by Janie Marie
“Yeah.” He took another drag, then blew it out. “Well, this secret isn’t just his. I’m going to tell you the truth because it’s destroying Janie to keep up this shit for him. It’s destroying me.”
“It’s not your place to expose anything about him,” she said softly.
He released a dark laugh. “Expose him? Like he did Janie? Yeah, I can see you using that word and being all panicked about it—but I’m going to tell you this, because it’s my lie as well, and even if I don’t give a damn about him, the pain he’s inflicting on himself is poisoning Janie.” He took a deep breath. “We lied about the baby.”
That wasn’t what she expected him to bring up, and all she could do was sit and wait for what he was getting at.
“Well”—he flicked the ash from his cigarette—“we lied about one of them.”
“There were two babies?” Kylie dug her fingernails into her chest, knowing he was about to say something that would change everything.
He nodded again. “The one she told you about at Arthur’s house—that was my baby. She lost it at ten weeks a month ago. Only our families and Logan knew about it.” He took another drag of his cigarette. “But the one we lied about, the one everyone thinks caused the breakup between her and Logan, wasn’t mine.”
Kylie could barely breathe.
Ryder looked up to stare at the moon. “It was his.”
One tear fell onto her lap. Then another. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t see any light for her to go toward.
“I know he lied, and we didn’t correct you when you jumped to your conclusions. It’s breaking Janie, and it’s fucking up Logan, too. So try to listen for once without being nasty, because I’m gonna tell you what really happened.”
“Please don’t,” she begged, knowing it would change everything.
He shook his head. “You need to hear this. You wanted the truth on her. I told you you didn’t know what you’d gotten into with him. You just never wanted to believe he was the bad guy. So this is your chance to learn all about who Logan Grimm really is.”
Twenty-Four
Logan Grimm
Logan shook his head, his heart crushing with every second he took in the girl in his arms. His baby doll. She’d been his entire reason for living, and he’d let her down. Again.
“It’s okay,” she reassured him as her poor lip cracked open. “I’m gonna be okay.”
He used a cloth to stop the bleeding and groaned because looking at her destroyed him. “Baby doll, I do nothing but hurt you.” There were amazing memories between them, but his mind tormented him, assaulting him with the bad. He fought against them and drowned in the memories of when he was just a seventeen-year-old guy in love with his best friend.
He still remembered the exact day he was done with holding back. Weeks had gone by after they’d both realized there was more between them than friendship; he’d known longer.
There’d been plenty of chances to make them official—lots of almost kisses and blatant caresses, but his mother had told Arthur to put a stop to it, and Janie had followed orders.
It hadn’t stopped him for long, and that afternoon years ago broke free in his mind, blessing him with one of their happier moments.
She had been driving him crazy without even trying as she lay beside him on the couch, reading as he sketched bugs for her project.
He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair as she smirked at whatever she was reading in her book. She blindly lifted her spoon to her mouth—and completely missed.
“Don’t eat like a piglet, baby doll.” Logan slid his thumb across the corner of her mouth to help her remove the ice cream.
“Eat my ass.” She lifted the shirt to her mouth, sucking the big glob left behind.
He set his sketchbook aside and let his gaze fall over her body. “I’m starting to think you want me to give your delicious ass some attention.”
“Nope. I don’t see your interest in it, actually.” She frowned down at the wet stain. “Fuck. My shirt is ruined.”
“Taking it off should fix the problem.” He snickered at her glare but couldn’t hide the fact he was imagining her shirtless.
She squirmed under his gaze but pretended to focus on her shirt.
“Do I make you uncomfortable now?” he asked, caressing her cheek. It was so hard to keep his hands to himself.
She stared up at him. “No.”
He smoothed her hair out of her face. “You know I love you, right?”
Her eyes shifted between his, worried. “I know. I love you, too.”
His chest felt tight but those eyes let him breathe, and he finally confessed what he’d held back for years. “I love you more than a friend, baby doll. I want us to be together. No more pretending we’re just friends; I want your kiss. I want all of you.”
Logan blinked, letting the memory simmer. That night she’d blurted out every reason why they shouldn’t be together, and he’d told her he just wanted a chance. He didn’t want to look back and see her fall in love with someone else just because he didn’t have the balls to tell his mother and the world to go to hell. And, in the end, Janie said yes to being his girlfriend.
She’d said yes, even after admitting she knew things would eventually fall apart.
That had been the first time he’d really kissed her. They’d had several teasing brushes of their lips before, but that kiss was fucking amazing, better than his first kiss and every one in between.
Things had heated up fast, considering she’d never really been intimate with anyone. But she trusted him. She wanted him to go all in, and he almost had. He’d taken her clothes off and given her an orgasm to erase the memory of his fucking cousin. He’d been proud to witness her finally experience something that felt good and not dirty.
Their relationship hadn’t been easy. It was hell, actually. But after Arthur gave his blessing, despite his mother’s wishes, and he kissed her in front of the school, which cost her every ‘friend’ she’d thought she’d had, they were finally content.
