Author's note: Thanks for all the support you guys! It really makes my day to come home after a grueling and boring day of school and find an awesome review. :) You guys rock!
Lots o' fluff. I warn you. :P
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 20
Secrets Revealed
"Tell me what you want to hear. Something that will light those years. Sick of all the insincere. So I'm gonna give all my secrets away." - 'Secrets' - One Republic
"Are you sure you're alright?" Mrs. Knight asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." Logan said.
"I could always go and get something else if you like." Mrs. Knight said.
"Really Mrs. Knight, it's okay. Thank you but I'm fine. I couldn't be more full." Logan said with laughter in his voice.
Mrs. Knight finally sat back down. "Alright. I'm glad." She said with a smile.
The moms, Katie and Mr. Garcia finally came back to Logan's room, and Mrs. Knight had brought lots of food for Logan, who had finally just finished it all.
"How long do you have to stay here?" Katie asked.
"A few more days." Logan said. Katie's face dropped in disappointment. "But,". Logan continued. "I'm sure those days will go by faster than you realize, and before you know it, we'll all be back at the crib watching TV and playing video games in no time." He said with a smile.
Katie smiled lightly. "Good." She nodded. She hugged Logan then and he hugged her back with a smile.
"I tried calling your mother." Mrs. Knight said as she watched them with a smile, then it dropped slightly. "I still haven't been able to get a hold of her though."
"Probably on the run by now." Kendall muttered bitterly.
Mrs. Knight frowned. "Why would you say that?"
"Mom, she knew! About everything!" Kendall exclaimed in disdain.
"What?" Mrs. Knight asked in surprise.
"She knew about what was happening." James said. "She knew all along that Mr. Mitchell was hurting Logan. And she didn't do a thing to stop it!"
Mrs. Knight's jaw dropped and she turned to Logan, who ducked his head. "Is that true Logan?"
Logan nodded solemnly. "She. . .Agreed, with what he did." He muttered in embarrassment.
"I. . .I don't believe it." Mrs. Knight said breathlessly.
"She always seemed so nice." Mrs. Diamond said, sharing Mrs. Knight's shocked expression.
"I'm gonna call it in." Mr. Garcia said. "Have a team go after her. Hopefully she'll be behind bars in no time."
Everyone nodded, then caught Logan trying to stifle a yawn.
"We should let you rest now Logan." Mrs. Knight said, catching the yawn. "Come on Katie."
"Okay." Katie said glumly. "See you tomorrow Logan."
"Bye guys." Logan said as he gently laid back down. "Thanks for coming."
"Of course sweetie." Mrs. Knight said. "You're a part of this family too." She said as she kissed his forehead. "We love you." She whispered.
A few tears stung Logan's eyes, but he pushed them back. "Thank you." He whispered. "I. . .I love you too."
Mrs. Knight smiled. "Get some sleep now hon. We'll all be here tomorrow when you wake up." She turned around. "Good night boys." She said as she hugged Kendall.
"Night mom." Kendall said. "See you tomorrow."
"You boys better let Logan sleep." Mrs. Knight said as she hugged Carlos. "No late night talking or playing games."
"Promise." Carlos said as he released her.
"Stay safe." Mrs. Knight said as she hugged James. "And heal quickly. No straining yourselves."
"We won't." James said as he released Mrs. Knight.
Mrs. Knight sent a smile to the boys. "Alright, see you all tomorrow." She said and took Katie out of the room. Katie sent a wave as she left.
"Are you sure you don't want to come back home, to the nice, cozy apartment?" Mrs. Diamond asked as she hugged James.
"I'm sure mom." James said.
"So, you'd really rather stay here in this dingy little hospital room, than come and sleep in your nice, soft, warm bed at home?" Mrs. Diamond asked incredulously.
"Yes mom." James insisted. "This is where I want to be."
Mrs. Diamond looked at James, then at the boys, then at Mr. Garcia. He gave her a nod, urging her to submit, and she sighed in defeat. "Alright." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
James hugged her again. "Thanks mom." He said.
Mrs. Diamond kissed him on the forehead, then looked at the boys again, resting on Logan.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Diamond." Logan said tiredly. "He won't listen to me either, no matter how many times I've told him to go home with you."
"I'm not leaving you Logan." James said sternly.
Mrs. Diamond sighed. "It's alright." She said. "Sweet dreams James." She waved to the boys before she left the room.
"I think she's mad at me." Logan said, dropping his gaze to his hands. "She must hate me."
