Author's note: Hey everyone. It's Friday, so here's your normal dose of angst. ;)

I have Part A diplomas on Monday and Tuesday. So if you don't hear from me after those days it's because the diplomas killed me. -_-

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


Chapter 28

Unfair

"Carry on my wayward son, they'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more." - 'Carry on My Wayward Son' - Kansas

Life just wasn't fair. No matter how good you were, no matter how nice you were; no matter how many good deeds you did, or people you helped; no matter what an amazing person you were, life would do anything in its power to bring you down; to break you. It didn't matter if you were the nicest person in the would. It didn't matter if you did everything you could and more to help someone else, without so much as a thought towards yourself. Life sucked, and it made sure you knew it at every chance it got. Everyone had to deal with all the crap life threw at them. At least, that's what the boys thought.

But as Kendall, James and Carlos sat in the waiting room again, just a week after coming home from the hospital, they couldn't help but feel that life was just a little bit harder on them than it was on everyone else. In fact, they felt downright picked on. But it wasn't them that were being picked on. It was the one person that deserved it the least. It was Logan.

Carlos was devastated. He sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room, leaning his elbows on his knees with his hands folded together, shaking anxiously. Tears streaked Carlos' face and every now and then a small sob would escape his lips. He was confused. He couldn't understand why any of this was happening. Did they do something wrong and now fate was punishing them for it? Carlos racked his brain for anything they might have done that could result in such a severe punishment. Another sob escaped, when he came up with nothing.

Why was life picking on Logan? Why would it throw anything and everything horrible that it could, Logan's way? What could he have possibly done in his short, seventeen year old life, to have deserved any and all of this to happen to him? Carlos frowned as he tried to imagine Logan doing something so horrible to have deserved any of this. More tears slipped down his face. He hated thinking of Logan doing anything bad, and he knew that Logan would never do anything bad in the first place. It was just life. All of this horrible, traumatizing stuff that was happening, was just life. Carlos dropped his head in his hands and finally broke down into sobs yet again.

"Shhhh." Mr. Garcia soothed as he gathered Carlos in a one-armed hug, his other arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders. "It's okay now." He whispered. He knew that was a lie. He was just as devastated as Carlos was. Logan was like a son to him, they all were, and he hated that one of his sons had to endure such a horrible life all this time. Mr. Garcia felt anger raise in his throat. He was furious with Mrs. Mitchell, and he vowed to do everything in his power to keep her locked up for good.

Mrs. Garcia rubbed soothing circles on her husband's shoulders, where she sat beside him in the hospital chairs. Despite her emotional state, she could tell that he needed some comfort right now too. She was thankfully rewarded with a small smile from him, then he kissed her forehead, and she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes against the horrible reality they were stuck in.

Mrs. Knight hugged Katie close, squeezing her tight. They both needed that right now. Katie cried silently, and tears ran down Mrs. Knight's face. She, like Mr. Garcia, felt that all of these boys were her sons. She couldn't believe that this was happening to Logan; and like any mother, she wished that she could make it all stop, and take his pain away.

Mrs. Knight was devastated that Joanna Mitchell, the person she once called friend, was hiding a monster inside of her. Mrs. Knight, along with Mrs. Diamond and Mrs. Garcia, were all led to believe that she was a nice and caring person like they were. They all thought that she loved her son and cared for him. When they found out that it was all a lie, they were confused, and didn't really know what to do with themselves. When they found out that one of their best friends was a horrible person, they felt like they had lost something.

When Mrs. Knight kicked that door down and walked in on her best friend Joanna, strangling the life out of her son, she herself felt her breath leave her. She felt like it was all a dream, or like she was watching a movie. A horrible, horrible movie. What was once love and care and happiness felt towards Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Knight now felt fury, and anger, and betrayal. Mrs. Knight was angry at her once best friend, and didn't feel the slightest bit guilty for never wanting her released from jail.

