The Elements Series Complete Box Set

by Brittainy Cherry

“Bland?!”

  “Bland.”

  “You just,” I took a deep inhale and exhaled hard. “Did you just call my food bland?”

  “I did. Because it is.”

  I placed my hands on the edge of the table and leaned into her, extremely annoyed. “I’ve been cooking since I was a kid. I’ve been cooking this dish for three years straight through culinary school. I could make this food in my goddamn sleep and it would taste like something I’d feed to the president. My food isn’t bland. My food is flavorful, and delicious. And you are just nuts!” I hollered.

  “Why are you yelling?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know!”

  She laughed, making me want to kiss her. “Logan… Try the food.”

  I grabbed the spoon from her hand. Diving into the dish, I tossed the warm risotto into my mouth. The moment it hit my lips, I spit it back out onto her plate. “Oh my gosh, that tastes like ass.”

  She nodded, apologetically. “When I said it was bland, I was being polite.”

  My shoulders slumped, and I fell against the ground. “How did I start sucking at cooking? That was the one thing I was good at.”

  “You don’t suck at cooking. You just lost your passion, probably. Don’t worry, we can find it. If you come back tomorrow, I’ll help you try to cook something else. We’ll keep trying until you perfect three dishes that Jacob could never turn down.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Of course.”

  We stayed up that night, eating disgusting risotto and remembering what it felt like to be happy with one another. For the following two weeks, I showed up at her house, and we cooked and cooked, until we found three dishes that tasted like heaven. It felt good to be around her, it felt free. We talked, laughed, and made messes. It felt like all those years ago, when all we did was laugh with one another. Alyssa coached me through perfecting every single one of my dishes, and I was so thankful that she had.

  I sat the final chocolate cake in front of her, and she moaned before it even hit her lips. “Moaning over my cake before you’ve even tasted it?” I asked.

  “Definitely moaning over your cake before I’ve even tasted it.” She opened her mouth, and I grabbed a fork, scooped up some cake, and placed it in her mouth. As she began chewing, she moaned louder. “Oh my God, Logan.”

  I beamed with pride. “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that.”

  “You’d have no dollars, and no cents,” she mocked. “No. Seriously, you have to try this,” she said, but instead of getting a fork for me, she dived her hand into the cake, and shoved it into my face. “Isn’t that good?” She giggled like a five-year-old as I wiped chocolate from my eyes, nose, and mouth.

  “Oh yeah. It’s so good. I bet you want more,” I said. Right as she went to dash, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close to me. With my free hand I scooped up cake and shoved it into her mouth. She squeaked.

  “Logan! I can’t believe you,” she laughed, smearing her chin against my chin, rubbing it deeper into my slight five o’clock shadow. “It’s in my hair!”

  “It’s in my nostrils!” I replied, shaking it from my face the best I could, laughing at the sound of her laughs.

  We kept snickering for a while until the moment passed. My hand was still wrapped around her, and when our sounds ceased, our heartbeats increased.

  I’m falling in love with you.

  My mind was so flooded from missing Alyssa for all those years, that I almost forgot why I had to miss her. Because loving me is dangerous. Change the subject.

  I took a step backward, releasing my grip on her. “Alyssa.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You have a guitar in your bedroom, do you play?”

  She wavered back and forth with her hands. “Kind of. It helps keep me creative. I’m okay at it, nowhere near as good as I am with the piano.”

  “Kellan’s been unable to play. His hands are shaky, and he sometimes forgets his own lyrics. I can tell it’s eating him up.”

  She frowned. “I can only imagine what that’s like. Being unable to do what you love.”

  “Yeah. I was wondering, I know you said you’re not great at playing, but can you teach me? Can you teach me whatever you can so I can maybe play for him?”

  “There it is again.” She breathed out a small sigh.

  “There what is?”

  “The small glimpse of the boy I used to love.”

