Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to us, we just borrowed them for our story.
Note: Action is gonna return eventually, for now try to enjoy our story as it is, okay?
Family
"So, how was your evening with Chloe?" Beth asked when Logan joined her in preparing the vegetables.
He froze, weighing the potato he had intended to peel, in his hand. After a long moment he found his composure again and started to work intently on the potato. "It was nice," he said.quietly.
"Must have been great to see her again, share all those childhood memories. And you two must have had a lot to catch up on!" Beth mused, not noticing Logan's discomfort.
"Yeah. Sure." he swallowed, hoping Max wasn't listening.
"She was so excited to hear that you were in town," Beth rambled on, in her mind checking if she had everything ready for dinner. "When did you two see each other last? Oh my, must have been when you were kids!"
Logan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep his composure, but he felt it slip away. It had just been a simple remark but it brought the previous evening back to his mind. He threw the knife and the potato on the table and backed up from the table. He felt his composure slip away and the knot in his stomach grow tighter. "Excuse me," he said as calmly as he could, then left the kitchen the kitchen without another word locking the guest room door behind him. He exhaled. He just had to be alone. No more questions.
Beth sat there motionless, shocked by his unexpected reaction. Had she said or dome something to upset him?
"Logan!" she called after him hesitantly, when she found her voice again. When there was no answer, she stood up and followed him, only to stand in front of the locked door. "Logan?" she called, softer this time. "What's wrong?"
Logan sat by the window, his hands covering his face as he drew in deep breaths. He was angry at himself for being so sensitive about this, it really pissed him off. But right now he felt like an immature child who had every right to act…well, childish.
Beth hesitantly knocked on the door now. "One minute we're talking and the next you're...running away and locking yourself in your room…"like you did when you were a child,' she finished the sentence to herself as realization hit. She must have said something, or something had happened last night that had caused his reaction.
"Come on Logan! Don't lock yourself up again. Come on out and talk to me. Don't go hiding in your room...." she made a feeble attempt, leaning her head against the door, waiting for his answer. When he didn't react, she slowly walked back to the kitchen, knowing she couldn't force him.
Logan didn't know what to do next. How could he go out there and face his grandmother? But he knew he didn't have much of a choice. After all he wasn't a little boy anymore. He wheeled to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. Then he drew another deep breath and silently went back to the kitchen again. He sat in the doorway, looking at his grandmother, not knowing what to say.
Beth was sitting back at the table, burying her face in her hands. When she heard Logan approach, she raised her head , a small relieved smile on her lips, and waved her hand invitingly for him to come in.
He hesitantly wheeled closer, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm sorry."
Beth shook her head slightly. "I'm glad you listened to me this time," she said with a sad smile.
"Won't you tell me what's wrong?"
Logan shook his head. "I'd rather not."
Beth reached over the table for his hand. "Logan, "she said sadly, "why won't you talk to me? Tell me what upset you so much."
Logan drew his hand away harshly.
"What do you want to hear?" he said angrily
"I don't know; maybe the truth." Beth answered calmly.
"The truth about how I couldn't deal with losing my parents, that I felt like nobody wanted me, that I hated myself for not having been on the plane with them?" He let out a breath. He forced himself to calm down again. "It's in the past. It's over. Don't make me relive it."
Beth stared at the man in front of her, seeing the little boy in him again. The truth that he had just revealed to her cut her like a knife. Tears filled her eyes. "Did you really think that nobody wanted you?" she asked finally. "..That we didn't want you?"
Logan raised his voice, now angry. "What was I supposed to think? Jonas made it quite obvious that he didn't want me, and you…I never even heard from you!"
Tears were streaming down Beth's face now as she reached for Logan's hand again. She involuntarily flinched as he drew his hand away from her for a second time. "We tried to reach you all the time; we even came by to visit you every now and then, but Jonas just kept brushing us off or simply sent us away."
Logan breathed heavily now, not knowing what to believe anymore. "Why should he have done that? They never even told me you had called!"
His head was spinning. He had heard this from Max the night before. But still it was something different to hear it from his grandmother. How could Jonas have done that to him?
Beth shook her head
"He just took you away from us and denied us all contact with you. It was not our choice, Logan. We wanted you to live with us, believe me!"