Kendall paced the width of the room in front of where everyone was seated anxiously. He was fuming. His fists clenched and unclenched, his teeth gritted in his mouth, and his footsteps stomped heavily every time they hit the ground. Rage coursed through every part of his body. Rage and hate. He hated Mrs. Mitchell with a fiery passion. He wished more than anything that she could join her husband in roaming the afterlife, and he wished more than anything that he could be the one to send her there. They had both hurt and tortured and broken his best friend. His brother.

Kendall was glad that Mr. Mitchell was dead. A small, sadistic smirk crossed his face when he envisioned Gregory Mitchell burning in Hell, and being tortured to no end. But the smile faded when he remembered that Mrs. Mitchell was still living. Kendall hated him; he hated her; he hated Mr. Mitchell's brother; he hated life. All of which, for being so cruel to the person that meant everything to him, and everyone else.

James wrung his hands together nervously. As he watched Kendall pace around the room, he was pretty sure that Kendall would burst any minute. But James was also pretty sure that he was thinking the exact same thing as him; he hated them; everyone that was ever mean to Logan. James was just as furious as Kendall, and knew that they were both ready to march down to the jail, and beat the life out of Mrs. Mitchell. Through half of it, James would picture Mr. Mitchell there as well. He was glad that he was dead, but still didn't feel satisfied. He wanted Mr. Mitchell to suffer just as much as he wanted Mrs. Mitchell to. He wanted them to suffer as much as they'd inflicted on Logan, and more.

But unlike Kendall, James wasn't just pure rage. He was also just as upset as Carlos. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt the amazing person that was Logan. He couldn't understand why time after time, no matter how good Logan was, people just kept hurting him. James didn't get how they could hate him. He just didn't understand why Logan couldn't get a break. James hated it. He hated that he couldn't help Logan. But he vowed to himself that he was going to protect him. From then on, Logan was never going to be hurt again; not if James could help it.

Thirty minutes. That's how long they'd been waiting. Thirty agonizingly long minutes. Finally, they caught sight of someone approaching them.

"Mom." James breathed as he went up to her and cupped her face, brushing the hair away from the bandage on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Knight asked as she and everyone stood to meet her. "What did the doctors say?"

"I'm okay." Mrs. Diamond nodded. "It's just a small cut. No concussion."

"Thank goodness." Mrs. Garcia breathed.

Mrs. Diamond nodded with a small smile, then grew worried again. "Any word on Logan?"

The room fell silent for a moment. "No." James said miserably.

Mrs. Diamond sighed. "Oh." She said quietly.

Everyone sat back down, but Mrs. Diamond stopped James. "James?" She asked in a cracking voice.

"What is it mom?" James asked softly.

Mrs. Diamond sniffled. "I'm. . .I'm so sorry James. You were right, about everything." Tears slipped down her face. "I shouldn't have tried to take you away. I shouldn't have blamed Lo-" Her voice caught in her throat at the name, and a sob escaped.

"Mom, it's okay." James said, holding her arms. "I'm not mad at you. I forgive you."

"It's all my fault." Mrs. Diamond said softly. "I called her here. I told her to come here and help me. It's all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" James asked.

"I called Joanna." Mrs. Diamond admitted guiltily in a small voice. "I don't know why she picked up for me but she did, and I told her I wanted her to come here. I asked her to help me get Logan to get you to leave."

"You what?" James asked in surprise and sudden anger.

Mrs. Diamond nodded guiltily with a sniffle. "I said that if she told him to do what I say, then he'd have to listen, because she was his mom. I told him to tell you that he didn't want to see you anymore. I tried to force him to say that he hated you so that you would come back to me."

"Mom, how could you?" James asked in devastation.

"I don't know." Mrs. Diamond said, tears streaking her face. "I was hurt, and confused. I just wanted you to be safe. I tried to get Logan to say those horrible things, but he wouldn't listen to me. He didn't want to hurt you like that. So I got Joanna. She agreed with me. She ordered Logan to listen to me. I thought it would work. I knew he couldn't disobey his mother."

"Mom." James said, slight appall in his voice.

