A/N: Hello again! I'd say 'sorry for the long wait' but I updated quickly this time. Enjoy it, because I'm not sure if chapter 15 will be up this quick. Usually I have a lot of stuff to do and don't have the time to actually sit down and write, or if I do I'm not in the 'zone', but I was pretty anxious to write this one, and I'd like the get 15 out fairly quick too (though, probably not as quick as this was). Only four more chapters Till the end guys!
Disclaimer: I'd say 'I wish it was mine' but we all know thats never going to happen. ;)
I Wish
Chapter Fourteen: In that Moment
His mind raced and his heart pounded as he walked full circle around his dorm's bedroom area. He'd been awake since five thirty when he'd first heard his phone ring and she'd been on the other end of the line. It had felt like some sort of miracle to hear her voice in his ears, and he could only pray that he wouldn't wake up. However, as he heard his alarm clock go off next to him, alerting him to the fact that it was now seven in the morning, he felt assured that he had somehow been given a second chance.
He let himself walk towards the bedroom door, inching it open and getting a good look out into the main area. Chase and Michael were asleep on the couch, and the large television was still mounted on the wall. It felt odd to see it there, and playing a random station after he had broken it on Tuesday. Or was it... today? It didn't really matter, but it still felt so surreal to him. Slowly, he inched forward, careful not to wake Chase or Michael as he found his way to the washroom, taking a shower and then changing into to a pair of jeans and a graphic tee. Something still didn't feel quite right to him, but he shrugged it off, nudging the two boys on the couch.
"Chase," Logan whispered, nudging him again, "Guys, get up."
Chase grumbled, and opened one eye, giving a glance to Logan. Despite the fact that Chase had been a total ass to him not too long ago, Logan couldn't manage to actually stay mad at the guy. Whether or not people knew it, he was actually pretty forgiving. Once a friend, always a friend.
"What do you want?" Chase slurred, still sleepy with only one eye half open.
"Uh, its time to get up?" Logan smiled, in a cheery mood. He felt ecstatic, like nothing could really dampen his mood. He felt that he had just gotten the chance to make things right in the world, and yet he also felt that something wasn't quite in place. He felt like there was one odd puzzle piece in a perfect picture, but he figured that feeling couldn't mean much. And he didn't really care because as far as he knew, at least Dana was safe now.
"Hmf-g?" Chase mumbled, leaning up and into a sitting position. He yawned, and lightly kicked Michael, waking the boy up in the process. "What time is it?"
"Seven." Logan provided easily, making his way over to the kitchen area to get himself something to eat before the three of them headed off to class. Finding nothing in the fridge, he went to the bedroom, grabbed his notebook, and quickly scrawled something down. He lingered for a moment on the last wish he'd made, smiling to himself. If anything, he owed his sanity to this notebook, because if he hadn't been able to change things he would have gone insane with grief.
The boys were all quick to get ready, leaving earlier than usual for their first period class. They started on their way, reaching Biology almost ten minutes early. The class was empty when they entered, and Vandal hadn't even shown up yet. When their teacher strolled through the door a few minutes later, he seemed almost shocked to see them there, however he continued on to his desk, setting out the lesson plan.
"Sir?" Logan asked, raising his hand. He decided he'd test something out quick, to make sure that the crash itself hadn't been a dream.
"Yes Mr. Reese?" Mr. Vandal looked up, raising his eyebrows at the young boy.
"Are we starting the new chapter on cellular divisions today?" Logan asked. This earned a look of confusion from both Chase and Micheal, seeing as the chapter on cell divisions was chapter seven, and they were only finished chapter two of the text.
"Uh-" Vandal looked startled for a moment, his forehead creasing lightly as he glanced at Logan a second time, "Yes, actually, we are."
"Oh," Logan answered, looking down to his lab desk. Mr. Vandal kept a steady glance at him for a few more moments until the rest of the class filled into the room.
The rest of the period had gone as usual, but the irregular pound of Logan's heart never seemed to go away. It was ten minutes to the bell, and Vandal was giving out a lot of homework. They had to read about twenty text pages, along with fifteen or so questions. He apparently wanted them to read up on the topic for their lab tomorrow. Logan gathered together his books, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and getting up from his seat as a loud ring echoed in the class. He walked out of class, Chase by his side, following the regular route that they usually took to English class.
When they reached the spot where Nicole usually met them, they were almost shocked to find that she wasn't standing there. They waited around only a few more minutes until Nicole finally came running up. However this wasn't like normal days where she greeted them with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. The two boys shared a glance and she raced up and slung her arms around Logan, hugging him tightly. Logan however, turned to chase, furrowing his eyebrows and Chase merely shrugged in return.
"L- Logan," Nicole sniffed. The second Logan heard her stutter his name and felt her tears on his shoulder his heart immediately plummeted into his stomach. "She- she just-"
"Nicole," Logan said, pulling her off him and holding her at arms length to get a good look, "Tell me what happened."