  36

  Logan

  The next week, I brought Alyssa with me as I sat in Jacob’s restaurant for my final examination of food. Seeing how she was my inspiration behind the dish, it felt right that she’d be the one sitting beside me as Jacob told me to piss off and find a new line of work. Crisp-Tender Roast Duck with a raspberry-rosemary sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes dressed with olive oil and seasonings, and garlic Brussel sprouts.

  My heart was pounding in my chest as I stared at Jacob make the same mundane facial expression as he chewed. Alyssa’s foot tapped nervously beside me and she chewed on her shirt collar, which made me smile. I didn’t know who was more worried about the duck not meeting Jacob’s standards—Alyssa or me.

  “You have to dip the duck into the sauce!” Alyssa chimed in before going back to chewing on her shirt. “Oh! And the Brussel sprouts. Dip the Brussel sprouts in the raspberry sauce, too!”

  He did as she said, and I cringed watching. He placed his fork down, sat back in the booth and a small smile graced his lips. “Well, fuck me sideways, that’s good.”

  A bit of confidence found me. “Yeah?”

  “No. Like—it’s good. Like out of the world, best-thing-I’ve-ever-eaten-good.” He went back to spooning more into his mouth. “Holy shit. Whatever you did to this dish, I want you to do to my menu each and every day you come into work.”

  “So… I got the job?”

  “Keep cooking like that and you can have the whole restaurant,” he laughed. Then he grew serious, pointing a finger at me. “That was a joke. The restaurant isn’t for sale.”

  I laughed. “Well, the job is good enough for now.”

  Pride filled me up inside, and I almost burst. Alyssa was beaming from left to right as she reached out, tossing her hands around me. “I knew it!” she whispered against my ear. “I knew you could do it.”

  I breathed in her peach shampoo.

  “All right, children, break it up. Go out and celebrate tonight. Logan, you start on Monday.”

  We all stood up and Jacob went for a handshake, but I scooped him up into a bear hug and spun him around in circles before kissing his forehead. “Thanks, Jacob.”

  “Anytime, friend.”

  As Alyssa and I went to leave, I paused. “Oh yeah, Jacob, wait.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with the recipe for my hair mask.

  He snickered. “Were you holding out on giving me the recipe until I gave you the job?”

  “There might have been a small possibility that I was holding off until you gave me the job.”

  He nodded, proud. “I would have done the same thing.”

  Alyssa and I stayed out on the town for the remainder of the night, celebrating me getting my first official chef job. We ended up in a cheap diner with hamburgers and French fries stacked in front of us, taking on the battle of who could eat the most without getting sick.

  I felt like for the first time, I was happy again.

  But I should’ve known it wouldn’t have lasted long. Because after the highs always, always, came the lows.

  “You eat here too, son?” was heard from behind me, and my jaw clenched. I turned to see my father smiling my way like the asshole he was. He had his arm around a girl, and when I locked eyes with her, I saw the fear resting in her stare. My mind flashed back to the night I first saw those eyes.

  “Do you know how beautiful your eyes are?” I asked, changing the subject. I softly began kissing her neck, listening to her softly moan.

  “They’re just
green.”

  She was wrong. They were a unique shade of celadon, holding a bit of gray and a touch of green to them. “A few years back, I was watching a documentary on Chinese and Korean pottery. Your eyes are the color of the glaze they used to make pottery.”

  “Hey,” I swallowed hard, tearing my stare away from Sadie. “What’s up?”

  “What’s up?” he echoed. “You say what’s up as if the last time you saw me you didn’t try to start a fight.”

  Alyssa was holding her purse close to her, and I could see the panic in her stare. She was terrified, the same way Sadie looked. The same way most women appeared when they were near my dad. “Look, I don’t want any trouble,” I said, my voice low.

  “Oh, so now I’m trouble?” he snickered, talking loud because he wanted everyone to notice our interaction. That was the kind of person he was, the showoff. He stepped in closer to me as I sat, hovering a few inches above me. “Don’t forget the person who took you and your mom in all those years ago, Logan,” he growled, somewhat as a threat.