Mrs. Diamond sniffled and nodded, indicating her shared disgust with her own actions. "But she didn't stop there." A sob escaped. "When she told Logan to listen to me I'd thought that was it. I had what I wanted and we could all go home. But she didn't stop there!" She repeated as she cried. "She said she had unfinished business with Logan. She started hitting him! I tried to stop her, to tell her that it was wrong. But she pushed me away and kept hitting him!" She buried her face in her hands. "She kept punching him and screaming awful things! She blamed Logan. She said that he ruined her life. She said that he killed her husband!"

"But that's not true!" Carlos piped up, tears slipping from his eyes as he listened to her story.

Mrs. Diamond lifted her head from her hands and nodded sadly at Carlos. "I tried to tell her that. I tried to get her off of Logan. But she overpowered me and cuffed me to that railing. Then she pulled out that knife and-" Her voice cracked and she fell to her sobs.

"Shhhh." James soothed as he gathered her in his arms. "It's over now."

Mrs. Diamond cried into his chest. "She cut him." She sobbed. "I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept cutting and yelling. He screamed and she cut harder! Almost like she liked the sound!" She covered her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut. "He was so hurt. And I couldn't reach him!"

"Shhhh. It's okay now." James rubbed her back.

"It's over Brooke." Mrs. Knight said as she laid a hand on her shoulder.

"It's all my fault!" Mrs. Diamond cried. "He was so nice to me and I didn't see it! I hated him for taking you away and tried to hurt him!"

"You didn't hurt him." James said. "Mrs. Mitchell did. It's not your fault."

"He's going to hate me." Mrs. Diamond said softly. "I didn't care before because all I wanted was to get you back, but now. . .I don't want him to hate me."

"You obviously don't know Logan very well." Kendall said with a small smile.

Mrs. Diamond looked up at him with teary eyes. "I'm so sorry boys. I always thought that you got James into trouble, and were a bad influence on him. I never saw what amazing boys you really are. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Kendall said with a small smile.

Mrs. Diamond looked over to Carlos and he nodded with a smile. She finally smiled back. "You boys are amazing." She said.

James motioned to Kendall and Carlos and they joined in the hug. "We know." Carlos said, causing everyone to chuckle lightly.

Mrs. Diamond sniffled in their embrace. "He saved me." She said softly. "Joanna was going to hit me. Logan saved me. He wanted to protect me."

"Of course he did." Kendall said. "That's what Logan does. It's who he is." He smiled.

"I can't believe I didn't see it." Mrs. Diamond said as she shook her head.

"Well you do now." James said. "That's all that matters." He smiled and rubbed her back.

"Logan Mitchell?" A doctor called, causing the hug to break and everyone to rush to him.

"Is he alright?" Mrs. Knight asked.

The doctor's eyes widened. "Are you all for him?"

"Yes! Is, he, alright?" Kendall said with annoyance and anxiety. Mrs. Knight put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down slightly.

"He's okay." The doctor said. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "We've treated the cuts." He continued. "A few of his stitches were broken so we had to fix them up. He won't be able to do much moving around for at least a week. Make sure he isn't straining himself at all."

"But,". Carlos began sadly. "He was just getting better. He was supposed to be back to normal in that time!" Mr. Garcia laid a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"His throat will be sore for a while from the strangling." The doctor continued. "Make sure he doesn't use his voice a lot so it can heal and to avoid any unnecessary pain." Everyone nodded at his instructions.

"Can we see him now?" Kendall asked anxiously.

"Yes of course." The doctor said. "He's very weak right now, so you can't stay for long. He needs his rest."

"Of course, we won't be too long." Mrs. Knight assured.

The doctor nodded. "Follow me."


Logan laid in his bed staring at his hands, deep in thought. His mother had just tried to kill him. That sounded so wrong in Logan's head. "She wanted to kill me." He said quietly to himself. Even still it sounded out of place. Not to mention the scratchy sound and soreness of his voice that was just a big reminder. He had gotten used to it being his father, but not his mother. All the time he was with them, his father only gave the beatings. His mother never laid a finger on him, she'd merely tell him that it was what he deserved then left them alone.

Tears pricked at the back of Logan's eyes. Both of his parents had wanted him dead. They wanted to make him pay for something he didn't even know he did.

