Chloe
What was the protocol for situations like this? Logan couldn’t exactly punch Jace when I’d been Jace’s first. I didn’t want them to fight over me or because of me. Behind Logan was Cassie, she muttered something and quickly scampered into the kitchen. I wished I could’ve gone with her.
“Got off half an hour early,” Logan said. His voice was tight and I could see the confusion in his eyes. If Jace had been anyone else he would’ve kicked off by now.
I wanted longer with Jace because we had to sort this out.
“Me and Jace were talking,” I said.
“I saw.”
Shit, he really was mad.
Stalking his way over to the sofa, Logan never took his eyes off me, claiming me again. I was sure he was about to pee on me. Instead of peeing he sat on the sofa opposite mine and Jace’s.
Finally looking at Jace, he said, “Maybe we should all talk.”
That would’ve been a good idea if there still wasn’t so much animosity.
“Chloe wanted to talk to me,” Jace said.
“Alright, stop! I’m walking out of that door in five seconds if you both don’t cool it. We have to find a way to get past this. I won’t be the reason you two aren’t getting on, not after everything that we’ve been through. Sort it out or you both lose me.”
Logan’s eyes went wild in panic. I’d seen that look the first time I told him I couldn’t be with him and walked away. I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from reaching out for him.
“You’re expecting too much, Chloe,” Jace said. “He crossed a line.”
“So did I.”
“He’s blood, he shouldn’t have touched you.”
I didn’t have to look at Logan to know he’d winced at Jace’s words. He said that before, that he shouldn’t touch me because he was the brother and you didn’t do that.
I wanted to kiss Cassie when she walked back into the living room, scowling at both boys. “You’ve got to be kidding me? Three years you’ve been apart from us,” she said to Jace, then turned to Logan, “and we thought we’d lost him forever. Chloe is right; you can’t let this ruin your relationship. It means too much.”
Jace shook his head.
“No,” Cassie snapped, pointing at him. “I was there, Jace. You didn’t see how hard they tried, how much they battled with their feelings and the guilt. You weren’t the one grabbing the bottle off Logan when he was drinking over her for a change or bandaging his knuckles up because he’d punched yet another wall.”
What? I gawped at Logan. I had no idea how bad it’d been for him. I wallowed in bed when I was hurt and he drank and punched things. Guess I should’ve known it’d be the same when he was hurting over me.
Logan’s eyes tightened but he refused to look at me.
“We all thought you were dead, Jace. We knew you would want them both to find happiness again. We didn’t think it would be with each other and neither did they. Everyone told them you would want them to be happy. You know you would, too.”
“But I’m not dead, Cass.”
“Thank God. But we didn’t know that. What do you expect here, Jace? Do you think Chlo should jump back into your arms? She loves him.”
Jace snapped his head round, looking at me appalled. Crap, he didn’t know I was in love with Logan.
“Are you serious?” he asked. I looked away from the tears in his eyes. “Tell me you didn’t fall for him, Chloe.”
“Hey,” Logan snapped. “Lay off.”
“Lay off? You stole my girlfriend and you’re telling me to lay off? How the hell could you have fallen in love with someone else, Chloe? Did you remember nothing we said?”
“That’s not fair. I. Thought. You. Died.”
“Well, maybe it would’ve been better if I had.”
I slapped him. Hard. My hand stung. “Don’t ever say that!” Standing up so fast that I almost fell back down again, I opened my mouth to shout but Jace surged to his feet and gripped my arms.
“I love you and I know you, Chloe, you can’t just turn it off. You love me, too.”
Shoving his chest, I replied, “Of course, I do but it’s not the same anymore.”
“Bollocks it’s not.”
“I want him, Jace.” He took a step back as if I’d burned him. As the tears in my eyes freely rolled down my face, I added in a whisper, “I’m so sorry.”
Without another look, he turned and walked away. Cassie gave me a sympathetic smile and went after him.
“You okay?” Logan asked once we were alone.
I was so not okay.
“No. I don’t want to hurt him.”
He took a cautious step closer. “Neither do I. Shit, you’re my girlfriend but I feel like I should give you up. How fucked up is that?”
“You feel like we should break up?”
“No. I don’t know. It’s not happening if that’s what you’re thinking. When I said forever I meant it.”
I smiled a little. “Actually, you said forever and a day.”
He moved closer again, not worried that I was going to flip out anymore. “Right. Forever and a day, Chlo. I’m not giving you up, not for anyone. I will find a way to make things okay with Jace, I won’t lose him again but there is no fucking way we’re breaking up.”
“You swear way too much.”
“I tell you how much I want you and you chastise me for bad language.”
“Sorry,” I said, stepping into his arms. “I love you, Logan.”
His grip was tighter than usual. He was scared about us. I was, too. I didn’t know what would happen to us if Jace couldn’t understand and accept we were together. His brother should come first, they were family but I didn’t want to lose Logan. I didn’t want to lose Jace either. I hoped we could find a way of being friends because I’d missed him so much.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked against his chest as I breathed him in. His Logan smell was enough to make everything better for now.
“To yours. You wanted me to stay, remember?”
“Don’t you think you should speak to Jace?”
“I do, but I’m not sure right now is the best time. He just told you he wants you back. Don’t think he’ll appreciate me trying to tell him how sorry I am that’s he’s hurting over the fact that I fell in love with you again.”
“Yeah, maybe we should leave it for today. Hey, why don’t you two have a boys’ night out.”
“I’m probably the last person in the world he wants to drink with, Chloe.”
“I doubt that, you’re his brother. You just need ground rules. Maybe a night out reconnecting will be good.”
“I love how naïve you can be, sweetheart.”
I pinched his bicep. “Not naïve, I’m just trying here.”
Sighing, he pulled me closer into his chest. “Fine, I’ll ask him. I’m not holding my breath though, think it’s going to be a while before I get to go out with my little bro again.”
Logan sounded regretful, and I knew he was hurting badly as well. He wanted to be a proper brother to Jace again, especially after the things that happened between them the day we thought Jace had died.
“He’ll forgive us,” I said, hoping I was right.
“I love you,” he whispered and kissed me.