Song - Smoke and Fire by Sabrina Carpenter.
Rumors spread like wildfire, I held a strong ground
But I've been burning down
'Cause it's like fire is all I hear about
And we are fading out
Don't wanna turn out the light
But it's like...
~~
Logan's POV
" Ow !" I winced in pain
" Serves you right for fighting Jake ." Rachael replied without remorse as she cleaned the cut on my face with some methylated spirit. " I told you to calm down . Mrs Priestly was here this morning and I thought you both came to a conclusion on how to handle this. Why on earth would you still get into a fight with Jake ?"
" He provoked me," I replied , as she took a plaster out of the first aid box on my desk and covered the cut.
" That's not new. Jake Hartley has always provoked you and you've always had the decency to restrain yourself from beating him up."
" This time was different." I looked at her pointedly as she handed me the ice pack and I placed it on my forehead. My head was throbbing again , thanks to fucking Jake Hartley . The only thing that made my day less terrible was knowing that he was having a worse time than I was.
" What made this time any different ?"
" He still had the audacity to go up to Gray Enterprises to see Emma after the havoc he has caused and he was rubbing it in my face." Remembering Jake's unrepentant nature got me pissed off again. " He doesn't have the right to come close to her anymore."
" Then maybe Emma should be the one telling him that , don't you think ?"
I looked aside annoyed that Rachael was right. Emma should have cut Jake off after this whole fiasco. I assumed that she would but even after Jake had shown his treacherous nature, she still entertained him . " I was hoping she would ." I muttered.
Rachael sighed . " Do you even know what their conversation was about anyway ?"
" No." I shook my head. " I didn't get the chance to speak to her after everything."
" Logan this could go really badly." She started packing up the first aid box on my desk. " Jake could press charges against you , you know that right ? And then what ? Logan Ross the owner of Ross Mobile will have to appear in court for assault charges?"
" Oh please. Jake assaulted me as much as I assaulted him. I just happened to do more damage ." I smirked approvingly to myself.
Rachael shot me a look . " Are you really happy about this ? Logan , you hit him first. That's going to mean something in court."
" And I'm reiterating again that Jake provoked me. I'm pretty sure provocation is a valid defense in court and once I lay out all of Jake's atrocities, the judge will take my side. Come on Rachael, you've seen everything that bastard has done . It's enough to make any man go crazy. He's lucky I could only do so much to him ."
Rachael rolled her eyes defeatedly when she saw that her attempt to make me feel guilty about beating Jake Hartley wasn't working. " What about Mr Gray ? Don't you think this will affect your business with him ? You think he'll be pleased that you turned his company into a WWE ring ?"
" Mr Gray will understand when I explain to him the reasons for my actions." I told her.
Fighting Jake at Gray Enterprises was the only thing I was remotely apologetic about. Left to me, I would have taken it somewhere else but he happened to be at Grays and it all just happened in the moment. I remember how I wasn't even thinking straight when I threw the first punch. I was too angry to form any coherent thoughts. At that point, nothing or no one could stop me from disfiguring Jake's face and I was prepared to fight anyone that would have tried to stop me.
She narrowed her eyes at me. " Fine . I'll just brief Mrs Cortez about what happened so she'll be prepared in case he presses charges."
" You do that ." I replied , unfazed. " I won a Hartley once in court once, I'm most definitely sure I can do it again."
Turns out Jake and Ben weren't much different in character after all. It's very disappointing really. I wanted to believe that he was not as callous as his father but unfortunately, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree . If I can take Ben Hartley down , then Jake was no match for me.
" Sure." Rachael said as she picked up the box and muttered something in Chinese .
" Did you say something?"
" I said , I'll get to it then."
I thought so.
The moment the door closed behind Rachael, I was left to reminisce about my very uneventful day. Actually, it has been an uneventful couple of weeks but today just puts the fucking cherry on top. I went straight from the Airport to Gray Enterprises. My kids hadn't even seen me yet since I've beeb away. I wondered how they'd react to this cut on my cheek and bruise on my forehead. I couldn't tell them that I got into a fight. That's the exact thing I tell them not to do.
