“My father did this to you?” She gasped in shock and her hand flew to her mouth.
“You could say that.” I stared past her into the room and remembered the night my father had stabbed me. I had been sixteen and I was still heartbroken from my mother’s death. I was also annoyed at our monthly trips to Manor Road. I had questioned my father as we had sat outside, staring at the mayor’s house and he had grabbed his knife and lunged at me. I might have died if Vincent and Jared hadn’t pulled him off of me. I could still remember the fear and the darting pain as the knife slid down my abdomen, slicing my skin. The pain was excruciating, and as the blood gushed out and my dad realized what he had done, he started crying. And we all sat there in silence, watching the mayor’s house for another hour before my dad took me to the hospital. He had sat in the car, while Vincent and Jared walked into the emergency room with me. We said I had tripped while holding a knife. The doctors knew it was a lie, but they didn’t ask me what the real story was. I suppose they didn’t care. We had never spoken about that night again, and I never told my father that I didn’t want to go to the mayor’s house again.
My father was consumed by his hatred of Mayor Wright, and it somehow made him feel better when he took us there and told us the stories about his past. Stories that I hadn’t heard in a few years. My father didn’t bother coming out to Manor Road anymore; the alcohol controlled every part of his body and he didn’t care about anything else now. He was never really lucid enough to think about anything other than his next beer.
“Will you tell me why, Logan?” Maddie’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked up at her, trying not to let her see the pain in my eyes.
“It’s not your problem.” I stepped back. “I really do have to go now.”
“Do you like me, Logan?”
“I don’t know you.”
“From what you know about me, do you like me?”
I stood there for a moment, not sure why she was asking me if I liked her. Was this some sort of trap? “I honestly don’t know.” Which was a bit of a lie. I did know. I did like her. I was drawn to her, I felt alive around her. I felt like someone other than Logan Martelli: criminal, brother, son around her.
“Will you be friends with me?” she asked hopefully. I looked at her in confusion.
“Did you just ask me to be your friend?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I know you don’t know me and you don’t trust me, but maybe we can change that.”
“I don’t need any more friends.”
“You have more than one?”
“Funny.” I stared at her with my heart beating rapidly. This was a bad idea to be entertaining, but I didn’t want to just walk away. “Do you mean friends with benefits?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“What if I want friends with benefits?”
“I don’t sleep with someone who doesn’t trust me.”
“What?” I gaped at her. “You’ve already slept with me on two occasions.”
“I didn’t know you didn’t trust me then.” She shrugged. “Now I do.”
“I thought we were fated for each other?” I murmured. “I thought you wanted to feel me inside of you.”
“I did, and now I have. And maybe both feelings have changed.”
“Both feelings have changed already?” My voice rose. “Fickle, aren’t we?”
“You know us rich girls.” She winked at me, and I attempted a smile at her joke. I ignored the surge of anger that welled in me at her words. How could she go from hot to cold so quickly?
“No, not really.” I felt like punching the wall. “So you want to be friends?”
“That seems like it would be best, right?” She looked away quickly. “You don’t do relationships, and I don’t sleep with guys who can’t stand me or my family and won’t tell me why.”
“So you’ll just find another guy to f**k, huh?” I glared at her, jealousy seeping into my voice. “I thought you weren’t easy?”
“Give it a rest, Logan.” She sighed. “You can’t have it both ways.”
“Whatever.” I didn’t need this shit. “I’m going.”
“See ya.” She walked into her room. “Close the front door on your way out,” she called out to me.
“Fine.” I glared at no one and ran down the stairs, pissed. I slammed the door as I left the house. The sun was rising and I ran to the car as annoyed as I had been when I had arrived a few hours earlier. What the f**k was Maddie playing at? Was this some sort of sick joke? I didn’t understand girls and had never cared before. They were good for a night or two, but I had bigger worries than their feelings. And a girl had never gotten under my skin like Maddie had. I turned the ignition and pulled out of Manor Road as quickly as possible.
“I’m coming!” I yelled into the phone as Vincent called me again.
“Dude, I gotta go to take my exam soon.” Vincent sounded annoyed.
“I forgot. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.” I threw my phone on the passenger seat, and raced down the streets, not caring if a cop was waiting to pull me over for speeding. I sped home as if I was at the Indy 500, and when I pulled into the driveway, I was more upset than when I had left.
I ran up the stairs and to Vincent’s room and pushed his door open. “Here are your keys.” I threw them at him as he lay there in bed. He just stared at me with a worried expression. “Good luck with the test.”
“Thanks.” He nodded, and I left his room wordlessly. I ran into the bathroom and locked the door before turning on the shower. “Fuck you, Maddie Wright,” I cursed her under my breath. “Friends.” I rubbed the shampoo into my hair and closed my eyes. I needed to feel like I was in control or I was going to lose it. I stood there for a few minutes, letting the hot water beat down on me, and then stepped out of the shower calmly. I had bigger problems than Maddie Wright. I needed to come up with rent money in a little over a week or I knew we were going to get evicted. I walked to my room and sat on my bed, waiting for an answer to come to me. Praying that somehow I could figure it out. I’d always been able to figure it out before.
“Hey, Logan.” Jared knocked on the door and walked in. “Sorry about last night.”
“Don’t worry about it.”