Story Title: Almost Honest
Author: Silver Blood
Summary: He desperately wanted to be honest, to tell her the exact circumstances in which she'd caught him when she called. But when he heard the sobs tearing out of her chest, all he could do was lie. Angsty Rogan.
A/N: I want to thank everyone for their reviews, both positive and negative... I noticed a lot of people didn't like 'cheating Logan,' so I'm going to warn everybody that yes, Logan cheats on her in this story. BUT, even if you don't like the idea of him cheating, the way he deals with it will be completely different in this story. The same applies for Rory. Anyway- THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! Also... I love happy endings. Just so you know.
So in the meantime
You'll be resting on my mind
For the last time
I will leave myself behind
I gave in to the loneliness
But I didn't give them nothing else
For the next three days, Logan avoided Rory's calls. He was so distracted that he'd completely missed an important meeting, and his father was not happy with him.
But then, he was not happy with his father.
Staring at the phone, he waited. It seemed he'd been waiting for hours. Glancing up at the clock, he realized that he had.
Finally, sighing, he stood, walking to the fridge and getting a beer.
Rory wasn't going to be calling him any time soon. And he couldn't blame her. But he knew that if he didn't speak to her soon, he'd lose his nerve. He had to be honest with her. For once, he had to do the right thing.
Picking up the phone, he prepared himself for the worst.
"Hello?"
He took a deep breath.
"Rory..."
There was silence over the line.
"I should probably hang up on you, Logan."
His heart wrenched at the coldness in her voice.
"I'm sorry. I've been... busy."
It was a lame excuse, and she didn't hesitate to call him on it.
"Everybody is busy, Logan. You're not busy when I call at one and two-thirty in the morning, are you?"
He sensed the real meaning behind the question, and side-stepped it entirely.
"I was avoiding you , okay? I needed some time..."
"What, because of the conversation we had the other night? The one about our future?"
He paused.
"You're the one who brought it up, who said all that stuff about getting married and having kids and wanting forever! I didn't do this, Logan. I didn't trap you. So if you're feeling trapped, it's your own fault! Don't take it out on me."
His entire body ached. He'd hurt her so many times, and he was about to do it again. His voice was quiet, strained.
"No, Rory. You're wrong, about all of that. I'm not scared of forever, I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you."
Rory put her face in her hand, trying not to cry. She'd been crying all day, and she was done with it.
"Logan... You're not going to lose me. Not unless you keep avoiding me. Not calling is not the way to keep me. I've done that before. We've done that before. I thought we were past that."
He took a deep breath, preparing himself. He sincerely hoped she wouldn't interrupt him, because if she did, he'd never get it out.
"I didn't call because I knew I'd have to tell you something. I don't want to say it, and you don't want to hear it. But I keep trying to, because you have to know. But once I tell you, everything will change. I don't want anything to change."
Her voice got smaller.
"Logan? Tell me. Whatever it is, we'll fix it."
But she didn't sound very optimistic.
"I've been dating."
She drew in a sharp breath, but didn't speak. She was too stunned to speak. So he attempted to explain, before she came to her senses and hung up on him.
"My dad keeps setting me up. Almost every night for the past two weeks I've had a date. It's all these society girls. Their fathers work with mine... you know how that works, don't you Rory?"
He was pleading for her to understand.
"I tried, Rory. I really tried to get out of it but I can't. It's part of my job, according to my dad."
He waited for her to speak, and was surprised when her voice came out strong and icy.
"How many have you slept with?"
His heart sank. He could feel it puddle at his feet.
There was no way in hell he was telling her.
"None! No, Rory... I haven't kissed a single girl. I haven't even been tempted."
"Liar."
"Ace, I swear. I know I should have told you. I wish I had. But I kept thinking that he'd stop trying to set me up when he saw that I rejected all of the girls...but it hasn't stopped, and I don't think it will... I don't know what to do here."
She laughed. It was a harsh, bitter sound that broke his heart.
"You want me to wait around while you date for an entire year. That's what you want to do. But I can't do that, Logan. We're either together or we're not. And if you're seeing other women, then we're not. Whether you're sleeping with them, which I think you are, or not."
Her voice was so quiet, so calm, that he had a sudden urge to throw something. Rory heard the crystal vase shatter against the wall and flinched.
"Rory... I can't get out of it. I have no options here."
"You didn't deny it."
"What?"
Her fists clenched.
"You're sleeping with them."
He remained silent, waiting for the click that would signal the end of their relationship, but it didn't come. So he spoke quietly, baring his heart as best he could.
"I love you, Rory. And I know that doesn't make this alright. It makes it worse... I'm so sorry."
She felt the first pieces of her heart crumble away.
His voice broke, signaling the beginning of his complete breakdown.
"I meant everything I said the other night... But I'm so lonely... I know you are too, and you'd never do this to me, but I was so alone, and so cold... It happened twice. And it meant nothing to me either time, except that now I have all this guilt and I hurt you so much."
He heard her quiet sobs. She wasn't going to speak.
"I know it's unforgivable, Rory... I don't deserve you, but I love you. I don't know what else to say, I... Ace? Please say something."
She did.
"I slept with Finn."
A/N: Okay, so that wasn't part of the plan until this chapter... I'm thinking nobody is going to like this plot twist. I'm not even sure I do. But please, if you have negative comments, be gentle. I'm extremely sensitive.