This was the second thing that made me feel a little bit and emphasis on the 'little bit' remorseful for beating Jake. I was a role model to my kids , although a shitty one but still , my children looked up to me. If the fight between Jake and I got out , they're prone to seeing it at school , most especially Alex. I couldn't embarrass my family like that . I had to make sure that video doesn't see the light of day.
I focused on the rest of my work for the day and once I closed up , I headed to Emma's house. The way she looked at me as I pounded my fist into Jake's face still lingered in my mind. I didn't like it . The last thing I wanted was to see me raging like that . Unfortunately, I had used up every last bit of my Self control with Jake .
Judging by the darkness that had now covered the night sky. I knew Emma would be home by now so I rang her doorbell. There was no answer. I rang it a couple of times but no one came to answer the door. I decided to give her a call but she didn't answer the call either.
I knew that she was mad at me. I messed up big time today . All I needed from her was for her to hear me out. Fuck that. I wanted to apologize for the way I reacted to the news about her and Jake . I called her a second time but it went to voicemail. The third time , it was sent to voicemail again. Is it poss that she was still at Gray's ? Maybe she was working late tonight so she couldn't answer her phone or maybe she didn't want to come home tonight because she knew I might be here waiting to see her . Maybe she's even inside the house and she knows I'm out here but she doesn't want to see me.
I decided to knock on her door this time. " Emma, I know you're mad at me but please just let me in . I just want to apologize. I know I fucked up today . I'm sorry." I said , hoping she was listening from inside.
I waited for her to say something but there was no reply. Was it possible that she was really not home ? I was beginning to get worried. I know how people can target celebrities once there's controversial news about them circulating the media. I hope she hasn't gotten into any problem with the paparazzi. I know how much they just love to ambush her.
I decided to give her a call one more time . The phone rang for a bit then it said it was switched off.
I let out a breath, turning back to walk down the door step and out of the porch. I reached for the door of my car parked in the driveway , resolving to drive over to Gray Enterprises to look for her. An idea suddenly popped into my head. At a time like this, Emma would most likely confide in Maddie and who else would know where she was other than her best friend?
I called Ron and explained my ordeal to him , asking him for Maddie's number and he sent it to me. Without wasting any time , I dialed her number.
" Hello Maddie." I greeted her once she answered.
" Logan, this is unexpected." She replied.
" Yeah I know. Ron gave me your number. How are you ?"
" I'm okay , you ?"
" I've had better days."
" Sorry about that ."
" Yeah it's fine . I was actually calling about Emma. Is she at your place ?" I asked her , going straight to the reason I called .
" No she's not , why ?"
" I just want to talk to her . Have you by any chance seen her today ?"
" Actually no haven't. We were supposed to meet up at some cafe today during her lunch break but with everything that's happening, we decided not to. Have you checked her house ?"
" I'm actually there right now . I don't think she's here ." I glanced at the house again, noticing for the first time tonight that there were no lights switched on inside .
" Maybe she's working late. Have you gone to Gray's ?" Maddie asked .
" No I haven't." I responded, hesitating a bit before I asked . " You don't think anything bad happened to her right ? I'm worried about her ."
" No , I don't think so. You know what ? I'll give her a call to find out where she is and I'll call you back."
" The last time I called her phone was switched off."
" Switched off ?" I heard the surprise in Maddie's voice . " Let me call you back in five minutes."
" Alright, thanks."
I got into my car an waited for Maddie's call. I needed to be assured that Emma was safe wherever she was if not I would go looking for her tonight. I could have anything happen to her . Not with what James had told me about Calvin's death. I didn't even know how I was going to bring that up to her especially now that things have gone haywire.
My phone started to ring again and Maddie's number reflected on my screen . I wasted no time in picking the call up.
" Have you spoken to her ?" I asked Maddie .
" Yeah, I just called her and she says she's safe."
" Did she tell you where she's at ?" That was the most important thing to me . I didn't want us the both of us to go to bed angry at each other tonight so if I could just speak to her ...