Logan felt another twinge in the guts. He had known all along that Jonas didn't care about him. But that he could be so unscrupulous was beyond him. "I..." He was at a loss for words.
"The court said we didn't have the means to raise you and pay for a good education, so they gave Jonas full custody and it was up to him to decide whether we could see you or not." Beth continued.
"But why would he do that to me?" Logan's voice sounded like the voice of the little boy he used to be.
Beth wiped her eyes and reached for Logan's hand again. This time, he allowed her to take it.
"I don't know, Logan. I can only guess it was all about money. If he wanted to get your father's shares of the company, he had to have you on his side. He's a businessman…," she added sadly.
"I'm sorry, Logan." She swallowed. "I'm truly, deeply sorry for what you had to go through. We should have fought for you, to have you with us. We should have fought it out in court. But then your grandpa got sick, and we didn't have the strength or the money." She squeezed his hand and looked down at the table. "I'm so sorry."
Suddenly the doorbell rang and they both looked up in surprise. They heard Max's steps in the hallway. "I can get it." She had heard what had been going on and had silently waited in the dining room.
Logan sighed. "I'm sorry, too grandma. I should've known what Jonas is capable of. It was not fair to blame you." Logan sat up straighter and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Anyway. We cannot change what happened. But it's good to know that somebody cared…." He trailed off, seeing the tormented look in Beth's eyes. "I'm okay grandma, stop worrying. He squeezed her hand. "And now let's go and say hello."
"Well now, worst timing in the world, isn't it! I haven't even finished lunch!" Beth said, trying to get back to normal and lighten the mood. She stood up and dried her eyes with a kitchen towel and followed Logan towards the door. Logan put on a wide grin, hiding his emotional state and his nervousness behind it. After all those years he had become good at that.Still he was glad that Max had gone to open the door to say hello and engage in the initial small talk..
Eric was a tall blond man in his forties, with the same green eyes Logan had. He was already chatting with Max, proudly introducing his sons to her. Max was kneeling down to say hello to the twins while Eric stepped forward to greet his nephew.
"Logan! It's been ages since we last saw each other!" He held out his hand to Logan.
"Yeah, it's been a long time." Logan shook Eric's hand and then looked past him at the two kids. "And who are these two young men?" He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and smiled at the boys. "Hi." Both kids looked at him with big eyes and then broke into smiles.
"This little fellow here is Sean and this is Nick," Eric said proudly.
Logan reached out his hand and ruffled one of the boys' hair.
"Here, let me introduce you to my wife Julie," Eric added
"Nice to meet you." Logan gave her a cocky smile and held out his hand.
Julie took his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, too. When Eric told me we were going to meet his nephew, I automatically thought about a little boy," she chuckled. "I keep forgetting that Eric and his sister were so far apart in age," she added apologetically.
"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint you." Logan gave her a broad grin.
"He can act like one, believe me." Max brushed a hand through his hair and stuck out her tongue when he looked up, rolling his eyes.
Meanwhile, Eric had stepped further into the hallway to greet his mother, who had been watching the scene from a distance. The two boys were already clinging to their grandmother.
Logan watched them for a second then made his way to the kitchen. He was glad the little discussion earlier had been disturbed, and he intended not to bring it up again any time soon. He busied himself with getting lunch ready while his grandmother was preoccupied.
"Max! Can you give me a hand here!?" he said after a few minutes. "Don't worry, you just have to serve the food, no cooking involved!"
"Sure!" Max strolled over, tearing her gaze from the two little boys.
"They are cute, huh?" Logan said, putting the potatoes in a bowl.
"Yeah, kind of..." Max said, playing cool. "So what do you need me to do?"
"Grab that bowl and take it to the dining room, okay? Ever thought about having kids?" He asked casually, busying himself with a pot.
Logan immediately regretted the question. After all this time he should know her well enough. He just hadn't thought about the comment. He had to admit that with Val he had entertained the thought of having kids- at least until she had started to drink. But ever since the accident it hadn't been a topic to worry about.
Max gave him an odd look and picked up the bowl. "No, actually, I haven't!" she said shortly then fled from the kitchen. She was not going to discuss having children right now. It was weird enough for her to be in a 'relationship'.
