by Janie Marie
He could see it all.
Every broken rib. The scar tissue that had built up. He was seeing what four years of abuse had left behind. But she didn’t care what Evander thought. The one person who she wanted to care hadn’t met them like he said he would. An hour had passed, and not one word had come from Logan.
“Uh, Kylie.” Evander’s voice had that sympathetic undertone to it. The one she remembered hearing right after her mother died when she was only seven—then again, when her dad died just before her freshman year.
“Yeah?”
He smiled, a pitying sort of grin. “Logan just texted me. He’s on his way.”
She nodded and looked back down at her lap.
“He decided to get a massage. I guess he needed a full one—that’s what’s taking him so long.”
She didn’t look up. She knew that Evander had no idea about how she felt toward Logan. Not that it mattered anyway. The man’s words were purely informative. He was too busy analyzing every detail of her chest X-ray.
She wondered if the X-ray showed her broken heart, wondered if he could see the crack Logan had already started—and if they were retaken just now, would they show it being ripped apart by a Spanish beauty?
“Sorry,” came Logan’s voice as the door opened.
Kylie didn’t look up, though she felt him; his presence was unique to her already.
“I needed to do something.”
She shook her head as the door shut, breathing a sigh of relief when he didn’t come near her. He stood beside Evander instead.
“It’s fine,” Evander told him. “I hope Gloria got out whatever knots you must have had.”
Logan was slow to respond, but he eventually muttered a simple, “Yeah.”
Kylie reached up to rub her eye. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Sure, he could do what he wanted. After all, she was the dumb idiot still pretending to love Trevor. But he knew she was bothered by his relationship with his masseuse. Did he get another blow job? Or did he decide to find out if she was better in ‘the sack’?
“Well,” Evander started, business-like tone present, “I really wasn’t expecting any of this. If the police come, Logan, I have to say I took these.”
“They won’t come,” he said quickly.
Kylie turned her head to stare at the wall. She didn’t want to hear what Evander found. She knew. She’d felt every blow. She knew exactly how it felt to be hit with an aluminum bat versus a wooden one. She knew getting kicked left her winded, while blows from baseball bats did just as much damage as falling down the stairs.
“Fine. But I think you both should consider going to the police. This is serious, Logan. It’s not just a black eye.”
“Just tell me what you found,” Logan snapped. “Are there any fractures right now?”
Evander sighed. “No. I haven’t seen what she looks like, but by the way she’s carrying herself, I can tell she’s in pain. I’ll give her something, put it in your name.”
“Thank you.” Logan’s voice was calmer now.
“Okay. So I guess that’s the good news. I can examine you, Kylie, but really, I can’t do much for bruises. Just take the medicine I prescribe, take it easy, and don’t receive another injury.”
She nodded but kept her head down.
“You have so much damage done, I’m surprised you haven’t punctured a lung. And that no one’s stopped this. This is like looking at an amateur fighter’s chest after he’s retired from underground fighting.”
“Evander.” Logan was getting irritated.
So was she. She didn’t need to listen to this.
“Right. Sorry. I don’t think she wants to look, but come here; you can see for yourself.”
She listened then as Evander explained the four fractures she’d obtained over the years. He broke down each one for him, how they occurred from what he thought was two or three different incidents. Then he explained how he didn’t doubt other fractures would be revealed over more of her body. None of it mattered to her. She had already lived through them. And if she and Logan kept up their charade for the next few weeks, she would never experience them again. Everything could stop.
“Do you have any questions, Kylie?”
She snapped her head over to see Evander looking at her. Logan was staring at the monitor where her X-rays were displayed.
“Um, no,” she whispered. “Thank you for your help.”
Evander gave her a sad smile and nodded. “Just stick with Logan, sweetie. He’ll keep you safe.”
She nodded, unsure if Logan even wanted her around anymore. He hadn’t said anything to either of them.
“All right,” said Evander. “You can come to me for anything. Don’t hesitate. I’ll be back—I need to go call in your prescription.”
She swore the room got smaller when Evander left.
Logan didn’t move. He stood there with his arms crossed, his face unreadable as he looked at her X-rays.
“Logan,” she whispered, hoping he would just say something.
He didn’t.
She didn’t know what he could be thinking. Her own thoughts were jumping from one of today’s events to the next. She tried again. “Logan?”
Still, he stayed quiet. Kylie was tired of it. She was upset over her own foolish choice to lie to him about Trevor, and having him ignore her only added to her inner turmoil.
“I don’t need the pain meds,” she said, standing up. “I’ll go tell him to forget it. I’m going to head home though. Thanks for today, I guess. And, well, I guess just trying to help. But you don’t need to worry—I’ll figure things out on my own. I’m used to dealing with it, and it’s fine. It’s the way I want things.” She smiled in his direction, though she felt like he wasn’t even listening. “Bye, Logan.”
The pain from those words stabbed her heart, almost making her cry. Still, she turned to leave her man-boy behind her.
With her hand outstretched toward the doorknob, Logan finally spoke.
“Kylie.”
She hadn’t heard him walk closer, but as soon as she turned, he was there, placing his hands on her cheeks and smashing his lips to hers.
