Bob laid in bed staring at the ceiling, that was all he could really do these days, he wasn't really getting worse but he definitely wasn't getting any better. The upside of the whole situation was that his cancer hadn't spread any further than when they caught it. He should have just told Linda when he felt like something was wrong, maybe then they could have caught it sooner but he put it off so long that he was already up to Stage 3. He was receiving very aggressive chemo treatments but he wasn't hopeful. He was a burden. He ruined everything, the whole master plan. He almost bankrupted the restaurant, he cost Linda her sanity, he cost Louise her schooling. Yeah he knew, she hid it well from Linda but he knew his angel dust well. He chuckled quietly at the thought, he was never good with pet names. Speak of the devil he heard Louise coming in to take over Linda's shift.
"Hey Mrs. Belcher, long time no see." Who the hell was that? It was some guy that had come in with Louise. Bob heard his wife respond surprised yet happily, "Oh my God Logan, it's been so long! How are you?" Ugh, of course it's that guy, Bob thought. Logan was a decent enough guy but he had a bad streak and Bob didn't quite trust him, but maybe he could bring some light back into Louise's life, they did end up close friends after all.
"Booooob I don't know if we trust that guy." Bob said to himself in a high pitched voice holding his pill bottle.
"I know Mr. Pills but we have to trust my little girl." Bob replied in his own deep voice. "Okay Bob." The pills responded sounding not quite sure. Bob had tuned out of the conversation in the living room while Logan and Linda caught up when he all of a sudden heard Louise ask, as she did every night, how Bob was doing and if she should get anything for him. Linda replied with her same response, he's the same and he's good, Louise sounded like she had more to say though and Bob's ears perked up.
"Well mom, if you don't need anything then I think I may go hang out with Logan for a few hours, I'll have my cell the whole time so if you need anything then don't hesitate to call." Linda started her usual teasing at Louise about hanging out with a boy but Bob knew that Linda was thrilled, she had been begging Louise for months to reconnect with her old friends but Louise wouldn't budge. After a while Tina and Gene both went back to their own lives but Louise just couldn't let go of everything that was going on, and she would never know how grateful Bob and Linda felt to have her.
"I'm gonna run in and check on dad before I go mom." He could hear the forced exasperation in Louise's voice and knew she was smiling, she had grown to love and appreciate her mother's teasing. Bob didn't want to ruin Louise's night with conversation, it was never about television marathons or jokes anymore, it all revolved around his illness and he didn't want that on her mind right now so he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He heard the bedroom door open and felt Louise sit on the bed and put her hand on his arm. "I love you daddy, I'll see you in the morning." She planted a kiss on his forehead and she started out of the room he let a small smile fall across his face as he drifted off to sleep.
Linda watched as Louise and Logan walked out she knew how Bob felt about Logan but she had always had a soft spot for him and figured him being back around would be good for Louise. "Alright you two," Linda started sounding stern "now have fun but I'm not bailing anyone out of jail tonight, okay?" Linda laughed as she walked towards the bedroom leaving Louise and Logan on their own, in her room she saw Bob fast asleep. He looked ashen and weak, his eye sockets obviously sunken in even in his sleep, he had lost a significant amount of weight and barely ate anything anymore. She kicked herself, as she did every night, for not seeing the signs that he was sick earlier. She gave him a quick kiss as she laid down next to him and settled in for the night.
Louise left Logan sitting in the living room as she ran to her room to change, it had been so long since she had hung out with someone that she wasn't sure what to wear. She settled on a pair of comfortable jeans with pink converse a blue tank top and her cropped leather jacket, she pulled her hair out of her signature bunny ears and pigtails brushed it out real quick and threw on a black beanie. With a quick brush of chapstick she looked in the mirror and appreciated what she saw, Louise was always someone that was happy with her appearance and tonight was no exception, so she glanced at the mirror one more time before heading out to find Logan.
When Louise got back to the living room Logan was no where to be found, she checked the kitchen, the bathroom, and all the bedrooms before she finally headed downstairs. After opening the front door she quickly spotted Logan leaned against the building smoking a cigarette.
"Those will kill you don't ya know?" Louise chuckled as she reached up and grabbed the almost full cigarette from Logan's lips, "just looking out for your health." She said with a smile as she started walking away while taking a long drag. Logan pulled out another cigarette and lit it as he chased after Louise, she was heading towards Wonder Wharf and he had a pretty good idea of where she was going. It was already well past midnight and almost everything was closed, the only place open was the park near the wharf and, of course, the beach.
Two years ago they spent practically every night roaming the town after hours now though it was more nostalgic than habit. They spent so many nights taking drags off of their cigarettes and sipping their alcohol while lying on the beach or sitting on the swings, they talked about all of their problems, their goals, how they felt they were misunderstood. They had both grown a lot since then but Logan hoped that being back in this setting would help her loosen up a bit. They made their way to the bottom of the pier just as they finished their cigarettes.
Louise stared up at the sky, this was the only time that you could see the stars and it was amazing, the wharf had shut down and the businesses closed making everything go quite for just a while, it was the only place she could think. All of a sudden Louise felt Logan tap her on the shoulder with something and when she turned she saw him holding out a bottle of her favorite liquor, she wasn't sure how he got it down there without her noticing but she was glad. She hadn't truly let go and been young ever since Bob got sick and she wasn't going to lie, she missed it. She took the bottle from Logan and started sipping it slowly, not sure if her alcohol tolerance was still any good Logan however had his own bottle and started chugging it, just like the old days.
Laid back in the sand, staring at the stars, puffing on a cigarette, and sipping on vodka. It had been a long time since Louise was able to be this relaxed and she was enjoying every second of it, she had checked her phone not long ago and it was just after one so she was exhausted and started drifting off to sleep.
"Oh no you don't!" Logan slurred at Louise as he noticed her drift off to sleep, suddenly in his slightly drunk state he got an idea and started chuckling as he wobbled over to Louise and started lifting her.
"What the fuck are you doing Berry Bush?" Louise screamed as Logan hoisted her off the ground causing her to drop her liquor and cigarette, her phone was on the ground as well laying on her jacket. Logan didn't respond he just laughed as he threw her easily over his shoulder and started towards the ocean. The entire walk was probably fifty feet or so but in his drunk state it felt like a few miles, he was determined though and the constant stream of curses and screaming Louise was throwing at him didn't deter him as he reached the edge of the ocean and threw Louise and himself in.
It was a warm summer night but the water was still freezing and immediately woke Louise up as she fought threw the water and started swinging at Logan, she couldn't hide it though it was as funny as it was refreshing. They decided quickly that they were both to close to drunk to be in the water and linked arms as they made their way back to the shore, they each grabbed their bottle of liquor and laid down in the sand next to each other. Logan grabbed his pack of cigarettes of the sand and lit one almost instantly he felt Louise take it from his mouth and start smoking it herself.
Logan thought for a moment and decided that even drunk this was a good opportunity to get a little closer to Louise, he held his arm out and watched as Louise slightly blushed and scooted over so her head was on his chest. "Gotta stay warm," Logan started "I don't wanna have to take care of your sick ass in a week." He laughed as he took the cigarette from Louise, they laid their silently as they shared the cigarette and finished their bottles. Logan glanced over at Louise and saw her staring up at the stars, she looked just like she had two years ago but more mature, everything with her family and the restaurant had really made an impact on her. Logan couldn't take it anymore, he knew it was a mistake but he just couldn't control himself anymore, he leaned in to Louise and gave her a long passionate kiss.