“No.” Logan addressed his brother. “Well?”
“Well…what?” Tyler asked.
Logan was not their parent. He could punish them, but they would give him backtalk. And when he wouldn’t relent, they would resent him and make his life as miserable as possible, so he didn’t take that route. “Listen, I wouldn’t do that to you, so how about some common courtesy, huh?” He stared at them and awaited some type of response, but they remained silent and looked elsewhere.
“Okay. If neither of you put it under the couch, I’ll believe that a grasshopper put it on its back, leaped down the stairs, and slung it down there. No big deal.”
Ashleigh rolled her eyes. “Jeez.” She turned and darted upstairs. “You’re such a drama queen.”
Logan ignored the insult, and because Tyler hadn’t moved and now finally stared at him, he met his brother’s gaze. “Private?”
“What you did last night? Scaring me? Not cool!”
“Why not? You do it to me all the time.” It was not lost on Logan that he sounded exactly like a defensive child.
“That’s different. I do it for…”
“What, Tyler?”
“To give us…something.”
“I don’t know what you—”
“To give us something that’s ours. Like a common thing only we do. Something that’s just between us.”
His response shook Logan. Tyler had been reaching out for an emotional connection, and not only had Logan not understood it, but he’d accused him of lashing out. Logan couldn’t remember feeling more like a bigger idiot than at that moment. “I get that, but when I got back at you last night, you seemed upset.”
“That’s because you freaked me out.”
“But if it’s all a game that a thing between me and you, why have you let Ashleigh get involved?”
“To keep things fresh, so it’s not the same all the time.”
“I still don’t—”
“Never mind,” said Tyler, turning toward the stairs.
“All right, listen.” Logan reached out and caught his arm, holding him in place, only to release it a moment later when he felt certain his brother wouldn’t leave. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. And I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Yes, you did.” Tyler’s glare made the corners of his eyes wrinkle.
“Okay, you’re right, I did. But I shouldn’t have. I was mad at you for…You know what? It doesn’t matter.” He dropped a palm on his brother’s shoulder and grasped it. “Are we good?”
Tyler lowered his gaze but spent some time in silence, mulling it over. Then he nodded and his bangs passed before his eyes. “Yeah. We’re good.” He spun around.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Logan asked.
His brother twirled back to face him and stood at attention. A smile fought its way to his lips.
Logan straightened. “Dismissed.” He saluted him. After Tyler did likewise and went up the stairs, a door slammed.
“What the hell, Ty!” Ashleigh shouted in a muffled tone. Wood groaned as a door pulled away from the threshold. Footsteps thumped on the floor as Ashleigh left her room and entered Tyler’s. “Why’d you slam my door?”
“I didn’t.”
“I heard you talking with Logan downstairs. You came up, so it’s only us up here. Who else could have done it? Huh? Do you think I’m a—”
“Why are you guys always bugging me?” Tyler asked. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Logan!” she yelled. “Will you do something about him? He’s being a…Just, will you? Please?”
Logan sighed, irritated. Now that he’d talked with Tyler, and they seemed to have smoothed things over, had he transferred his annoyance to Ashleigh? Logan had his own challenges with their sister, and he didn’t want to create an even larger chasm between them. Besides, if Logan planned to deal with them over the next four days, he figured it best to bring down the hammer only when there was a big issue. Not something like a door slamming.
“I told you,” Tyler said in an angry tone. “I didn’t shut your door. Why are you picking on me?” His voice sounded hurt, possibly even betrayed.
“Logan?” she yelled again.
“Work it out,” he shouted back to her, unwilling to get in between them. After all, they had a better relationship with each other than Logan had with either of them. They’d need to find a way to work through their issues.
“But I didn’t do anything. He started it.”
“I did not,” Tyler yelled.
“Do you think I’m a moron?” asked Ashleigh. “A door doesn’t just slam on its own!”
