Forty-eight hours of silence followed the implosion.
Forty-eight hours of no Marie turned out to be hell for the normally unflappable Logan.
Forty-eight hours of self-inflicted hell.
He didn't beg. He didn't plead. Those are just things that guys like him never did. Women begged and pleaded with HIM...but here he stood, in front of her door, contemplating if it would look better if he was on his knees when she opened the door.
Logan started to knock, but the sound of Remy's voice within stopped him.
"What's goin' on with you, belle? I thought we had somethin' special and we ain't been alone together in weeks."
Marie let out a soft sigh, "I know...I'm sorry. I'm just going through a lot right now with the admissions process for med school and everything..." There was a long pause before Marie spoke hesitantly, "You deserve to know the truth..." Logan's breath caught in his throat. Was she going to tell him about their marriage? He listened intently as she continued, "The truth is...I can't start anything serious with you. I'm not going to be here for much longer and it wouldn't be fair to start something with you that I know we won't be able to finish."
Logan's mouth dropped open, 'What the hell did she mean by that?'
He was so shocked by that revelation, he barely had enough time to duck around the corner when Remy opened Marie's door to step out into the hallway. Marie followed close behind as the Cajun turned around and hugged her, then laid a lingering kiss on her lips.
Marie normally would have resisted such a show of affection from him, but Logan could go fuck himself from now on. She stepped out into the hallway and watched Remy walk away, failing to notice that Logan had slipped into her room behind her.
When she stepped back into her room, Logan was sitting on her bed, "I hear you're leavin'."
Her cold stare was almost unbearable, "So now you're spyin' on me?"
He ignored her question and stood, "Where are you going?"
Marie shrugged, "I don't see how that's any of your business."
"I can always pull the husband card."
"Then pull it! You only have a few more days to do it anyways..."
He flinched, but recovered quickly, "You're goin' to Vegas?"
"Yep. Flyin'. I'm stopping off there on my way to Los Angeles. You don't have to come...all they need is one signature as long as it's not being contested...it'll cost a bit more, but you can't put a price on freedom."
The venom in her voice stung.
She began walking around her room, which had been halfway packed into boxes, but he stood and blocked her from walking any further, "Why the hell are you goin' to LA?"
"I've been accepted to the medical school at UCLA...scholarship and all."
Logan blinked as he attempted to understand why he was feeling pain in his chest, "W-w-what? Th-thats all the way on the other side of the country."
She didn't even bother to look at him as she went to her closet and pulled out another box, "Gee...congratulations. You just passed first grade Geography."
OK. Maybe I deserved that.
"Look, kid...Hannah was nothing..."
She held up a hand, "You don't have to explain anything...in fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't."
"I don't see what the huge deal is!"
She slammed the books she had gathered in her hands on the floor, but quickly composed herself by taking a deep breath and looking down...as if his very appearance would make her irrationally angry.
Her voice was eerily calm when she finally spoke again, "That's just it, Logan...you can't see the huge deal."
"It happened before we were even married...let alone started sleeping together."
She crossed her arms and shook her head, "But you never even bothered to tell me even after you and I...after we were..."
Marie looked away as tears began to form in her eyes. She knew he would smell them, but that fact didn't keep them from falling.
He let out a sigh and whispered her name as he came up behind her and rubbed her arms, "Marie...baby...she didn't mean anything..."
She wrenched away from him and turned around with wet eyes, "I don't care what she meant Logan...you should have..." She shuddered and shook her head, wiping away the tears, "...you know what? Just drop it. It doesn't matter anymore. We were only married in the legal sense, so I shouldn't expect you to be honest with me about anything. I know you can't give me any more than what you gave."
"Kid-"
She held up a hand and cut him off, "Don't. Just go...please?"
He took a step forward, causing her to instinctively step backwards to keep space between them, "Go, Logan..."
He took another step forward and said her name, sounding far more hurt than he meant to, "Marie..."
"Fine." She sniffled, but tried to maintain her cool outward appearance, "Then I'll go."
She brushed past him and left, leaving him standing in the center of her room, alone.
As soon as she was out of her door, she broke into sprint and ran to the nearest storage closet. Jubilee had seen her run by as she opened the door to her room.
Marie locked herself inside and sunk down against the door, sobbing quietly.
She jumped and stood when the door opened. Jubilee frowned, "Roguey...what's the matter?"
Marie quickly wiped at her face and spoke with a froggy voice, "Um...nothing...I'm fine."
Jubilee wasn't buying it. She quickly pulled her friend out of the closet and took her back to her room.
"Does it have something to do with Logan?"
Marie nodded and covered her face with her hand.
Jubilee sighed, "What happened?"
"He met some bimbo in Vegas and slept with her...he never told me...even after we started sleeping together. He said he doesn't see the big deal...but I thought...I thought..."
Jubilee stroked her friend's head and finished her sentence, "You thought he loved you..."
Marie looked up suddenly, realizing that her friend was right.
The next several days were torture for Logan. He didn't know what to do. He'd never been in this position before and he didn't know how to fix it.
It soon became apparent the he wouldn't have the chance to fix it.
The night before she was scheduled to leave was a sleepless one for him. After about an hour of tossing and turning in his bed, he got up and began roaming the hallways of the mansion.
He found himself in front of her door. He was able to see a sliver of light beneath it, so he was sure she was awake.
After a soft knock, she opened the door. When she saw it was him, she looked up at him with questioning eyes as he allowed his eyes to roam down to her attire.
He could tell by the way her erect nipples protruded against the soft fabric of her robe that she wore nothing else.
"What are you doin' here?"
He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him expectantly, "Well?"
He stared at her as he took a step forward, then suddenly reached out and snatched open her robe, causing her to gasp and jump slightly. His hands snaked inside of her robe, grabbing a hold of her hips and pulling her naked form to his.
