Return to Me (7/8)
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
Author's Notes: The real Drew is extremely hot. Right, Eliana? Just thought I'd
share. Hackums, cave speak, saltwater taffy, & Scooby boxers.
~*~
Max awoke and rolled over, expecting to find Logan in bed beside her. But she
felt nothing. The other side of the bed was cold, in fact. She opened her eyes.
Logan was not in the room. She called out to him, but he didn't answer. There
was no sound at all in the apartment as far as she could tell.
With a worried frown, she pulled on her underwear and the light blue polo shirt
that Logan had been wearing the night before and headed into the kitchen to
look for him there.
He wasn't in the kitchen. But from there, she spotted something on the coffee
table that hadn't been there yesterday morning. Closer inspection revealed
that it was a letter, addressed to her in Logan's familiar scrawl.
She bit her lip, scared to know what the letter contained. She debated
whether or not to open it, and decided to postpone it until she was *positive*
that Logan wasn't in the apartment.
That only took a few minutes. Logan's place was big, but there weren't that
many hiding places. If she had found him camping out in a bathroom or closet,
she might have assumed that he was waiting to show himself after she had
read the letter, which would probably mean that it contained something
good. But now that he had left, there was no telling what it was about. And
that scared her to death.
Max sat down on the couch that she had just left moments ago and, taking a
deep breath, ripped open the letter.
It was short and didn't take long to read, but had Max crying by the end of it.
She reread it over and over again. She picked up the envelope and dumped it
out. Inside was Logan's mother's locket. She slipped it over her head and stood
to exit the room.
Back in Logan's bedroom, she pulled on her leather pants. She stuffed her shirt in
her bag, but left Logan's on. If she turned her head to the side slightly, she could
smell him in the fabric. The odor was comforting - it made her feel safe.
There wasn't much else to do. Her clothes were really the only personal items
that she had. She had a little bit of money, but Logan had given her a credit
card in the envelope as well with ten grand on it. Max was reluctant to spend
it, but it seemed like the only choice she had.
Just two days ago, she had thought that she was finished running. But here she
was, out on the road again.
And only then did she let the tears stream down her cheeks.
She mentally berated herself. This was no time to fall apart. She just had to get
out of Seattle and everything would be allright. Tomorrow, she would be back
where she belonged - with the brother and sister that had risked everything to
be with her.
Her mind believed it. So why didn't her heart?
The airport was crowded. Not what Max would've expected on a weekday
morning, but the crowd made her more comfortable. It helped her to blend in.
She felt as if she was one of these other normal people without a care in the
world.
The lines seemed endless to Max, but she waited them out impatiently,
tapping her foot and sighing. Pretty soon, some people turned to stare, but
Max didn't care. All that mattered right now was getting the hell out of this
miserable, broken city. Not that Allentown was much better. But at least there,
everything didn't remind her of Logan.
Here, it still did. This was the same airport that they had come to to stop the
Rockwell painting from being stolen. And later, they had headed back to his
apartment, and he had told her that he thought she was beautiful. She smiled
to herself at the memory.
Finally, Max reached the front of the line. And finally, before anything or anyone
could change her mind, she bought a plane ticket to Allentown, Pennsylvania.
She stared at it, sitting there in her hand, for a few moments, until several
annoyed voices from behind told her to move.
She moved.
As she walked to the terminal, she couldn't stop the fantasies that ran through
her head. All of them included Logan running after her, convincing her that she
was making a terrible mistake, and pressing his lips against hers in an urgent
plea for her to stay. But she knew that they were only fantasies. From now on, all
she had was family.
At the gate, Max paused. She threw one last glance over her shoulder and,
seeing no familiar blonde head in the milling crowd, handed the stewardess her
ticket.
She boarded the plane.
Her ticket told her that she had a window seat in the first aisle. It was one of the
ones that faced the wrong way so that you felt as if you were going
backwards, and were forced to look at the person across from you. Right now,
the seat was empty.
Max stuffed her duffel bag under her seat and carefully removed Logan's letter
from her pocket. Slipping it out of its envelope and unfolding it, she reread it for
about the fifth time that day. But this time when the tears began to spill down
her cheeks, she angrily brushed them away. She had already allowed herself the
luxury of crying one too many times in the past few days. Now it was back to
the old Max - the one who never showed emotion, no matter what the
situation.
"Are you okay, miss?" asked a deep voice. Max looked up to see a good-looking,
dark-haired young man take the seat across from her.
"No, I'm fine," she assured him with a watery smile. The plane lurched into
action just then, and passengers all around scrambled to fasten their seatbelts
and prepare themselves for takeoff.
Max remained motionless.
They were up in the air within moments. Max twisted to look out the window.
Fog and clouds obscured her view. But if she squinted enough, she could almost
convince herself that she saw Logan's apartment building in the distance.
*Goodbye Logan,* she thought, pressing her palm to the cool glass. *I will
always love you, and I will never forget you.*
"So," commented the handsome stranger across from her. "It looks like we have
a long ride ahead of us. I'm Andrew, by the way. Call me Drew." He held out a
hand for her to shake.
"Max."
"Well. The boredom is looking better by the second."
They smiled at one another.
And Max inconspicuously raised the plastic cup of soda the stewardess handed
her in a silent toast to the third time in the past few days she had started over.
As Drew said, things were looking better by the minute.
Rubbing the locket, she smiled.
In a small, hole-in-the wall cafe on the other side of town, Logan smiled back.
