Tonight is a Fairytale
By: Rhuben
Summary-[Re-write of Up Against the Wall] "You know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who have hurt you and start to wish them well." –Lewis B. Smedes. On Logan Mitchell's 19th birthday, Logan's father gets released from jail. Together with his friends, Logan learns that not all endings are happy ones.
01
November 2010
Fort Worth, Texas
At sixteen years old, Logan found out his dad was in prison.
"We should be heading back, soon." Logan Mitchell set the bag of groceries into the back of his mother's, Joanna Mitchell's, rental car before he straightened, moving to rub his hands at the base of his aching back. "Nana might need some help preparing dinner.
"Mom, you and I both know Nana won't accept any help from anybody," Logan said as he placed his hand on top of the trunk, pushing down on it, slamming down. "The kitchen is her domain." He used one hand to rub at the back of his other one. "I can still feel the sting of her last slap…two years ago. She might've broken a blood vessel, actually."
Joanna chuckled, shaking her head. "You know how important Thanksgiving is to Nana," she said, reaching into her purse for her car keys. "Especially after Grandpa passed on…to have the family together again, she looks forward to it every year."
"I know, Mom, I know," Logan replied with a nod of his head before giving her a bright smile. "Better not leave Nana waiting." He sucked in a deep breath of air through his nose. "I can smell the pecan pie already." He then moved around the car to climb into the passenger seat of the car. "Hey, do you think Nana will let me make some apple pie this year?"
"Not if you like keeping your hand attached to your wrist," Joanna replied as she climbed into the driver's seat, slamming the door shut behind her. Logan laughed along with her before reaching into his pocket for his cell phone as it vibrated against his hip.
He unlocked his phone and stared down at the faceplate when he saw he had a text message. "Is everything alright, sweetie?" Joanna asked as she searched through her purse for her keys.
"Yeah, I just…I'm missing the guys," Logan replied, looking around the parking lot, from what he could see out the window. "And, I can't wait to get back to Los Angeles to work with them."
"Work, work, work," Joanna replied, shaking her head back and forth before making a tisking sound with her tongue. She reached up a hand and gently patted her son's cheek. "You're supposed to be taking some time off to relax, not think more about work. We should be happy Gustavo even gave you this time off. I don't know what I'm going to do without you for Christmas."
"It's fun, Mom," Logan replied, turning his head to give her a small smile. "And, it'll give me some more funds to pay my part for medical school." He watched as Joanna's face fell slightly. "Oh, mom, I didn't mean…mom, I want to help you. You've done so much for me already."
"I just worry about you, Logie-Bear," Joanna replied, letting out a sigh through her nose, pulling her keys out of her purse.
"Mom, you don't have to," he said quietly.
Without his dad around, his mom had to play both roles for him. He knew medical school wasn't cheap and he knew his mom would do anything she could to help him, but he felt guilty about it a lot of the time. Growing up, he saw her struggle through working two jobs to make sure she could provide for him.
"Yes, I do," Joanna replied, raking her fingers through his hair. "I'm your mother."
"The best I've ever had," Logan replied and Joanna chuckled, setting her purse down onto the floor before sticking the keys into the ignition. The car shook as it started up. Joanna put the car into reverse and looped an arm around the passenger seat, turning her head to guide herself as she backed up the car before pulling out onto the main road.
Logan opened the text message he had received, immediately opening it to find a picture of James Diamond surrounded by a whole bunch of snow. At Big Bear no doubt, he thought to himself as he scrolled to the bottom of the message. James had decided to stay back in California with his dad flying out o visit him there.
James: Not like the snow back home, but it'll do.
Logan rolled his eyes but smiled as he typed back a message, only to receive two more in a matter of seconds from Kendall Knight and Carlos Garcia.
Kendall: U're right, it's not like back home. Home is where it's at! ;)
Carlos: Why have snow when you can have water? Come down to FL.
Kendall went back home to Minnesota with his mom—who was the boys' guardian while they were in Los Angeles—and his sister, Katie Knight, while Carlos went to Florida to his family's beach house.
"Help me bring the groceries inside would you?"Joanna asked as she pulled up into the driveway of her mother-in-law's driveway.
"Of course," Logan replied as he put his phone back into his pocket.
He reached for the button of his seat belt and jabbed it with his thumb, releasing his seatbelt, feeling it slide across his chest. He reached for the door handle and pulled on it, popping the door open. He stepped out onto the driveway and looked up at his grandmother's house.