" She won't let me know where she is but I know she's not in any kind of trouble. She just doesn't want to speak to you tonight. I think she just needs some alone time to clear her head." Maddie responded. The coolness of her voice was what assured me that Emma was truly safe .
" Look , I know she's mad at me . Could you tell her that I just want to apologize to her ?"
" Of course she's mad at you." She replied almost immediately. " You believed she was cheating on you and I have yo say , I'm very disappointed in you Logan."
" I know , I fucked up today."
" Yes you sure did." She agreed matter-of-factly .
" Well you can apologize to her tomorrow. She wants to be alone tonight."
I sighed, defeatedly. " Alright but you're sure she's okay ?"
" Yes I'm sure she's fine . Goodnight Logan." Maddie said curtly. She seemed pissed at me too but she was trying not to show it too much .
" Goodnight and thanks for your help."
" You're welcome ." She replied before hanging up.
I placed my hands on my steering wheel debating on whether to go look for Emma by myself. Maybe she was with Maddie and had told Maddie to tell me she wasn't. I couldn't rule that out completely. I knew she obviously didn't want to speak to me so it was very possible that Maddie was helping her avoid me .
I pressed the button of my Tesla to start the ignition and put the address of my home on the gps . I decided to respect Emma's wishes and leave her alone tonight. I wouldn't speak to her tomorrow.
~~
Emma's POV
" Emma can I please see you in my office?" Killian said , the moment Logan left in the elevator. The expression on his face baffled me . I had never seen Killian look so serious.
The other employees were trying to fix the cabinets and cubicles, picking up papers and files that had been littered on the floor in the course of Logan and Jake's fight.
" Uh, yes." I told Killian as I felt some judgmental eyes on me. This was embarrassing to say the least . They all knew that Logan and Jake were fighting because of me. Everything that was happening was because of me. I felt so ashamed. How could the two people that I trusted so much betray me like this ? Why would they hurt me like this ?
" Emma , are you coming ?" I heard Killian's voice. He had stopped walking halfway and turned to face me. It was then I realized that I zoned out for a moment.
" Uh, sorry , I am." I told him as I followed him behind. Sierra gave me a supportive smile from behind.
When we got inside his office , well the older Mr Gray's office , he sat down on his father's chair . His elbows rested on the top of the desk as he pressed his pointing fingers under his chin. He remained silent for some seconds as if he was thinking.
" I don't know how to handle this." He finally confessed. I realized that he was only acting mad at the situation outside because that was what was expected of him as the acting CEO. " If my father were here , I'm sure he would be in the best position to handle what just happened between Logan Ross and Jake Hartley."
" You know Jake ?" I asked in surprise. Outside, he referred to Jake like he had no clue who he was.
" Of course , I do. I just pretended not to so I can stay as far away from this situation as possible. I hate drama. However, Sierra has already given me the gist of it and I spoke to the Mr Armani , the company's publicist I suppose. He will handle the situation."
" Yeah, Sierra told me. Thank you for that." I replied gratefully. " And I'm so sorry about what happened out there. I didn't...I didn't know that they were going to start fighting like crazy people out there."
" It's fine. I actually found it amusing ." Killian smiled . " I mean who would have thought the day would come that I would find two of America's most noble men in a fist fight? I can count it as one of the few perks of standing in for my father here. The memories would make me laugh at least."
While Killian found what just happened amusing , I on the other hand didn't. It was so uncouth of the both of them to fight like that. Even children wouldn't stoop so low.
" I know you don't find any of this funny." Killian said, noticing the expression on my face.
" I don't." I admitted plainly.
" Right, sorry for making a joke out of it." He apologized. " Back to the serious stuff. I'm required to report this incident to my father ."
My heart skipped a beat , hearing that.
" However, I won't because we're friends. I've already told the others outside to delete whatever videos they made from the scene so hopefully the video won't get out."
I let out out a huge sigh of relief. had never respected Killian more than I did right now. He had every right to report what just happened to Mr Gray but he had chosen not to.