"Don't say that." Carlos said.
"But it's true." Logan said. "I got James, and all of you into this. It's my fault you're all hurt, and now I'm the reason James won't go home with her."
"Stop it." James said sternly. "I have a mind of my own you know. I was the one who decided to stay here. Who decided to come after you in the first place."
"But-" Logan started.
"No 'but's' Logan." James said. "I chose to stay. I don't regret it for a second, and there's nothing you, or anyone else can say to change my mind."
"Plus,". Carlos said. "I'm sure Mrs. Diamond wouldn't hate you over something as silly as making James stay the night here anyways. . .Right?" He turned to James.
James hesitated. "It doesn't matter anyways; she's not going to keep me from you, any of you."
Logan sighed. "Thanks James."
"I'll try and talk to her." Mr. Garcia said. Then went over and hugged Carlos. "You boys rest up now." He said.
"We'll try." Carlos said as he released his dad.
Mr. Garcia hugged Kendall, then James, then went to Logan. "Good night son." He said softly as he hugged Logan.
More tears stung Logan's eyes, but he pushed them back again. He noticed the ear to ear grins on each of his friends' faces, especially Carlos, and ducked his head in embarrassment.
"Thank you." Logan whispered to Mr. Garcia. "For everything."
"Anytime." Mr. Garcia said and released Logan to lay a hand on his shoulder. Then he turned to the other boys. "Sleep well boys. See you tomorrow."
"Bye Papa Garcia." Kendall said.
The boys waved as Mr. Garcia walked out of the room, sending a small wave in return.
"How come you don't call him that anymore Logan?" James asked.
"Yeah." Carlos said. "He doesn't mind you know. Actually, he really likes it when you guys call him that. He really does think of you guys as his kids too. It's like we really are all brothers!" Carlos said happily.
"You used to call him that when we were eight." Kendall said. "Why'd you stop?"
Logan looked down at his hands. "I was getting too close." He said quietly.
"Too close to what?" James asked.
"To him." Logan said. "To Carlos' dad, to all of you." Logan subconsciously traced along the gauze material on his right hand. "You were too close." He said quietly. "One slip up, and you could've suspected something. Then. . .He would've been found out."
"So he made you distance yourself." Kendall realized. "From everyone."
"Then how come you stayed friends with us?" Carlos asked. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."
"Because we wouldn't let him go." James realized.
Logan nodded. "I tried to stop hanging out with you guys. I tried hiding from you at school, and ignoring you guys and your messages and calls. I tried pretending I had other plans, other places to go. I tried to stop being your friends, even though it hurt more than anything to do it."
Then Logan looked up at them with teary eyes. "But you guys wouldn't leave me alone. You always stayed with me. You kept coming back."
"Of course we did." Kendall said as he placed his hand on Logan's shoulder. "And we always will."
Logan nodded, sniffling. "Thanks, I know that now. I couldn't ask for better friends."
"Get some sleep now Logie." James said. "The sooner you sleep, the sooner tomorrow will come, and then we're that much closer to going back home." He smiled.
Logan nodded. "Night guys." He said.
"Good night Logan." Kendall said. He settled down in the chair beside the bed, propping his feet on the bed. Carlos pushed two other chairs together to make a bed, and James got the cot a nurse brought in and set up on the other side of the bed, by the window. They all fell asleep in minutes.
"Come out, come out where ever you are!" The man sang menacingly, knife in hand.
The stove whistled and another knife sitting on top of the burner sizzled in the background, as the man searched the house.
"You can't hide from me boy!" The man yelled. "Where ever you go, I'll find you! No matter what you do!"
The man turned a corner, and burst open the front hall closet doors. He pushed all the clothes away, searching the floor. He turned his back to the closet frustratedly and listened for a sound.
"Come on out Logan." He said. "This will be over a lot sooner if you just come out now."
Mr. Mitchell twirled the shining knife in his hands, when he caught something in the reflection; Movement.
Mr. Mitchell spun back to the closet and looked up on the top shelf to see the trembling, 9-year-old Logan hiding in the corner, arms over his head protectively. "Ah, there you are." Mr. Mitchell said, then grabbed Logan's feet and yanked him down to the ground.
"N-no, please!" Logan cried.
Mr. Mitchell slapped him. "Don't stutter!" He yelled, then grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the kitchen.
"Please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be late! I'm sorry! Let me go!" Logan pleaded as he fought to free himself.
