Toxic: Logan's Story (Torn #4)(15)

I groaned. “Yes, I’ll be there.”

Whether I wanted to or not, I knew I would go. I’d do it for Chloe because I knew how bad it would make her feel if I wasn’t there. Once again, I was worrying about how she would feel. Instead, I should have been listening to my gut telling me this was a bad idea.

Amber leaned over and hugged me. “Thank you, Logan. I know this is hard for you, but I promise that one day, you’ll look back at the time you spent holding out for Chloe, and you’ll laugh at yourself. There’s a girl out there for you who will make you forget about Chloe completely.”

I snorted as I hugged her back, but I said nothing. Instead, I gently pushed her away and stood up. She called my name, but I ignored her as I walked back to my room. As soon as I was inside, I closed the door and peeled off my shirt and then my pants. I dropped down onto the bed in only my boxers, and I closed my eyes, pretending that I wasn’t shattering into a million pieces.

I just wanted to go f*cking numb and stay that way.





Amber hadn’t been kidding when she said she would have the wedding ready to go within a few days. A week later, I was standing in the middle of a clearing overlooking Cheat Lake. I snorted at the irony. Of course they’d get married next to Cheat Lake. I was surprised I wasn’t Drake’s best man. That would complete the torment that this day was sure to be.

I’d been standing with Amber next to my car for over twenty minutes before anyone else showed up. Amber had beaten me here—shocker—but we were waiting for Chloe’s cousin, Danny, and Drake’s bandmates. I winced when I thought about the fact that I would have to see Jade today. This day really was one f*cked-up mother. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. All I wanted to do was drink. No, I didn’t want to drink. I wanted to get drunk. That was saying something. Even when I went to the bars to find women, I would only have a drink or two.

“Can you at least pretend to smile?” Amber asked as she leaned on my car.

I flashed my teeth at her. “There. Happy?”

She laughed. “I asked you to smile, not act like you’re going to go cannibal on my ass and eat me.”

I rolled my eyes as her phone lit up and Adelitas Way’s “Criticize” started playing. Her face lit up as bright as her phone, and I knew instantly who it was—Adam, one of Drake’s bandmates. I knew she’d f*cked around with him before everything went to shit between Chloe and me, but I had no idea if they were still messing around or not. It’d been almost a year since they last saw each other. I knew that because it’d been as long since I saw Jade—not that I was keeping track of the time though.

“Adam, Eric, and Jade are almost here. The preacher dude is following behind them,” Amber said as she typed into her phone.

I almost groaned at the stupid smile on her face. Adam was as bad, if not worse, than Drake had been. The guy would f*ck anything with a vagina. I’d seen him leave Gold’s Pub with some seriously questionable chicks. Then again, I had been doing the same thing lately.

Eric was the only member of the band that I hadn’t been able to get a feel for. Drake and Adam had played the man-whore parts well, but Eric was different. I’d seen him with girls once or twice, but he had been nothing like the other two. Where Adam was loud and full of shit most of the time, Eric was quiet, thoughtful even. I didn’t know him at all, but I respected him.

Then, there was Jade. I sighed as I thought about her. I’d f*cked up with her big time. I knew it, and she knew it. And I’d never even apologized for what I did to her. If I were being honest, I’d hoped that I wouldn’t run into her again. I was a coward.

Amber and I both looked up as two cars pulled into the clearing. A man stepped out of the second one—the preacher I assumed—while Eric, Adam, and Jade climbed out of the first one. Amber was smiling like a lunatic as she ran up to them. She gave a small hello to Jade and Eric before leaping into Adam’s arms. She began kissing him like a preacher wasn’t standing ten feet away from them. I laughed at her sudden show of affection, but it died in my throat when I saw Jade was watching me.

She’d changed her hair—again. I couldn’t keep up with her hair colors. She’d had it every color of the rainbow since I met her, but I had to admit that I liked how it was now the best. She’d left the strange-colored streaks out this time and dyed it a light brown. It fell around her shoulders in loose curls. Even curled, I could tell that it’d grown out quite a bit since the last time I saw her. She’d left off her dark eye shadow and liner today. The effect was devastatingly beautiful. Without the makeup to make her look like she could kick my ass, she looked angelic. Her skin glowed. She looked happy—at least, she did until she saw me. Then, a spark of anger appeared in her brown eyes.

Not thinking, I walked over to where she was standing. She watched me warily as I stopped in front of her.

“Hi,” I whispered.

She raised her chin, letting me know that she was still pissed. “Logan.”

We stood awkwardly, staring at each other, as I fought for a way to tell her I was sorry.

“Look, about what happened at Chloe’s aunt’s house—”

The anger in her brown eyes intensified. “Don’t you dare,” she whisper-shouted, “try to bring that up today. Just drop it!”

I nodded and looked away. I felt like she’d drop-kicked me in the stomach.