4
In the movie theater that evening, as the credits began to play while the lights slowly brightened, Logan sat in his seat a little longer than normal and blinked his eyes rapidly to offset some of the feel-good tears that assaulted his eyes at the conclusion of the Pixar flick. He loved their films for their undeniable fun factor mixed with an ability to tug on his heartstrings.
“Logan’s crying again,” said Tyler, chuckling as he left his seat.
Logan wouldn’t contradict him. If the artists created a well-rounded film, he wouldn’t deny them the compliment of getting emotionally attached to the characters. After all, why watch a movie if you weren’t going to get personally invested in it? He didn’t deny it because he wanted to use it as a teaching moment for his brother – to show him that it was okay for guys to cry.
Then he realized that if he truly felt okay with tearing up, why had he tried to dry his eyes before anyone could see how the film affected him? It made him feel like a hypocrite. He supposed he had no problem crying in the dark as the movie played out. Just not when the lights came up and the moment had passed. That made his perspective a little more acceptable, even if it kind of diluted what he’d originally thought.
All around them, seats jostled as those who’d sat in them rose to their feet. Chattering ensued along with the sound of jackets slipping against fabric as numerous spectators slipped into their coats.
Logan stood up, collected the bucket of popcorn that Ashleigh and Tyler had shared and tossed in their soda canisters, followed by his empty box of Jujubes. Once Ashleigh rose and made her way down the aisle, Logan trailed her with Tyler tagging along behind him.
“Merida?” he asked his sister. “Your thoughts?”
“Not as good as Monsters Inc. or Finding Nemo.” She started toward the exit, slowed, and stopped, before moving again as the line proceeded. “Or the Toy Story movies. Or Brave, of course. But it was better than Wall-E and Ratatouille. Ty? What did you think?”
“The Incredibles movies were way better. Like waaay better. Same with the first Cars and even A Bug’s Life. It was good though.”
Logan appreciated that the animation masters constructed a story that allowed his siblings to get over their argument earlier this morning and begin talking again. He wouldn’t have been able to handle the next six days of them giving each other the silent treatment with him as the go-between to ensure they communicated.
Ashleigh held the theater door open for Logan. “Big bro? Where does it rank with Up and The Good Dinosaur?”
They were his favorite Pixar films. “Right up there for sure.” He passed through the door, spread it for Tyler, and then let it go for another person to handle the duty. “It was really good.” They made their way through the lobby towards the doors ahead, sidestepping those in line for tickets to upcoming films or for snacks.
“Eloise?” asked Ashleigh as surprise registered in her voice.
Logan thought he’d misheard her, perhaps because he’d seen her yesterday and thought about her a few times since then. He didn’t want to remember the awkward incident yesterday because it brought back images from his past, a reminder of the issues he’d once endured.
His first girlfriend in eighth grade told him that she and her best friend had made lists of the best kisses they’d had and those guys they wante
d to kiss. That ruined the relationship for Logan. Whenever they were together, he kept wondering whether she was constantly thinking about kissing him and what it meant and whether she would dump him afterward if it didn’t meet whatever compatibility qualifications she’d built up in her mind.
In fact, it messed him up for at least six months. In the past, if he saw a cute girl, he’d imagine kissing her and what it would feel like, but he hadn’t dissected it to the point of thinking about it and telling other people and rating it like a movie and then judging whether the person was worth staying with based on those feelings. He always thought of a relationship as just happening and deciding whether he wanted it to continue based on whether he liked spending time with a girl.
From that moment forth, every time he saw a beautiful girl, those thoughts flogged him, and he became so anxious, he grew nauseous, got the sweats, and a couple of times actually hyperventilated. Eventually, his mother took him to a shrink and after two appointments each week for over a month, the psychologist finally helped him get over his philematophobia, a fear of kissing. Although he’d overcome that irrational fear, he still hadn’t found the courage to ask another girl for a date…until he nearly asked out Eloise yesterday.
