What Hurts The Most

by Cheyenne Barnett

  Chapter Fourteen

  Logan was pretty happy the rest of the day, he was more like himself… We ate dinner together at the cafeteria and even talked about the house. “You aren’t going to do anything with the basement?” He asks as we head back home.

  “I will eventually, but first I need to focus on things people see, like the kitchen, living room, and dining room…That sort of thing.”

  “What about the two extra bedrooms?”

  “I might fix one of them up and make the other one into an office… I’m not sure yet.”

  As we make the last turn to the house, I see a man sitting on the porch. As we get closer, I see that it’s Lieutenant Jon Grant. He rises and salutes Logan.

  “Lieutenant, what can I do for you?” Logan asks carefully.

  “I’m sorry to stop by on such short notice, but I wanted to thank you for letting me keep my job. I know that you really wanted to punish me for my actions and honestly, I was expecting a few months in military prison. But then, the General told me that a certain young lady talked you out of it…” He turns to me. “I don’t know you, at all really, and yet after all the things I said, you forgave me and saved my job, and for that, I owe you.”

  I smile, “You don’t owe me anything. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

  “Thank you both for giving me that chance.”

  He salutes Logan once more before walking away. Logan unlocks the door as we go inside. “Okay, that was unexpected.” He adds.

  “Nope, not at all.” My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket as I frantically drop my things trying to retrieve it. I look at the ID, it's Andrea! “Hey, girl!”

  “I just got off the phone with the owner! You’ve got the house!”

  “No way!” Logan smiles at my enthusiasm.

  “Yes! They accepted!”

  “So, now what?”

  “Well, mainly, we have to wait for the deed to get transferred, after that happens, it won’t be long until you’ll be moving in!”

  “Great! How long would you guess I have to buy some furniture?”

  “Well, deeds are a bit hard to estimate, but I’d say about a week. The owner is really pushing for this to get wrapped up.”

  I smile. “Oh gosh, thanks, Andrea. Looks like I need to go shopping.”

  “Yes, you do! Have fun!” I hang up and look back to Logan who is staring at me.

  “So… You wouldn’t happen to be off tomorrow, would you?”

  “Yeah, why?” He asks carefully.

  “Well… I kind of need a shopping buddy…”

  “Caroline, I don’t like shopping…” He whines.

  “Yeah, but I need input on my decorating skills…” He groans. “Come on, Logan! I’ll tell you what… I’ll let you decorate the guest bedroom any way you like, within reason, and you can stay over whenever you want.” I’m so going to regret saying that…

  “Really?” He perks up.

  “Sure.”

  “Anytime I want?”

  “Yes, anytime.”

  “Alright, deal.” He agrees.

  “Good, now we should probably go to bed early… I want to hit the stores as soon as they open.”

  “Oh, goody.” He mutters.

  I go into my bedroom and change into my pajamas. I throw my hair up into a messy bun and check the time. It was almost nine and I really should get some sleep if I’m going to be shopping all day tomorrow… I climb into bed and turn the light off. Within a few minutes, I’m fast asleep…

  “Caroline…” I hear someone say. I open my eyes and see that I’m sitting in the forest. Where in the heck am I? Why am I here?

  “Caroline…” It repeats. I rise to my feet and follow the voice. Soon, I come to a clearing… Am I back home? In Kentucky… The water is flowing peacefully down the creek. The birds are chirping happily in the trees… “This way…” The bridge comes into view. Someone is standing there, back toward me… They’re in an army uniform.

  “Nick?” I whisper.

  They turn around. I can’t believe what I’m seeing… It’s him.

  “It’s about time, Care… I’ve been trying to get your attention for days now.” I smile, it really is him. I run up on the bridge and tackle him into a hug. I can actually feel him… Touch him.

  “Nice to see you again too.” He laughs.

  “Why am I here? Not that I’m complaining of course…”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind as of late, right?” I nod. “I know, don’t be shy about it. I know that Logan is in love with you and I also know that you are in love with Logan.” I start to protest but he doesn’t let me. “I may be dead, but I still know you… You won’t give him a chance because of me. I’m gone, Care… I’m not coming back and you need to understand that. Logan has helped you through things that I couldn’t. He’s been there for you when I couldn’t. Logan was my best friend and honestly, if I can’t be with you, I’d rather it be him than anyone else. He’s a good person… He’s a lot like me, actually. Give him a chance, Care… You’ll be really happy if you do…”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do… I died to protect those kids… But I also died so that you could meet Logan… I was never your soul mate, Care… I was filling that person’s shoes until they arrived and now… They have.”

  What? Logan’s my-

  “I have to go now… Do that for me, Care… Love him as much as you loved me…” He starts to fade away.

  “No, no, don’t leave me! Nick!” I scream frantically.

  “I love you, Care.”

  And with that, he’s gone…

  “Caroline?” Someone’s shaking me. My eyes flutter open to see Logan hovering over me. “What is your problem?” He asks with a worried expression on his face.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve been screaming for the past five minutes like someone was trying to kill you!”

  “Was I saying anything?” I ask, remembering everything about my dream.

  “Yeah, something about ‘don’t leave me’ and ‘Nick’ and then you just started mumbling my name.”

  “Oh.”

  “So? What was it? Bad dream?”

  “I wouldn’t say a bad dream…”

  “Did you see him again?” He asks.

  “How’d you know?”

  “Because you usually don’t get all worked up when you sleep and your face says it all. So, what did he say?” He asks, sitting down beside of me.

  “Uh, he was just talking to me at the bridge…”

  “Caroline.” He cocks an eyebrow.

  “I woke up in the middle of the forest and I kept hearing someone call my name… I followed it to the bridge and it was him…”

  “What did he say? It had to be something for you to be going on like that.”

  “It was about you.”

  “What about me?” He asks, curiously.

  “He said that I should give you a chance… He said that if I was going to be with anyone, it should be you.”

  Logan grins, “Really?”

  I roll my eyes, “You’re so arrogant. Go to bed.” I add and flip over on my side.

  “Oh, no, no, no. I want to hear more about this dream… So, Nick approves, huh?”

  I shrug. “He didn’t say that directly…”

  “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought… Logan is in the game!”

  “It is not a game! Gez. He just told me that so I would give you a chance… He knew the only reason I wasn’t was because of him.”

  “Ha! You just said it! He was the only reason! Logan is game!” He yells excitedly.

  “Logan, shut up!” I laugh. “We have neighbors!”

  “I don’t care! My best friend approves and that’s good enough for me! Thank you, Nick!”

  I sigh loudly and look at my alarm clock. It’s 2:02AM. “Logan, go to bed, we’re still going shopping in the morning, remember?”

  “Oh, I know… I need to get some rest… I have a bi
g day to prepare for…” He winks at me and walks off.

  Oh boy…

  Why do I have the feeling that tomorrow is going to end up being a flirt fest?