It was situated in the center of a half-circle of trees, practically hidden from view until you were standing right in front of it. Bushes lined the walkway up to the white and blue house. Chimes blew in the wind, swaying on its hook on the porch awning. Small pots of flowers hung from the awning filled with pink, yellow, and blue flowers.
Logan slammed the door shut behind him before making his way down the sloping driveway and around to the back of the car. Joanna already had her arms filled with bags. "I'll get the rest of the bags, mom, don't worry," Logan said, giving his mom a warm smile before reaching for the last couple of bags.
He gathered them into his arms. He pressed them hard to his chest before carefully reaching out a hand to close the trunk of the car before making his way up the driveway, up the walkway and to the front door. He headed inside and set the bags down onto the floor, peering in each one before grabbing a bag of frozen food, taking it down into the basement to put in the freezer in the laundry room.
As he came back up the stairs, he heard his mom and Nana, Abigail, talking in the kitchen. He stopped heading up the stairs and quietly sat down on the step when he heard his name mentioned a couple of times.
"I'm just worried about him, Abigail. No one knows if this music thing will last forever."
"If anyone has his head on straight, Joanna, it's Hortense. You and Charlie have done well with him."
Logan sat up straighter when he heard mention of his father's name: Charlie.
"Thank you. It was hard for him when he was a kid, but…he's really come a long way. I just…being here, I wondered if it'd be a good idea to visit him."
"That's a tough decision, Joanna. You have ta think about this carefully. I've been tellin' you for years to let the boy see his father anytime you came to visit but you wouldn't listen."
Logan blinked in surprise, his heart skipping a beat before it picked up its speed. A wave of heat rushed up his body, starting in his toes and traveling straight up to the top of his head, his chest searing, ears burning.
"I just haven't figured out how to tell him. I mean, it's not like you can just bring up the fact that his dad didn't just leave us, but he's was carrying out a thirteen year sentence."
December 2011
Minneapolis, Minnesota
At seventeen years old, Logan found out why.
"Dude, come on, are we going to do anything fun?" Carlos asked, a hint of a whine in his tone to accompany him hitting the floor repeatedly with his heels.
Logan lifted his head from the box sitting next to him and peered over at his friends who were lounging around on his bed and in the chair he had set up in his room. He watched as James shot Carlos an annoyed look before shooting out his foot, kicking him in the side, successfully launching him off the side of the bed and onto the floor.
The four boys were sitting in his room, looking through boxes for old pictures from before Logan moved to Minnesota. Carlos quickly got a bout of cabin fever, wanting to go out and look around to see what had changed but Logan and Kendall wanted to stay in. It was mainly due to how Kendall wanted to avoid going anywhere near his old place of employment, afraid of being roped into working while he was at home.
"Ouch," Kendall laughed from the chair he was sitting in, rocking back and forth in it, a book in his lap. "It's a good thing you have the helmet, isn't it, Carlos?" He laughed again, flipping a page in the book. His rocking stopped before he pulled the book closer to his face before he burst out laughing even louder before. "Dude, check out this picture of Logan."
Carlos immediately pushed himself up onto his knees and practically hurled himself into Kendall's lap. James rushed over to his other side in an instant. Kendall pointed at the picture in the book and Carlos and James started laughing, too. Logan rolled his eyes before getting to his feet, setting the box aside. He marched over to his friends and grabbed the book, glancing at the front to see it was a yearbook from his old elementary school, North Ridge Elementary in North Richland Hills, Texas.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Carlos said with a wide grin. "Aww, Logie, you look so cute."
"I think you mean Hortense," Kendall replied, pointing into the book again. Logan shook his head back and forth. "This was before you moved to Minnesota, right?" He closed the book on his thumb, marking his spot, and closed his eyes silently counting to himself.
"Yes, it was," Logan replied. He felt his cheeks heat up as he busied himself with going through the boxes.
It was almost Christmas time and Gustavo allowed them the opportunity to go home for the holiday, only after Mrs. Knight, being their momager—and a darn good one—managed to get him to change their contracts so they could go home during the holidays for breaks. This year, they were able to bring their friends, the Jacksons—whom they were waiting for—along with them, to show them a proper Christmas celebration.
The Jacksons were a group of siblings; twin sisters, Riley and Rhuben Jackson, twin brothers Patrick and Noah, and the youngest brother, Sydney They made up the band the DarkElements, who Gustavo hired to work with Big Time Rush when the four boys first moved to Los Angeles.