" Thank you so much , Killian . Honestly, you don't know how much it means to me. If Mr Gray found out that Logan and Jake fought here , it would ruin everything for me ."
That's what those two blockheads didn't know. They had indirectly put me in trouble . If it got to Mr Gray that the reason they were fighting was because of me , he would definitely be furious about it. I could even lose my job. I knew better than to mix my personal life with my work and Logan and Jake had destroyed all my efforts to keep it separate.
" Believe me , I know that ." Jake nodded. " My father can be very strict when it comes to his company."
" Exactly ." I agreed with Jake.
" Well , you can go now and try not to worry about any of this .If any information about what happened today gets to my father, it won't be from my mouth and I'll obviously have your back so you're not going to lose your job."
My eyes watered as I pressed my lips together in a tight smile . " I'm very grateful , Killian."
" Nah, don't worry about it." He waved his hand.
" Why are you being so nice to me ?" I asked him thoughtfully. " I've kind of been a bitch to you since you got here ."
The reason for that was because I saw Killian as incapable of filling his father's shoes . I thought he would mess a lot of things up because he was never and still isn't interested in his father's company. It turns out all he needed was a little push and a little help . He was learning the ropes, although non chalantly and he had scored two very important deals for the company. I'm sure Mr Gray was very proud of him . Truthfully , I was too.
" Yeah , you were , I'm not gonna lie but you had a reason to , I guess. I was the non chalant son of your boss who reluctantly assumed the position of acting C.E.O and you didn't want anyone to ruin the workings of the company. It just shows how passionate you are about your job." He shrugged.
" Thanks ?" I smiled, wondering how he managed to find a way to compliment me with his answer. He was also right about me being passionate about this job. I loved working at Gray Enterprises so much and all I wanted was to leave an impact in the company which I was already doing . ( I know I'm tooting my own horn ). The last thing I wanted for the company was for it to be run by someone who didn't care one bit for it and that's why I was acting the way I did to Killian. However, Killian has shown me that you can still be dutiful even if you aren't passionate about something. That's maturity in my opinion.
" Also , Sierra and I are kind of a thing right now and she's pretty wonderful. She told me you were the one that put her in charge of me . Granted, it was because you didn't want to have to deal with me but that's what made she and I get together."
I ignored everything else he said because one particular sentence of his had garnered my attention. " Did you just say you and Sierra were a thing ?"
He looked shocked that I just asked that as he shook his long mane of air out of his face . " Fuck did I say that ?" He chided himself in a whisper. He looked up at me , a bit flustered. " I didn't mean that we were a thing ...like you know, like a relationship." His stuttering was amusing to me. It almost made me forget the great ordeal I was experiencing right now. " You know what I mean , like you saw us outside the closet . It's not like were in an exclusive relationship or anything. I mean the sex is exclusive..."
" Okay stop." I raised my hand to put a stop to his continuous rambling. Also, I didn't want to hear about both Killian and Sierra's sex life . I needed to know one thing though . " Killian, do you like Sierra ?"
" What ? No." He uttered in complete denial but his face said a different thing. For one, Killian was a very confident person so for him to stutter and lose words like he was doing , he was definitely hooked .
" I mean... it's not like I don't like her . I like her as a person." He continued.
I folded my arms and titled my head to the side with a smirk on my face. If I wasn't really disturbed by the events happening around me deep in my heart , I would have actually showed some sort of excitement about this.
" So , you do have feelings for her ?"
" Didn't you listen to what I just said ? I don't really...like her like that , besides she doesn't like me like that too."
Oh, I saw the problem now. Killian had definitely caught feelings for Sierra but he feared that those feelings weren't reciprocated.
" Well, my advice is you should let her know how you feel , who knows ? She might feel the same way."
" I don't think there's a need to." He looked down but I knew he wasn't really staring at anything on his desk . " Besides, my band is going on tour real soon. Once my father resumes his duty post , I'll be gone. There's no need to start something when there aren't any chances that it'll last."
"You just admitted that you like her." I smirked.
