Chapter 8

Faith

 

        Mason walked me back towards my dorm.  He was so brave defending me from Kyle!  It’s like he found his confidence!  Although, he was a little weird at the beginning of the night, but I’m sure that was just nerves.

        “Thanks for defending me,” I said, looking up at him.  “Kyle’s such a jerk.”

        “Oh, no problem,” said Mason.  “I don’t like that guy either.”

        “You didn’t have to say we were engaged, but it was sweet what you did.”

        “Yeah, I’m not sure why I said that,” he admitted, looking down at me.  “Are you cold?  Here, have my jacket.”

        He put his jacket around me.  It was warm and comforting and smelled faintly of his cologne.  We cross the quad together slowly.

        “Listen, I got something to confess,” he began.  “I hope you won’t be mad.”

        I stopped and looked up at him.  Something about his appearance had seemed off all night.  At that moment, I realized.

        “Are you Logan?” I asked.

        “Yes,” he said, running his hand through his hair.  “Mason didn’t want to miss this, but the head coach called him in tonight.  And you can’t deny the coach.  Are you mad?”

        I thought about it.  I mean, I was attracted to both of them and they were twins.  They shouldn’t lie to me, but at least he told me.

        “Don’t do that again,” I said warily.

        “I’m sorry,” apologized Logan.  He reached out for me.  “It’s just that, I think you’re really great too and I’m the one that asked you out first.”

        “Well, now I’m not sure if I want to go,” I said, feigning annoyance, walking just out of his reach.

        “Aw, c’mon,” said Logan.  “You and I really hit it off.”

        “Wait a minute, were you trying to be a jerk to me in the beginning to sabotage your brother?” I asked.

        There was an awkward silence.

        “Yes,” he reluctantly admitted.  “Half way through I regretted it and stopped.  Then Kyle came over.”

        “You’re a little sneak,” I said, pretending to be hurt.

        “C’mon, Faith,” he pleaded.  “I really like you.  Plus we’re engaged now.”

        “We’re not engaged!” I laughed.  “I don’t even have a ring.”

        “I’ll get you one.  You know, to keep up appearances,” he offered.

        “Make sure it’s a big one.  I want a huge diamond!” I demanded playfully.

        “How big?” he asked.

        “The size of a dog’s head!”

        “Do they make them that big?”

        “They don’t make diamonds, silly, they dig them out of the ground!”

        We shared a laugh and then my phone rang.  It was Angelica, my sister.  Normally, I wouldn’t answer, but she usually didn’t call this late.  I figured it was an emergency.

        “I’m sorry, Mas--- I mean, Logan.  It’s my little sister.  Let me see what she wants,” I said.  “What’s up, Angelica?”

        “Faith, you have to come home,” said Angelica.  She sounded like she had been crying.

        “Why?  What’s wrong?”

        “Mom is freaking out, okay?  She’s not dealing with the stress well at all,” she said.  “You need to quit school and come home.”

        “Angelica, you don’t understand,” I tried to explain.  “If I can just make it through school, I can get a better job.  Then I can support the whole family!”

        “Mom is crying over how to pay the bills, Faith!  We’re running out of money!  How are we going to eat?”

        “We’ll figure it out,” I insisted.  “I can’t talk right now.”

        “You don’t even care, Faith!  All you care about is your college friends!” cried Angelica.

        “That’s not true!  You know that’s not true!”

        “It is true!  If I was old enough, I’d have a regular job and I’d help!  But where are you, Faith?!  Huh?!  Where are you?!”

        Angelica hung up.  She was a bit of a hothead.  I tried to hold back the tears in front of Logan, but I couldn’t.

        “Jeez, what was that all about?” he asked.  “Are you okay?”

        “I can’t talk about it,” I sobbed.  “But I’m fine.  It’s a family thing.”

        Logan spotted some of the flowers the maintenance crew had planted for the landscaping.  He picked some for me and brought them over.

        “Here,” he said.  “My friend, Gregory, is going to be pissed, but you enjoy these.”

        “Thanks,” I said taking the flowers.

        “Believe me, I know what it’s like to have family problems,” he said.  “Our parents never paid attention to us.  When we were younger, we used to act out.  I got in trouble in grammar school, middle school, high school---“

        “I could see that in you, but not Mason,” I acknowledged.

        “Oh, Mason acted out worse than me!” he explained.

        “What?  No way,” I said.

        “Oh, sure.  Don’t tell him I told you, but in second grade, he peed his pants on purpose just to get my mom to come in and bring him a new pair of pants.  Then as soon as she left, he did it again!” laughed Logan.  “I thought it was pretty funny at the time.”

        “What about you?” I asked.  “What did you do for attention?”

        “I used to get into fights with the other kids,” he explained.  “I’d curse at my teachers, I’d throw stuff---  Whatever I could do to get into trouble.  One time, I just left.”

        “You left your school?  How old were you?”

        “Ten, I think.  Just walked off the playground and kept going,” he explained.

        “Oh, my God,” I gasped.  “What happened after that?”

        “Well, the police were called, but I was hiding from them.  Whenever I heard the cars, I would duck in the bushes.  I ended up in the parking lot of this apartment complex.  Some woman found me and called the cops.  I just didn’t want to go home.  I insisted that the cops keep me until both my parents came to get me.  Anyway, they eventually sent me home and you know what I found when I got there?”

        “What?”

        “Both my parents had left!  They had talked to the cops and arranged for Marta, our nanny, to be there.  Once that was all fixed, they left to do whatever,” Logan said a little bitterly, his eyebrows drawn together.  “At least your mother cares.”

        “Oh, I’m sure your parents care,” I assured him.  “They just---  Well, they just have their priorities a little out of whack.”

        “I’d say a lot,” said Logan, sniffling a little.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all emotional.  It’s just that---  Well, you know.”

        “Yeah,” I said agreeing.

        “What about your folks?  You want to tell me what’s up with them?  Your mom?” he asked, looking down at me.

        “I’m actually too embarrassed to talk about it,” I said.  “I hope you don’t mind.  It’s just---  Well, my parents want my life to go one way and I’m seeing it go another.  Plus I think---  You know what---  I can’t.”

        “It’s okay,” said Logan nodding in understanding.  “You tell me when you’re ready.  Maybe you and I can finally have that dinner sometime.”

        “I’d like that,” I found myself saying.

        Oh, God, but I’m also attracted to Mason.  What a mess you’ve made, Faith!  How am I going to choose between these two hot brothers?  Plus they’re pretty volatile.  What if they start fighting over me again.  Oh, God!

        “I should probably call it a night,” I said.  “Thanks for tonight.  I enjoyed myself despite Kyle and whatever.”

        “Yeah, sorry to deceive you,” said Logan.

        We kissed.  It just seemed natural in that moment.  Then we moved closer and he took me into his strong arms.  His kiss was passionate and wanting.  I could’ve stood there all night kissing him, but eventually I pulled back.  I took off his coat and reluctantly handed it back to him.

        “Thanks,” I said.  “Good night.”

        “Good night.”