The meeting was the start of their eventful lives in California. Through court trials, rehearsals, studio work, performances, adoptions, relationship drama, and having to deal with being in the public eye, the life of a celebrity never had a dull moment. But, being with his friends, he wouldn't go back to what he was doing before.
"Man, that was so long ago," Logan commented.
"Horse-Tense?"
Logan quickly pulled his hand out of the box in his lap, letting out a loud curse as he felt the edge of a picture slicing through his finger. He stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking on the end before shaking his finger in the air. He then looked over at Carlos who now had the yearbook in his hand, flipped towards the back where he could spot various signatures in shaky handwriting in an explosion of color.
"They called you Horse-Tense?" Carlos asked, looking up at his friend, all traces of laughter from his face, gone. Logan sucked his lips into his mouth, biting down on them, but he didn't say anything else. "Dude…sucks."
It had only started out as a joke at first. Logan had said he wanted to be a doctor at "Show and Tell" one year. He had done his research; he got his mom to buy him a doctor Halloween costume so he would have a first aid kit with him. He explained every instrument, every object as well as he could. Some kids had called out, saying he should be a dentist to fix his big teeth.
They were, arguably, pretty big for his mouth at his age. By the time recess came around, he had gotten a new nickname, partly because of his big teeth, and partly because of how much he loved learning, and how seriously he took everything.
"Uh, how about we go to the pond?" Kendall suggested, sensing Logan's embarrassment. James loudly voiced his protest. "Orrr not."
"Maybe mom has some more pictures," Logan said as he dug through the rest of the boxes before getting to his feet. "You guys hungry?" He instantly put his hands into the air, closing his eyes. "Stupid question, I know. I'll get something to eat."
"I'll go with you," Kendall said, getting to his feet. He put a hand on his shoulder. "God knows you'd try and feed us some health crap."
"It's good for you, and you know it," Logan said before lifting a hand, tapping at his temples with his two fingers. "Healthy food, healthy body, healthy mind."
"Orrrr butter popcorn, happy stomach, happy Carlos," Kendall replied, stretching his arms over his head as he followed him out of the room. Logan slid his hands into his jeans pockets making his way down the stairs, reaching his hands up to slap the wall before jumping off the last couple of steps. He made a left at the bottom of the stairs, walking around to the kitchen. "Our moms are talking in the dining room, we'll go this way."
"Mom, do we have any popcorn?" he called, opening the refrigerator door, reaching for a carton of lemonade. He stayed silent for a moment, listening to the muffled voices from the living room. He didn't get a response as he went to get some cups. "Check in the pantry over there."
"Sure," Kendall replied, moving towards the door he indicated. "Ah, you're in luck, there's plenty."
"Never mind, I found it," Logan called.
"How're things with you and Camille?" Kendall asked as he started to unpack packets of the hot snack. Logan made a humming sound, his nose wrinkling slightly. "And…you don't want me to press the subject." Logan put a finger to his nose, nodding his head. "Fair enough."
Logan let out a heavy sigh, stopping what he was doing for a second time. "It's just—"
He trailed off when he could hear his mom's voice get louder. Kendall froze as well, slowly lowering the popcorn packet in his hands.
"I don't know how you do it, Jen. I know it's not the same thing, but, Abigail keeps telling me he wants contact. I thought I could just move on." Logan locked eyes with Kendall. Kendall's eyes widened and he waved a hand in the air, motioning for them to go back upstairs. Logan ignored him and inched towards the kitchen door.
"I have to for my kids." Logan heard Kendall's mom, Jennifer Knight's, voice drifting towards them. "You're doing wonderfully with Logan, Joanna. There's nothing to worry about."
"He's always wanted to go to medical school. He deserves the opportunity. I just want him to have a great life."
"She sounds sad," Logan whispered.
"Let's just go," Kendall whispered back, grabbing his arm. Logan motioned for him to be quiet.
"Honey, you've been giving him the best life you can." That was Sylvia Garcia's voice. "Don't think for one second that you haven't. You should be proud of him."
"I am, I am. I just wonder if Charlie would be proud of him."
"Of course he would." Brooke Diamond. "We all are. The thing is, though, have you kept him up to date with what's been going on in Logan's life? There's no way for him to know what's been going on."
"Let's go," Kendall whispered, pulling at his friend's arm. "You don't want to hear this."
"Yes, I do," Logan whispered back, pulling his arm out of her grip. He then frowned as he rubbed at the spot on his arm where he could feel her fingers wrapped around his arm.
"So, how much time does he have left?"
