LOGAN
A great family dinner has three stages. The intro where everyone pretends to feel great about having to spend hours sitting across from blood relatives when they'd much rather be doing something else.Smiles. Hand me a napkin. Hitting the fork against the plate which my dad hates. I do that a lot as you've guessed. Awkward conversation with obvious answers like how was your weekend?Tell me about it. On a scale of one to ten, how inappropriate do you think an admission to eating a girl out for dinner on Saturday night would be?Too much for appetizers? You're probably right.There's stage two. The awkward silence. Everyone realizes no one wants to communicate and by the former, I meant my mother.I like stage two. Looking up to catch their irritated faces is the highlight of my day.And finally, stage three. Desert and more attempts at bonding.With enough food in my stomach, my family turns into what it's always been. Destructive.Nick tries to prove the better son, my dad applauds his achievements with the condensing contrast at mine. Mother doesn't know which side to take so she sits in the corner, indifferent.Fun times. Tonight, however, I add one stage. Stage Logan.I can tell you're considering adding narcissism to the adjectives used to describe me. I can't disagree.Tonight, it was all about me. So many surprises in store for the night. Like opera but without the off-key singing.****"My boys! We should take a family picture.""No."Nick and I chorused. I mean I was going to say no but why was he saying no?The petty urge to retract and agree to a photo burns at the back of my throat, but I refrain from it. Not a hint of suspicion."And you dare accuse us of never agreeing on anything. I'll take a picture of you. Dashing as ever."I kissed her temple, pulling my phone out of my back pocket."You're using one of those manipulation tactics on me."I cackled because she called me out spot on."I'll take a picture of both of you."Nick offers, I turn around and smile."All yours."I pass my phone onto his palm, taking a stance beside my mother, my jaw struggling not to tighten as were my fists.His presence lets my anger fuel me ten times. Miscommunication has never been my forte, so truly I'd never let my anger be based on something which is without confirmation, but we're getting to that part."You look great."He complimented me, patting my shoulder as he handed the phone over."I know."Again, I bite it back mumbling a thank you instead.I do look great in that photo.****"Your father's here!"She squealed, taking the lids off each plate. I can't help but straighten my back, clutching the edge of my seat in a way no one could see."Full house tonight."I snorted. Loudly. Everyone turned. Nick glared, and Mom seemed to plead with her eyes.I could not help it. Who says something so cringe as that? Tony Jackson.He walked in with a briefcase, still dressed from the office judging by the suit."Hello, Father."I stepped on the ice. "Logan. It's good to see you're back in the city.""Where you belong."I mumble under my breath, but his words echo for the whole room to hear. Always so predictable. How boring."I got an internship. I couldn't pass it off."If it were any other father, I'd slip in how the hospital is top five in the country, or how I got numerous acceptances with the potential to make it permanent after graduation, but to my father those were all consolation prices to what I could have gotten.If you haven't figured it out by now, my father and I don't have the best relationship.You'd think no matter how many times you've seen or read about it, the likelihood of occurrence would change, but no. He was pissed because I had no desire to sit in an office and talk about race cars. What a cliche.The silly part was that I'm studying psychology because of him. I grew up around a man who was impossible to read. As a child desperate to please and feel wanted, I struggled to understand, so in high school, I'd take classes about perception and the human mind.It was fascinating. Knowing all the ways to make a person tick."Congratulations, I'm pleased you took time out of your schedule to come down and visit your family.""I just arrived in New Orleans over the weekend. I spent the day at the hospital."This isn't me offering validation, okay maybe a little, but remember the rules? I'm headed somewhere."Oh really? Tell me about the hospital?"Don't smirk. But it was too easy. He took the bait."Life Beyond Care. It has quite a name for itself. I'm sure you know it.""Wait! We do."Right on cue Mother, I love it when everyone plays out their roles perfectly. We just have one left."You're interning at Life Beyond Care?"Touchdown."I see everyone is familiar. I'll go wash my hands while Father gets changed. The food will grow cold if we spend more time talking."Without another word, I pulled out my chair and exited the living room.Let the wheels turn in his head.