by Julie Hall
I might have pouted a little.
“Don’t give me that look. Do you want to hear the rest or not?”
I nodded.
“Then let’s get back to your stuff.”
I started walking and realized he wasn’t following. I turned to see him slowly bending and then remembered his cane. Rushing back, I picked it up and offered it to him.
“This is part of the story, I take it?”
He nodded, and we continued back. This time in silence.
Not long after, we seated ourselves back at my towel. I slipped a sundress over my bathing suit, which made the slight chill in the air the perfect temperature. Logan had—to my disappointment—brought a t-shirt, which he shrugged on before carefully lowering down next to me.
While he did, I examined his legs. One looked slightly thinner than the other, but I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t trying to find the reason for his slight limp.
I turned my body so I could watch his face but made sure part of my leg was pressed against him. I needed the physical reminder that he was here to keep me grounded. Part of my brain still screamed that this was just a cruel trick or a dream I was going to wake up from.
“So, your parents changed their minds?” I prodded him to continue.
“Yes and no. They were pretty shook up from everything you said that day, even though they didn’t believe you. My dad went into protective mode and did everything he could to make sure you wouldn’t be allowed near me anymore.” He picked up and squeezed my hand. “That’s why your parents never knew the truth. They weren’t given any additional information and had no reason to believe my parents had altered their course of action.
“With the stress of that day, my mom convinced my dad to let a few days pass before they went through with taking me off life support. She was never all about it anyway, but she had resigned herself to the course of action.
“I went back to being a hunter, resigned that I’d wait a lifetime to be with you. What I didn’t know was that a few days turned into a few weeks, and then a month, and then two. And my father was visiting me again.”
He looked at me with such vulnerability in his eyes. “Did you know that beside the day you saw him, he hadn’t been to visit me since the first year I was in the hospital?”
I shook my head. “I knew he didn’t come regularly like your mother, but she didn’t give me those specifics. I’m sorry, Logan.”
He smiled at me. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I’m sorry for any pain that comes your way. And learning that your dad hadn’t been to see you in years had to hurt.”
“He had his reasons, and he’s apologized for it.”
I sensed there was a story there, but I’d leave that for another time. We still had so much to catch up on.
“I had just returned from a hunt when the Savior came to see me.”
“You talked with Joe? He came to me too, in a dream. He told me to have faith and move forward. That’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since.”
“You’ve been doing a great job. At times, maybe a little too good.” He chuckled, but his eyes darkened for a moment. “Yes, we talked. My existence had started to become . . . a dark place. He pulled me back and set me on the right path. And he told me I would be returning. I was . . . shocked. I didn’t even know there was still a ‘me’ to return to . . . again. I got over the initial shock quickly and wanted to rush back right away, but instead I was told to wait. Which gave me time to give a proper goodbye to people.”
I instantly wanted to know how everyone was doing, but I pushed the desire aside. We’d have time to catch up on that later.
“I didn’t start to have doubts until I woke up, captive in my own body. And that, ultimately, is what kept me from you until now.”
“I don’t understand.”
Logan’s lips flat-lined. His features were only discernible by moonlight now. He faced the ocean rather than me.
“You’ll understand part of it. When I woke up, I had to relearn everything. I wasn’t able to speak a word until two weeks had passed. I could hardly even stay awake. I wasn’t able to move my body because of my deteriorated muscles. I was a shell of the man you knew, and because my case was so unusual, the doctors couldn’t make any promises. I might have progressed to a certain point and then just stopped.”
“Do you mean to tell me you let me go months”—I threw up a hand to stop Logan from interrupting—“months without knowing you were alive because . . . you were . . . embarrassed?” An angry mound of hot lava churned in my gut as I spoke, demanding to be spewed. “Days and weeks and months of depression. Of anger at the Creator, of questioning everything I thought to be true.”
“And that’s the part you won’t understand. I was only part of a man, and I didn’t want you to be shackled to that any more than I wanted you to be tied to the empty shell you’d been ready to throw your life away for.”
“You had no right—”
His eyes flashed. “I did. I did have a right to make that decision. There was a point they weren’t even sure I’d ever be able to go to the bathroom on my own. Do you know how that made me feel?”
I lunged and grabbed Logan’s face, forcing him to look me in the eyes. He could easily have pulled away but didn’t.
“You listen here. Believing I would care about any of that—any of it—is beyond insulting. Had you lain in that bed for the rest of your days, awake, I would still have been happy to spend my life with you. Since when did you start to believe I cared for you, that I loved you, for how much you could bench press? It was you, it will always be you, in whatever shape I can have you. It’s you I will love.”
I jerked out of my rant when something wet dropped on my left hand. I glanced up at the cloudless night, thinking it had started to rain, only to look back and realize that a tear had slid from Logan’s eye and down his cheek.