"Not that long. We should be getting the call soon. I always think about it around this time. What could possesses anyone to want to sell drugs?"
Logan's eyes widened and a soft, choked cry rushed past his lips. He heard Kendall gasp behind him. He must've heard wrong. He had to have heard wrong. His dad didn't do drugs. He didn't abandon him just to sell drugs. How long had it been going on? Was life really bad he needed to find an extra way to get money? Was it all his fault? A baby was really expensive. They were all questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn't get his mouth to work.
Kendall's hand slapped over his mouth, the other hand grabbing his arm, pulling him away from kitchen door. "Stop," Kendall said into his ear before turning him around, keeping a hand over his mouth. "Will you be quiet?" Eyes still wide, breathing hard through his nose, Logan rapidly nodded his head. "I told you, you didn't want to listen to them."
"Did you know?" Logan asked.
"No!" Kendall replied. "But, they're talking in their 'I-don't-want-the-kids-to-hear' voices." Logan swallowed a couple of times, peering over at Kendall who stared at him, as if waiting for him to say something.
"My dad sold drugs," Logan said, his voice barely above a whisper.
June 2012
North Richland Hills, Texas
At eighteen, Logan visited his father in jail.
"Just take deep breaths; in and out through your nose," Logan whispered to himself, shaking out his hands before popping his knuckles. He started to loudly suck in air through his nose, releasing it out of his mouth, wringing his hands in his lap as he looked around the prison yard, waiting to be let into the building. "They'll search you, no touching, just talking."
What do I have to say to him, though? Logan thought to himself. He lifted his thumb to his mouth and bit down on his thumbnail. He did another sweep: despite the sun being out and shining brightly, the gray brick of the building made the place gloomy and somber.
As soon as he found out about his dad being in prison for trafficking drugs, Logan shut up. He didn't tell his mom he knew, not because he wasn't curious, but because the worry in her voice; the worry of not being good enough swirled in his head.
He didn't want her to feel badly about herself again. Being the great mom she is, she instantly noticed his shift in attitude despite trying to keep it up for the holidays. However, after explaining to him that, yes, his father was in jail, and yes he sold drugs, she asked if he had any questions about it, and he flat out said, "No."
Partly because he was going back to California in a few days time to get back to work, and he couldn't decide whether or not he really wanted to know the details. He had moved on, he was happier not knowing. But, there was always his curiosity…
He hadn't seen his dad since he was a kid. He barely even remembered him; for as long as he could remember, it was always just him and his mom. His mom had always explained to him that his dad wasn't around because he was making a change with his life, but it didn't mean he didn't love Logan any less. He didn't know if he really believed her. If his dad had actually loved him, he would've taken the time to try and get in contact with him all those years. The fact of the matter was his dad wasn't around.
It was hard to avoid the questions, "Where's your dad?", "What happened to your dad?", "Why is your dad never around?" and to keep coming up with vague answers people would be ok with, "he's out of town", "he had a work commitment", "I don't know why he's not here." After a while, no one seemed to care why his dad wasn't in the picture. He moved on with his life and got used to it just being him and his mom.
"Relax." Logan turned to look at his mom as she reached out and took his hand, adjusting her seated position until she was facing his side. She patted his hand with her left one and gave him a smile."Everything will be ok. You'll see."
"Mom, you're crushing my hand," Logan said to her before giving her a small smile. Joanna smiled and quickly kissed the side of his head. "Mom!" He looked around, feeling his face heat up as Joanna let out a small chuckle.
He reached into his pocket with shaking hands, wanting some reassurance. He opened his text messages and started reading through the most recent ones from his friends.
Kendall: We'll be here when you get back to Cali. Only a call away.
Carlos: See if you can get any pictures. Dad never let me see the inside of a jail
James: Ignore Carlos. Good luck, dude. We're waiting to hear from ya.
Katie: Miss you. Stay safe.
There were many others (ranging from straight forward, to funny, to bad jokes he couldn't help but laugh at, and more) from his friends Camille Roberts, Jo Taylor, and Stephanie King as well as the Jacksons. They were, no doubt, a large group of friends and he was happy to have them all in his life, even when they couldn't be with him at the time.
"What if I don't have anything to say to him?" Logan asked, looking up at his mom.
"It's ok," Joanna replied. "I don't really know what to say to him, either, to be honest with you." He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he darted his tongue out between them, turning to face his mom.
"…Why did we leave him behind?" Logan asked. As soon as he got the question out, more questions slammed into his head. "Why haven't you stayed in contact with him? Why didn't you tell me all of this before?"