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
Author's Notes: The real Drew is extremely hot. Right, Eliana? Just thought I'd
share. Hackums, cave speak, saltwater taffy, & Scooby boxers.
~*~
Max awoke and rolled over, expecting to find Logan in bed beside her. But she
felt nothing. The other side of the bed was cold, in fact. She opened her eyes.
Logan was not in the room. She called out to him, but he didn't answer. There
was no sound at all in the apartment as far as she could tell.
With a worried frown, she pulled on her underwear and the light blue polo shirt
that Logan had been wearing the night before and headed into the kitchen to
look for him there.
He wasn't in the kitchen. But from there, she spotted something on the coffee
table that hadn't been there yesterday morning. Closer inspection revealed
that it was a letter, addressed to her in Logan's familiar scrawl.
She bit her lip, scared to know what the letter contained. She debated
whether or not to open it, and decided to postpone it until she was *positive*
that Logan wasn't in the apartment.
That only took a few minutes. Logan's place was big, but there weren't that
many hiding places. If she had found him camping out in a bathroom or closet,
she might have assumed that he was waiting to show himself after she had
read the letter, which would probably mean that it contained something
good. But now that he had left, there was no telling what it was about. And
that scared her to death.
Max sat down on the couch that she had just left moments ago and, taking a
deep breath, ripped open the letter.
It was short and didn't take long to read, but had Max crying by the end of it.
She reread it over and over again. She picked up the envelope and dumped it
out. Inside was Logan's mother's locket. She slipped it over her head and stood
to exit the room.
Back in Logan's bedroom, she pulled on her leather pants. She stuffed her shirt in
her bag, but left Logan's on. If she turned her head to the side slightly, she could
smell him in the fabric. The odor was comforting - it made her feel safe.
There wasn't much else to do. Her clothes were really the only personal items
that she had. She had a little bit of money, but Logan had given her a credit
card in the envelope as well with ten grand on it. Max was reluctant to spend
it, but it seemed like the only choice she had.
Just two days ago, she had thought that she was finished running. But here she
was, out on the road again.
And only then did she let the tears stream down her cheeks.
She mentally berated herself. This was no time to fall apart. She just had to get
out of Seattle and everything would be allright. Tomorrow, she would be back
where she belonged - with the brother and sister that had risked everything to
be with her.
Her mind believed it. So why didn't her heart?
The airport was crowded. Not what Max would've expected on a weekday
morning, but the crowd made her more comfortable. It helped her to blend in.
She felt as if she was one of these other normal people without a care in the
world.
The lines seemed endless to Max, but she waited them out impatiently,
tapping her foot and sighing. Pretty soon, some people turned to stare, but
Max didn't care. All that mattered right now was getting the hell out of this
miserable, broken city. Not that Allentown was much better. But at least there,
everything didn't remind her of Logan.
Here, it still did. This was the same airport that they had come to to stop the
Rockwell painting from being stolen. And later, they had headed back to his
apartment, and he had told her that he thought she was beautiful. She smiled
to herself at the memory.
Finally, Max reached the front of the line. And finally, before anything or anyone
could change her mind, she bought a plane ticket to Allentown, Pennsylvania.
She stared at it, sitting there in her hand, for a few moments, until several
annoyed voices from behind told her to move.
She moved.
As she walked to the terminal, she couldn't stop the fantasies that ran through
her head. All of them included Logan running after her, convincing her that she
was making a terrible mistake, and pressing his lips against hers in an urgent
plea for her to stay. But she knew that they were only fantasies. From now on, all
she had was family.
At the gate, Max paused. She threw one last glance over her shoulder and,
seeing no familiar blonde head in the milling crowd, handed the stewardess her
ticket.
She boarded the plane.
Her ticket told her that she had a window seat in the first aisle. It was one of the
ones that faced the wrong way so that you felt as if you were going
backwards, and were forced to look at the person across from you. Right now,
the seat was empty.
Max stuffed her duffel bag under her seat and carefully removed Logan's letter
from her pocket. Slipping it out of its envelope and unfolding it, she reread it for
about the fifth time that day. But this time when the tears began to spill down
her cheeks, she angrily brushed them away. She had already allowed herself the
luxury of crying one too many times in the past few days. Now it was back to
the old Max - the one who never showed emotion, no matter what the
situation.
"Are you okay, miss?" asked a deep voice. Max looked up to see a good-looking,
dark-haired young man take the seat across from her.
"No, I'm fine," she assured him with a watery smile. The plane lurched into
action just then, and passengers all around scrambled to fasten their seatbelts
and prepare themselves for takeoff.
Max remained motionless.
They were up in the air within moments. Max twisted to look out the window.
Fog and clouds obscured her view. But if she squinted enough, she could almost
convince herself that she saw Logan's apartment building in the distance.
*Goodbye Logan,* she thought, pressing her palm to the cool glass. *I will
always love you, and I will never forget you.*
"So," commented the handsome stranger across from her. "It looks like we have
a long ride ahead of us. I'm Andrew, by the way. Call me Drew." He held out a
hand for her to shake.
"Max."
"Well. The boredom is looking better by the second."
They smiled at one another.
And Max inconspicuously raised the plastic cup of soda the stewardess handed
her in a silent toast to the third time in the past few days she had started over.
As Drew said, things were looking better by the minute.
Rubbing the locket, she smiled.
In a small, hole-in-the wall cafe on the other side of town, Logan smiled back.