Logan sighed and followed her with another bowl in his lap, hoping she wasn't too pissed at him...or scared.
The others were already sitting around the table. Eric and Julie were trying to stop the twins from playing with the food and cutlery on the table.
Beth was still busy arranging the things on the table, pushing back chairs and making room for the last missing bowl. "I hope it's good. I was kind of in a rush this morning," she apologized.
Logan set down a bowl of carrots on the table and took his place next to Max.
"I'm sure it's delicious Grandma. I can't remember a meal of yours that wasn't."
He looked around. "Forgot the jug of water!" He backed up and disappeared through the door.
"Really, this looks delicious, Beth. If it's only half as good as yesterday, it'll be perfect!" Max confirmed.
"Listen, we were thinking about going down to the pier with the kids this afternoon. Do you guys wanna come?" Eric spooned some carrots onto his plate.
"Actually we haven't planned anything in particular yet," Max said. "So why not...Logan?" she asked, not sure if he felt like going out right now. "Yeah?" He wheeled back in the room, a jug of water between his knees.
"Eric just asked if we wanted to come to the pier this afternoon. I told them we hadn't planned anything. So what do you think?"
"Sure," he shrugged, not showing any signs of reluctance. "Might actually be fun. I haven't been there in years."
"Great. We just have to let the kids have a nap after lunch, otherwise they'll be really cranky." Julie smiled. "And this is something you don't wanna experience, believe me."
"Sure thing," Max said
"Grandma? Are you coming?" Logan addressed the elderly woman.
"If you're going to take me. I just can't walk that fast and that much anymore," she explained with a gentle twinkle in her eyes.
"Still beating me," Logan answered sarcastically, no bitterness in his voice for once.
"Nobody's beating that little guy though", Max chuckled, relieved that Logan hadn't been serious, and pointed at Nick who had gotten hold of the spoon and was now eagerly shovelling the carrots off the plate onto the floor.
TBC…
It might take us a little longer to post because RL is keeping both of us pretty busy, so we just don't have the time to write a lot these days! But there is a lot more to come, and we are definitely gonna post asap!!!
Note: Action is gonna return eventually, for now try to enjoy our story as it is, okay?
Family
"So, how was your evening with Chloe?" Beth asked when Logan joined her in preparing the vegetables.
He froze, weighing the potato he had intended to peel, in his hand. After a long moment he found his composure again and started to work intently on the potato. "It was nice," he said.quietly.
"Must have been great to see her again, share all those childhood memories. And you two must have had a lot to catch up on!" Beth mused, not noticing Logan's discomfort.
"Yeah. Sure." he swallowed, hoping Max wasn't listening.
"She was so excited to hear that you were in town," Beth rambled on, in her mind checking if she had everything ready for dinner. "When did you two see each other last? Oh my, must have been when you were kids!"
Logan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep his composure, but he felt it slip away. It had just been a simple remark but it brought the previous evening back to his mind. He threw the knife and the potato on the table and backed up from the table. He felt his composure slip away and the knot in his stomach grow tighter. "Excuse me," he said as calmly as he could, then left the kitchen the kitchen without another word locking the guest room door behind him. He exhaled. He just had to be alone. No more questions.
Beth sat there motionless, shocked by his unexpected reaction. Had she said or dome something to upset him?
"Logan!" she called after him hesitantly, when she found her voice again. When there was no answer, she stood up and followed him, only to stand in front of the locked door. "Logan?" she called, softer this time. "What's wrong?"
Logan sat by the window, his hands covering his face as he drew in deep breaths. He was angry at himself for being so sensitive about this, it really pissed him off. But right now he felt like an immature child who had every right to act…well, childish.
Beth hesitantly knocked on the door now. "One minute we're talking and the next you're...running away and locking yourself in your room…"like you did when you were a child,' she finished the sentence to herself as realization hit. She must have said something, or something had happened last night that had caused his reaction.
"Come on Logan! Don't lock yourself up again. Come on out and talk to me. Don't go hiding in your room...." she made a feeble attempt, leaning her head against the door, waiting for his answer. When he didn't react, she slowly walked back to the kitchen, knowing she couldn't force him.