Once in the kitchen, Mr. Mitchell threw his knife to the ground and grabbed an oven mit. "You should've thought about that before you disobeyed my rules!" He yelled. "3:30pm. No later! You know that!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please!" Logan cried.
"Now you have to be disciplined." Mr. Mitchell said as he grabbed the hot knife from the burner.
"No! No! Please!" Logan screamed as he fought his hardest against the relentless grip on his wrist.
Mr. Mitchell yanked on Logan hard, forcing him to the ground. "You know the rules." Mr. Mitchell said calmly, then cut along Logan's chest. His skin sizzled as the hot knife made contact and broke his skin. Logan screamed.
"Come on Logie, wake up!" Kendall yelled, frantically shaking his shoulders.
Logan shot upright, gasping for air. But the sudden movement agitated his still healing side and he shot a hand to it, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.
"Logan are you alright?" James asked. He was half leaning on the bed and half on Carlos beside him.
Kendall held Logan, trying to help him steady his breathing. Finally, Logan nodded, and Kendall lead him to lean against the propped up pillow.
Carlos handed him a glass of water. "Another nightmare?" He asked solemnly.
Logan drank the water then nodded slowly. "Sorry I woke you guys."
"How come you whisper?" Carlos asked suddenly. "In your sleep. Normally, when people have nightmares, they're screaming like crazy. But you only whisper."
"It's no wonder why we never knew about your nightmares before." James said.
Logan shrugged. "He said that if I made a noise, I'd alert the neighbors, so I tried not to. Though it never really worked when it was happening. I guess it only works w-when I'm dr-dreaming." Logan let out a sigh in frustration and slapped himself.
"And why do you do that?" Carlos asked.
"Do what?" Logan asked.
"Slap yourself everytime you stutter." Carlos said.
"He told you to do that, didn't he?" Kendall seethed.
Logan nodded shamefully. "He said that it was too suspicious. And annoying. He and. . .And mom,". He added bitterly. "Told me to slap myself to stop myself from stuttering."
"I don't get it." James said. "You haven't stuttered since we were thirteen." Logan shrugged.
"That's because Mr. Mitchell was arrested then." Kendall said. "For the store incident. Logan only stutters when he's really scared."
"Oooooh." James and Carlos said in understanding.
"And you were really scared of your dad, right?" Carlos asked. Logan nodded slowly.
"That man was never Logan's dad, Carlos." Kendall said bitterly. "He may have been his birth father, but he was never his dad."
"Yeah." James agreed. "Dad's are nice and fun and cool and awesome."
"Like my dad!" Carlos said happily.
"Yeah Carlos." Logan said with a smile. "Like your dad. He's the best. Nothing like m-mine." He sighed frustratingly and raised his hand again.
But before he swung at himself, Kendall caught his wrist, and Logan looked to him in surprise. "Don't." Kendall said. "No more hurting yourself. You don't need to be punished Logan." Logan stared at him. "He's gone Logan. He can't hurt you anymore."
Logan hesitated, but the look in Kendall's eyes left little room for doubt, so Logan finally lowered his hand.
"Good." Kendall said with a smile. Logan smiled back, then yawned.
"We should probably get back to bed." James said. "Mama Knight will freak if she finds out about this little late night chat."
"But what if Logan has another nightmare?" Carlos asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about it Carlos." Logan waved off. "I can handle it."
"Logan." Kendall said sternly. "We're going to prevent it in any way we can."
"Did you have any last night?" James asked.
Logan frowned in concentration. "Come to think of it, no."
"Alright, well, what did Papa Garcia do differently than what we're doing now?" Kendall asked.
Again, Logan frowned, trying to remember. "He, laid down with me." Logan blushed at the memory of his childlike behavior and clingyness, and the grins from his friends.
Kendall stood, and Carlos helped James back to the cot, then got back in his make-shift chair-bed, while Kendall climbed into bed with Logan.
"You don't have to do that Kendall." Logan said. "Really, I'll be-"
"Would you just shut up and let us love you for once?" Kendall said softly, with a smile.
Logan stared at him in shock at the words, then finally formed a smile with teary eyes. "Okay." He said softly.
Kendall smiled and wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulders, letting him rest his head on Kendall's arm. "Good night Logie." He said softly.
"Night Kendall." Logan smiled. "Night guys." He called below.
"Good night guys." James said tiredly.
"Sweet dreams Logie." Carlos said softly, putting more meaning into it, praying for it to come true.
"You too." Logan whispered, before slowly drifting to sleep, contently surrounded by his friends; his brothers.