His head snapped up. " I didn't say...You know what ? fine . Yes , I do like her ."
The look in his eyes was all too familiar. Is it possible he could have fallen in love with Sierra and in such a short time ? I disapproved of Killian for Sierra before now . His reputation of being a 'fuck boy' preceded him and I thought that's how it was going to get with Sierra . Although, Sierra didn't care about his infamous title. She had already made it clear that she wasn't looking for anything serious too. Still, I know that people say that when they're running away from the heaviness and uncertainty of love . Right now maybe that was what she needed . Someone to truly love her. If Killian was wiling to explore that with her then I was all for it.
" I think you should take the chance. You never know what might happen ." I told him.
" You really think so ?"
" I do." I nodded. " Just tell her how you feel."
Sierra had become fond of Killian too but I didn't know if she felt more than fondness towards him. The only way he would know is if he told her about his own feelings.
" Okay." He replied with an optimistic smile.
" Maybe I will."
" Good." I smiled. " Thanks again, Killian. I'll head back to work now."
" Maybe you should take the rest of the day off." He suggested before I turned around to leave. " After all this drama, I think you need to just go home, take a nice bath and maybe get some sleep. You look really tired."
" Oh no , I couldn't do that . I still have a lot of work to do and..."
" As your boss, I insist." He cut me off with a cheeky smile.
" Acting boss." I reminded him, returning the smile.
" POtaTO, PoTAto, same difference. Just go home, Emma."
Even though the workaholic in me wanted to still refuse , I thought about it and going home wasn't such a bad idea. I needed a break from all of this and maybe an aspirin because I could feel the approach of a splitting headache in my brain.
" Okay , I will."
" Good." He replied.
As I reached for the door knob and opened it halfway, I turned back to him with a smile. " Now we're friends ."
His smile widened as I closed the door behind me.
I headed back to my office to pack up my things, desperate to leave the vicinity of this building.
I heard a knock on my door and Sierra came in . I appreciated the way she had spent more than half of the day coming into my office to check on me.
" So, what did Killian say ? Did you get in trouble?"
" With Killian ? Oh no. He did talk about reporting the fight to Mr Gray but he wasn't going to do that cause we're friends."
" That's my Killian." Sierra smiled. I stared at her wondering if she already had an idea how Killian felt towards her or if there was any chance that she felt the same way too . I decided not to ask her because asking her would mean subtly revealing what Killian told me few minutes ago. " Mr Gray would freak if he found out about Logan and Jake."
" I can't believe they were fighting like two egocentric high school jocks. For God's sake , they're both adult men !" I felt myself getting angry as I remembered how them embarrassed not only themselves but me in front of one quarter of the Gray Enterprises staff.
" I don't support the whole physical combat thing except when necessary but Jake kinda deserved it." Sierra admitted.
" Yes, he did." I agreed with her and she looked surprised at my reply . " But Logan is so much better than that. He looked so...scary hitting Jake like that..." The memory of Logan's face as he punched Jake several times flashed in my mind and I almost shivered. " Also , they could have at least taken it somewhere else for Pete's sake . Not where I work. Now everyone knows that they were fighting because of me. I'm the business manger. I'm supposed to keep things in check around her and yet it seems like I'm the one causing anarchy."
" I totally understand and I know this a lot for you ." Sierra said pitifully. " Maybe you should speak to Logan about it later. I'm sure he acted on impulse cause even I was triggered seeing Jake Hartley here."
" Logan ?" I chuckled dryly. " I'm not speaking to Logan . I've had enough of him for one day ."
I slung my bag over my shoulders and held my laptop back in my right hand.
" You're leaving ?" Sierra gave me a puzzled look.
" Yeah . Killian gave me the day off."
" Aww how sweet." She came forward and hugged me . " You take as much time as you need honey and be careful with the paparazzi outside. You should take the back door while going out."
Oh those dreadful paparazzi. They had been lurking outside Grey Enterprises all day .
" Yeah I will." I said as we began to walk out of my office. I switched off the lights , locked the door and turned to Penny who was typing away on her computer.
