water into Elsie's mouth so she could swallow the medicine. In the light of my room, I could see dirt smeared over her face, and leaves were tangled in with her red hair. Something pretty serious had happened.

"I'm going to set the bone," I deadpanned, breathing through my nose. It was becoming increasingly harder not to panic. "And then we wait for my mom to get home. Elsie, I need you to straighten your arm."

Her eyes widened with panic, "No, it'll hurt and-"

"That's why I gave you the pain meds. They're going to take a while to kick in, but they'll help soon, okay? Now please, straighten your arm." Slowly, not taking her eyes off of me, she lowered her arm down. As she did so she screamed, and I pressed my eyes closed. I heard Grayson curse under his breath. The bone hadn't broken the skin, but it was close.

I handed her a washrag, "Put this in your mouth and bite down as hard as you can."

"Do you know how to do this?" Grayson asked, once again hovering over me. I growled lowly and glared at him. He lifted his hands in surrender and stepped back.

I took another deep, steadying breath before placing my hands on either side of the break. Before, I hadn't known if I would be able to do it. Now, it seemed like my only option. If she wouldn't let me take her to the hospital or call for help, then what else was I supposed to do? My motions were mechanical as if someone else was controlling my brain.

"This is going to hurt."