SAVANNAH POV
I wake up to the feeling of something clawing at my ankle. The cat that I retrieved from the parking lot is beside me, and she's just staring at my feet inquisitively before slowly walking towards me.
She cuddles up next to me, and I smile before kissing the top of her head. Her soft purring vibrates my side, which makes me smile harder.
For some reason, it feels like Brendan is still next to me. The warmth of him still clings onto the sheets, and I can feel the ghost of his lips on mine. But then the echo of his disapproval begins to play in my ears, and that warm fuzzy feeling instantly leaves my gut.
Logan and I would probably be together if he actually owned up to his mistakes and made up for it by changing, but the fact that he continues to show abusive behavior and no disregard to the feelings of a woman let's me know that he isn't worth my time.
I should've recognized that so long ago.
What the hell is wrong with me?
If he was a completely different person, I would've been his girl with no shame. I could've been everything and anything he wanted.
This is why I remained single for so long. I have so much love to offer, and I always end up getting my heart ripped out and stomped on.
I've been lying to myself for so long. I understand what I'm going through, but I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I know why I was so persistent about Logan being this wonderful man and why I couldn't leave him although the red flags were there.
I finally had someone loving me. Someone who seemed to worship me.
I know that Brendan and everyone else was right. I just couldn't admit it to myself for some stupid and unjustifiable answer. Everything is such a mess because of me, and I have no clue why I tried pinning this on anyone else.
I wish I never went to the club that night, and my life would probably be the way it was before Logan got a hold of me. No more of this living in fear and holding back. I can't deal with this anymore.
It's time that I make this all official.
I lift myself from the bed, taking a brief shower before getting dressed. It's almost as if I've spaced out and I'm so determined to get to the hospital that I don't even realize that I'm done with something.
As I'm driving to the hospital, my concentration is locked in extremely shut, and I know that the quicker I get there, the better. I'm just so ready to get all of this excessive drama out of my life once and for all.
I can't keep doing this.
It isn't long before I'm in the parking lot, and I take a few deep breaths before rushing to the automatic doors.
There's an eerie silence as I walk through multiple corridors of the hospital. I know that it isn't empty, but not hearing the usual chaos that goes on in the hospital makes me feel as if I'm the only one here.
The faint beeping of heart monitors creates a slight echo along with my footsteps, and as I'm getting closer to Logan's room, the anxiety begins to rise. As I turn the corner, I accidentally bump into someone's shoulder, and we both turn around to apologize.
"Sorry." The woman and myself say at the same time.
When I look up to see who it is, my heart instantly sinks into my stomach. Olivia looks just as surprised as I do.
I hate to admit it, but she almost looks...angelic in a sense. Her pale skin contrasted with her dark hair and piercing eyes definitely makes me envious for a few seconds. There's no denying the Olivia is absolutely gorgeous.
"What are you doing here?" Olivia asks, and it's strange to hear her sound calm.
The last time we spoke, she was so hostile, so menacing, and I don't blame her. She thought that she had a loving boyfriend and she didn't expect to see him with another girl.
"Haven't you heard? Logan got into a pretty bad accident." I tell her, and she nods.
"Yeah, that much is obvious. I'm asking why you're here because Logan never really cared about you, and yet you're by his bedside." Olivia replies, and the snark tone that she speaks in makes me roll my eyes.
Olivia doesn't really have any room to talk. She's still here in the hospital even though Logan obviously never gave a damn about her or their relationship.
"I mean, it isn't like he cared about you either. He played the both of us, Olivia." I snap.
She rolls her eyes after my comment, and she just gives me a bitter smirk. Olivia just brushes past me after mumbling something under her breath. I sigh before turning around, watching her walk away.
"Olivia, wait!" I exclaim, and she turns around and huffs.
"What?!" She yells.
"Has Logan ever...hit you? Like, has he ever gotten violent if you guys had an argument?" I ask, and her eyes widen suddenly.
Olivia walks toward me again, and she narrows her eyes at me before folding her arms.
"Why do you ask that?" Olivia whispers, and I point towards my eye.
"This bruise right here is because of Logan. Recently, I went over to break things off because all of the red flags became clear to me. He didn't take that very well, so he punched me." I admit, and her cheeks redden.
