Toxic: Logan's Story (Torn #4)(20)

“Whether you realize it or not, I wouldn’t be.” She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss against my lips. “You know, I hated Chloe for a while.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because she had you, but all she did was chase after Drake. It wasn’t fair to the rest of us.”

“Huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you really going to make me break it down for you? I was jealous of her because she had you. That first night we all hung out together, I couldn’t stop staring at you after you walked into the bar with her. I was hoping that you weren’t her boyfriend because I’d never seen a man more beautiful than you.” She paused to grin at me. “I was wrong, of course. You look even better now than you did then. Your hair looks better shaggy, like how you keep it now, but it was your eyes that drew me in. They’re the prettiest blue I’ve ever seen, and they’re so open. Anyone could see every emotion you feel if they look close enough into your eyes.”

“You were interested in me?” I asked incredulously. “You are around Eric, Adam, and Drake twenty-four/seven. But you noticed me? The boring guy?”

“You’re anything but boring. And those guys are like my brothers. I’d never look at them like that.”

“I don’t even know what to say here,” I mumbled, trying to process the fact that someone like Jade had noticed me.

Sure, I’d noticed how beautiful Jade was, but I never thought we would have any kind of relationship. I’d been too stuck on Chloe to even entertain that kind of thought.

“I knew that your relationship with Chloe would eventually end, so I waited. I never thought things would go down the way they did though. I knew you would never even think about having a relationship with me, so I got close to you the only way I could. I became your friend. Then, things got awkward, and I wasn’t sure how to fix it, so I stayed away. That night at Chloe’s aunt’s house, I was so confused because I knew you still loved her. I didn’t want to be the girl you passed your time with while you waited for her. I wanted to be the girl you thought about all the time, the one you couldn’t wait to see. So, I did what I do best. I ran from you.”

“You had every right to get pissed and run from me. I was a total jackass to you,” I told her honestly.

She shrugged. “I knew you weren’t in a good place.”

“Why are you telling me all of this now, Jade?”

“Because I want you to know that you’re not alone. I know you’ve always been fixated on Chloe, but you have other options out there. I’m not asking for anything from you. I know you’re not ready for that. Just know that when you are, I’m here, okay?”

I nodded. “Thank you for not pushing me. I’ve been in a really f*cked-up place for a long time now. I need to get my head screwed on right and figure out where I want to go from here.”

“I know you do. Take as long as you need.” She paused for a second. “Do you remember me telling you about my sister?”

“Yeah,” I said, wondering where this conversation was going.

“Once we finish this tour, I plan on finding her. We have all U.S. dates right now, and the tour will be six months long. If it does well, the label wants to send us overseas for another six months. The way our sales have been building, I think it’s a good possibility that the tour will end up lasting for a year. We’ll write new music on the road, but they’ll let us take a few months off between the tour and when we start recording again. I want to take that time to find my sister and get to know her again. I want you to come with me.”

“Me? Seriously? Why the hell would you want me to tag along?”

“Because I don’t want to do it on my own, and I think you need some time away from everyone.”

I shook my head. “I have school. I can’t just up and leave it all for a few months.”

“We’ll be back right after the spring semester ends next year. The two of us can go and come back before school starts in the fall.”

“Let me think about this, okay?” I asked.

It was a lot to take in. First, I had to process finding out that Jade had been harboring feelings for me all this time. Then, I had to think about her asking me to go with her to where she had grown up, where all of her bad memories were.

“You have a year to think about it.” She smiled at me.

Unable to stop myself, I leaned over and kissed her again. Her lips parted easily, and I didn’t hold back. The kiss was short but hot, and I tried to memorize the taste of her. When I pulled away, she rested her head on my chest and took my hand in hers.

“You’re going to be okay, Logan. I know you will.”

I stared down at her. I hoped she was right.



Jade spent the night with me, and we slept on the floor. When I woke up the next morning, my back screamed at me for being such an idiot and not moving us to my bed, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. We spent an hour cleaning up the disaster that was my room. Afterward, I gave her some of Amber’s clothes, so she could shower and change before she met up with the guys.

The band was leaving to go back to L.A later today. Drake and Chloe would be away on their honeymoon until right before the tour started, leaving the others to take care of any last-minute details for the tour.