****"Nick.""Yeah?""Could you pass me the salt please?""Sure."He opens his mouth to phrase a question, clipping it shut and passing the bottle instead."How was your day Nick, we already know what Logan did."Here it comes. The inevitable shout-out to my younger brother."It was alright I guess."My father beamed and I scratched my fork on the plate."And how's the office father?"It was his turn to scrape the knife. What can I say I bring out the worst in people."Excellent. The company is doing great.""Maybe you can give me a tour soon."My mother stared in awe and Nick's earlier shock had waved off, he was glaring. Showing interest in Formula One was one of the biggest ups he had against me. Well, not anymore."I'd love that."And we're back to silence.****"Southern California is a bit far from Michigan. Why leave only to return two years in.""I missed home. The University Of New Orleans is not so bad either.""Are you thinking of transferring?"I paused, a hand on the knob, listening to his haggard breathing. I can almost hear what's pacing through his mind now."I'll see how the year goes. A lot can happen. If the internship turns out great...""My girlfriend's dad works at the hospital."I know "Does he know?""In the same department as you."Do tell "Maybe I'll run into him although it's unlikely. The hospital is huge."We escaped into the music room, allowing Mom and Dad to talk about us without our presence. Mostly about me."Logan."He stops at the entrance while I cross my leg over the piano, dusting the keys."You didn't tell them."I thump on a key, the wrong one, but it sounds dramatic so I play it off as intentional."No, I did not.""Why?""Say I walk up to them no and randomly bring it up.""You had two years.""Of what use would it be little brother? I turned out just fine.""I ruined..."I hit the right key, the sound echoing, bouncing off the wall, and putting a halt to his next few words."What were you about to say?""Ruined my shots at going pro. Tarnished my reputation to all my potential scouts. Did I miss out on anything?"His eyes fluttered as he tried to conceal what I already knew. I did skip one bit. The last piece of the puzzle. The one I figured out a few weeks ago."I never got to explain.""It's been two years. Sure going pro for football would've been great, I'd piss Dad off and get to study psychology. But shit happens, I got one-half of it. It's in the past. No hard feelings."No feelings at all when it comes to you."Girlfriend, huh?"I began playing the rhythm to Ed Sheeran's perfect."Uh yeah, we've known each other since forever.""So you have to go out.""No. I love her."No shit. "I'm sure she feels the same way.""She does."Not for long. "What's her name? Just in case I run into her at the hospital."The hesitation brimmers in his eyes for a split second. He doesn't say a word."Mia Dawson."I end on a soft note, taking my legs off the chair."Her father is my boss."His jaw might as well be on the floor."But I haven't seen her around.""I'm not staying the night. Have to turn it in early tomorrow. But this was good. I'll see you around."I tighten my lips until my back is faced against him, and then I let my grin split out.That was beautiful.****MIATUESDAYI have a routine. Since Junior high, I developed my nothing schedule. It's never failed me because I stuck to it.I have alarms spread out by 30 minutes, six of them, but I don't get out of bed until the second to last one, at seven-thirty in the morning.Five minutes to make the bed spread the sheets, and put the laundry in the basket since I usually just toss them on the floor at night.Ten minutes to shower and get dressed. Five minutes to decide what kind of makeup I'm putting on. An extra five minutes to finalize everything and pack my bags.I've done it so frequently, it's a part of me now. Neither Gianna nor my father attempted to disturb this perfect rhythm.Today's no different. At 7:56 I'm headed downstairs with my backpack across my shoulder.I'm driving today. Two minutes until my alarm rings out which is extra time to stuff pastries in my mouth. I don't usually eat breakfast.I'm halfway through the cake, checking my phone, counting down how much time I have left when a jolt in the kitchen jerks my body. I have a mouth and hand full of pastries as I turn around to check."Please don't stop on my account."My first instinct is to ask what the fuck he's doing