LOGAN (Book One)

FORTY-ONE

Liam had me walk to the beach.

The beach!

It took us about an hour to get there, and my feet were killing me.

I complained about the way, and Liam suggested it's good exercise for my cow thighs. He laughed, and in return, I pinched his ear, which he cried like a baby, and apologized. I told him not to call me fat. Not to name any girl fat.

"Since I was a kid, my parents would take my brothers and me here to enjoy the water. If you saw our beaches, you will love Hawaii."

I wiggle my toes in the sand. "Logan sometimes talks about home and wishes he would return, but being there reminds him of his past."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Us brothers all want to avoid our past from the home we loved and left behind."

"So, what's your story?" I pulled my knee up to my chin as I lay my head, observing him with open ears.

"My story," he let out a cackle, his eyes solemnly focused on the beach. "Effie, I did something. Something bad." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. It was shaky, but he released it and said, "I killed someone, and he was my best friend."

I listen to his story to the end.

Later that day, I held that talk with Liam in my mind. After hanging out with him at Starbucks for a favor, I asked. Then the beach, I catch an Uber to drive the way back. I left Liam at the beach, where he told me the most gruesome story about him hanging out with the wrong crowd, which led to the feds arresting him for two years, charging the possession of drugs and ten years of hacking into the federal base and find where the man who put him through hell.

Randy Lorenzo.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I wanted to stop, but Liam explained he didn't know about the drugs, the money, or that bailing out a killer was not on his agenda of joining a gang.

And he was thirteen.

Of course, when you hit puberty, you act out depending on particular people.

The story goes on with Liam, a young boy, who joined a group of "cool" people he thought because his best friend, Andy, was one of the popular kids. He hung out, drank alcohol, and played games, and Liam was so naive that he had no clue what he was in for. Andy told him that his older brother was in jail for something he didn't do and wanted Liam's help to locate him.

It was all a lie.

Liam didn't know that he had released a killer who murdered and raped women. Not only that, the possession of drugs and selling them to the cartels. When Liam learned that his friend used him, he and Andy went into a heated argument which led to killing his friend on-site - an accident. The FBI arrested half of the gang members, including Liam, who was just a minor and was charged as an adult for killing another kid. The court gave him 12 years in prison because he was ruled out for self-defense. Liam told me he was out after three years because the FBI learned Liam was just a scapegoat for Randy.

Although Liam wasn't allowed to leave the state of Hawaii, his dad believed in his son that he wasn't involved with a gang. He told me that before his dad died, a friend who works at the Pentagon pulled some strings as a courtesy to allow Liam to travel. It was challenging to ask someone from one of the big houses, but with a father's love who has connections within the government would do anything for his family.

I couldn't take what my brain had inhaled all of this from Liam because I regretted it.

I regretted asking him about his past because I wanted to know why he pushed Lily away. Now, I know.