As his lips dipped down onto hers for a kiss, she pounded on his shoulders and arms in a futile attempt at resisting him.
When he began kissing and caressing her, the pounds of her fists grew weaker and more erratic as her body fell limp in his arms. Logan quickly snatched her over to the bed, pushed her down and undressed as he hungrily stared at her naked skin.
They stared at each other as he ran a hand down her inner thigh and dipped a finger into her soft, wet folds.
It never ceased to amaze him at how quickly she got wet for him.
Logan crawled up her body and pushed himself inside, almost growling as he worked to keep his body under his control.
He gripped her thigh and raised it up around his waist as he pumped into her, moaning her name and laying soft, random kisses over her neck.
Marie closed her eyes and whispered his name, almost angrily as she gasped in pleasure, "Logan...Logan...oh god..."
It didn't take long before both of them were exploding in orgasm, desperately grasping onto each other as ecstasy robbed them of their senses. As they relaxed in each other's post coital embrace, Marie stared up at the ceiling with a trembling lip, trying desperately to keep the tears from forming.
Logan pulled out and laid next to her, spooning against her from behind. As he fell asleep, he could have sworn he smelled tears...
The next morning, Marie awoke and slipped from beneath Logan's arm to take a shower. He heard her puttering around, but didn't fully wake up until a half hour later when he heard her bedroom door close.
He looked around the empty room and noticed that her suitcase and book bag were now gone.
After getting dressed and slipping from her room, he watched out the front window as a large group of students and all of the staff said goodbye to her. Remy and Peter helped load her things into the cab and she received hugs from everyone.
From his vantage point, he could still easily make out the features of her face.
She looked sad...heartbroken almost.
He watched as she looked up at the mansion and spotted him. As their eyes connected, her chest began rising and falling harder and she bit her lip.
She quickly turned away and put her brave face back on as she climbed into the cab and waved at everyone.
Logan felt as though he was hyperventilating as he watched her cab disappear through the mansion gates...
Why the fuck did it hurt so bad?
He may not have known why it hurt so badly, but he knew how to numb it.
After a visit to the liquor store, he found himself on the stairs of the mansion, staring up at the sky. He heard footsteps approaching and didn't bother to see who it was as he growled, "Go away."
"You won't bite if I don't do as you say, will you?"
He glared at Jubilee as she approached, "I just ate, so no."
She sat next to him and allowed a short moment of silence to pass before she put spoke, "I'm surprised I didn't see you when we were saying goodbye to Marie."
Logan took a deep swig of burning alcohol, "Why would you? She's my soon to be ex wife and I'm not exactly her favorite person at the moment."
"Can you blame her?"
Logan lowered his head, "Look...I don't know why you chicks feel the need to talk about feelings and shit, but you've got the wrong guy. Peter may be able to put up with your incessant blabbering, but I'm not in the mood. I don't need your help."
Jubilee crossed her arms and leaned in a little, "You love her, don't you?"
Logan looked at her for a second, then sneered, stood and began stomping up the stairs. Jubilee stood and called after him, "She loves you too."
That stopped him in his tracks. He slowly turned around and looked at Jubilee, "Why would you even know something like that?"
"I'm a chick and she's a chick...and like you said, we feel the need to talk about feelings and shit."
Logan shook his head slightly, "B-but she never said anything."
"Neither did you."
She had a point there.
"She tried to guard herself from you...tried to hold those feelings in, but it was no use."
He cleared his throat and capped the bottle of whiskey, "Even if you're right...it's over...she'll be signing off on our marriage by tomorrow."
Jubilee scoffed and crossed her arms, "Either you are really lazy and completely lack imagination, or you're deathly afraid of putting yourself out there for her...whatever it is, if you're not willing to do anything to get her back, you don't deserve her and she is better off without you."
The following morning, Marie was walking into the conference room at her attorney's office in Las Vegas.
She sat down beside the lawyer as he laid out all the papers she would need to sign. He sighed, "I know it's pretty obvious you want this over...especially since he isn't here, but I feel obligated to ask if you're sure you want to end your marriage."
Marie stared down at the paper and gave a single, pronounced nod. She took the pen in her shaking hand and allowed the point to hover over the signature line for a moment.
Just as she was about to sign, the secretary opened the door, "Excuse me! Sir! I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's very important."
"Not now, Sheila."
"But sir, it pertains to this case."
Marie looked up with furrowed eyebrows as the secretary walked in with a piece of paper and handed it to the attorney. He put on his reading glasses and read over it for a few moments and sighed, "The annulment is being contested."
Marie sputtered, "Wh-what? But why?"
"Because I love my wife."
A familiar voice broke through the air, causing all three heads to quickly snap upwards.
After a moment of staring at him wide mouthed, she slowly stood, "Logan...what are you doin' here?"
He walked over to her and took the pen from her hand, "I'm here to tell ya what I should've said a million times...I love you, kid...and call me conceited, but I think you love me too. I know we drive each other crazy...and that's because you're neurotic and I'm...well...me...but that doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't want to be married to anyone else...accidentally or otherwise."
Her bottom lip trembled and Logan began to worry that his last minute confession to Storm so that she would fly him out there in the jet was all for nothing.
He sighed and looked into her eyes as he held out the pen, "I'm not perfect, but I know you and I love you more than anything. I'm sorry I waited til now to say that...but if it's too late, I understand. If you don't think I'm worth it, feel free to take this pen, sign these papers and move on with your life."
Marie looked between the pen and his eyes for what felt like an eternity.
Review please! Sorry that there aren't any babies in this, but I feel that this story stood up pretty well without the added drama of a pregnancy. I wanted to keep it pretty light and humorous and I hope I'm succeeding at that.