in my living room, but mouth full of treats. So, I take a few seconds to chew then slowly, dropping the remnants on the plate behind me."What are you doing here?"I mouth, tasting a few particles in my mouth."Working."He beckons to the papers on the desk.Why in my house? What the fuck happened to Dad's office."Oh, I saw your boyfriend yesterday. I guess I should say, my brother. "My alarm went off, the blaring sound which would usually have me dashing out of the house, yet my feet can't seem to move."That's great. Hope you enjoy working."I attempted to pull my bag and leave."You didn't tell him what happened.""How'd you figure?""He didn't punch me in the face."My stupid ass nearly chuckled. That's not a funny joke, maybe in a different circumstance. Not this one."Bye.""I want something in exchange for keeping the secret.""Are you blackmailing me?"He cocked his head sideways."No, I'm asking you to do something in exchange for keeping the secret.""And if I don't you'll tell Nick what happened? You'll let your brother know how unintentional it was to fuck. No, my bad, almost fuck his girlfriend. Do it. I dare you."I grabbed my bag off the counter and stormed out of the kitchen."Burn in hell."I flipped him the finger, catching my keys from falling off the table.Then I exited the house.He's gone mad. Fucking deranged bastard.****A/N: Thoughts on the mastermind's plan? (◔‿◔)
MIA"Well what did he want?"Maya gently shoved her locker shut, leaving most of her books inside. I hadn't gotten to mine and my back starting to hurt. "What does that even mean? Did you listen to a word of what I said?"She bit her lips, acting thoughtful for a few seconds. "So let's get a few things straight. I drove here nearly getting a speeding ticket.""Oh that's all on you babes."We were moving towards my locker instead. The bell for AP Maths would go off any second. Maya wasn't in it which meant seperate directions."I storm in visibly pissed off yet calmly explain what happened."We reach mine and I toss in the combination, pulling the locker open, stuffing a few books inside and grabbing the others which I needed."He blackmailed me.""Nope. That would assume a threat was made in return.""It doesn't take a genius to figure it out.""Wait whose side are you on?""Yours. If he comes down here any day, I'm prepared to fight. But in here with just the two of us, I have to at
MIAMain character moment? It's this one for certain. There's a nagging voice that reminds me how many times Nick has lifted and kissed me against the wall or desk, yet I'm counting this as part of it. There's usually a term for people like me. Hypocrite. Yeah, that's the one. Do I have my brain on lock? "You're doing that thing again."I forced my eyes not to look at him, but as he spoke they found their way back. "What?"I murmur. "That thing where your mind takes control and you can't shut it off."What is it with the psychoanalysis? "I told you not to do that.""Can't help it.""Everything feels like bliss when you finally get it to quiet down. Like —""Don't finish that sentence."I caution. The first time the lesson came up, we were in a different position. Lesser clothes on."I was going to say ocean sounds, Mia.""Sure."I drawl, my voice high-pitched as I batted my lashes. "I'm not stupid.""I'd be dumb to assume that.""Let me go. I'd like to get out of here.""I'll be rig
LOGAN "I'm starting to think we were best friends because of school.""I'm the one with the 4.0, so that wouldn't make any sense."I peel the jacket off my skin, tucking it in my closet before lying on the bed. "Subtle flex."Peter grumbled. "But seriously, you disappeared. Your flight landed in New Orleans and you turned into Ethan Hunt with a new mission. Not cool.""I didn't realize this was Mission Impossible, but either way you're putting your abandonment issues on me because I recalled texting at least twice. Plus, I've only been gone two weeks. Peter.""Psychoanalysis does not extend to your best friend."He scolded. I bit my lips "Good thing you're not my best friend."He gasped then went silent. I figured he would drop the line, just for fun, but judging by his raspy breaths, he was simply quiet."Take it back.""Now." I chuckled, throwing one leg over the other."Fine. How's Southern California.""Ugh. Hot.""I'm still pissed you couldn't wait four mouths so we could escape