"Oh, God. Are you okay?" She asks me, softening her voice.
I'm surprised that Olivia seems to care about me right now because I was expecting her to say that I deserved it because I didn't listen.
"Well, the man who supposedly loved me just assaulted me and completely corrupted my views about love, gave me a nasty bruise, and affected my relationships with people that I'm close to, so I'm not really okay." I bark, and I sigh.
It stays quiet between us, and I know that she's scanning my face and that she's trying to find something to say to me without coming off as too insensitive.
"Yes, Logan has hit me multiple times. I've ended up in the hospital because of him. But, you cannot do what I did and just let it consume you. You've got to move on and remain positive. I know you can't completely remove this from your mind but you've got to grow from it."
I'm not surprised. Something in me had a feeling that Logan was abusive towards her, but in her eyes, she couldn't let go because she still loved him. That's why she stayed.
That's why I stayed.
Maybe Olivia and I aren't so different after all.
"I was an idiot for not listening to you or to my friends. You all warned me about what type of person Logan was, and I just stuck around and waited too long and got hurt in the process." I explain, and I sigh.
Why am I telling her all of this?
I went from absolutely hating her guts to confessing everything about my relationship and how things went awry.
"It's okay, trust me. I believed Logan and thought that he was the one I wanted to be with, but it was all a lie. You aren't the only woman who's fallen into his trap."
Olivia and I just stare at each other briefly, and before I know it, the tears in my eyes obstruct my vision.
"I just feel like such an idiot. I really thought that he cared about me." I whimper.
Olivia pulls me into her arms, and her hug definitely feels somewhat like Alex's. Sort of motherly and warm in a way, and I wipe away my tears after pulling away.
"I know that this sounds terrible, but I truly hope that he doesn't survive. If he does, I hope he has something permanent and he'll have to live with it until he does die." Olivia growls, and her eyes glaze over with a very specific type of anger that I'm familiar with now.
"You aren't the only one who feels that way." I sniffle, and she gives me a small smile.
"But what's the real reason why you're here?" Olivia asks again.
"I came because I need to end things once and for all with him. No more going back to him." I admit, and she nods.
"Why don't we go together?" Olivia asks, and I raise an eyebrow at her.
"I thought you and Logan have been done for a while now."
"We have, but he just keeps creeping into my head and I can't stand it anymore. I—, we need to break off from him completely."
I know that Olivia might still be a little attached to Logan, but I didn't know that he still had a hold on her that was pretty strong. She might still have an ounce of love for him, but I know she has the same mindset as mine.
We cannot be constricted by him any longer.
"Savannah?" A voice calls out, and I turn around.
Brendan stands in front of me, and I furrow my eyebrows. I wasn't expecting him to be here. My heart does a somersault in my chest, and my eyes widen as he looks at me.
"What are you doing here?" I ask him, and he licks his lips.
Brendan walks up to me, grabbing my wrist and dragging me away from Olivia. I don't bother trying to protest because it never works, so I just follow behind him until he decides to stop.
Once we've stopped, I turn around so that my back is pressed against the wall, and I stare up at him as he towers over me.
Brendan's eyes look red, and he has bags underneath them as well. His posture is slouched, and he looks like he could pass out at any moment. A part of me aches for him because he looks so exhausted, and I just want to sit him down so he can get some rest.
I've always had this soft spot for him, it was just hidden.
"I've been spending the last ten or eleven hours trying to find you, Savannah. I've called you and texted you and you didn't respond, so I started searching."
I woke up to nearly thirty missed phone calls from him and almost fifty text messages. At first, the immature side of me thought it was annoying and weird that he left me that many messages and calls, but then I realized why he did.
He just wanted to know if I was okay.
I don't know why I avoided calling him back or responding to his messages, the petty side of me probably didn't want to because I was still mad about what he said to me.
Brendan was right though. He was right all along. Everything Logan has ever done to me was the opposite of what a relationship should be, yet I acted like Brendan was in the wrong.
"I'm not some item that you're trying to find in some God damn scavenger hunt. What do you want from me, Brendan?" I ask irritably.
