He watched, poised and stoic, as the girl fought feverishly to escape the arms of his best friend. In his short time in Port Charles, the young man had never seen her so angry. Though she had called him out more than once, this was the only time she had ever lost her usual grace. As she screamed at him about her older sister, he couldn't help but wish that someone cared about him that much. Logan Hayes had never met anyone in his entire life that seemed to love as deeply as Georgie Jones.
Her brown eyes were wide with innocent fire as she ordered him to shut up over and over again. Emotions were running high in the mausoleum that was Wyndamere, putting all guests on edge. Dressed in his white coat and tails, Logan wished not for the first time that just one major event in the New York town could actually go as planned. He had planned to spend the night dancing with the beautiful Lulu Spencer in his arms, but instead, he was stuck arguing with a feisty brunette in a darkened room. Watching her defend the almost undefendable Maxie, he admired the way she fought for someone that she loved.
"Come on, calm done," Cooper prodded, urging Georgie to settle in his own gentle way. His words were lost on her as she fought harder and harder to escape from his grip. She was lunging desperately toward Logan, hungry to inflict any sort of pain on him that she could. If she could just wrap her hands around his throat or hit him, she knew that he would feel the same pain and fear that consumed her now. However, even with her adrenaline running high, the former soldier was too strong.
Logan looked on with unexpected compassion as she began to wear herself out. Cooper's hold on her loosened slightly when she seemed defeated, resolved to whatever fate lay ahead for everyone. He tried to search for the right words to soothe Georgie, well aware that he was not her favorite person. With his mind off Lulu for the first time all night, his thoughts focused only on the young woman in front of him. He would never understand why a girl as good as Georgie would stick up for Maxie, but that's what family does. Most days, it was hard to believe that the two very opposite girls were related at all, but in the end, their sisterhood was more than apparent.
Lacing his fingers behind his head, Logan turned around and tried to gather his thoughts. Even if he didn't have much use for Maxie, it was clear that his best friend and her sister did. More than once, Cooper had put aside his own emotions to help him when he was in a crunch. After what he had done to his supposed best friend, Logan suspected that he owed him that much. And even if he didn't exactly like the girl, he didn't want anything bad to happen to Maxie. He had seen far too many people die in Iraq and wouldn't wish that kind of sadness on anyone's family.
Just as he was about to turn back toward his friends, Cooper lost hold of Georgie all together, setting her free for the first time in many minutes. She flew across the room toward him, reaching his arms in record time. Wracked with exhaustion from sobbing and fighting, she hit her fists against his chest with little force behind them. Coop tried to convince her to stop, but it was far too late. Instead, her fight only got that much more frantic as she released all the stress, anger and fear that had been buried inside of her over the past couple of years.
"I hate you!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the lofty, hollow room. Crocodile tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. Logan's first instinct was to reach up and brush them away with his thumb, but instead, he elected to hold onto her forearms firmly. He knew that he just had to be patient, to wait out her anxious rant. The overwhelming fear in her chocolate brown eyes only made him want to take care of her that much more. "It should have been you. He should have taken you."
"Georgie…" Cooper drawled, his eastern accent thick with exhaustion.
Logan held up his hand and shook his head. "Just let her talk. She's upset."
Georgie stopped for a moment and looked up at him, her face masked with confusion. Coop shrugged helplessly as he brushed his hand over his gun. "Look, you stay here with her. I am going to check out the rest of the rooms in this hall."
Neither Georgie nor Logan said anything as Coop left them alone in the formal sitting room. The silence became almost unbearable until they both realized that Logan was still holding her. Georgie stepped away uncomfortably, huffing as she straightened the train of her black and white gown. She had spent hours looking for just the right dress with Maxie, scouring the pages of catalog after catalog at the Metrocourt boutique. At the time, she had thought that maybe she would get to finally tell Spinelli how she felt. Even coming across the lake with Coop on the launch, she had believed that it was possible that her dreams could still come true. Now, as she turned to meet the steady gaze of the handsome Texan trapped with her, she wasn't sure what to believe anymore.
"I know you're upset, Georgie, but I really thought that Maxie could have snuck off from the ballroom," Logan confessed with a hushed tone. His first thought was to attack the blonde for her past sins, but who was he to judge? It took two to tango, and if memory served him right, he had been a very willing partner. "She has been trying to get Coop's attention for weeks. With everything going on, I guess I just thought she might try to take advantage of that."
She was still so angry with him but even she couldn't deny the honesty in his voice. "I know you think Maxie is a certain way, but there is a reason for who she has become. No one has ever loved her selflessly other than Mac. Our parents both left, and no guy has ever stuck around long enough to make her feel worth it. She has spent her entire life trying to live up the memory of a little girl who died so that she could live. More than anything, she is self destructive. I know it's hard to believe it, but under all of that, there is someone to love. Maybe she doesn't seem worth it, but she's my big sister. She's apart of what little family I still have left."