MIA "What did you do?"Maya is in the process of pulling Tony's hair as he leans over a table. The jock she was hooking up with isn't near, so I assume Tony scared him off. I made a silent bet as to how long it takes him to fess up those feelings for her because we both knew it was a matter of time, or how much alcohol he's had. So far, he's been able to hide it. But the only ones who didn't know how much Maya and Tony were made for each other were Maya and Tony. He's spent a handful of time suppressing feelings and she's been roaming around for a guy just like him.Someone who lets her pull his hair even though he could have her pinned against the wall..I've decided to act as the neutral party, for now. "Mia! I asked a question.""I didn't do anything.""You're smirking.""Am I?""You are. I'll let you off. For now."She releases his hair and the hint of victory plays on his lips before he frowns."You're a menace."She sticks her tongue out, straightens her dress then walks tow
MIAHave you ever wanted something so bad, worked extremely well, I'm talking on the verge of having the best thing happen to you, then watched it being stripped away, landing in the palms of someone else. At that moment, you keep asking yourself; where did I go wrong? That was me when Katie Monroe won class president in Grade 10..I handled it well. That's a lie. I started a fire while burning down campaign posters, and flyers. I wrote a diss track too. Then I let it haunt me becoming one of the many subjects of my overthinking. You're wondering why I made an elaborate story instead of just straight up saying I overthink shit, the honest answer was I had no clue.."I have to go pee."Nick squeezed my palm, then released his hold and let me free. "I need to pee."I whisper to Maya, she does her little head nod to show approval and I struggle not to get crushed as the game continues. That's right. We were on round nine with the tower going strong. So far, there have been lap dances
LOGANFollowing last night's shenanigans, I ended up back at my apartment at two am. It's one second on my bed and another bang in my head as my alarm tells me to wake the fuck up. I groggily stumble to the bathroom, barely opening my eyes. On day two on the job, lateness was not an option. I'd rather not get into last night. After Mia left, I may have broken the tower on purpose..One, the game was starting to piss me off. The Tigers showed up to crash the party and the last thing I needed was fist fights between grown men..Two, I was pissed off regardless. I really should have kissed her afterward so that bastard could taste her on his lips. I can't tell if the aggression was due to vodka or entirely something else. Either way, the proceeding events were completely unrehearsed and out of my hands. Carter masterminded the whole thing. He felt it'd be funny if we played against Nick and his team, diminishing their win against Lake View. Normally, I'd come up with an excuse to not
MIA "The guys are getting pizza later, do you want to tag along?"I have a sign encarved in my fore head, it reads guilty. I've been showing it for hours and Nick must be blind not to notice it. "Uhm, sure."He traces my gaze to no one in particular since we're outside the locker room and everyone else is either inside or had late classes."Is everything okay?"I nearly fall apart there. "Yeah, its great. Sorry I'm out of it. I guess I'm tired after yesterday.""Oh right. We can go to my place instead. I'll ditch the guys.""No. No. I'll come. They're down after the game and we need something to cheer them up so I can come."Nick kisses the top of my head, caressing my shoulders as my eyes keep wavering, searching for another person. I know what anyone must think of me now. A cheating slut. You'll be right.I had excuses the first time, it'll be plausible to justify the classroom, but at the party and in the lot, I could have backed off just fine, but I stood there and let him have
PAPA JOHN'SThe boys found an excuse to party over anything. The victory over the Tigers, now the defeat from Logan and the others. The owner was used to their regular antics such as taking control of the speaker for the night and playing loud trap music. The good thing was, we usually didn't show up until late at night, so it hardly affected his business. It seems like we had the entire store booked, and they were only handing out delivery orders.After the talk, I drove home and switched the skirt to leather pants and a jacket. I drove back here and stormed into the place, hearing their cheers from afar. As I said, we dominated the restaurant now. Maya preferred to stay absent, but some of the cheerleading squad would attend, Tony was here too, so I'm guessing her decision to not come was influenced by that.I'm halfway through the entrance when I notice Luke swaying on the table, moving his hips to the background music, then he takes off his shirt and swings it to the person in