Max went over to the couch quickly and swatted Kendra's offending garment onto the floor, then braced herself and turned to Logan, putting on her best smile. "I hope you like artificial."
"I've gotten used to it."
"Really?" She relaxed visibly then walked over to the fridge. She pulled down the small paper bag they kept the coffee in and went over to dented kettle Kendra called Melvin. "I would've though a guy with your resources would be buying the real thing."
"It gets expensive." He shrugged and leaned against the counter. "I keep the real stuff for visitors."
"I'm not that high minded." She said and put the kettle on the hot plate that served as the stove. "If I had the cash, I'd get it all for myself. Well, actually, I would probably share a few things with some select people, but other than them... mine, all mine."
Max could sense a silence coming on, and she knew she wouldn't be able to take it, so she sent Logan over to the mini-stereo to put in some music. She watched him looking over the CD collection and smiled. "You're not going to find any classical."
She walked over to him and began looking over the small collection with him. "All that's here is Kendra's pre-Pulse punk and some hip-hop Original Cindy left here."
"Where's your music?" He asked and put down a CD.
Max shrugged. "I'm not a music fiend. I just throw in whatever or if I can manage to get a radio station I just keep that on."
"Kendra really listens to this?" Logan asked and held up a CD. "She doesn't seem like it."
"Yeah." Max agreed. "It's from her teenage phase years. She told me once that when she was younger she went through the whole safety pin, dyed hair, you suck stage. Apparently it was great for her, so she keeps it around and listens to it when she thinks I can't hear. And I know she's got pictures, I just haven't found them yet."
Logan randomly chose a CD and put it in, then pushed the play button and went to sit on the couch. Max stood for a moment, unsure if she should join him. Deciding that should wouldn't risk an awkward situation, she went back to the kettle to check on its progress. Seeing it was almost done, she got two mismatched cups from the cabinet behind her and set them down.
"So, I didn't get the chance to tell you that I found something else on another of your siblings." Logan said.
"Oh?" She asked, trying to focus on the coffee.
"Yeah." He continued. "Another police report, but with something else. There's a document that seems to be a lease for an apartment - or whatever's closest to that these days."
"What was the name?"
"It was under Sylvia McGinnis." He told her. "Ring any bells?"
"It's probably Syl." She said. "But it's just a guess. Any one of my sisters could've been a little bummed and was looking for a connection to one of us, then just picked that name because of Syl, but... I usually over-think these things."
She paused to pour the coffee then looked at him. "That night, did I tell you how I made up lives for them?"
He shook his head and she grabbed the two cups and walked over to him. After handing him his coffee, she settled herself on the couch next to him and took a sip of the unpleasant tasting liquid. "I thought about a few times. Jondy's a fashion photographer and I bet she's dating someone with a name almost as unusual as hers. Brin's an architect, and Tinga's a mom I bet... oh, and Syl and Krit are probably wreaking havoc somewhere in New York - and... and I realize this is really stupid so I'm just going to stop talking now."
"It's not stupid." Logan said softly and set his cup down. "It's good to know you care enough to think about them. Most people would have just forgotten all about them. It really says something about you."
"That I'm a freak with a dysfunctional family life?" She quipped sadly then turned her head to stare at the spot her bike made on the floor.
"No." He said and gently turned her head to face him. "It says that you're a caring person with an amazing personality, who's funny, sweet, and exceptional in general."
"It really says all that?" She smiled.
"Well, no." He admitted. "I did a little ad-libbing on it, but that doesn't make any of it any less true."
Her smile widened and she became suddenly uncomfortable, so she looked down and stared at her lap. She felt him move a little closer and looked up at him. She stared in his eyes and saw what he really thought of her - and it scared her. How could he look at me like that? It's me and I'm... broken.
"You know," She suddenly blurted out. "I realize that we're very close. So close in fact that if one of us was to lean forward even just a smidgen, our lips would touch and that would effectively turn into a kiss, and then who knows what that would turn into? I mean, there's a lot of things that it could turn into and I'm not sure I can handle that 'cause I'm just not built for this and so I think I'm gonna go."
Before Logan could stop her, she had risen from the couch and was out the door. He sat for a moment, then got up and walked to the door. He opened it and stepped outside into the hallway, then looked right and left. He heard something shuffle near him and looked down, finding Max sitting on the floor a few inches from the doorway.
"As soon as I closed the door I realized that this is my apartment." She said quietly.