'I hate you!' His mother's voice rang and shrieked in Logan's ears, and he quickly covered them as if it would quiet the voice.

'You're nothing but a disappointment!' Mr. Mitchell's voice rang. 'You don't deserve love and care and a family!' Logan shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his hands harder over his ears, trying to block out the voices. Tears fell from his tight eyes. "No no no no." He whispered to himself. "They're gone." He tried to reassure himself. "They can't tell you what to do anymore."

The door creaked open then, causing Logan to jump at the sudden noise. "Logan?"

"Oh, Kendall." Logan breathed heavily, bringing a hand to his pounding chest. "It's just you."

"Are you okay?" James asked as they all piled into the room.

Logan nodded. "You just, scared me is all."

"Sorry." Kendall said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "So how are you feeling?"

"Not bad." Logan said, but his voice irritated him and he coughed. "A little sore though." He rasped out.

Mrs. Knight automatically went into mom mode and poured a glass of water. "Here sweetie, drink this."

Logan took it gratefully and downed the whole glass. "Thanks." He said as he handed it back.

"So, the doctors say you can come back home tomorrow." Carlos said as cheerfully as he could. "You don't have to stay for very long!"

"But you do have to take it easy for a while longer." Mr. Garcia said.

"Sounds good to me." Logan smiled, then coughed again.

Kendall went around and rubbed his back while he coughed. Once Logan finally settled down he nodded to Kendall. "Thanks." Logan said hoarsely.

"Are you sure you're okay?" James asked, slowly walking closer to the bed. "You don't sound it."

"I'll be fine." Logan waved off. "Even the doctors said so." James' worried look didn't waver. "Relax James." Logan gave a small smile. "I'm okay now." He said softly.

Finally, James seemed to relax a little bit. "Good." He said, then sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Man, you sure know how to scare a guy."

Logan laughed lightly. "If you keep worrying like that your hair will go gray before you're twenty."

"Oh no!" Carlos cried. "Not the hair! Anything but the hair!"

Kendall laughed. "I'm pretty sure James would die before he let that happen!"

"Shut up." James said playfully as he shoved Kendall lightly. "It's not my fault this kid likes to give me heart attacks on a daily basis."

"Now you know how us mothers feel." Mrs. Garcia said with a smile.

"I second that." Mrs. Knight said. "Imagine having to worry about four reckless boys and a crazy daughter!"

"Hey!" Katie shouted. "I'm not crazy!"

"Please." Mrs. Knight rolled her eyes.

Katie hesitated. "Well I'm no more crazy than these freaks." She said gesturing to the boys that surrounded the bed.

Everyone laughed. "Okay." James said. "I see your point. I don't know how you moms do it."

"How could I miss this?" Mrs. Diamond said so softly, only James, who stood beside her, heard it. James turned to her and held her arms. "All of you boys love each other so much." Mrs. Diamond said softly. "I almost ruined this, ruined everything."

"But you didn't." James said softly. "You realized you were wrong, and you tried to fix it, to correct your mistake. I'm proud of you mom."

"Oh James." Mrs. Diamond hugged him. "Thank you for not hating me." She whispered.

"I couldn't hate you, mom." James said back. "Besides, you've changed now." He smiled. "You can fix this."

"Brooke?" Mrs. Knight asked quietly, though it still caught everyone else's attention and they ceased their prior conversation. "Are you okay?" Mrs. Knight asked gently.

Mrs. Diamond pulled back from James and sniffled. She began to nod, but stopped. "Not yet." She said, then reluctantly turned to Logan. Mrs. Knight put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, and she smiled and nodded. "Logan?" Mrs. Diamond started, and tentatively walked closer to the bed.

"Uh, hey Mrs. Diamond." Logan started nervously. "How's your head? What did the doctors say?"

"Just a small cut. No further damage or concussion." Mrs. Diamond informed.

Logan sighed in relief. "That's good. I'm, glad you're okay." He smiled shyly.