Up ahead, she spun around, scanned the area, spotted Ashleigh, and a big grin formed on her face. “Hey!” She zigzagged through oncoming traffic until she met up with Ashleigh.
How did Ashleigh know Eloise? Logan’s mouth had gone dry. Eloise looked stunning. His heart hammered in his chest. A second later, something bumped into his lower back.
“Dude!” Tyler said, aggravated. “Why did you stop?”
The commotion got Eloise’s attention, as she looked over Ashleigh’s shoulder and met Logan’s eyes. An eyebrow drew upwards.
That simple gesture made Logan’s heart clench.
“Okay,” said Tyler, swerving around his brother, only to stop beside his sister, now that she’d turned to face Logan. “What’s up, Ash?”
Ashleigh looked from Eloise to Logan. “You know each other?”
“Yes,” Eloise said, squinting in mock anger. “He kissed me.”
“What?” asked Ashleigh, one corner of her lip twisting in disgust. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” said Eloise. She presented Logan with a knowing grin. “Why did you kiss me?”
Logan swallowed past the imaginary bulge in his throat. All three of them stared at him, awaiting a response, and once more, heat surged into his face. “It…was an accident.”
“Well,” Eloise said. “He just came up to me and planted a big one on my lips. I barely had a chance to react. Not only that, we were in high school for years, but we never said one word to each other. Before that kiss, we were strangers.” When Ashleigh looked away from Eloise and directed her attention to her brother, Eloise’s grin grew even wider.
“You assaulted her?” asked Ashleigh, her tone rising in horror, drawing others to look their way. “Why?”
“No!” Logan shook his head in dismay. “There was no assault,” he said loudly enough for others to hear, which now that he’d aired that thought made him seem even guiltier of a crime he didn’t commit.
Eloise placed her hands on her hips and looked down at Ashleigh. “Did you just come from the—”
Ashleigh stepped back as though offended. “Of course. We’re always at the first Friday night showing of a Pixar film, going back to—”
“A few years ago,” said Tyler, “when Logan got his truck.” He laughed so much that his shoulders bobbed. “And ever since then, whenever we get out of the movie, Logan’s always bawling.” He turned to his brother, clenched his hands, placed them to his eyes, and rotated them in circles. He sniffed and pretended to cry.
“Really?” asked Eloise, her voice brightening.
“Oh, come on,” Logan said, unwilling to lie about it. He struggled for words to find another topic, but they refused to come forth.
“Oh?” Ashleigh asked, meeting Tyler’s expression. “How did he put it?” She spun back to her big brother. “You were ‘proud’ to cry in movies like, for instance, practically every romantic comedy ever made.”
Logan’s mouth shot open and his gaze flicked back to Eloise. “Why would you say that?”
“Are you calling us liars?” asked Tyler in a mocking tone. “We’re not liars, right Ash?”
“Definitely not liars,” she admitted and directed her attention to Logan. “If anything, you are. First, you’re calling my friend a liar for saying kissing her was an accident, and now you’re saying you didn’t cry in the theater, like, three minutes ago.”
“I never said I didn’t cry.” It was torture admitting that, and he couldn’t bear to look at Eloise while saying those words for fear that she’d cringe. Regardless, Logan liked her, and if she was repulsed by a guy who happened to get emotional during a Pixar film, he thought it best to let her know that up front. If she wasn’t interested in him after hearing the truth now, he would get over her quicker than if they had been dating for a while, only for her to find out that nugget much later. He preferred the analogy of yanking off a Band-Aid compared to removing it a centimeter at a time.
Logan looked from Ashleigh’s grin to Tyler’s laughter-ridden expression and finally on to the amusement on Eloise’s face. Even more heat surged up his throat and into his cheeks. His chest felt so tight, he didn’t think he could snap up another breath.
“Aww.” Eloise sneaked a glance at Ashleigh before meeting Logan’s eyes again. “I think it’s kind of sweet.”