"So when were you going to tell me about how you slept with Anthony?" Brendan hisses, and he's so close to me that I can feel his breath fanning across my face.
My heartbeat instantly quickens when he asks me this because I never told him about that. The fact that he knows makes me worried that he portrays me a different way or doesn't want anything to do with me.
"How do you know about that?" I ask, and my voice shakes.
"Anthony and I ran into each other and when I asked where you were, he let it slip that you had an orgy with him, Logan, and Anthony's girlfriend." Brendan spits, and I look down in shame.
I still regret that night, and I don't want it brought up again.
"Why does that matter?" I ask, arching an eyebrow at him, and he scoffs.
"It matters because you had sex with a guy who used to be my friend. That's why." Brendan nearly shouts, and I jump.
Brendan places his hand on the wall next to my head, and he lowers his body so that we see eye to eye. Goosebumps form along my arms as he stares deep into my eyes, and I know that he wants an answer out of me.
"Savannah, I care about you. I care so fucking much about you, but if you keep doing stuff like this, there's no way for ANY of us to help with this situation."
Brendan's voice accelerates gradually, and as he emphasizes certain words and inches closer to me as he says them, I feel the lump in my throat getting bigger by the second.
I never meant to hurt anyone, but clearly Brendan is so hurt by my actions. He's been trying so hard to make me see what's right, and he's tired of trying with me. He probably thinks that I'm a lost cause and that it's pointless to even be around me anymore.
"Well, that was way before I took my head out of Logan's ass. I didn't know that you had feelings for me back then, and I just thought you were flirting with me just because you felt like it. I guess you've forgotten that I don't pick up on things right away."
Brendan just runs his hands through his hair, and he looks more than disappointed. It's not like I can change the past, but if I could, none of this would be happening.
"Savannah, how do you expect any of this to go away or get better if you keep following Logan like you're a lost puppy?" Brendan asks, slightly sneering.
Brendan won't stop tearing into me about everything that's happened over the past few months, and I wish he would stop but at the same time I'm glad he's being tough on me.
I deserve to be looked down upon.
"Brendan, I'm sorry. All of this shit is my fault, and I had no right to go off on you for my own actions. I don't even understand myself. I've just been so confused and I have no fucking clue what to do anymore, so I just lash out. You just wanted me to see why I shouldn't be here, yet I acted like a brat." I apologize.
Brendan pulls me into his arms, and I let out the most intense sob that's been deep inside of me for the longest time. His large hands rub my back as I continue to cry into his shirt, and his heartbeat thumps against my temple.
"I'm sorry, Brendan. I'm so sorry for all of this."
A coughing fit starts because I'm crying so much, and I pull away from him to try and collect myself before looking him in the eye.
He turns me around, and he holds my face in both of his hands before staring at me again.
"Savannah, stop apologizing. This is Logan's fault, because all of this was started by him. Not you." Brendan reassures me, but I still feel terrible.
"No, I dragged you into this so I have to apologize to you. It'd be wrong if I didn't, so once again, I'm so sorry. I know you were just trying to protect me."
"Well, I'm glad that you're mature enough to admit your part in this whole ordeal with Logan."
"You're really just going to forgive me that easily?" I ask, and I quickly blink the tears from my eyes.
"I've forgiven you so many other times, Savannah. You should know that by now." Brendan chuckles, and I do the same.
I smile, not only because I'm relieved that Brendan forgave me again after the stuff I put him through, but because he was the only person that kept me sane.
Obviously my friends helped, but Brendan especially made a difference. He made me realize that I shouldn't be with a man like Logan. I deserve better than that.
"Just wait here."
"What are you doing?" Brendan asks as I walk away from him.
I turn around, and Brendan looks like he wants to follow me. His eyes are pleading for me to come back, and I bite my lip.
"What I should've done the second someone warned me about who I was with."
~~~
LOGAN POV
I feel like I've been in this bed for years. This oxygen mask feels like it's permanently glued to my face for some odd reason, and I don't want to try moving because no matter how many painkillers are put into my system, I'm still in pain.
I'm still in shock that this all happened to me. I still can't believe that Brendan had the nerve to say what he said. The image of him in bed with Savannah makes me want to gag.