"Logan, asked if you wanted to know anything about the situation, but you said you didn't want to know," Joanna replied, removing her hand from his. A muscle in her jaw started to twitch as she started to spin the wedding band around her finger. "I gave you the opportunity to know everything you wanted to know and now—"
"And now I want to know," Logan replied, his eyebrows shooting up. "Mom…"
"We'll discuss this later, Hortense," Joanna said as they were ushered inside. "Let's go."
Well, Logan, it's now or never, Logan thought to himself.
Logan followed his mother, and the line of other visitors, through the doors of the prison. He waited in line to be searched, to drop his wallet, phone, watch, anything they asked for into safe keeping, and then was ushered into a large room filled with tables and chairs.
They were briefed on what they could and couldn't while they visited, but the only thing that really stood up to Logan was they weren't allowed to touch. As he sat at the cold metal table, waiting for his dad, he glanced over at his mom. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to hug or give his dad's hand a shake, but she wasn't even allowed to kiss her husband!
He shifted his gaze over towards the door that opened and watched as men filed out, all adorned in orange jumpsuits, eyes shifting around the room. One by one the inmates walked over to their families, sitting down in front of them, smiles coming to their faces. He was paying close attention to other families, he was barely aware of his dad sitting in front of him until he felt the table shake as his knees bumped them.
Charlie Mitchell smiled at him, a small, tentative smile and lifted his hand in greeting. His long hair was brushed back out of his face, revealing the stubble which dotted his chin and upper lip. His orange sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Logan saw the scar in his eyebrow, the spot on his lip that dipped in weirdly, as if it had been split, the scar on his chin, how his cheek bones seemed a little sunken in…This was his dad now. He was a criminal, no ifs, ands or buts about it. The tattoos—some kind of chain around his wrist, a pair of dice on the back of his hand—didn't lie.
"Hi, Logan," Charlie said and a small smile came to Logan's face. He was finally hearing his dad's voice. After all these years. "Um, son. H-how are you?" Logan blinked. His southern accent really stood out to him.
"Dad," Logan breathed and Charlie's smile widened. Logan felt a little silly. He didn't know how he was going to refer to his dad after all these years, but it just slipped out and it felt…right! "I'm good. How-how are you after, um, everything?" He scratched the back of his neck.
"Good, good," Charlie replied with a nod of his head before his eyes flickered towards Joanna. "Jo…how are you? I've missed you so much." He reached out his hands towards her before pulling them to his chest when a guard loudly called, "No touching." He gave her a warm smile. "You look amazing."
"Thank you," Joanna replied, giving Charlie a smile as well. Logan watched as a light blush tinged her cheeks a bright pink. "I'm doing well, Charlie."
"How's, Ma?"Charlie asked and Joanna let out a heavy sigh.
"She's good," she replied, nodding his head. "Considering everything, she's good. Still working." Charlie chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. Then a moment later, the smile on his face was gone.
"I owe you an explanation," he said quietly. "Look, son," Charlie said, a pained expression crossing his face for a moment. "I never, ever wanted to hurt you." He looked over at Joanna. "Either of you. All my time being here I had two reasons to serve my time and get out as quickly as I could and those reasons were your mother and you. I had a good reason for why I did what I did."
"Please," Joanna said quietly. "Tell us."
Logan looked up at his mom in surprise. Even she doesn't know? He thought to himself, his eyebrows knitting together. He returned his gaze to his dad, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He could see his dad's lips moving, but nothing came out.
And then Logan went numb. He felt his breath rush out of his lungs; a tightness creeping in. It squeezed him tighter and tighter. He needed air. Logan set his hands down on the table, getting to his feet. He muttered an apology before leaving the room.
September 2013
Los Angeles, California
(Palm Woods)
At nineteen, he found out his dad was on parole.
Logan glanced over at his phone suddenly rang. He peered at the caller ID, frowning when he didn't recognize the number. He set his computer aside before jabbing his thumb into the answer key, putting it up to his ear.
"Hello," he said into the phone.
He blinked when he heard a clicking sound and then rhythmic beeping. Peering at his phone, he saw the numbers on the timer of the call flashing before the screen went back to the home section of his phone. Logan blinked a couple of times, staring down at his phone before bringing up the key pad, jabbing his thumb into the number 2 of his phone, holding it up to his ear.
His phone rang in his ear a couple of times before there was a small beep and Logan could hear his mom let out a cheerful, "Hello" into his ear.