He had his dream girl, and they’d learned everything together. Every. Fucking. Thing.
It made him feel like a king, how much she loved that the big things were firsts for him. It was heaven until he realized his whole world was actually hell.
Logan shook his head, blinking as the hospital room and Janie came back into view. He slid a finger over her stomach. The bandage was crinkled and tinged with pink. All her vomiting had probably pulled at each suture.
He wondered what she’d went through without him. Not just this time, but back when he’d abandoned her, all because a better guy had appeared one day.
“Every hoe is pulling their panties off in the restroom,” Jake, one of his closest friends, had said.
Logan had looked up from his phone, scanning the crowded school halls. “What?”
Jake rolled his eyes. “The four guys wandering around school today. Every bitch is swooning over them.”
“I haven’t heard anything,” Logan said as he replied to Janie’s text: Hurry up. I’m waiting on you.
Baby Doll: Love you too.
Baby Doll: Asshole
He rolled his eyes. Her mood swings were the worst part of his day.
“Trouble in paradise?” Devon, his even closer friend, asked as he fell in step with them.
Logan pocketed his phone. “She’s giving me shit because I can’t take her to an appointment.”
“What kind of appointment?” Devon frowned at him. “Since when do you not have time for her? Does this have to do with how sick she’s been?”
“What the fuck?” Logan glared at Devon. “I have to hear shit from you, too?”
Devon glanced at Jake, but they both kept their mouths shut until Jake gaped and pointed down the hall
“Holy shit. Do you see the size of that guy? He’s gotta be at least six-five!”
Logan looked where Jake was pointing and saw a massive guy. His flaming red hair was impossible to miss, but his build
was mind boggling. He looked like a fucking Roman gladiator. “That must be who you were talking about.”
Jake nodded. “All the girls are trying to peek into the office. I think there are three others with him.”
“Maybe they’ll get new players for next year, after all,” Devon said as Logan came to a stop.
He scanned the crowd for Janie. She should have been here by now.
“Mr. Prince seems to know him,” Jake said. “I can’t see the others yet, but he’s laughing. It’s rare to see that bastard smile.”
Logan glanced over again. He could still only see the big red-headed guy and all the girls giggling. At least Janie might get off his case for girls talking to him. If some other assholes were getting their attention, she’d have less reason to bitch.
“Hey, boys,” Janie said, finally showing up. She rubbed her stomach, grimacing. “Sorry I’m late.”
He leaned down, kissing her as he rubbed her stomach. His guilt and self-hatred rose to new levels when she smiled up at him. She really had been sick, and he knew she was afraid she might have something seriously wrong with her. “Sorry I’m an asshole.”
She grinned, hugging him. “I’m being bitchy. I should be getting ready to start.”
“I wasn’t going to say it.” He snickered when she pinched his side. “Ow.”
“I am hurting though,” she whispered, leaning her head against him. “You sure you can’t come with me?”
Logan sighed, rubbing her back. “I told Coach I’d meet with Blackwood’s guys about the opportunity they’re giving me. I’ll see you afterward. You said it wasn’t a big deal, right?” It was a big deal; he was a complete dick for letting her go by herself, but he was afraid they’d say she had cancer like her mom, and he couldn’t bear to find out. He’d already lost his mother two months ago; he couldn’t lose his Janie. So, like a coward, he prepared to let her deal with it by herself.
“Yeah,” she muttered, moving out of his arms. “I better go, then. The driver should be here any minute. I need to go sign out.”
“All right.” He crossed his arms, knowing she was pissed again. He didn’t feel like fighting in front of the entire school. They had enough drama when they were happy, which had been the case until lately. “Text me when you’re done.”
She stared at him, waiting for him to man up. He couldn’t, and he felt like a total dick when she sighed and walked away.
“What’s up with you, bro?” Jake nudged him.
Logan shook his head. “It’s nothing.” It was everything.
“She looks pale. What’s wrong with her?” Devon asked quietly.
He kept his eyes on her, watching as she made her way through the crowd to get to the office. “It’s just a checkup.”
“So did you talk to her about fighting?” Devon asked him.
“Yep.” His agitation spiked. It hadn’t been a conversation. She flat out said no to the idea of him fighting, even after he won that first fight. Then she changed her mind and said to do whatever he wanted because it was his life, and she’d support him. Lies. He knew she’d bitch if he really signed a contract.
“Ready to go?” Jake said as Logan’s soul roared so loudly his body shook. “Uh oh.”
“Fuck,” Devon said as they all watched a guy with black hair and green eyes hold the door open for Janie.
That wasn’t the big problem though. The problem was neither of them were moving. They were staring at each other like nothing else mattered in the entire fucking world but them.
Then the fucker smiled at her, holding the door open wider as he said something.
She blushed. She fucking blushed!
“Fuck, I just realized who they are,” Jake said. “The Godsons.”
Logan focused on Janie as she greeted Mr. Prince. She peeked behind her, and her eyes ignited with emerald and gold flames as she looked back at the guy holding the door for her.