"She was," She hiccuped, trying to get it out. She pulled her arms away from Logan, wrapping them around herself instead. She stared at the ground for a moment, biting her lip as fresh tears made their way down her cheeks.
"Nicole..." Chase tried, reaching out. When his hand grazed her upper arm she pulled back.
"Don't touch me." She stated as her voice wavered. She didn't even bother to look up at the boys standing before her.
"Nicole, please tell me what happened." Logan stated again, this time a little more firmly, taking a step towards her. He opted to open his arms to her slightly, should she need someone to hold onto. Despite his jerky attitude a lot of the time, he really was a good guy, and he cared deeply about his friends.
"Dana's flight." She answered quickly, still hiccuping in the process.
"Dana's still in Boston," Logan supplied easily. He was wondering why Nicole was so upset about her flight when apparently the plane hadn't even gone down. If it had, the school announcements would have informed them of it.
"Don't you think I know that?!" Nicole practically shouted. She raised her head to look Logan in the eyes as tears continued to cascade down her face. The pain and sadness that he could see in her eyes scared him and he stepped forward a second time, grabbing onto her shoulders, desperately trying to keep their eyes locked.
"What happened to Dana?" Logan asked almost in a demanding tone. She didn't answer him at first until he nudged her shoulders gently. The look in his eyes, the curiousness, the need to know, gave her a sense of assurance that he really cared about what she had to say next.
"S-she...Her cab," She stopped, catching her breath and leaving Logan in suspense, hanging off her every word. "She's- Her mom called me." She paused again, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing out a few more tears. "They tried all they could, but," Logan nudged her again to continue, his heart beating madly in his chest. When she reopened her eyes, the agony he saw almost confirmed her next sentence.
"Logan, she didn't make it."
Stepping back, Logan immediately shook his head at her. He let his arms drop from her shoulders, moving away from the crying girl.
"Your lying," He said defensively, "Your wrong!" When she shook her head at him, trying to tell him that she was being honest, he became angry. "No! I just- I just talked to her!"
"Logan, calm down." Chase told him, coming closer. Logan mirrored his actions, taking a step back for every step forward Chase took.
"Fuck you," Logan whispered, temporarily forgetting about Nicole, "You never fucking cared about her. You don't even care if she's dead. You don't think she's worth it." He spat venomously. He still had the memory of Chase's cruel words fresh in his mind. "News flash, Chase. She's worth the fucking world." And with that he bolted. He hardly cared that he was expected to be in his English class in less than five minutes, all he cared was that he got her back, no matter how hard it would be.
He didn't stop running until he reached his dorm. Stopping in the hallway, he pulled his key out of his pocket and shoved it into the lock as quickly as he could. When he finally got into the main room, he slammed the door behind him and began to tear the dorm apart. He knew exactly what he was looking for and he knew exactly what to do when he found it. There was no way he was going to let this play out, he was going to change it.
Finally he found the black charcoal notebook hidden in a drawer in their kitchen space. He was almost positive he had left it in the bedroom, but he really didn't care as long as he had it in his hands. Quickly, he flipped the book open to the same page he'd written the previous wish on. He grabbed a random pen off the counter, scribbling his newest desire onto the paper.
I wish I could go back, go back even further. I wish I could be in the moment before she even left France, before she even left BIS's campus.
As soon as he wrote it he pressed his palms tightly to his eyes, counting slowly to ten. When he opened them again the room was dark. He shuffled around, desperately searching the room for a clock. His eyes immediately darted to the bright digital display on the kitchen counter top. It clearly read twelve fifty six AM. Upon seeing this, he raced over towards the bed room where he knew his phone would be on charge. He pulled open the bed room door and grabbed his phone off the charger quickly. He went into his contacts list as fast as his phone would take him, scrolling down to her name and pressing the call button.
Ring. Ring. Ring
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Hello?" Her voice came on, flustered and in a rush.
"Dana?" He asked, making sure it was really her. If he was ecstatic he had a second chance, he was over the moon now that he could hear her voice on his third try.
"Hi? Logan?" She asked quickly, "Look, this really isn't the time."
"Dana, look, you've got to listen to me," He told her, urgency present in his voice, "Stay there. Stay at BIS."
"Logan, I don't have time for this." She whisper yelled to him. He could hear light bangs in the background and he guessed it was the sound of her packing up the last of her items.
"No, listen to me. Stay there." He pleaded with her. If he could've got down on his knees and begged her he would've have, no doubt about it.
"Logan, you don't understand, I have to go." She pleaded back, just as urgent, still whispering to him.
"Please Dana. Don't get on the flight to Boston. Don't come back to California." When he uttered those words, she stopped for a moment, sitting on the edge of her bed. She had her backpack slung over her one shoulder, and she let her carry on drop to the ground. She figured she had at least a minute to spare before it was absolutely necessary she leave.