I have no right to be angry about it, but it still forms a knot in my stomach. She already moved on to him after they left the apartment. Already has someone new.
The curtain is pushed back, and I see her. Savannah walks into the room, but she doesn't get any closer to me. She just stands by the curtains.
"Savannah, what are you doing here?" I ask.
Before she can respond, I see Olivia walk in and stand next to her. My heart instantly drops, and I can taste the bile forming in my throat.
What the hell?
Olivia moves right next to me, and she leans down so that her mouth is level with my ear.
"You seriously thought that you could continue playing your games, huh? Well, after years and years of it, your karma caught up to you."
Olivia grabs onto my bad arm, and she holds it so tightly that my nerves are screaming for help. I wince as her nails dig deeper into my skin, and Savannah just watches.
"Logan, I've dealt with your shit for so long. Everyone was right about you, especially Brendan." Savannah exclaims.
I wish I could launch myself from this bed and stop this from happening, but I physically can't. This is like a nightmare coming to life.
"So, I'm going to say this once. Me and Olivia are done with you. We're done."
A part of me isn't even surprised when she says this because I already knew that the second I hit her, I already lost her. My delusional mind lead me into that car accident because I thought that somehow she'd be able to forgive me for what I did.
Clearly, I was living in some fantasy world where everything can be forgiving easily and there's no harm done. Nothing I could've done would've made up for my actions, so I don't deserve someone like Savannah.
"So don't try to contact us. We mean it." Olivia whisper yells, and she reaches to my nonexistent hand.
Her fingers carefully play with the stitches, and she begins to tug on them. A yelp leaves my throat, but she covers my mouth with her other hand to stop me from shouting.
"It hurts to be abused by someone that you love, doesn't it?" Savannah asks, and she smirks at me.
She's turning into me. That malicious smirk on her face is so similar to the one that I gave Olivia after beating her, and it scares me how Savannah instantly retaliates by turning into the person who hurt her.
Suddenly, I see someone else walk in, and she looks horrified. I didn't even recognize her at first because her hair isn't brown anymore. Her blonde hair is tied in a knot on the top of her head, but everything else about her is still the same from the night that I met her. Candice stands there, and her jaw is dropped to the floor.
"What the hell is going on?" She asks, and Savannah and Olivia both arch their eyebrows at her.
"Candice, what are you doing here?"
"I saw on the news about the car wreck, and I instantly came to see if you were alright." Candice explains, and I smile.
"I thought you weren't one to get attached." I playfully ask, and she smiles.
It's almost as if we've forgotten about Olivia torturing me and Savannah watching as if it's some form of entertainment.
"Candice, I suggest you leave. Logan isn't who he says he is. Trust us." Olivia advises, and Candice's eyes widen.
"Why?" She asks.
Savannah points to the bruise on her face, and then she points at me. Candice looks like she doesn't want to believe it, but I can tell that her heart just dropped because she knows it's true.
"I need to hear it from you, Logan. Did you really do that to her?" Candice asks, and she furrows her eyebrows.
"Y—Yes, I did." I stammer, and she sighs.
"He did it to me, too." Olivia adds.
Candice doesn't even say anything else, she just quickly backs out of the room and by the sound of her footsteps, she's running away. She didn't even need to hear or see anything else, she already knew they were telling the truth about me.
I'm losing everyone. And it's all my fault.
"So Logan, you've let every single woman slip right through your hands, and I hope you hang your head in shame about what you did to every single one of them." Savannah spits.
"Savannah, please."
Again, I don't know why I'm even bothering with her anymore. That look in her eyes says it all. She's tired of my games, and I know that she's done with me for good.
"Goodbye, Logan."
Olivia finally stands back up and walks back to where Savannah is, and they whisper something to each other before they both walk out.
Did that just really happen?
I swallow hard, and I look up at the ceiling. All of a sudden, I feel extremely nauseous because I know that I've screwed up.
Why am I like this?
I knew that I wasn't worthy of a girl like Savannah, but damn it I just wish that I still had her. But of course, I mess it up for myself with my own self destructive behavior and abusive habits.
Of course everything comes back to haunt me in the end.