Logan
Having Chloe back at the house was, as I’d thought, monumentally awkward. Jace was being false nice and it was pissing me off. Chloe was being extra nice and understanding and that was kind of pissing me off, too. I didn’t want her to feel like she had to apologise every five seconds.
Her parents were off on their two-week anniversary trip and we’d been making the most of having her house to ourselves. I wanted to be there right now but she insisted we come to mine because Jace had asked and that meant he was making an effort, and if he was making the effort we should, apparently. I knew she was right but it still felt too soon. Jace clearly didn’t like how close we were. His face earlier when he saw me kiss her hello briefly told me that much.
I sat in the living room with her, Jace and thankfully Cassie. We needed that extra person or it was pretty unbearable. My parents were outside, avoiding the whole awkward thing. I was back to keeping my hands off her but this time I had every right to touch her as much as I wanted to. Chlo came over for lunch an hour ago but with Jace hanging around it felt like hours and hours had past.
“Oh,” Cass said, finally thinking of something to say. Hallelujah. “Comedy Club this weekend? Apparently, there’s this old couple that go up together and talk about things that would make us gag if it was our parents. Could be fun.”
“You want to go and watch a couple have an argument on stage?” I asked.
“Heck yeah!” Chloe replied. “We keep missing it.”
Alright then. “I’ll wait for you by the bar,” I said.
Jace laughed but it was that sarcastic little laugh that made me want to punch him. “Why don’t you just let her go out with Cassie if you don’t want to go.”
It wasn’t a question. He was being a dick, accusing me of controlling her. If I wanted something to do what I said without argument I’d get a pet.
I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to retaliate. Technically, I was still an arsehole for being with her in the first place, I didn’t have a lot of room to snap at him.
“Jace,” Cassie said, her voice was a warning.
Things were going to, if possible, get a lot more awkward if he kept on like that. It was his idea for Chloe to come back to the house again so what the hell was he playing at?
“What?” he said. “I don’t get why he’d want to go too, if he’d just stay by the bar. What’s the point? Unless he’s worried she’ll replace him by the end of the set.”
“Alright, that’s e-fucking-nough, Jace!”
Chloe was on he feet, holding her hands up. “I’m out of here.”
“Chloe,” I said, leaping up with her. “Wait.” If she left in a hurry I always panicked. Her first instinct was to run.
“I just need to leave, Logan, I’m not running.”
I needed to hear that. I shouldn’t need reassurance as much as I did, I wasn’t a fucking child, but she drove me to insanity and I pure and simple didn’t want to be without her.
“Don’t go, Chloe, I’m sorry,” Jace said.
It was a little too late; she was already out the door. I was going to let her go. When she needed her space it was best to give it to her but Jace went after her so I followed them both to get him to leave it.
They were all the way down the path near the front gate by the time I got outside. “I said I was sorry,” he shouted.
“I don’t care what you said, just let me go, Jace.”
Sighing, I made my way down the path. This was a fucking nightmare.
“Enough,” I snapped.
“Go back in, Logan, I’m talking to her.”
Amount of times I’d restrained myself from punching my brother today alone: seven.
“Oh, for fuck sake, Jace, stop being a little prick.” I shouted. “Chloe, you really don’t have to leave.”
She swiped a tear from her face. “Yeah, I do. I’ll call you when I get home but I think we all need to take a few minutes to calm down.”
“Shit!” Jace growled. “No, Chloe, he’s right, you don’t have to leave. I just…” He looked up to the sky and exhaled hard. “This isn’t easy.”
“It’s not easy for us either,” she said.
His cocky one eyebrow raise had me more pissed off and no doubt that would only multiply when he said whatever he was about to say.
“I doubt that very much, Chloe. You seemed just fine when you had your fucking tongue down his throat.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “That’s what this is really about. Christ, it was one little kiss and it’s going to happen.”
“I don’t wanna see it.”
“Then don’t fucking look.”
I was being a bit out of order but it literally was one peck while we were in the kitchen alone. We knew we had to make allowances and tone it down a lot but if I wanted to kiss my girlfriend in an empty room I shouldn’t have to take a load of shit for it.
“I’m going,” Chloe said, spinning around and running along the path.
“Chlo, wait up.”
I started opening the swinging gate to follow her when something happened that I couldn’t quite process. Jace shouted about nine swear words almost simultaneously. A car revved and mounted the path. Chloe turned and gave a loud scream that was cut off as the bonnet slammed into her body.
I froze up for a second as my body turned to ice. Then I was sprinting towards her, passing Jace and dropping to my knees just after her petite body made a hideous thud on the concrete.
“No, no, no, no, no. Chloe!” She already looked like she was in a deep sleep. Her hair fanned out beside her head. “Fuck, Chloe, open your eyes.” I was shaking. I could feel my body shaking and my heart thumping.
Cassie, once she’d stopped screaming, was on the phone, calling for help.
I wanted to pick her up and cradle her in my lap but I knew better than to move her. “What do I do?” I asked, leaning in to make sure she was breathing.
Jace crouched down, wide eyed. He gulped. “Her chest is moving, she’s breathing, Logan.” He sounded eerily calm. “Give her some room,” he said, pushing me back a little with his forearm.
I fell back on my feet and watched Jace check her over. Mum came screaming out of the house, calling Chloe’s name the whole way down the path. “What happened?” she asked, dropping down the other side of Chloe’s head.
“A car hit her,” Jace replied. “Cassie’s called 999. She’s breathing, she’ll be fine.”
“How the fuck do you know that?” I spat.
Mum put her hand on my arm, sobbing. “Calm down, Logan.” She stroked Chloe’s hair. “Hang in there, honey.”
I was less than useless. Dad had taken over the phone, speaking to emergency services and Mum, Cass and Jace were speaking to Chloe, telling her everything was going to be fine. I sat back on my legs, still, hollow, watching my life fall apart.
***
“Dad said the Thornberrys have a camera that faces the front door and out on the road. They’ve probably caught it, he’s told the police and they’re checking it out,” Jace said.
We were in the waiting room. Waiting. Chloe had been whisked off to surgery. She was also going to get scans and all sorts of shit that I couldn’t remember because my ears were still ringing and my mind was still half rejecting reality.
“I hope so,” Cass replied.
Right now the driver of the car was the least of my worries. My girl was in surgery. Chloe had fucking internal bleeding. Nothing else mattered other than her pulling through.
“Logan, are you okay? You’ve been staring at the floor for the last half hour,” Mum said. “She’s going to be fine. You know Chloe, she’s a survivor.”
She was, but just because she’d been through a lot of shit didn’t mean she was immune to fucking hit and runs and internal bleeding.
“I need someone to tell me what’s going on,” I said. I’d never hated a place more than I hated this waiting room.
Nell bust through the door two minutes later. Mum had called Chloe’s parents, who were out of the country, and Nell on the way to the hospital.
“I came as soon as I could. Where is she? What’s going on?” she asked.
“She’s still in surgery,” Mum replied. “Take a seat, love.”
Nell sat next to Cassie and looked at me with tears in her eyes. She avoided Jace, which meant she knew why we were outside in the first place. I wanted someone to blame but I knew it wasn’t his fault. Jace could have not acted like a twat, I could have stopped her leaving, she could have not run. It was an accident.
“She’s been through enough recently,” Nell said.
Cassie squeezed her hand, telling her now was not the time. “She’s going to be fine. Chlo isn’t going anywhere.” Cass nodded her head as if to convince herself.
I closed my eyes and lowered my head.
Please, don’t leave me, sweetheart.