Arthur had told him what Janie’s mom said would happen if they got together. Her mom had visions, something he didn’t believe in, but the Knights did. So did his dad. And her vision had been that she knew he and Janie would end up together, but one day Janie’s eyes would burn like gold and emerald flames. That would be the end, and Logan was looking at it happening right now. While she was staring at another fucking guy.
“They own the big place on the hill,” Jake said. “I think they’re younger than us.”
Logan knew who they were. His dad had warned him they might come one day, and it would be the worst day of his life. He always thought that was simply his father being too wrapped up in their legacy, but he felt it.
Death had wrapped his cold hand around Logan’s heart and smirked, just like that fucker still staring at his girlfriend. He was smiling as he literally held Logan’s entire world and reason for living in the palm of his hand, and she was blushing.
“Where you going, man?” Devon called as he turned to leave.
“To meet Blackwood’s people.”
Jake jogged up to him. “You don’t want to make sure she’s okay?”
“She’s fine,” he snapped. “Or did you not see her smiling like every other bitch over there?”
Jake shrugged, but he looked afraid as he said, “She’s just being a girl, dude. I’m straight, but my dick twitched when he smiled.”
Logan shook his head. “I have to take care of this and think about my future. I can’t follow her around all fucking day.”
Devon sighed. “What happened to making decisions with her?”
“I can’t sit back like a bitch, waiting for her to grow up,” he yelled. “What the fuck do you all expect me to do? Get a job flipping burgers until she graduates?”
“I thought you were going to go to school, then decide if you both wanted to transfer somewhere else,” Jake said, scratching his head. “I know your mom’s death—”
“Don’t fucking talk about my mom!” Logan shoved Jake away. “Go find someone else to follow like a mindless dog and leave me the fuck alone.”
His best friends stopped as he kept going. He kept going, knowing he’d just seen his end.
Ryder watched Kylie’s tears slide down her cheeks after he told her what he knew about Logan and Janie’s relationship. He didn’t give a damn this was breaking her heart. This was her last chance, so he was going to tell her what broke his heart—the day he caused Janie to lose Logan. So he told her everything, just as it happened, just as he saw it unfold in his mind again.
He hadn’t planned on enrolling at Blackwoods High. It was where their estate was, but his duties had always kept him and his brothers traveling. But none of it mattered now, because he’d found his girl—his destiny. She meant everything.
Now he had to figure out how to get her to see Logan fucking Grimm was a dick who didn’t deserve her.
It shouldn’t be hard if the rumors circulating the school were anything to go by.
The bastard had signed his life away to a crooked fighting organization, even though it was common knowledge he was supposed to wait for her to graduate then pursue a visual arts degree. The fucker was talented, that was certain, and even one of the top students in his class. But all his smarts must’ve been limited to the books because he’d apparently broken up with her.
Ryder checked the time on his phone. His first class was almost over, and she was late or not going to show. Maybe she was too sad after being broken up with.
“Hi, Ryder,” a soft voice cooed in his ear.
He stretched out in the desk and flicked his eyes over to see the bitch who’d been talking the most shit about his girl. Apparently, this cunt, Melody, had been her best friend before Janie started dating Logan. She was nothing but a two-faced bitch. “What the fuck makes you think I want your fucking greeting?” he asked her, motioning for her to back away from him.
She flinched before straightening her back. “I know you think this is your chance with her, but you’d be making a mistake.”
“Really?” He chuckled, but n
ot because he was amused. He was annoyed that his false interest in her opinion perked the bitch up.
She nodded eagerly. “I know all the guys talk like she’s perfect, but it’s only because of Logan. They wouldn’t care without him. And he’s only with her because she trapped him.”
“Trapped, huh?” He couldn’t believe girls went through such fucking lengths to ruin another girl.
“He wasn’t interested in her until she started hurting herself,” Melody said, disgusted. “She makes him think he’s got to take care of her—puking all the time and having panic attacks. She makes him think she’ll kill herself. She has her brothers scare him into staying with her, too.”
He balled his fists as sensations he wasn’t used to assaulted him. Everything about his being had changed since bumping into Janie on Friday, and these feelings were too much sometimes. Hearing that his girl was hurting herself and suffering made the flames of hell lick at his soul.
Melody took his silence as a chance to keep dishing out shit on her old friend. “I think those fighters finally opened his eyes. He realized she was ruining his chances. But no other guy needs to get trapped with her just because he’s done.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he said without looking at the girl. “No other guys need to be anywhere near her.” Now he looked at her dead in the eyes. “Because she needs a fucking man who will treat her like a goddess and not a goddamn burden. Now sit your ass down and keep your opinions about her to yourself.”
Melody scrambled back, practically falling into her chair, and that’s when Janie finally showed.
His breath chilled in his lungs when her gorgeous hazel eyes met his. Everything made sense for him as he watched the green and gold colors swirl in her eyes. She was dazed, just like he was, but she fought her attraction to him. She fought things she didn’t even know about between them and took a seat, pretending he wasn’t there.
Melody and her little fucking minions, though, saw what he did; a girl wounded.
“Looks like Logan finally wised up,” someone whispered.