A shocked cry fell out of her mouth, but he swallowed it and the happy-emotional sobs that followed. There was no way she could hold in her tears now. She let him take her cries inside him—let him hold her up. This was all going to go to hell, but she didn’t care. She wanted this.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured and resumed kissing her as he rubbed her tears with his thumbs. “I’m so sorry.”
She nodded as best she could, squeezing herself closer as he began to kiss her tears.
“I wasn’t with Gloria,” he whispered against her cheek.
This relieved her, of course, but she didn’t understand him, and she knew he wouldn’t explain. So she just kept still as he brushed his lips across her skin.
“It’s fine, Logan,” she whispered.
“No, it’s not, Hood.” He nuzzled his nose against the side of her neck. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t have pulled any of this shit with you today. And I shouldn’t have gotten angry earlier.” His words were muffled, and she sensed he wanted to say more, but he only added, “Just please let me be here for you. I want to be the one who protects you. You’re not alone.”
It wasn’t some declaration that he had the same feelings she was developing, but he was telling her he genuinely wanted to be there for her. He was sorry, and she was an idiot. But it felt right.
“I want you here with me,” she told him, smiling when he grinned and attacked her lips again.
He pulled back and carefully rubbed her tears. “Good. You’re not getting rid of me. Just do one thing for me, Hood.”
“Sure.”
His dark eyes scanned her face while he rubbed the pads of his thumbs over her wet cheeks. She sighed, loving that he was holding her again, and closed her eyes to wait for his demand. “Promise me that when you’re with me, Trevor is nowhere near y
our mind. And his name is definitely not one we speak when you’re in my arms.”
Kylie smiled, earning her one of Logan’s breathtaking grins. “Trevor who?”
Twelve
THE BAD KIDS
Kylie pressed her lips together as she pushed her hood off her head. Her hair was already down, hanging over her shoulders. Everyone at home had seen it spilling out from the hood she always wore, but this was her first time taking her hood off.
Kevin’s stare wasn’t uncomfortable, but she felt it taking in her change in appearance as he drove her to school.
He cleared his throat when the building came into view. “I think I like the influence Logan Grimm is having on you.”
She felt her cheeks flush. “He’s pretty great.”
“I hope so, sweetheart. Just be careful. Don’t let your heart get too attached.” He turned into the school drop-off lane. “I really hope you have a good experience with him, but your first boyfriend usually isn’t your last.”
“What do you mean?” Her heartbeat sped up as she watched the Godsons walking past her window. Janie Mortaime was in the center of the group, holding Ryder’s hand while she held Tercero’s arm, speaking to him. Ryder seemed to ignore how wrong it looked for his girlfriend to be all over his brother while he was right there. Kylie frowned at the sight, but she was more drawn to Ryder’s hold on Janie because it reminded her she wouldn’t have her bad boy there to hold her hand during the day. In fact, her bad boy wasn’t a real boyfriend. He cared about her, but that wasn’t the same as being real boyfriend and girlfriend.
“I mean,” Kevin said as he drove a bit closer to the drop-off zone, “first loves rarely last more than a few months, and Logan has probably had a long line of relationships. This thing you’ve started is nothing new to him. He has a job, a life that doesn’t involve school, and he is surrounded by women. I was a fighter—I know what kind of life he has. And it is full of women, not innocent girls trying to keep their grades up in high school.”
Her mouth went dry. First, it was still hard to picture Kevin as a fighter. He was her stepdad and a businessman. Seeing him the way she’d seen Logan fight was just weird.
Kylie shook her head to rid herself of even imagining Kevin shirtless. “Logan hasn’t had a girlfriend before.”
He gave her a pitying look. “Sweetheart, I’m sure he has had a few girlfriends. Worse, I know he has a reputation when it comes to women. I’m not saying he’s playing with your feelings—he seemed genuine about dating you when I met him—but I’m concerned you’ll invest too much in him. Once it becomes clear to him you’re still very much a young girl putting school first—which I hope is the case—he might realize he’s not ready to have a relationship with you.”
Her eyes burned as she watched the Godson brothers staring at a group of girls dancing in the courtyard. Archer took out his phone to record them, but they were all watching the show the girls were putting on. The only one not looking was Ryder, but that was because he was busy kissing Janie on a bench nearby.
The thing that had her heart on the verge of breaking was the realization that all the Godson brothers had girlfriends—not just Ryder. Yet they were whistling as the dance team shook their asses and blew kisses at them. They were the definition of bad boys, just like Logan, and no girlfriend, especially one for show, was holding them back from other girls.
Kevin was right. Logan was a guy who had women throwing themselves at him all the time. He would forget about her whenever she wasn’t there to kiss him.
Kevin patted her knee. “Just guard your heart, okay? I’m here if you need anything. And I’m his boss, remember? At least that should keep him in line.”
“I will. Thanks, Kevin.” She smiled as best she could. He was right, after all. Logan had no idea she liked him or that she no longer wanted anything to do with Trevor. But that was the plan for Logan. He was being a sort of guardian angel while he gave her experience to go after Trevor. He was making Trevor jealous to force him to make a move.