"Hi, mom," Logan said with a smile, falling back against his pillows. "I know you're normally the one to call me on my birthday, but I thought I could shake things up this year."
Logan could practically hear a smile in his mom's voice as they talked. He loved being out in California, and they stayed in contact as much as possible, but he did wish he could see his mom more often. The one time she came to California was such a surprise, it made her leaving again harder for him; but he knew she was proud of him.
"Everything at home is going well?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, everything is fine. I'm fine, Nana is fine…your father is fine. Last I've heard about him."
Logan nodded his head and, realizing she couldn't see him, added a "mmm-hmmm." There was silence on her end as well as his on his side. He could hear her breathing start and stop, as if she wanted to say something to him, but couldn't find the right words. He certainly was feeling the same way.
"Good," he finally managed to get out. He cleared his throat and licked his lips. "I'm glad."
"I'm sure he'd like to hear from you, Logan."
"I know," Logan replied, drumming his fingers on his jean-clad leg. "Nana always tells me." He laughed quietly. "When she manages to remember how e-mailing works."
"You know how old fashioned she is. You love getting letters from Nana and you know it."
"Yes, I do," Logan agreed with a nod of his head.
"She enjoys writing to you, too. She's at home all by herself; she gets lonely, she just likes having someone to talk to. It's why I call her often."
"Yeah, I know," Logan replied. "I should call her more." He scratched at the back of his neck before letting out a sigh. "Look, Mom, I know it's late over there, and I have a bunch of studying I have to do, so I'm going to let you go."
"Night sweetie, and Happy Birthday. Have a great day tomorrow and I'll call you later."
"Thanks, mom," Logan replied, before hanging up his phone. He pulled his computer into his lap for a second time, but before he could do anything, his phone rang a second time. He glanced at the caller ID before answering it.
"Hello. Is this Mr. Hortense Mitchell?"
Logan pulled the phone away from his ear, peering at the caller ID for another moment. He recognized the area code for Texas, but there wasn't a name for it. He didn't recognize the voice either, but somehow they had found his phone number.
"Um, yes, yes it is," Logan replied as he put his phone back to his ear. "Logan."
"Hi," the man on the other end said, sounding chipper. "I'm calling from the North Richland Hills Joint Detention Facility."
Logan sat up, his eyebrows knitting together. North Richland Hills? Logan thought, feeling his heart beat speed up. He hadn't heard any mention of his hometown in Texas ever since he had moved away. Oh, God.
"Yeah?" he asked. He made a face when he heard his voice crack. He cleared his throat before trying again. "I mean…yes?"
"Sorry if this is a bad time, Mr. Mitchell, but my name is Louis Sullivan," the man on the other end of the phone replied. "I've been trying to reach you all day, but I couldn't get a hold of you." Logan silently nodded before quickly making a noise with the back of his throat. "I'm calling about Charlie Mitchell. He is of relation to you, correct?"
Logan closed his eyes, feeling his heart drop. "Yeah, he's…he's my dad," Logan replied. He slowly breathed in and out of his nose. "Is…is everything ok?" Logan didn't get an answer right away, but got an earful of shuffling papers. What is this about?
"Hold on a secooond," Louis all but sang as the shuffling sound drilled into Logan's ear. "Ah, here we go. I'm calling to inform you—as you have requested to be on the contact list of this inmate—that your father was released from prison today."
Logan felt his jaw drop.A chill went down his spine, and his heart started beating in his chest. His lips twitched into a smile, and then into a frown, into another smile, and then into a look of shock. He didn't know how to feel; he didn't know what to think.
"Mr. Mitchell?" Louis asked, sounding concerned. "Are you still there?"
"Uh," Logan said, realizing he had done nothing but breathe into the phone for a moment. "Yes, yeah, I'm still here. Um, thank you for telling me."
"You're quite welcome, Mr. Mitchell. I hope you have a nice day today. Oh, and happy birthday."
"Yeah, thanks," Logan replied, drawing little circles on his bedspread. "Uh…bye." He removed his phone from his ear and hung up the call. He tapped his cell phone against his bottom lip before tossing it aside. Groaning, he fell back against his pillows and he ran his hands over his face and into his hair.
Happy Birthday to me.
A/N: So this is a re-write to Up Against the Wall, the fic for Rage-Against-Time. The last one I was doing went far off from what I originally wanted it to be and it was darker than I wanted as well. Hope you liked the start to this.
This originally was going to be set in season 3, but I changed it to Season 4.
-Rhuben