Toxic: Logan's Story (Torn #4)(33)

“Morning,” I mumbled as I grabbed my jeans and pulled them on quickly.

Logan laughed as he sat up in bed. He looked adorable with his shaggy hair sticking up all around his head. “I never took you for the shy type.”

“I’m not shy,” I said quickly.

“Then, why did you jump in your pants faster than I could blink?” When I didn’t answer, he smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

“Get dressed, so we can get out of here.” I sat down on my bed and started to pull on my socks and shoes.

I heard him moving around behind me. I collapsed back on the bed as soon as I heard the bathroom door shut. Only a few minutes later, Logan stepped back out, fully dressed and hair tamed.

“I was going to change in here, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted a strip show, too,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” Yes, please. I’d give anything to see you strip down to nothing.

We stopped at a local diner for breakfast before heading to my parents’ house.

I kept my mind blank as we crossed town. Now was not the time to lose my nerve, and I would if I really thought about what I was doing. When I told Logan to turn onto my old street, I sat up straight in my seat. My body was rigid as the house came into view.

“Here,” I said as I pointed at my old house.

Logan pulled into the driveway. I stared out the windshield at the house. It hadn’t changed much since I left. Now, I could see where the roofing tiles were darkening with age, and the blue siding was starting to fade. I couldn’t help but find that strange. David had been all about making sure things looked perfect. At least, he would make sure things looked perfect on the outside. He had always worried about what our neighbors thought. If only he’d worried about the people, especially me, living inside of his home as much as he did his reputation, my life would have been so different.

“You ready for this?” Logan asked from beside me.

I nodded. “Yeah. Might as well get it over with.” I opened my door and started to climb out.

He grabbed my arm to stop me. “I’m coming with you. I won’t let you do this on your own.”

My heart softened. “You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t. I want to.” He released me and opened his own door.

He followed behind me as we walked up the sidewalk to where the front door was. I took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. When no one came to the door, I rang it again. Still, there was no answer. I frowned as I rang it one more time. Nothing.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

Mom was always home. Always. The only time she would leave was when she went to the grocery store or when she went somewhere with David. Most of the time, they would only go out together at night, usually for a private dinner or a party.

“No one’s home,” Logan said, pointing out the obvious.

I sighed in defeat and started walking back to the car. Now what? All my plans had been centered around someone being home. We’d have to go back to the hotel and wait for a few hours now. I hated waiting.

“Where to next, boss?” Logan joked as we climbed back into the car.

“Our room, I guess.”

“Are you sure? Isn’t there someplace else we could try?”

I shook my head. “I have no clue where they could be. David was almost never home, but Mom was home all the time. Obviously, things have changed.”

“What about your sister?” he asked.

“What about her?”

“Do you have any idea where she might be?”

I shook my head. “She could be anywhere.”

“You said she had a bunch of friends, right? Maybe she’s with one of them.”

I thought for a few minutes. “She had one friend that she was super close to—Lily. She lives on the other side of town. Well, she used to. I don’t know if she would still be at her parents’ house or not.”

“Well, it’s summer break, so she might be. It can’t hurt to stop and ask.”

I shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

It was better than going back to our room and waiting. I gave him directions as he drove through town. It was a little surreal how everything looked exactly the same as it had when I left. For some stupid reason, I’d expected it to be completely different, but it was still sleepy little Crossville.

It took us a few minutes to find Lily’s house. I’d only been there once or twice to pick up Bethaney when Mom couldn’t, and that had been years ago. Finally, I recognized the mailbox. That was how I’d remembered it before. Instead of having a normal box, they’d had one custom made to look like a bird. No joke. The thing looked ridiculous.

Two cars were parked in the driveway, so we were forced to park on the street. I walked across their perfectly manicured lawn and up to the front door. I knocked softly since I saw no doorbell.

A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman opened the door and gave me a questioning look. “Can I help you?”

“Uh…yeah. This is going to sound strange, but I’m looking for my little sister, Bethaney. She and Lily used to be friends a long time ago, so I thought I’d check here.”

The woman’s eyes glanced behind me to where Logan was standing, and then she looked back to me. As she stared at me, recognition dawned.