Kevin finally made it to the drop-off zone, and he smiled as he unlocked the door. “Have a good day.”
“You too.” She clutched her bag and got out of the car. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but it felt like everyone was watching her as she made her way toward the door. It was hard not to pull her hood over her head, but she promised Logan last night she wouldn’t hide under it anymore. She felt like he would know if she’d worn it the next time she saw him, so she was determined to keep her hood down all day.
Wolf whistles filled the courtyard, and she grinned at the attention, only to feel humiliated when she turned to see it was merely Archer and Savaş whistling at Janie. The girl was giving Ryder a lap dance, probably because the dance team had planted themselves across from where Ryder was sitting.
Kylie didn’t know what she was feeling as she watched Ryder hold on to Janie’s hips with a big smile on his face, or when Archer quickly ran over and shoved dollar bills into Janie’s shorts, which resulted in Ryder snatching his brother’s arm as he got up.
The girl didn’t get offended at basically being viewed as a stripper. She merely laughed as she pulled Ryder’s face to her breasts to keep him from attacking his brother.
The crowd roared with laughter as Archer made a run for it, and they cheered when Savaş walked toward the group of dancers and started slowly pulling his shirt over his head.
“Take it off, baby,” Janie cheered as Ryder carried her past him. She even started making the dollar bills Archer had given her rain down in Savaş’ direction.
“Miss Mortaime,” Principal Prince shouted, marching toward them.
Janie turned, winking at the principal as Ryder glared at him.
“Hi, Nick.” Janie held out a dollar. “You gotta take it off before you get paid, big boy.”
Mr. Prince actually smiled as he snatched the dollar from Janie’s hand. “Get to class.”
Ryder snatched the dollar right back. Mr. Prince strolled forward, shooing away the girls who were trying to shove dollars into Archer’s and Savaş’ pants.
As people pushed their way toward the doors, Kylie realized one thing.
No one was looking at her. No one.
She was just as invisible as she’d always been under her hood.
She sighed as she turned, only to stumble back. “Trevor.”
He smiled at her before glaring at Ryder, who roughly knocked his shoulder as he passed him.
Kylie noticed Janie peering over Ryder’s shoulder with her eyes locked on Trevor’s. She felt pathetic over the fact that even Trevor was staring at the girl, but then he muttered ‘slut’ and turned to face Kylie again.
“Can I walk you to your first period?” Trevor asked.
Kylie was in shock. “Are you talking to me?”
He chuckled, patting some jock on the shoulder as he moved closer to her. “Yeah. I wanted to check on you—make sure you were okay.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. “I’m good.”
He gave her his gorgeous Trevor Grimm smile, moving to the side as the dance team walked by. Many of the girls looked at him, then her, muttering ‘Who’s that?’ as they went inside.
“Good,” he said, holding the door open for her. “So, can I walk you?”
“Yeah.” She noticed people were looking at her now. “Thanks, Trevor.”
Again, he gave her a big smile. “Sure. You look nice, by the way. I like your hair down. It’s pretty.”
“Thanks,” Kylie whispered, smiling. She could barely concentrate on her steps as her racing heart sped up even more when she realized students were watching them. Once again, she was the girl Trevor Grimm made important to everyone, and she didn’t mind at all.
Kylie slouched down in her chair, trying to hide her tears as a group of girls giggled a few rows behind her. Being noticed wasn’t what she had hoped for. In fact, she’d been teased and bullied by a group of Grimm fan girls for mos
t of the day. She had to hide in the bathroom at lunchtime to escape their taunts, and now she was in English class, she had to face even more ridicule. All because of the football team.
Those dumb jocks let it slip she was dating Logan, and apparently everyone at school knew who Logan Grimm was. He was a legend throughout the town. She felt like a fool for not knowing about him and worse because everyone thought he was too good for her. They all thought it was a joke.
“She’s not even pretty,” said one of the girls in the back row.
Kylie closed her eyes, only to jump when something smacked her forehead. She ignored the laughter and looked down to see a wadded-up piece of paper had been thrown at her.
“What a weirdo,” someone whispered.
“She must be a really good fuck, or she’s paying him to fuck her,” someone else muttered.
“No, I think it’s because her stepdad is Kevin Blackwood—he owns the fighters. Logan’s only dating her to butter up her daddy.”
Kylie glared at her desk, refusing to look up as people filed into class. How did everyone even know about Kevin owning the fighters? Then again, she was sure she saw Kevin’s name on the building when she went to the fight.
Philip Miller sat behind her, and he tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, Kylie.”
“What?” She looked over to see his friends laughing.
“How much?” he asked.
She knew she should’ve stayed quiet, but she couldn’t. “How much for what?”
“How much to suck my big dick?”
His friends roared with laughter.
“Leave me alone,” she snapped, her blood boiling as something else was thrown at her.
“Aw, don’t be like that,” Philip said. “There’s no way Grimm isn’t getting his dick sucked right now—you might as well learn how to do it properly if you want to keep a legend like Logan Grimm interested in you. Don’t you know he used to date—”
His words dried up, and the laughter from his friends ceased.