" Penny I'm closing up for the day . You can close up early too ." I told her as she looked up.
" You're going home ?" She asked like she didn't hear what I had just said the first time.
" Yes I am. You can go home too if you want ."
" Okay , Emma." She replied, trying to suppress her glee with a tight smile.
" Good luck ." Sierra yelled as I headed to the elevator.
I skillfully snuck out of Gray Enterprises through the back entrance and when I got into my car, I sped away like my life depended on it. All through the ride , I kept checking my car mirrors to see if I was being followed. It had happened to me before and I remembered how I dried to lose the cars . I don't know why the paparazzi were so desperate to get pictures of a person so much that they'd engage in a car chase with them .
Luckily, I didn't see any cars following me but I decided not to take any chances by heading straight home. Who knew what was waiting for me there ? Now that I was the talk of town again, I'm sure these people would have dug up my address . It's such a shame because I did try to be very low-key with where I lived.
I decided to go to Maddie's house instead. We had planned to meet at a cafe in town but we decided against because of the obvious attention that would bring to me.
In thirty minutes, I arrived at the gate . The guards let me in and I drove into the compound. One knock on the door and it pulled open to reveal Maddie standing at the other side. She had already changed out of her work clothes and was now wearing a big t-shirt that looked like it was probably owned by Ron and black shorts.
" Hey sis." She greeted me with a pitiful look on her face , wrapping her arms around me before I could even say anything. The moment, I leaned on her shoulders, I felt so vulnerable and the tears I had been holding in for so long started to roll down mu cheeks.
" Hey , it's okay." Maddie patted my back to calm me . She must have noticed how my chest heaved up and down .
" I don't know what to do Maddie." I said in between tears.
" I know and that's why I'm here for you ." She patted my back one last time before pulling away from me . " Come on let's go inside."
" Okay." I sniffed as she led me to the living room .
" Is Ron home too ?" I asked her .
" Nope. He's away in Vienna for a business trip . With the way he's always traveling, I just hope he'll make it back for our wedding." Maddie rolled her eyes.
I chuckled at her statement.
" See ? At least I got you laughing now." She smiled.
The smile on my face was short lived when I remembered my plight . " Maddie , it's really bad."
" I know . I've been seeing some horrible stuff online ."
" The comments are the worst." I got out my phone from my bag and tapped on my instagram app. More comments were coming in about the Cheating scandal and they were worse than the previous ones I saw yesterday. I showed Maddie my phone. " Just look at this one . " I always knew that Emma Durson was a cheating scumbag. Wonder why Logan Ross got back with her in the first place . There's this one too. " I'm surprised but not so surprised. She really had us fooled . Being in a relationship with two of New York's wealthiest men at the same time is screaming gold digger. And this one , " I think Logan Ross and Emma Durson are in an open relationship though . I heard that some where . If they're not then Emma Durson is really vile for cheating or Logan with Jake Hartley or did she cheat on Jake with Logan ? At this point I'm confused."
" Okay , that's enough . Emma you know better than to read those nasty comments. These people don't even know you and they'd rather believe the lies about you because it's convenient for them." Maddie replied , visibly irritated.
" I know that their words shouldn't matter but it still hurts. You know I would never cheat on Logan and especially not with Jake."
" Are you really telling me that ?" Maddie looked surprised. " Emma I've known you see we were five years old . I know you would never cheat on Logan." She grabbed my phone from me . " Come on, give me that. I'm logging you out of all your social media apps ."
I didn't disagree with her . I don't even know why I didn't do that earlier . I should have been used to these scandals and false narratives about me but this time it hit me harder. It was more painful because this time the scandal was perpetrated by someone I never expected to do this to me.Someone I trusted. It hurt a lot. Why does the universe always make me a target ?
" There." Maddie handed me back my phone. " Now you don't have to deal with those nasty comments anymore."
" Still doesn't mean they're not there." I covered my face with my palms dragging them down as I shook my head. " I can't believe Jake would do this to me."