  He stared at me with hate in his eyes for a few seconds before he smirked big and patted me on the back. “I’m just fucking with you, buddy. Can we sit? Can we join you?” He didn’t wait for a reply before sliding into the booth beside Alyssa.

  Alyssa tensed up, and appeared seconds away from crying. I took her hand in mine, lightly squeezed her fingers, and pulled her closer to me.

  I wanted to ditch the place, and take Alyssa home. I hated how my father made women’s skin crawl out of fear.

  “This is my girl Sadie,” he said, wrapping his hand tightly around her waist, pulling her into him.

  I cringed, feeling my temper building, but tried not to let it get to me. I held my hand out to Sadie for a handshake. “Nice to meet you,” I offered. She didn’t extend her hand, and she broke her eye contact.

  Ricky spoke for her. “Oh no, no, no. No touching.” His voice was drenched in the same threatening manner that it always was when he spoke to Ma. He thought it meant something that he was a big powerful dick, so he belittled women as a way of feeling strong.

  It just made him look weak to me.

  “Sadie doesn’t really like to be touched by other men, do you, Sadie?” Dad said.

  She didn’t reply, because he wouldn’t let her. If I hadn’t spoken to her that one night, I would’ve assumed she was mute, seeing how she hadn’t spoken one word since I saw her in the diner.

  “Do you need something, Ricky?” I asked him, growing more and more upset.

  He tossed his hands up in defense. “Whoa there, stranger. I just wanted to say hi.” His cell phone went off, and he glanced at Sadie. “Gotta take this. Don’t move.” He stood up, and headed outside to take the call.

  My stare shot to Sadie. “What the hell are you doing with him? Is that the boyfriend you were talking about?”

  “I—I didn’t know…” her voice was shaky. “I saw you at the train station after I tried to leave him, and I wanted to tell you. But I knew it’d only make more trouble. I want to leave him, but every time I try, he sends people to find me. I can’t…”

  “Does he hurt you?” I asked. Her stare fell to the ground.

  I dug into my back pocket and I pulled out my wallet, scrambling to get money. “Here. Take this. Go get on the closest bus, and get away from him.”

  Alyssa’s eyes studied mine, but she didn’t ask what was going on. Her hand landed on my leg for comfort the whole time.

  “I can’t leave. I can’t,” Sadie said, her eyes tearing up.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m pregnant,” she whispered. “I’m pregnant and I have nowhere and no one to run to. He pulled me away from my family. He destroyed all of my relationships. And now he’s all that I have.”

  “Sadie, listen to me. For your kid, the best thing you can ever do is get on a bus and never look back. You don’t want to have a child with that man. I’ve been that child. Trust me, it doesn’t turn out well.”

  She looked down, shaking slightly. “Okay,” she whispered. Alyssa appeared confused, but scribbled her number onto a napkin. “If you need anything you can call me, or Logan. I put both of our numbers down.”

  Sadie wiped the tears from her eyes. “Why are you being so nice? You both hardly even know me.”

  “What? Of course I know you. You taught me Spanish,” I joked, trying to break up the tension. She gave me a small smile and collected the money. “Go out the back door in the kitchen. I can take you if you want.”

  I stood up, took her hand, and started walking her to the back. We almost made it until I felt her being yanked away from me.

  “What the hell does ‘don’t move’ mean to you, woman?” Dad hissed toward her. His arm wrapped around her waist, and he squeezed her so tight that I saw the pained expression hit her eyes. “Time to go.”

  Sadie looked at me with pleading eyes, and I stepped forward. “I don’t think she wants to go.”

  “Excuse me?” he asked. He ran his fingers in Sadie’s hair and pulled her even closer, tighter. “You don’t want to go with me?”

