Chapter 18 #3
Before she could think, she rushed out of the bedroom, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she searched for something—anything—that she could use to protect herself.
Her hand grabbed the first thing she found, a nearby vase within reach, and she tightened her grip as she moved toward the entrance.
The door opened.
A figure stepped inside.
Elise didn't wait to see who it was.
Driven purely by panic, she rushed forward, lifting her hand to strike the intruder before he could get any farther inside.
But just as she moved closer, the person turned toward her.
They almost collided with each other in the middle of the apartment, and just as Elise was about to swing the vase in her hand, the lights suddenly turned on.
The brightness flooded the room, revealing both of their faces at the same time.
Elise froze.
The person standing in front of her wasn't a stranger breaking into her apartment.
It was Logan.
Her hand stopped inches away from him, and she immediately pulled the vase back before she could accidentally hit him.
At the same time, Logan, who had instinctively raised his arm to protect himself, lowered his fist just as quickly, his own fear and surprise stopping him before his hand could reach the wall beside him.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
The panic that had filled the room only seconds ago disappeared, replaced by complete confusion.
"What the hell?"
They both shouted at the same time.
Logan looked at her as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, while Elise stared back at him with the same disbelief.
She let out a shaky breath as she carefully placed the vase back on the console table beside the door. Only then did she straighten and glare at Logan, still trying to calm her racing heart.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" she shouted, marching toward him. "What the hell, Logan? How did you even get in here?"
Logan looked just as startled as she did.
"What are you doing here?" he shot back without missing a beat. "Aren't you supposed to be living with your boyfriend? You told me you weren't living here anymore!"
Elise stared at him as though he had completely lost his mind.
"You are the one who should be answering me!" she snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment?"
Logan opened his mouth to answer but hesitated. Instead, he quietly bent down and placed the grocery bags he had been carrying onto the kitchen counter.
Elise's eyes immediately followed the movement.
The bags were filled with dinner, snacks, drinks—even a loaf of bread and a carton of milk.
Her brows slowly drew together.
She looked from the groceries back to Logan, suspicion gradually replacing the confusion on her face.
There was something far too familiar about the way he had walked into the apartment, casually punched in the security code, switched on the lights, and carried groceries inside as though this were his own home.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You've been here before."
It wasn't a question.
Logan rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking far less confident than he had a moment ago.
"...Maybe."
"Logan."
"Okay, okay." He lifted both hands in surrender. "I come here once or twice a week."
She blinked.
"What?"
"I just... sleep here sometimes," he admitted sheepishly. "Not every day. Just once or twice a week whenever I need a break.”
Elise simply stared at him.
He offered her an innocent smile.
"I just needed somewhere quiet for a night every now and then. My parents drive me insane, and this place is peaceful. I come here, watch a movie, sleep, clean everything up, and leave in the morning."
Her expression didn't soften.
Instead, her eyes widened even more.
"...I never gave you the password."
Logan looked at her for a second before bursting into an incredulous laugh.
"You seriously think your password is difficult to guess?"
She frowned.
"It is."
"It absolutely isn't." He looked at her with the kind of disappointment reserved for someone who had completely failed a basic intelligence test. "Elise, you use the same password for literally everything."
She blinked.
"No, I don’t."
"You do."
"I changed it."
"To the exact same number."
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
Logan sighed dramatically, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Your phone password is the same. Your laptop password is the same. Your tablet password is the same. Even your Netflix password is the same." He shook his head, looking genuinely disappointed. "At this point, I'm honestly offended on behalf of whoever invented passwords."
For several long seconds, she simply stood there, too appalled to respond.
Then her expression hardened.
"This is my apartment," she snapped. "I told you that you are not allowed to live here."
Logan looked at her with an almost offended expression, as if she was making the biggest issue out of something completely harmless.
"Come on, don't do this to me," he said, letting out a sigh. "I already told you, I'm not comfortable living with my parents. They make me lose my peace of mind every single day. I swear I don't throw parties or invite anyone over."
He pointed around the spotless apartment as though presenting evidence in court.
"Look how clean everything is. I vacuum before I leave, wash the dishes, take the trash out... you probably never even noticed I'd been here."
Elise followed his gesture, and annoyingly, she couldn't argue with him.
The apartment was spotless.