Page 53 of Shattered Souls
More tears chase the first one down my face, and my throat closes over as I bring a hand to my mouth.
Knowing she’s won, my mother smirks before striding off with a swing of her hips. No sooner has she left the room than Logan appears. I don’t know how she didn’t see him in the foyer, but I don’t question it as my knees give out beneath me.
“Hey, there.” He lurches forward, catching me just in time. With a hand on the back of my head, he presses my face into his chest. “For the record, Shortcake, your mom is one heinous bitch.”
Despite the numbness taking over me, a strangled chuckle makes its way up my throat before it turns into a choking sob.
“Shh,” Logan soothes, stroking my hair. “Nothing she said is true. She’s a hateful, spiteful woman who gets off on seeing you being cut out at the knees. Don’t give her the satisfaction.”
“But what if she’s right about Aurora?” I hiccup.
“She’s not,” he states with conviction. “Whatever she’s done with her, we’ll find her. You know none of us will give up until we do.”
“Except it’s been nearly two full weeks, and we have no leads.” My heart is an anvil in my chest, dragging me down.
“Don’t give up hope yet, Shortcake.” He maneuvers my head back so he can press his forehead to mine. “Keep fighting. Wewillfind her.”
He waits until I give a slight nod in agreement before he pulls away, interlocking our fingers. “Let’s get the fuck out of here, andplease,let’s never come back.”
“Agreed.” His cheeky grin brings a reluctant one to my own lips, and I wait until we’re safely ensconced in his car before I ask, “The Timberwolves… were you just saying that?”
His entire face brightens in pure delight. “Nope. Got the call last week.”
I smack him across the chest. “And you didn’t say anything?!” I exclaim in mock outrage.
“Baby, you’ve had so much going on. It wasn’t the right time to bring it up.” He shakes his head. “It’s still not the right time.”
“I don’t care, Logan.” Reaching over, I clasp his hand in mine and squeeze. “I don’t care what else is going on in my life, Ialwayswant to hear about what’s going on in yours. Especially when it’s good news, and this isamazingnews!”
His responding smile is soft and full of so much love.
“We should celebrate!”
He shakes his head. “Shortcake, you’ve been through hell tonight. We should go home and cuddle on the sofa while we force the others to watch rom-coms.”
I grin.Okay, that does sound highly amusing.
“I will absolutely take you up on that… tomorrow night. But tonight, we need to celebrate.” He goes to protest once more, and I cut him off with the shake of my head. “There’s nothing more we can do tonight.” While somber, my voice is firm. “There’s nothing we can do for Auroratonight. And after that dinner, I could use the distraction.”
Lips pursed into a flat line, he reluctantly agrees with me. Reaching across the console, I kiss his cheek quickly before pulling my phone out of my pocket to message the guys in our group chat that I’m relatively certain Grayson only set up because I repeatedly ignored his texts.
Did you guys know Logan got accepted into the Timberwolves?
We need to celebrate.
They make it obvious they’ve been waiting for a message from one of us by responding immediately.
Royce
No. Any ideas?
Grayson
Are you okay?
I roll my eyes at Grayson’s response and his completely ignoring what I said, even as my traitorous heart flutters at his concern.
Eh, no. I was kinda hoping you might have something,