Those words felt like a frigid breeze swept across his face, instantly cooling the sweltering surface of his flesh. It allowed him to breathe, to think, to let his insides unclench. “How,” Logan asked his sister, still barely managing to squeeze the word out, “do you two know each other?”
“From the library,” said Ashleigh. “Yeah, she’s always giving me awesome fantasy books, and literary books by authors like John Green.” She turned her gaze onto Logan with a sneaky grin. “You’d like his books. They’ll make you cry.”
That made everyone laugh, and Logan allowed himself to smile at that one.
Eloise favored Logan with a gentle smile and said to Ashleigh, “Could you give me a minute with your brother?”
“Want me to call the police on him?” Tyler asked her. “It’s against the law to be a kissing bandit, right?”
Ashleigh elbowed him in the shoulder. “If he goes to jail, he can’t keep an eye on us until Mom gets back.” She surveyed the lobby warily, pinched Tyler’s ear with two fingers, dragged him away from Eloise, and toward the candy counter, which instantly captivated him.
“You’re looking after them?” Eloise asked Logan. “Is everything okay at home?”
He watched his siblings because one look at Eloise would make his stomach flip again. He needed to get a hold of his emotions and stop the anxiety from overriding his thoughts. He needed to…
Eloise flicked him in the exact spot they’d butted heads.
Startled, Logan jerked back and met her gaze, jolted out of getting lost in thought.
“I get the impression that happens a lot,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said, glad for the interruption. It kicked the uncertainty and the anxiety to the curb. “I guess so.” And just like that, he felt like himself again. “About what my brother said—”
“They make me cry, too, sometimes,” she said, drawing her shoulder inward. “I like that about you.”
Her soft voice and the cute way she looked at him with those twinkling eyes made a smile come over him.
“Logan?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t lie to me. Okay?”
“Sure. I mean, of course, I won’t.”
“You stole that kiss from me, didn’t you?”
“No.”
She stomped a foot into the ground in an exaggerated manner. “You promised!”
He found it hard not to laugh at her phony outburst. “But I didn’t—
”
“Okay,” she said, putting her hands out to stop him. “You wanted that to happen though, didn’t you?”
Something about her told Logan that he could trust her as he’d done while admitting how Pixar films got to him. “Yeah. I did.”
Eloise snapped her finger as a grin formed on her lips. “I knew it. You stole that kiss.” She twirled around, intrigued by a movie poster for a horror film.
Phew! He was ecstatic that things hadn’t gone south. By smiling, Eloise all but told him that she didn’t mind that he’d kissed her…or that he’d wanted to. The knot at the back of his neck loosened up a bit. Logan went over to her. “I’m not a big fan of horror movies.”
“Me neither. But it puts things in perspective for me.”
“What do you mean?”
Uncertainty flashed in Eloise’s eyes. “In horror movies, things get horrible for people. It lets me prepare for how bad things can get in the real world.”
“I don’t understand.”
Eloise bumped shoulders with him. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it some time.”
That sounded promising, so he decided to make sure there would be a next time. “Could I get your number?”
A tiny smile formed on her lips, and she met his gaze. “Can I have your phone?”
“That’s a pretty big trade-off,” he said. “Your number for my phone.” He feigned deep concentration and then winced. “Sorry, I don’t think that’s an even trade.”
“No, I was going to put my number in…” Then she broke off and her eyes shot upwards. “I have a feeling you think my jokes are awful.”
“They are, but in a good way.”
Eloise’s lips parted and her eyebrows slid close together in fake exasperation.
“Hey, I promised not to lie.” Logan punched in his security code, opened the phone app, and handed it over to her. “But you have a fun sense of humor.”
“If only…” She accepted the phone. “I was joking.” With an exuberant smile, Eloise turned her back on him, lifted the cell above her head, and walked away. “Thanks for the phone. Mine shattered the other day.”
The Descendants Page 4