Logan stepped toward her timidly, searching her eyes for a hint of what was going on beneath the surface. She was easy to read, her every feeling and thought playing on her beautiful face. "You're wrong," he countered.
"Logan," she implored tiredly. "I really don't want to listen to you tell me how bad Maxie is. Whatever reason you have, I can pretty much promise you that I've already heard it. I mean, Spinelli even calls her the Bad Blonde One. If that's not a clue, I don't know what is."
"That's not what I meant," he retorted. "I meant that Mac isn't the only one who has loved her selflessly. Besides Coop and your father, it's pretty clear that you have loved Maxie. Even when she was at her absolute worst, you have always found a way to defend her. I don't know many people who could be that for anyone, let alone her."
A small smile lit up her face. She had long ago given up on anyone understanding why she did the things she did. Dillon had been the last person to truly get her, but he was thousands of miles away now. "Thank you," she replied. "I know that she's not an easy person to like, but I would never abandon her. Now, she is missing, and that lunatic could hurt or kill her. I don't know what I would do…"
Her voice trailed off as she brought her hands up to cover her face. Silver tears formed in the corner of her eyes as reality began to sink in once again. The mere thought of losing her sister shook her to her very core. For the millionth time in the last year, Georgie mentally cursed her mother for being so selfish. Felicia had chosen many things over her daughters, staying away even when they needed her most. She wasn't sure how her little family would go on if they were left with only Mac and herself.
"It's okay, Sweet Potato," Logan assured her, moving slowly to wrap his arms around her. Her entire body shook with sobs as she buried her face into his shirt. It was uncharacteristic of either of them to seek comfort in anyone, especially each other. Still, as he ran his hands up and down her back, they both relaxed for the first time in hours. "Maxie is a survivor. From what I know, she has made it though a lot worse than the likes of a psychopath. She is determined to make my life horrible and win Coop back. I doubt she is going to give up out with one hell of a fight."
Georgie nodded confidently, her chin bumping against his strong torso. She remained silent and allowed the tears to come. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself to feel anything so deeply. Logan brought his hands up to stroke her hair, trying his best to reassure her any way that he could. When she finally felt calm enough to breathe, Georgie pulled back slightly and looked up at her companion. "I wish I was at home in bed," she confessed. "I would do anything to be curled up in my flannel pajamas, rereading my favorite novel for the thousandth time."
"What book is that?" he asked as he moved them toward the couch. Kicking away the white drop cloth with his left foot, he helped her sit down on the velvet furniture.
"Wuthering Heights," she answered. "I've read it so many times that the words are starting to fade from the pages. It's gotten me through so many hard moments, like when my mother disappeared before my high school graduation or the months that followed my divorce from Dillon. It gives me hope when it seems like nothing good will ever happen again."
Logan knew the book well. "My mom used to read it," he told her. "She would carry it around in this old canvas bag to read it on the bus when she went from one job to the next. I remember finding her on our porch so many times, crying as if she was trying to forget someone. That image is so etched in my mind, maybe it's part of the reason I hate Scott so much. Meeting him, those moments just came crashing back all over again."
For the first time, Georgie saw the hint of a real person in Logan Hayes. She had never seen him so vulnerable, and as Logan watched her, he knew that she saw all of him right then. He felt naked in front of her, something that made him more uncomfortable than she could know. No one had heard him speak so openly like this, not even Lulu. He had never trusted her enough to share this part of the past. With Georgie, the words came easily and naturally.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
He nodded in response. "Please, tell me," he pressed, reaching out to take her hand. The move was so fluid, almost second nature. He could hear the distant chime of a clock as he drew a deep breath and exhaled softly.
"I'm really scared."
"I don't think that's a secret, Sweet Potato," he informed her. "We're all pretty scared. I probably shouldn't admit that because I am supposed to be this brave, macho soldier, but there is nothing about this night that feels safe." As the words left his mouth, he wasn't sure if he feared the physical danger outside or the emotional danger percolating inside the room.
Georgie bit her bottom lip, looking up from hooded eyes. "Well, even though I know that you would rather be with Lulu right now, I really appreciate you staying with me. I'm glad that I'm not alone."
An unsuspecting part of Logan wanted to tell her that he would never leave her alone. He had always felt like he had to fight to get every part of Lulu, but Georgie was an open book. She was right there in front of him, willing to give him a piece of her soul. Her gentleness made him want to take care of her, although he knew that she could definitely take care of herself.
The sudden depth of his emotions scared him. Dropping her hand, he turned to look out the window. In all of his brave reverie, he couldn't find the courage to look into her eyes. He knew that he should just man up and tell her how he was feeling. Instead, he simply whispered, "I'm glad I'm not alone anymore, too."