This chapter's kind of uneventful as well, but... I'm planning something for the next one, that will hopefully be more interesting. Hope you guys like it.
"So, how do you think he got Kendall's number?"
It was just a few minutes past eight in the morning. Logan had awoken to find Kendall still sleeping soundly by his side, so he'd quietly slipped out of the room and made his way towards the kitchen, where he found that James was already awake, making a pot of coffee.
"I have no idea," the brunette said in a tired voice. He watched the coffee pot for a few seconds and then turned towards Logan and took a seat beside him on one of the bar stools, letting his head fall into his hands. "Maybe someone gave it to him? Maybe Bitters did? I don't know, Logan."
"Well, if someone did give it to him, I think we should find out who it is. It's not right. Kendall's so afraid... You should have seen him last night," Logan practically whispered, afraid that the dirty blond would somehow hear him.
"What do you mean?" James asked him, not having known what had happened the night before. He raised his head and looked at Logan, his eyes curious, yet at the same time filled with worry.
Logan sighed as he thought back to the events of the night before. "He was... different."
James frowned. "You're going to have to be a little bit more specific, because I'm not really sure what you mean by that."
"He just wasn't Kendall," Logan said quietly. "He just... reminded me so much of how he used to act back when he was younger and his idiot of a father was around. He's so scared of him. I know he was hurt a lot by what happened, but... I feel like there's something he isn't telling us."
"Something like what?"
Logan looked up at James, biting his lip nervously. He looked down at his hands and refused to make eye contact with him as he let the next few words slip from his lips. "Well... we were talking, and... h-he mentioned that his father didn't just physically and verbally abuse him," he said, facing James to see his reaction, but the younger boy seemed confused by his words.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning he might've, um... you know."
Logan's eyes filled with unshed tears as James' expression changed from one of confusion to one of shock. "Wait... You think his dad...? But... no."
"He implied it," Logan whispered. "I didn't want to question him any further, because I didn't want to upset him any more than he already was. But if he did do what I think he did, then he got away way too easily. Even if he didn't, he still deserved a lot more jail time. I don't know what he's doing out of jail. None of this makes any sense."
"You don't know how tempted I am to walk up to his apartment and beat the living daylights out of him," James said, his eyes filling with anger and sadness. "How could he hurt him like that? How could he beat him up, verbally abuse him, emotionally scar him, and do who-knows-what else to him, and expect Kendall to want anything to do with him again?"
"Because maybe I deserved it..."
Logan and James both turned around to face Kendall, who was standing just a few feet away.
"Kendall..." James stood up from his seat, Logan following closely behind him. Kendall looked away, his green eyes diverting to the floor as James hesitantly wrapped his arms around him and brought him close. "You did nothing to deserve any of this. None of this is your fault."
Logan watched as Kendall awkwardly wrapped his arms around James' torso, burying his face against the older boy's shoulder. His eyes were sad, dull, and scared, and Logan hated it. He wished that he could take Kendall's pain away more than anything.
"Then why did he do it?" Kendall mumbled. "Why did h-he hurt me if I didn't deserve it? I must've done something..."
Logan stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the two younger boys, his eyes filling with worry. Kendall looked absolutely heartbroken and lost.
"Because your dad doesn't care who he hurts. No parent should ever hurt their own children in the way that your dad hurt you. But just because he did, it does not make it your fault. He is the one to blame for his actions—never has it been you."
Kendall closed his eyes, a soft sigh slipping past his lips as he pulled away from his two best friends and moved to sit on the neon orange couch in the living room. "That's what I want to believe," he said quietly. "Maybe deep down I know I never asked for any of this, but when I was little, he'd... repeatedly tell me it was my fault. So, it's kind of hard to forget that."
James sent one last glance in Kendall's direction before going to turn off the coffee pot. Logan, in the other hand, took a seat beside the blond and took a hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It's gonna be okay," Logan said softly. Kendall only managed a nod in response.
"Morning guys." Before anyone could even respond, Carlos had plopped himself down on the couch, his legs positioned where his back was supposed to be, while his head hung over the edge. He frowned when he took notice of the saddened expression that both Kendall and Logan had on their faces. "Did I miss something?" he asked, watching Kendall for a few seconds, and then turning in Logan's direction. "Logan?"
"No, Litos, you didn't. We were just talking. We should probably make breakfast." Before Carlos could question him any further, Logan stood up and made his way towards the kitchen. "What do you guys want for breakfast?"
Carlos shrugged. "Anything's good with me."
Logan then turned to Kendall. "Ken, what do you want to eat?" The taller boy's only response was a shrug of his shoulders. Logan sighed as he turned to James. "James?"
"I don't know," James said as he stirred his coffee and then placed it on the counter. "Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast?" he suggested.
"That okay with you two?" Logan asked, turning to Carlos and Kendall. The two boys nodded in response.
Doing his best to ignore the feeling of exhaustion that threatened to knock him over at any minute, Logan started making breakfast. He could feel James' eyes burning into the side of his skull as he stood in front of the stove. He was going to question him, when James walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay? No offense, but you don't look so good."
"I'm fine."
"Logan..."
Logan sighed as he finally looked up at James. "Can we talk about this later, please?" he whispered, watching Kendall and Carlos from the corner of his eye. The two boys were talking—well, mostly Carlos was talking. He couldn't help but smile a little as a smile appeared on Kendall's face when Carlos leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
James looked hesitant to drop the subject, but one look at Logan's eyes, and he decided to let it go for the time being. "Alright, but we're talking about it later, okay?"
Logan gave him a slight nod as he turned to grab some plates. "Okay."
"Um, so I think I'm going to go down to the lobby and see if I can find out who gave that bastard Kendall's number," James whispered to Logan once they had finished eating. "Do you wanna come along?"
"Yeah, I don't want you going by yourself, knowing he's around... It doesn't seem safe." Logan said before going over to Carlos, who was surfing the channels with Kendall by his side. "Guys, James and I will be right back."
"Where are you going?" Kendall asked suspiciously.
Logan turned back to James, who gave him a silent nod. "We just need to figure out how your dad got your number, that's all."
"Guys... no. I don't want you going out there alone," the blond said, his protective side coming out. "I'll go with you."
"You are not going anywhere. You are staying here with Carlos," James said as he approached the group and pushed Kendall back into the couch. "We'll be fine, we'll be careful. Plus, we'll have our cellphones with us just in case."
"You promise to call if anything happens?" Kendall asked, his eyes filling with worry for his two best friends. He might have been afraid of his father, but he cared way more about his friends than he did about himself. If putting his safety at risk was what it took to keep them safe, then he'd do it in a heartbeat.
"We promise," Logan said reassuringly.
Kendall could only watch as the two boys walked out of the apartment, but he couldn't stop the feeling of panic and concern that seemed to completely take over him.
He had a really bad feeling about this.
Was that okay? I hope it was. Thank you for reading. :)
~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)