I'll Protect You (Re-Edit #2, 2016)

I may be Captain Park Sparrow, but I definitely can't commandeer this ship

Logan finished cleaning my wound then settled into his seat, not speaking a word. By the time the boat pulled up to the port, the silence between us was deafening, and I was dying to say a word. 

"Your Highness," the agent from before said as she arrived at the front of the boat again, "we've been instructed to bring the two of you back to the palace immediately."

"Give us a moment, Rena," Logan said. "I need to make sure she's alright."

Rena glanced at me, mouthing something that seemed like a wish of luck before she darted away. 

Oh, gods. Here comes the wrath of the king of Cross of Academy. 

"When I found out that you had run off, I was terrified," Logan began, his voice almost inaudible. "I didn't know what I would do with myself if you got hurt because I wasn't there to help you like I was supposed to be."

"I'm completely fine," I pointed out. "See?" I held my hands out and flashed a smile, but the look Logan gave me had the grin slipping off my lips. 

"Did you even think about calling when you ran off?" he asked. "Did you stop to think about the panic you would put everyone through when you decided to play the hero? Do you even care what you put me through when I hear that the girl I'm supposed to protect isn't where she's supposed to be?"

"It was impulsive, but I had to do it," I argued. "You don't understand, Logan, but--"

"No, I understand perfectly well. You've got this mentality that you have to save everyone. You're convinced that you're responsible for everyone's problems, that somehow you can solve them. Ever since your brother disappeared, you're stuck in this mindset that you have to be the hero, and that seems to dull your realization that you're not as invincible as you make yourself out to be."

"That's not true!" I snapped. "Don't bring Archer into this discussion, Logan!"

"Then why do \you throw yourself into danger's way every chance you get? You practically ask for all the trouble in the world because you think you can handle it the way your brother did! You don't stop to think about what it could do to you because you're so damn afraid of not being as strong as Archer."

"That's right, I don't think," I snarled. The both of us were standing now, glaring daggers at one another and my hands were clenched, my nails digging into my palms as his words struck home. "I act. If it wasn't for me, Jasper wouldn't have been found. Or you guys might've located the place but he could've been long gone by then. I know what I'm doing, and I know the consequences of my actions. My brother isn't here to protect the people he cares about, so it's my responsibility to do it. Back off, Cross--since when did you care about my choices so much?"

"I'm your bodyguard!" he half-laughed, half-shouted, frustration evident in his tone. "It's my job!"

"Your job is to guard me from harm! That's what a bodyguard does, hence the word 'guard,'" I corrected. "Your job is to fight off the trouble. You're not my brother, you're not my father. It's not your job to shout at me afterwards and lecture me about what the hell I'm supposed to think! Tell me the truth, Logan," and I paused, the anger in my shouting draining my energy. 

I didn't like this. I didn't enjoy fighting with Logan. A long time ago, this argument as heated as this would've brought me so much entertainment, but now something unsettling stirred in my chest, telling me that this was wrong. 

"There's something you're not telling me," I pushed. I've disappeared before, you've never been this mad."

"Can you really not figure it out?" he asked, and there was a desperation clinging to his words, as though he was begging me to put the pieces together myself, without his help.