Logan didn't know what to do next. How could he go out there and face his grandmother? But he knew he didn't have much of a choice. After all he wasn't a little boy anymore. He wheeled to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. Then he drew another deep breath and silently went back to the kitchen again. He sat in the doorway, looking at his grandmother, not knowing what to say.
Beth was sitting back at the table, burying her face in her hands. When she heard Logan approach, she raised her head , a small relieved smile on her lips, and waved her hand invitingly for him to come in.
He hesitantly wheeled closer, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm sorry."
Beth shook her head slightly. "I'm glad you listened to me this time," she said with a sad smile.
"Won't you tell me what's wrong?"
Logan shook his head. "I'd rather not."
Beth reached over the table for his hand. "Logan, "she said sadly, "why won't you talk to me? Tell me what upset you so much."
Logan drew his hand away harshly.
"What do you want to hear?" he said angrily
"I don't know; maybe the truth." Beth answered calmly.
"The truth about how I couldn't deal with losing my parents, that I felt like nobody wanted me, that I hated myself for not having been on the plane with them?" He let out a breath. He forced himself to calm down again. "It's in the past. It's over. Don't make me relive it."
Beth stared at the man in front of her, seeing the little boy in him again. The truth that he had just revealed to her cut her like a knife. Tears filled her eyes. "Did you really think that nobody wanted you?" she asked finally. "..That we didn't want you?"
Logan raised his voice, now angry. "What was I supposed to think? Jonas made it quite obvious that he didn't want me, and you…I never even heard from you!"
Tears were streaming down Beth's face now as she reached for Logan's hand again. She involuntarily flinched as he drew his hand away from her for a second time. "We tried to reach you all the time; we even came by to visit you every now and then, but Jonas just kept brushing us off or simply sent us away."
Logan breathed heavily now, not knowing what to believe anymore. "Why should he have done that? They never even told me you had called!"
His head was spinning. He had heard this from Max the night before. But still it was something different to hear it from his grandmother. How could Jonas have done that to him?
Beth shook her head
"He just took you away from us and denied us all contact with you. It was not our choice, Logan. We wanted you to live with us, believe me!"
Logan felt another twinge in the guts. He had known all along that Jonas didn't care about him. But that he could be so unscrupulous was beyond him. "I..." He was at a loss for words.
"The court said we didn't have the means to raise you and pay for a good education, so they gave Jonas full custody and it was up to him to decide whether we could see you or not." Beth continued.
"But why would he do that to me?" Logan's voice sounded like the voice of the little boy he used to be.
Beth wiped her eyes and reached for Logan's hand again. This time, he allowed her to take it.
"I don't know, Logan. I can only guess it was all about money. If he wanted to get your father's shares of the company, he had to have you on his side. He's a businessman…," she added sadly.
"I'm sorry, Logan." She swallowed. "I'm truly, deeply sorry for what you had to go through. We should have fought for you, to have you with us. We should have fought it out in court. But then your grandpa got sick, and we didn't have the strength or the money." She squeezed his hand and looked down at the table. "I'm so sorry."
Suddenly the doorbell rang and they both looked up in surprise. They heard Max's steps in the hallway. "I can get it." She had heard what had been going on and had silently waited in the dining room.
Logan sighed. "I'm sorry, too grandma. I should've known what Jonas is capable of. It was not fair to blame you." Logan sat up straighter and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Anyway. We cannot change what happened. But it's good to know that somebody cared…." He trailed off, seeing the tormented look in Beth's eyes. "I'm okay grandma, stop worrying. He squeezed her hand. "And now let's go and say hello."
"Well now, worst timing in the world, isn't it! I haven't even finished lunch!" Beth said, trying to get back to normal and lighten the mood. She stood up and dried her eyes with a kitchen towel and followed Logan towards the door. Logan put on a wide grin, hiding his emotional state and his nervousness behind it. After all those years he had become good at that.Still he was glad that Max had gone to open the door to say hello and engage in the initial small talk..
Eric was a tall blond man in his forties, with the same green eyes Logan had. He was already chatting with Max, proudly introducing his sons to her. Max was kneeling down to say hello to the twins while Eric stepped forward to greet his nephew.
"Logan! It's been ages since we last saw each other!" He held out his hand to Logan.
