Chapter 13

Over the next couple of days, Logan's father did seem to really try to be nicer to me. When I say 'nicer', I mean having to endure awkward conversations with him at the kitchen table, deal with very little time to be alone with my boyfriend because his father was always hanging around, and whenever Malcolm would try and smile at me, it continuously came out looking strained. Not only that, but the look in his eyes still told me that he was not okay with me dating his son.

Logan had been acting weird the past couple of days as well. At first I thought that he was noticing the still clear signs that his father was not approving of me, but his mood seemed to be directed at something else. He seemed to be distracted by something all the time, always lost in thought. Whenever I managed to pull him out of it, he would try to tell me that it was nothing. If I attempted to push the subject farther, he would simply close up again. I sensed that there was something he wanted to talk to me about, but he was having trouble getting the words out.

Logan was sitting with his girlfriend watching something on TV in the living room. He wasn't able to focus on what was happening on the screen in front of him. His mind had started to wonder, once again, back to the kiss he had shared with Maia not too long ago. He still felt extremely guilty about what had happened. He hated himself for doing that to Quinn. He wanted to tell Quinn what had happened. He needed to hear her say that she forgives him for cheating on her, but what stopped him every time was the fear that if he mentioned the incident to her, their relationship would be over.

"Logan?" Quinn suddenly asked, forcing him back to the present. She lifted her head off of his shoulder to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"What? Fine," he replied, shaking his head to get the image of him and Maia out of his mind.

"Will you stop that?" she demanded. "Something has obviously been bothering you lately."

"I'm fine. Really," he said, reaching for the remote. "Just let it go."

He could feel Quinn's eyes on him as he switched through the TV channels, trying to find something else to watch.

"Come on, Logan. I know something is going on. You have been acting really weird for the past couple of days," she pressed.

"It's nothing," he replied, only half listening to her now.

He kept his eyes focused on the screen as it flipped through the channels in response to the commands he was directing with the controller. One moment, the remote was in his hand and the next it was being jerked out of his grip. Quinn had snatched it away from him and was now staring at him intently.

"Please, Logan. I want to help. I'm your girlfriend. You can talk to me," she rambled. "Did your father say something about me?"

He quickly shook his head. "This has nothing to do with my father." Although, his father did arrange for the meeting of Maia to take place, which in some ways did led to what had now happened.

"Then what is it?"

Logan turned his eyes away from Quinn's. "I kissed Maia," he mumbled, forcing the words out under his breath. Saying it made him feel sick. He could feel his girlfriend's eyes staring at him, uncomprehendingly.

"You . . . what?"

He sighed, and forced himself to look up at her. "I . . . kissed Maia," he said, this time speaking the words clearly.

With the words finally spoken out loud, Logan fearfully watched as Quinn's body stiffened in her seat. What little color she had in her pale skin drained from her face and her mouth opened slightly in shock.

"Quinn?" he asked softly, and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder.

"You . . . kissed her?"

"Yes, but it was a mistake. It never should have happened. I have been feeling terrible about it ever since . . ."

She quickly shook her head back-and-forth, a few tears appearing in her eyes. "Why – how could you?"

"I . . ."

Quinn suddenly jumped up from the couch. "How could you kiss her?!"

Logan felt defeated. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He knew that by now the tears would be running down her cheeks. "I don't know how it happened."

"You told me she didn't mean anything to you!" she cried. Logan could feel her eyes staring down at him. "You lied to me. You told me nothing happened."

He sighed, and pulled his eyes away from his hands to look up at the young woman. "I didn't lie to you. When I told you that, it was right after we had met Maia for the first time. I didn't kiss her then."

"Then when? When did this happen?"

Avoiding her eyes again, he mumbled, "At the store when we were shopping with her. You had gone into the dressing room."

Logan paused, letting this information sink in. He glanced up just in time to see Quinn start to turn and walk out of the room.

"Quinn!" he cried, jumping up from his place on the couch. He started to advance towards her, but she turned back halfway to the exit. The look on her face made him pause.

Shaking her head slowly, she said, "Don't follow me. This . . . this is over."

That word almost crushed him. This couldn't be over. His worse fear was coming true. She wanted to break up with him. Quinn was the best thing that had ever happened to him – he couldn't give her up without a fight! He knew his excuses would be ineffective, but he had to try.

"Please Quinn, just listen to me. I'm sorry! That girl didn't mean anything. It was just a moment of . . . of weakness."

But she didn't want to hear it. "Stay away from me." She then turned to walk out of the living room, leaving Logan alone with his broken heart.