I’d never seen Logan cry before.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“That’s not true.” I leaned forward and kissed the wetness from his cheek, sliding my hands to rest on his shoulders. “It’s not about what we deserve. Frankly, what we both deserve is a million times worse than what we’ve been given. It’s that we’re better together than apart . . . at least when we’re on the same side.”
The corner of his lips quirked at that.
“We’re better together, Logan. Don’t let your pride get in the way of that.”
He brought a hand up and rubbed his face. “I almost did,” he confessed. “Even coming to you like this”—he swept a hand out to indicate his body—“was hard for me.”
“Were you scared I’d reject you?”
“I was scared of a lot of things.”
“If our situations were reversed, would you have hesitated a moment to be with me?”
“No, never. Even if I had to take care of you for the rest of our lives, I would have been happy to do so.”
“Then you shouldn’t have deprived me of that same joy.”
Logan hung his head, but he brought his hand up to draw me closer. “You’re right. My pride kept me away from you. Will you forgive me?”
“Always.”
Our foreheads rested against each other, and we breathed the same air.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“Whatever we want,” Logan answered with a smile. “We have a lifetime to figure it out. You game?”
“Yeah, let’s do this thing.”
The lips that brushed mine were soft and tender and tasted of peppermint. I knew this beautiful moment—the one I’d given up believing we’d be able to share in this lifetime—was as close to perfect as anything in this world could be.
And I silently lifted my thanks.
Epilogue
Kaitlin
I lifted my face to the sun and took in the perfect California day: a slight breeze in the air, tinged with salty brine; clear blue skies; and a temperature that was warm b
ut not yet on the verge of crossing over to hot.
“Everything seems to be in order.” Romona scanned the crowd of people rather than perimeter around them. But who could blame her? This was her family, and today was the day she’d watch her granddaughter wed.
The huntress’s words were even and professional, but not even the amazing Romona could contain the shining excitement in her eyes.
Her face radiated joy.
“You know, I still think we would all fit in better if we were wearing formal attire. All this black makes it look like we’re going to a funeral.” I nudged Romona playfully with my hip.
“We’re not supposed to be blending in. You know that. We’re supposed to be sending a message that this event is not to be interrupted.”
I faked annoyance and crossed my arms. “But I look so much better in strapless gowns.”
“I would disagree with that,” a smooth accented voice spoke behind me. My spine straightened as a zing of awareness ran down it. I shook it off with real annoyance as he went on. “This look has always had a certain . . . appeal to me.”
“Do you really have to be here?” I asked Morgan without turning to address him.
He stepped up next to me, refusing to be ignored. “Probably not. I don’t think there’s ever been a more fortified wedding in all of history. Bloody He—”
“Watch it,” I warned. I purposely kept my gaze fixed on anything but the handsome Brit to my right.
I gave myself an internal shake. Not handsome. Evil is not handsome. Ugly. He’s very ugly.
Romona huffed on the other side of me. She didn’t tolerate Morgan’s presence much better than I did.
“Feel free to leave anytime,” she added.
“And miss my best mate’s big day. Never.” The mocking tone to Morgan’s voice covered whatever his true feelings were. That had always been the issue with Morgan, even before his betrayal and redemption I never trusted what came out of his mouth. There were layers to him that concealed his true self, and I didn’t have a desire to peel them back.
Liar, a whispered voice mocked in the back of my mind.
“I’m going to do a perimeter check.” I fled the tension-filled moment, quickly moving to the outskirts of our protective border.
Morgan wasn’t wrong. Perhaps we’d gone a little overboard with the security today, but besides this being a highly anticipated event for us all, I knew there was one supremely evil being gunning for the stars of today’s show.
The consensus was it was better to be safe than sorry. So several dozen hunters as well as a handful of angels were stationed at various points around the grounds of the beautiful garden where our friends would recite their vows.
After making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be, I stopped to take in the moment.
The ceremony was to be held in the private gardens of the Hillstead Mansion, which was situated on a cliff high above the churning sea. The reception would take place in the mansion afterward.
The garden was in full bloom, mixing the sweet scents of the flowers with the salty sea below. Red roses, blue iris, and pink azaleas created a secret garden experience that was breathtaking.
Rows of white chairs were set up in an open space in the wooden gazebo. Wisteria vines wrapped around the structure, and delicate bunches of purple blooms hung down like clumps of grapes from the rafters.
The event was going to be lovely—although bittersweet. My heart warmed at being able to share this moment with my dear friend, even though he didn’t know I was here, but a prick of sadness welled inside.
I’d never have a day like this. I didn’t get a second chance.
A soft melody started from the string quartet, announcing the ceremony was about to start and that people should take their seats.
As if signaled as well, a chorus of shrieks rent the air. I jerked my gaze up to watch the spot of darkness in the faraway sky grow into a churning cloud.
We should have brought more reinforcements.