  She didn’t say anything. Dad continued. “I do so much for you, Sadie, and this is how you repay me? I love you. Don’t you know that?” He bent down and kissed her, the same way he used to kiss Mom when he fed her his lies of control. She kissed him back, too, just like Mom used to kiss him. I knew right then that Sadie wasn’t going to leave. She was too far tangled into his web.

  “We’ll catch up later, Logan,” he said to me. It sounded more like a threat than a happy get-together.

  I wasn’t shocked, though. My father knew nothing about happiness, but he was a professional at disasters.

  When they left, I felt disgusted. I remained silent, snapping the band on my wrist. Alyssa walked over to me. “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head.

  “We can go outside for air if you want.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I needed more than air, though. I needed my father to disappear, allowing everyone who ever crossed his path to finally be freed from his chains.

  37

  Alyssa

  As Logan and I walked outside, he clenched his fists, reddening from the annoyance of his father. I didn’t know the history that Logan and Sadie had, but I knew he was afraid for her wellbeing, as he should’ve been. Being around Logan’s father was terrifying. I couldn’t imagine being Sadie, unable to escape his chains.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Just need a moment.” He placed his hands behind his neck and started pacing around the parking lot. There were cars parked on the large plot, and people were outside in the nice weather, socializing and laughing, while Logan was doing the complete opposite. He was dealing with those demons that liked to haunt him. He deserved a break.

  I leaned against the side of the building, waiting for him to calm down. He kicked the tall strands of grass with his shoes, back and forth.

  “Are you thinking about using?” I asked.

  “Yup,” he muttered, shutting his eyes and walking in circles.

  Poor guy.

  “You know what would make this moment better?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips as my left foot rested against the side of the building.

  “What’s that?”

  “You know what we should do to really make you feel better?”

  “Uh, no. But I’m guessing you have an idea?”

  “Oh do I ever!” I locked eyes with him. “Are you listening?”

  “Yes.”

  “No, I mean, are you really, really listening?”

  He laughed. Good. I was so happy he was laughing. I laughed, too, because he was so handsome. I laughed because he was my friend again. I laughed because my heart knew that would’ve never been good enough for me.

  “Yes, I’m listening.”

  I stood up tall, pushed out my chest, and said, “Karaoke.”

  “Oh God, no.”

  “What? Come on! Don’t you remember when we went out for karaoke
when we were younger?! And you did Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean with all the pelvis humping and all?” I reenacted his hip movements from the past.

  He snickered. “Yeah. I also remember being coked up when I did the pelvis humping.”

  My face dropped in shock. “What? You were high when you did that?”

  “Yeah, otherwise I would’ve never agreed to doing karaoke, trust me.”

  “Oh. I just thought you were excited about their Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber collection. Anyway. Today, we are going to do karaoke at O’Reilly’s Bar.”

  “No way.”

  I nodded taking his hands into mine. “Yes way.”

  “Alyssa. I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better and stuff, but seriously, you don’t have to. I’m better now. You made me better. Plus, there’s no way in hell I’d ever do karaoke again.”

  38

  Logan

  I was doing karaoke again.

  Somehow Alyssa managed to pull me on stage in O’Reilly’s Bar, and put a microphone in my hand. She promised we’d do a duet so I wouldn’t be performing on my own, but still I could feel the nerves in the pit of my stomach. She picked the song, “Love The Way You Lie,” by Rihanna and Eminem.

  “You know the words?” she asked me. “I sing it all the time when I’m driving in my car, so I know the lyrics by heart.”

  “I can follow along on the screen.”

  She smiled wide. I smiled wider.

  My greatest High.

  When the music started playing and the first lyrics started coming on the screen, no sound came from either Alyssa or myself. The people in the bar started shouting at us to sing, but neither one of us were.

  The DJ turned off the track and gestured toward us. “Um, you do know that you have to open your mouth to sing, right?”

  I looked at Alyssa with confusion. “Why weren’t you singing? It said it was Rihanna’s part.”

  “Oh. I don’t sing her part. I like Eminem’s rapping parts.”