" What really happened at that party ?" Maddie asked . " I saw some video clips but I want to hear from you."
I proceeded to narrate everything that happened that night to Maddie and went ahead to tell her about Logan and Jake's fight today . By the time I was done , Tess was with us on a video call. She had to take the call in the staff room as usual so that she would have her privacy.
" What the hell is wrong with Jake Hartley?!" Maddie said when I was done.
" No , the question should be what the hell is wrong with both Logan and Jake ?! Logan messed up too. I can't believe he insinuated that Emma actually cheated on him with Jake and the fighting ? I really thought Logan was better than that . I mean Jake deserves to be bitch slapped no doubt but at Grays ? They were both being so childish." Tess said , visibly upset.
" I know !" I agreed with her. " It's like I'm dealing with two strangers . If anyone had told me Jake would do something like this to me, I would have never believed them and Logan ? I can't even wrap my head around the fact that he doesn't trust me. I don't know what to make of our relationship anymore."
" God, I wish I could get my hands on him." Tess said through gritted teeth . " I've never been more upset that I'm not in New York like I am right now. What did Jake think would happen after he proposed ? You both would get married in a cathedral and skid of to la la land ?"
" Jake is sick and I'm glad we all know that now. If he won't take back what he said or tell the truth then he definitely had an agenda and that is to break you and Logan up. You just need to stay away from him. He may become an obsessive stalker like Calvin." Maddie added.
" Trust me, you don't need to tell me twice ." I told her . " I told him to stay away fro me and delete my contact . I never want to set my eyes on him again. I hate him so much right now."
" Do you think that's enough?" Tess asked . " I suggest you go to the police. He may have weird pictures of you stashed somewhere like a sicko."
I knew she made reference to the pictures because of how we found out that Calvin's ' personal room' was where he kept so many photos of me and tape recordings he had made of me. I remembered how physically sick I felt when the police led me into the room . I didn't know how someone could be so deranged as to do something like that. Thinking of Jake in that manner made me feel sick to my stomach . I never thought a day would come that I would see him in the light of a mentally unstable person.
" If he attempts to reach me again then I'll involve the cops. Right now, I'm already dealing with enough as it is." I said to Tess.
" Okay but you have to be super careful. You should get a taser or pocket knife just in case." She replied.
" Tess is right. With Calvin , you didn't see him coming but with Jake , you have to be prepared for anything."
The way they were talking was making me scared and before I could stop them, tears were spilling out of my eyes again. I couldn't just wrap my head around the fact that I was going through this again . What happened with Calvin was a traumatizing experience and the thought of it happening again frightened me to my bone marrow.
" Hey , don't cry." Maddie pulled me to her side.
" I'm scared you guys. What if he comes after me or something ?" I cried.
" He better not if he knows what's good for him . I'll kill him myself." Tess responded.
" Tess, no one is killing anyone." Maddie chided her . " Let's just hope that Jake is still in his right senses and he'll leave you alone just like you asked."
I raised my head up to look at Maddie , my heart was pounding hard against my chest out of anxiety. " What if he doesn't ? What if he want's to harm me or something ?"
" Well then my lawyers better start working because I'll have no other choice than to join Tess in the killing." Maddie replied with a serious expression on her face.
" I knew you'd come around." Tess hailed Maddie.
" Don't worry, Emma. We won't let anything happen to you."
" I love you guys so much." I sniffed, hugging Maddie again.
" We love you too!" They responded in unison.
~~
I didn't bother going home tonight partly because I felt safer in Maddie's house and because no one knew I was here . Maddie's clothes have always fit me perfectly so she gave me her spare pajamas to change into after I had taken a shower.
We were both sitting in the living room , watching ' Maze runner' for the umpteenth time while eating the mac and cheese that her newly employed cook , Dolores made for dinner.
It actually felt really good to just be together like this again. Maddie always feels like home to me. The whole world could be burning , but when I'm with her, I feel a certain calm and tranquility.