The End
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Bonus Scene
Logan
Black ooze and candy-apple-red blood slid down the edge of my sharpened blade. The dagger I held in my other hand was equally coated in sticky substances. Sweat prickled my brow as I picked my way through the dead and gnarled trees of this long-forgotten forest.
To my right, my comrade-in-arms crept along with me. He cast me a glance, determination written into every tense crease on his face.
This was our last chance.
We’d been battling our foe since yesterday and were both weary from the effort.
The landscape mirrored our mood. Splashed in front of us was a canvas of grays. Mist crawled along the burnt ground at our feet, weaving in and out of the bleached and broken limbs that littered the ground. I was fairly certain there were more than just tree branches crunching under our shoes, but I chose not to focus on it.
The air was too still, too silent. The broken things shifting and cracking underfoot echoed. The sky was blanketed in a steely sheet of clouds, each one tangled into the next, effectively blocking our view of whatever energy source lit this desolate place.
“Man, I sure hope we have enough juice to put this beast down.”
Talon voiced the concern I’d already been turning over in my mind.
“I hear ya. I think we have enough ammo. It’s big, but if we manage to move quickly and avoid getting hit, we’ll be able to recharge after it’s defeated.”
“That’s a big if, Logan.”
“Let me know if you’d like to hide behind me again.”
Talon’s eye roll was accompanied by a creative hand gesture meant to insult. “Just for that, I’m going to take this next one on my own.”
Sure, he was.
Talon was good . . . but not that good. He hadn’t leveled up to where I was, yet.
I chuckled as we proceeded forward.
My ears picked up on a crackle, and the air shimmered a half-second before the vortex opened behind Talon. By the time I opened my mouth to yell a warning, he had already dived and rolled out of the way.
The creature that stepped through the maelstrom of dark magic was at least eight feet tall—and ugly. And not just your everyday-garden-variety ugly. This dude was next level. It looked like someone had put a bunch of body parts in a blender, hit ‘frappe’, waited for the mixture to get nice and chunky, and then dumped it out on the table and tried to reassemble it with super-glue.
Its skin was the color of bile-rich vomit and only covered the creature in patches. Fibrous tissue and bright orange fat leaked out of round pits that littered its body. One of its eyes was popped out of the socket and hanging by only a string of purple veins.
The monster’s bloated arms hung to the ground. Its knuckles scraped against the rough surface, bleeding whenever one caught a jagged edge, but it didn’t seem to notice. It looked like a few of his fingers and toes had been chewed off as well.
Did it eat its own digits off? And if so, I wondered what they tasted like.
It was a shame the disgusting mess was the only hint of color against the bleak backdrop of the wasted world that surrounded us.
It opened its mouth to bellow, exposing rows of jagged shark-like teeth. The war cry it made was loud enough to make me flinch.
“I get first shot!” Talon called before rushing Big Ugly.
I watched in amusement as he tried to circle the creature and come at it from behind. A beefy arm caught Talon in the mid-section and sent him crashing into the trunk of a tree.
Ouch, that looked like it hurt.
After shaking himself off, Talon rushed the beast. Sliding to the ground baseball-style, he carved a nice slice across the monster’s distended belly.
“Nice move.”
The creature roared as loud as before and went after Talon with a vengeance.
&nb
sp; “Want some help?” I asked.
“No, I’m almost—ahhhh.”
Big Ugly managed to get a hold of Talon’s arm and yanked him into the air.
“You sure you don’t want some assistance?”
“No! I’ve got everything under control.”
No sooner had the words left my friend’s mouth before the creature grabbed his leg and pulled—literally ripping Talon in two.
Ohhhh. That sucks. My turn now.
With a grin, I stepped forward. This was the moment I’d been waiting for.
“Bring it on, Big Fella. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
When I stepped out of the bathroom after my shower, Talon was still sitting on our couch, moping. Yeah, he was watching Red Bull TV now, but his arms were folded over his chest. His back was hunched, and his lips pressed into a scowl.
“Don’t worry, man. You’ll get it next time.” I patted him on the shoulder as I walked to my room in the small two-bedroom apartment we shared.
I was on the road most of the time these days so I didn’t see the point in wasting money on a fancy apartment.
Rooming with Talon suited me just fine—at least for the moment. Sure, he was an overgrown man-child hiding in the body of a professional surfer, but I’d been there once myself. It was a clean-ish place to crash and save money for the future. I did have a plan, after all.
“We could finish the next level today if you would sit your butt down for another thirty minutes with me.” His eyes never left the snowboarder on the screen carving back and forth down a snowy cliff.
“No-can-do, Bro. You know today’s important. Keep practicing and you won’t need to beg for my help with that game anymore.” I pulled on a pair of shorts.
“You know you’re freakishly good at Diablo III?” he called from the other room.
“When you’re lying in a hospital bed for months on end, you have a lot of time on your hands. Practice makes perfect,” I shouted back.