Chapter 0306
Logan squeezed my hand before letting go. Then, slowly, as if he was afraid of startling came to stand at her side.
“Mother? It’s Logan,” he said.
She continued to stare forward, unresponsive.
“Mother? Can you hear me?” Logan tried again.
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Again, she did not respond. She didn’t even blink.
“Maybe we should sit with her for a while,” I said. “If we talk to her like everything’s normal, maybe that would help. It must be difficult… not being able to respond…”
A beat of silence filled the room.
“Okay,” Logan said, after a moment.
We pulled chairs up to Mrs. Hatfield’s bedside.
Once we were seated, I said, “It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Hatfield. It’s been some time… A lot has happened…”
“I’m married to Hazel, mother,” Logan said.
I looked at him in surprise. He caught my look.
“She probably already knew, but I still wanted to tell her myself. She’s always been distant, but…” He sighed. “Maybe I’m overthinking things now that everything has turned out like this, but I could have sworn she did feel some measure of affection for me. She rarely showed it, but I swear it was still there.”
“Rarely, you say. That implies it still happened.”
“It did,” Logan said. Glancing back to his mother, his own eyes went distance, as if he was thinking of a time and place far away and long ago.
“I’d just moved back, and I was lonely. I didn’t remember my biological parents, and they were so very different from the Christopher’s. No family dinners. No game nights. No packed lunches for me to take to school. I was given a blank check. I could buy anything in the world that I wanted, but what I wanted was my parents‘ attention.
“I couldn’t buy that, but I could try. I went to the store and bought my mother the most expensive purse ! could find. I didn’t know anything about purses. It was an ugly, gaudy thing, with a thick gold chain. When I gave it to my mother, my father was there. He mocked me endlessly. The brat has terrible tastes,‘ he said.
“Mother was kinder. She thanked me for the bag. She even wore it to her next high society party. Ironically, the style became all the rage after that. Mother would tell me, “You started this, Logan. Your keen eye.‘
“It was a simple compliment. Maybe it didn’t mean anything. But to me, as a scared lonely boy, it was everything…”
My heart ached for Logan. I started to reach out to him to give him comfort, but I stopped suddenly, my
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Chapter 0306
arm halfway out, when I realized his mother had turned to look right at him.
“Logan,” I said.
He had lowered his gaze as he told his story. He glanced at me, then followed my gaze to his mother.
“Mother?” he asked.
A lone tear slipped down from Mrs. Hatfield’s right eye. Then as if she startled herself awake, she reached up and brushed it away.
“Logan?” she replied, seeing him now, perhaps for the first time. “What are you doing here? I thought everyone forgot about me.”
“I didn’t,” Logan said. “I wouldn’t.” He motioned to me. You remember, Hazel? My wife. She came with me to visit…”
Mrs. Hatfield trailed her gaze to me. “I remember. Hello, Hazel.”
“Hello, Mrs. Hatfield,” I said, dipping my head in greeting and respect.
Mrs. Hatfield returned her gaze to her son. Then, her face began to crumple up with more tears. “Oh, Logan. I’m so sorry. For everything…”
“It’s alright,” Logan said, slightly alarmed. “There’s no need for tears.”
“But there is! For so many years, I listened to your father and your grandfather. I did everything they told me in exchange for money and comfort. I let them take you from me. And even when you came back, they ordered me not to coddle you…”
Mrs. Hatfield covered her face with her hands. Her sobs shook her body.
“You must stay away from that vile man, Logan. He was vindictive before, but he’s so much worse now. He told us to disown you, or he would cut us out. After all I’d done to you…. How could I also deny you are my son? It was more than I could… It was too much…”
“It’s alright,” Logan said, standing. “Please calm down
She wailed, loud and long, and a small crowd started to congregate around the opened doorway.
“Mother, please. Please, calm down. I’m not angry with you…”
“You have to stay away from him!” His mother cried. “He hates you! When you refuse to become him, he hates you more! He’ll destroy your life, Logan. Move. Run. Whatever you can. Just get away from him. From me. Leave! Leave now!”
Standing now myself, I reached for Logan’s arm. “Maybe we should go for now, Logan.”
“But…” He hesitated, hands lifted like he wanted to hold his mother or comfort her in some way but he genuinely did not know how.
Suddenly, a pair of nurses swooped into the room. One carried a syringe, which she injected into Mrs. Hatfield’s IV bag.
The other nurse began to usher us from the room. “She needs privacy and quiet now, thank you. Visiting hours are over.” She urged us into the hallway, then closed the door in our faces.
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The crowd around us quickly dissipated. Maybe sights like these weren’t as uncommon as I would have hoped they’d be.
After a moment, I tugged on Logan’s sleeve. “We should leave,” I said.
Frowning, he said, “Yeah…”
Together we walked down the hallways, back the way we had come. The sun wasn’t shining as brightly anymore. Maybe a storm was set to start soon. The hallways were darker.
Logan and I were no longer holding hands.
Back in the car, Logan paused a moment before starting the engine. “I think I need to be alone for a little while, Hazel,” he said in the quiet.
Outside, a light rain started, droplets tapping on the windshield.
“Okay,” I replied. “Whatever you need.” I thought of places I could go, so I wouldn’t be sitting home by myself. Maybe Logan wanted to be alone, but after what we had just experienced, being alone was the last thing I personally wanted.
Mrs. Hatfield’s warnings twisted around inside of me, coiling my fear and worry into sharp, dangerous spikes.
If I couldn’t be near Logan for comfort, then I needed to comfort of my friends. After sending Maria a quick text, I asked Logan, “Can you drop me off?”
Twenty minutes, I stood in the doorway of Maria’s apartment building watching Logan drive away in the pouring down rain. A shock of lightning struck through the sky, powerful thunder following.
When Logan was out of sight, I pushed through the door and made my way to Maria’s apartment.
After knocking, Maria answered the door at once. She took one look at me and said, “Holy shit. Let’s get you a drink. You look like hell.”
Rachel was already home as well, perched on the couch. She stood as I came inside. “What the hell happened to you?” she asked.
Honestly, I didn’t even know where to begin.
Words fell from my mouth, unbidden, “I think Logan might leave me.”