Tears pricked Mrs. Diamond's eyes. "Logan." She said in a cracking voice, then took Kendall's place at the edge of the bed. "I am so, sorry." She said softly. "I don't know what I was thinking. I made a terrible mistake. I should've never tried to get you to make James leave. I should've never tried to break you boys up. I was wrong. I'm sorry for everything I said. Those were horrible things and I know I can't take them back. I was selfish and angry. I was so worried about James that I didn't think. I didn't see what I was doing. I hurt you. I don't blame you for hating me. I was wrong to ever hate you. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I just wanted you to know how badly I feel about my actions. I'm so sorry Logan. I can't undo what I did and I just-"

Mrs. Diamond suddenly stopped when Logan tentatively took her hand in his. She looked up at him with teary eyes, expecting to see hatred and disgust. She expected to see anger and rage in his eyes. But when Mrs. Diamond looked up, tears fell down her cheeks when she saw not disgust, but concern; not anger, but understanding; not hatred. . .But forgiveness.

"It's okay." Logan whispered.

A sob escaped Mrs. Diamond's lips, and she broke down. Logan wrapped his arms around her and rubbed circles on her back, and it made her cry even harder. "I'm so sorry." She whispered against his chest.

"I know." Logan whispered back. "But it's okay now. I'm not mad at you."

"Thank you." Mrs. Diamond whispered.

"Thank you too." Logan whispered back with a small smile. "For not hating me anymore. And you tried to help me." He smiled shyly.

Mrs. Diamond pulled away and wiped at her tears. "Well, it's like what these boys say." She gestured to the boys who shared grins. "Who could hate you?" She said with a smile.

"Idiots." Kendall said simply. "People who aren't smart enough to understand how wrong they are."

"I feel sorry for those people." Carlos said sadly. "They don't know what they're missing." He said, causing smiles to break out on everyone.

James silently made his way over to the bed during everyone's conversation.

"She doesn't hate me." Logan whispered as they watched everyone laugh and talk.

James leaned down close to Logan. "Told ya." He said with a smirk.


Kendall laid beside Logan in the hospital bed leaning on his elbow. Logan laid facing the opposite direction, his back turned to Kendall. It had been at least an hour since everyone else was forced to leave; enough time for Kendall to assume that Logan was asleep. But Kendall hadn't been able to fall asleep yet, he just laid there and stared at Logan.

Kendall's mind was still reeling with the days' events. Joanna Mitchell, Logan's own mother, almost killed him today. Logan had laid on the apartment floor, lifeless, for more than a minute. Kendall had to actually breathe life back into him. Tears stung Kendall's eyes at the thought. Logan almost died.

"If you keep staring like that Kendall, your eyes will pop out of their sockets." Logan's voice suddenly broke his train of thought.

Caught off gaurd, Kendall quickly wiped at his eyes before Logan turned around to stare up at him. Kendall chuckled softly. "That's not possible."

"No, but it might as well be with you staring like that for a whole hour." Logan replied, sitting up. "What's the matter?" He asked softly.

Kendall shifted uncomfortably. "I thought you were sleeping. You need your rest Logan."

"I could say the same thing about you." Logan shot back. "Tell me what's bothering you." He pushed gently.

Kendall sighed. "It's nothing really, it's. . .It's stupid."

Logan laid his hand on Kendall's. "It's not stupid if it's bothering you and preventing you from sleeping." He reasoned gently.

Kendall stared into his eyes. He couldn't tell Logan what was bothering him. It would just upset him, upset everyone. But those caring brown eyes were persistent. Kendall fumbled, tears forming in his eyes as the truth crept into his throat. Kendall swallowed hard passed the lump forming.

"We almost lost you Logie." Kendall finally croaked out, just above a whisper.

Logan immediately pulled him into a hug. "But you didn't." He said softly. "And it's because of you." He pulled Kendall away to look at his now tear stained face. "You saved my life Kendall." Logan said firmly. "Thank you." He finished softly.

Kendall pulled Logan back into the hug. "I promise I'll always protect you." He whispered.

Tears finally made their way down Logan's cheeks. "Thank you." He whispered.