"Why?" She breathed. She spoke it so quietly that he had to strain his ears to hear it.
"Just please, for me?" He asked. She let out a breath, considering it for a moment, for him, but knew she had to go.
"Logan, I need to go," She answered firmly, "Goodbye." With that she hung up her phone. She leaned down, grabbing her carry on bag and took one last look around the dorm room. She walked quickly towards the door, trying to make up for the time she lost while Logan pleaded with her. He probably thought she had to leave quickly to catch her flight but he couldn't have been more wrong.
She slid out the door, closing and locking it behind her before proceeding down the stairs. Finally she would be leaving, and going back to PCA; home. She reached the bottom of the stairs, stopping for a moment to fix the strap on her backpack. When she looked up, she stepped back, started at the boy standing in front of her.
"J-Jake," She spoke nervously, "What are you doing here?"
The boy didn't seem at all phased as he responded to her. "Where are you headed so early Dana?" He inquired, stepping ever closer to her. She in turn, stepped back.
"Oh," She tried, fear flashing through her eyes, "... just..somewhere."
"Really, Dana?" Jake asked again, stepping forward. She tried to take another step backwards but instead found herself fumbling and tripping over the last step on the staircase. She fell backwards, landing on the stairs, looking up at him as he towered over her. She inched backwards a bit, moving up a stair to distance herself from him.
"Just tell me where you're going Dana." He demanded in a sickly innocent voice. It was easy to tell he was faking the innocence all the while mocking her as she sat helplessly in front of him. He leaned forward, cornering her as she tried to stay composed.
"What's this?" He asked, snatching her carry on from where she'd dropped it on the floor. She hadn't even realized she'd left it laying there, but apparently she had. He quickly ripped the zipper open, finding the plane tickets that were safely tucked inside. He pulled them out, examining them thoroughly. He flicked them at her forcefully, as anger became evident through his eyes. He gripped her wrist tightly in one hand and hauled her up to stand in front of him.
"What the hell is this, Dana?!" He shouted. She winced at his words, trying to back away but his grip kept her in her place. "Planning on leaving?" He asked menacingly as she cowered before him. He shook her as if to force an answer from her but she seemed to terrified to utter a single syllable.
"Fuck Dana," He spat, "You better answer me."
"I- Um, I j-j-just," She stuttered, holding back her tears. She was trying to be as strong as possible. Jake was the reason she had been working so hard to make the money to pay for both her plane tickets and PCA tuition. Nicole had been so generous as to offer to work as well after hearing about her situation with Jake, trying to get her back home as soon as possible where she'd be safe.
"Oh, I, um, hmm, I j-just," Jake mocked her in a high pitch, rolling his eyes. "You just thought you could leave, huh?" he asked, getting ever closer to her.
"I can leave when I want." Dana replied forcefully. She even mustered up the courage to actually spit in his face. She was so sick of his bullshit and she didn't want to have to put up with him anymore. She watched as he looked shocked for a moment before reaching up to wipe her saliva from under his right eye.
"Bold move, Cruz." He laughed bitterly and the fear came back into her eyes. He stepped forward and she fell back against the stairs. However this time he didn't stop to stand over her, he instead moved closer, leaning over until their faces almost touched. He positioned himself, his mouth near her ear to whisper to her.
"If I were you, I'd treat my boyfriend with a little more respect. You don't know even half of what I could do to you."
His words instilled fear deep into her heart and she let a quiet whimper escape her lips. He placed his hands on either side of her to support himself and got to his knees. He let his lips trail from her ear to her jaw as he laid delicate kisses along it. He could be both extremely gentle and extremely forceful at the same time, which was how he had kept this facade of a perfect relationship going even since freshman year.
As he kissed along her jawline, she swiftly pulled away. Shock went through his eyes again as she defied him a second time. He had gotten so used to her just giving in that it angered him greatly when things didn't go his way. He pulled her up from the stairs quickly and slammed her into the concrete wall. She hadn't been expecting it, so she yelped a little as her head banged against it.
"Don't pull that shit with me Dana," Jake whispered angrily, "You know better than that."
He had expected her to respond, but instead she only groaned as she felt blood spill from the back of her head down her neck. Her eyes began to flutter as she tried to keep her consciousness. She could vaguely recall her wrists feeling bruised as her boyfriend gripped them tightly, as well as his cold breath against her cheek. She tried to stay strong as her eyelids tugged further down, almost begging her, as her vision clouded over. In that moment she found herself slumping over against the wall, succumbing to the unconsciousness.
A/N: if you love me, you will review this. Also tell me if the quality is lacking because I didn't take that long to write it. And again, Four more chapters till the end. What do you guys think about a sequel? I was considering it, and I kind of have an idea for it, but I figured because of my long wait in between chapters, you might not want it; Do tell!