Toxic: Logan's Story (Torn #4)(69)

I shot her a look. “I don’t plan to go out and party like you do, Amber. I just want to have fun and relax.”

“Hey! I don’t party that much!” She gave me an indignant look.

“Bullshit. Ever since the band left, you’ve changed. You’re out partying almost every night. I know why, Amber. I’m not stupid.”

“Let’s just drop it before we end up pissed-off at each other, okay?” she finally said after a moment of silence.

“Fine, but you know you need to face Adam at some point.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Did you…did you see him while you were out there?”

“I didn’t. Why don’t you just call and talk to him, Amber?”

“No. I’m not calling him. We’re done. We really weren’t anything to begin with. I was just another easy-lay groupie to him.”

“Have you asked him how he feels?”

She shook her head. “Why would I? If he really cared, he would have asked me to be with him. Drake took Chloe with him to L.A. once everything was settled between them. If Adam wanted me out there, he would have said something. Instead, he told me, ‘later,’ and walked out of my life.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Logan, drop it. Please.”

“All right, I’ll shut up.”

“Thanks. And Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really happy you’re home. I think you’re stupid for leaving Jade out there, but I’m still glad you’re here with me.”





I’d made it four months. That was it. I’d handled the rest of August and even part of September fairly well, but then I caved. I missed Jade. It was that simple. I missed her. I had gone through my daily routine of school, work, and homework, but that was as far as I’d made it. My plans to go out and explore life had crashed and burned before I’d even realized what was happening.

Unfortunately for me, I still had to finish my semester. I had a full academic scholarship, and I couldn’t just give it up and walk away. Even though I was stuck, that didn’t keep me from planning ahead.

By the end of October, I was signed up for the same online college where Chloe was enrolled. I would start classes online in January. I had enough money saved up from working at the shop that I was able to afford the semester’s tuition. My web design and graphics major made it a lot easier to take online classes. Learning to build websites could literally be done from anywhere.

My finals would be over a week before Christmas, and my plane ticket out to L.A. was booked for the following day.

Amber figured out what I had been up to a few weeks before I would be leaving. She didn’t seem surprised when she cornered me, and I admitted that I was going to L.A. If anything, she seemed relieved.

“It’s about damn time you found some happiness, Logan.”

I took that as her blessing.

I spent Thanksgiving with my mom, and it was awkward as hell, but she was really trying to make up for how my life had been as a kid. I thought she expected me to spend Christmas with her as well, so I let her know of my plans. She didn’t seem happy that I was going all the way to L.A., but she wished me luck.

I called Chloe a few days before I was scheduled to fly out, letting her know what my plans were. While I had every intention of running to Jade’s apartment as soon as I could, I wanted to make sure that I had a place to stay in case she decided that she didn’t want me. Even though she’d told me she would wait for me, I knew that life happened. If she’d moved on already, that would be my fault, and I’d have to deal with the consequences of my idiotic decisions. I just hoped that she hadn’t forgotten me. I doubted if Chloe would mind if I moved in with her and Drake, but I wasn’t sure how well Drake would take it. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stand living with him.

Chloe was ecstatic when I told her my plans. Just like before, she was the one who was hoping I’d end up with Jade. I’d kept in touch with Chloe a lot over the last few months, and the awkwardness from before was gone. We were right back where we used to be—best friends. I’d expected to feel disappointment over that, but I didn’t. I really was over Chloe. It’d only taken me three years to pull my head out of my ass.

Go figure.

When I walked out of LAX airport and climbed into a taxi, I didn’t feel nervous like last time. I knew what I wanted. It was time that I stopped letting my past get in the way and just go for it. If Jade wasn’t ready to be with me again, I’d stay with Chloe or find a place of my own until she was or until I was ready to move on. One way or another, I would make this work.

The taxi dropped me off at Jade’s apartment just as the sun was setting. I punched in the code Chloe had given me and rode the elevator up to her floor. I knocked on the door and waited.

When Jade opened the door, her eyes widened. “Logan? What are you doing here?” You didn’t mention anything about coming out over break,” she said, still looking shocked.

We’d talked on the phone and texted a few times each week. It had been enough to let me know how she was doing, but it hadn’t been enough to keep me from going nuts. I wanted to be where she was.

“I wanted to surprise you.” I grinned at her. “We have a lot to talk about, but before we do…”