That calm and tranquility was disrupted by the sound of my ringing phone. I picked the phone up from the love seat and when I checked the caller I D, I saw Logan's name on the screen. I immediately tapped the end call icon on the screen. I wasn't in the mood to speak to him right now.
Knowing Logan , the call came in again and I sent it to voicemail. It rang for the third time and I sent it to voicemail again. Normally, I love Logan's persistence but tonight it was just pissing me off.
" Who's that calling ?" Maddie asked. I avert my eyes from my phone to her and noticed that she had been watching me all this time.
" Logan."
She pursed her lips before speaking again. " You don't want to know why he's calling ?"
" No." I told her.
" Okay." She replied. It looked like she had more to say but she was holding it back.
My phone rang for the fourth time while I was paying attention to the really climatic part in the movie. I grunted in exasperation as I grabbed the phone and switched it off .
" Em . I know you're mad at him and you have every right to be. I mean, he didn't handle this whole scandal in the way you thought he would but maybe he's calling to apologize?"
I turned to her . " I know he's calling to apologize but I don't want to hear it . This is what he always does. He messes up and he thinks an apology can fix everything. Well tonight, he should let me be. I just want to eat this amazing Mac and cheese..." I pointed to my plate. " ...and watch this amazing movie." I referred to the tv screen with my hand.
Maddie sighed. " I just think you should hear him out. If Ron offended me , even though I was mad , I'd at least hear what he has to say."
" I'll hear what he has to say tomorrow even though I really don't want to." I told her adamantly.
" Alright." She replied as she face the tv again.
All of a sudden , the sound of a ringing phone alerted me again. I checked my phone but it wasn't mine obviously. Maddie turned to me with her phone in her hands . She looked at the screen and back at me . " Emma , it's Logan."
" He's calling you ?" I asked in surprise. I knew Logan didn't have Maddie's number so he must have gotten it from Ron.
" Yeah. What should I tell him ?"
" If he asks if you know where I am , tell him you have no idea." I told her. If Maddie told Logan I was at her house then he would definitely show up here .
" Are you sure ?"
" Yes , Maddie . Please . I just can't deal with him right now ."
" Okay , fine ."
" Thank you ."
She finally answered her phone that had been ringing non stop .
" Logan, this is unexpected...I'm okay , you ? ...Sorry about that...Actually no haven't. We were supposed to meet up at some cafe today during her lunch break but with everything that's happening, we decided not to. Have you checked her house ?...Maybe she's working late. Have you gone to Gray's ?
...No , I don't think so. You know what ? I'll give her a call to find out where she is and I'll call you back...
Switched off ?...Let me call you back in five minutes."
She hung up and returned her gaze to me . " Emma, he's worried about you. He thinks something bad happened to you."
" He's so dramatic." I rolled my eyes . Still my heart was softened towards him . " Okay , call him back and tell him that you spoke to me and I'm safe . I just wanted to be alone tonight."
" Okay ma'am." Maddie replied dutifully as she called Logan back . " Yeah... I just called her and she says she's safe ... She won't let me know where she is but I know she's not in any kind of trouble....She just doesn't want to speak to you tonight. I think she just needs some alone time to clear her head ...Of course she's mad at you. You believed she was cheating on you and I have yo say , I'm very disappointed in you Logan....Yes, you sure did. Well you can apologize to her tomorrow. She wants to be alone tonight....Yes I'm sure she's fine. Goodnight Logan. Alright. You're welcome ." She hung up .
" I think he's calm now. He says he'll speak to you tomorrow."
" Okay." I replied, feigning lack of concern. " You're such a great actress by the way."
" Why thank you . You know , maybe I'll go to film school."
I turned to her laughing. " Okay , Meryl Streep."
" You know normally I wouldn't feel bad about lying to Logan but he kinda deserves this for the way he treated you." Maddie said after a moment.
" Yeah, he does." I agreed with her.
~~
Hey guys !
We've come to the end of the chapter? What do you think ??
Honestly, Logan and Emma stress me out😭 I still love them though !
What do you think about Killian and Sierra ? Should Killian tell Sierra how he feels ?
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Xoxo Kiara💕💕