"Yeah, it's been a long time." Logan shook Eric's hand and then looked past him at the two kids. "And who are these two young men?" He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and smiled at the boys. "Hi." Both kids looked at him with big eyes and then broke into smiles.
"This little fellow here is Sean and this is Nick," Eric said proudly.
Logan reached out his hand and ruffled one of the boys' hair.
"Here, let me introduce you to my wife Julie," Eric added
"Nice to meet you." Logan gave her a cocky smile and held out his hand.
Julie took his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, too. When Eric told me we were going to meet his nephew, I automatically thought about a little boy," she chuckled. "I keep forgetting that Eric and his sister were so far apart in age," she added apologetically.
"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint you." Logan gave her a broad grin.
"He can act like one, believe me." Max brushed a hand through his hair and stuck out her tongue when he looked up, rolling his eyes.
Meanwhile, Eric had stepped further into the hallway to greet his mother, who had been watching the scene from a distance. The two boys were already clinging to their grandmother.
Logan watched them for a second then made his way to the kitchen. He was glad the little discussion earlier had been disturbed, and he intended not to bring it up again any time soon. He busied himself with getting lunch ready while his grandmother was preoccupied.
"Max! Can you give me a hand here!?" he said after a few minutes. "Don't worry, you just have to serve the food, no cooking involved!"
"Sure!" Max strolled over, tearing her gaze from the two little boys.
"They are cute, huh?" Logan said, putting the potatoes in a bowl.
"Yeah, kind of..." Max said, playing cool. "So what do you need me to do?"
"Grab that bowl and take it to the dining room, okay? Ever thought about having kids?" He asked casually, busying himself with a pot.
Logan immediately regretted the question. After all this time he should know her well enough. He just hadn't thought about the comment. He had to admit that with Val he had entertained the thought of having kids- at least until she had started to drink. But ever since the accident it hadn't been a topic to worry about.
Max gave him an odd look and picked up the bowl. "No, actually, I haven't!" she said shortly then fled from the kitchen. She was not going to discuss having children right now. It was weird enough for her to be in a 'relationship'.
Logan sighed and followed her with another bowl in his lap, hoping she wasn't too pissed at him...or scared.
The others were already sitting around the table. Eric and Julie were trying to stop the twins from playing with the food and cutlery on the table.
Beth was still busy arranging the things on the table, pushing back chairs and making room for the last missing bowl. "I hope it's good. I was kind of in a rush this morning," she apologized.
Logan set down a bowl of carrots on the table and took his place next to Max.
"I'm sure it's delicious Grandma. I can't remember a meal of yours that wasn't."
He looked around. "Forgot the jug of water!" He backed up and disappeared through the door.
"Really, this looks delicious, Beth. If it's only half as good as yesterday, it'll be perfect!" Max confirmed.
"Listen, we were thinking about going down to the pier with the kids this afternoon. Do you guys wanna come?" Eric spooned some carrots onto his plate.
"Actually we haven't planned anything in particular yet," Max said. "So why not...Logan?" she asked, not sure if he felt like going out right now. "Yeah?" He wheeled back in the room, a jug of water between his knees.
"Eric just asked if we wanted to come to the pier this afternoon. I told them we hadn't planned anything. So what do you think?"
"Sure," he shrugged, not showing any signs of reluctance. "Might actually be fun. I haven't been there in years."
"Great. We just have to let the kids have a nap after lunch, otherwise they'll be really cranky." Julie smiled. "And this is something you don't wanna experience, believe me."
"Sure thing," Max said
"Grandma? Are you coming?" Logan addressed the elderly woman.
"If you're going to take me. I just can't walk that fast and that much anymore," she explained with a gentle twinkle in her eyes.
"Still beating me," Logan answered sarcastically, no bitterness in his voice for once.
"Nobody's beating that little guy though", Max chuckled, relieved that Logan hadn't been serious, and pointed at Nick who had gotten hold of the spoon and was now eagerly shovelling the carrots off the plate onto the floor.
TBC…
It might take us a little longer to post because RL is keeping both of us pretty busy, so we just don't have the time to write a lot these days! But there is a lot more to come, and we are definitely gonna post asap!!!