Chapter 10
Riley looked at the calendar over her desk for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon.
It had been three days since Porter had left, and she’d never felt lonelier.
She’d been used to being by herself most of the time before Porter and Logan had come into her life, but now she couldn’t seem to concentrate.
She worried about Porter, wondering where he was and if he and his teammates were all right.
She worried about Logan, and if he was okay at Gillian’s house.
She worried about Miles, and how he’d been threatening to come over and break her door down if she didn’t give him the game he claimed he’d left at her apartment.
Thanks to the latter, every little sound made her jump, and she was slightly ashamed of how needy she felt when just a month ago, she was perfectly content to stay inside her apartment day and night.
It wasn’t too surprising that when her phone rang, Riley jumped yet again, almost knocking her laptop off the table in front of her. Nervously chuckling at herself, she looked at the display and saw Gillian was calling.
Her heart immediately started beating hard in her chest. Was something wrong? Had she heard something from the Army about the guys? Riley clicked on the green button.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Riley, it’s Gillian.”
“What’s wrong? Are the guys all right?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m sorry for scaring you. I haven’t heard anything from Trigger or the team. I’m calling about Logan.”
Shit. Riley hadn’t even thought that something might be wrong with Logan. “What about him?” she asked.
“He’s fine,” Gillian said quickly. “He’s a really good kid.
Quiet. Almost too quiet. I can’t get him to engage with me hardly at all.
I was wondering if you would mind if I brought him over after school today?
I think seeing you would do him a lot of good.
You know, getting him back into his routine. ”
“Of course,” Riley said, sighing in relief. She couldn’t deny that she’d missed the boy, and she’d love to see him.
“And…this might be too much to ask, and I understand if you say no,” Gillian continued.
“But I’m thinking maybe it would be better if he went back to sleeping in his own bed at Oz’s apartment.
He seems…lost. And I hate seeing him this way.
I’m not trying to pawn him off on you or anything, I really like having him here, but he’s said more than once that he misses you, so I just thought—”
“Yes,” Riley said, interrupting her. “I have no problem with you bringing him back over here for good. I can sleep over at Oz’s apartment and get him on the bus in the mornings.
But…will we get in trouble with the Army?
Porter told me that he’d filled out paperwork that says Logan would be staying with you. ”
“I have no idea,” Gillian said, not sounding worried in the least. “But it’s more important to do what’s right for Logan than to follow the family care plan to the letter. He’s being cared for, and he’ll be safe. That’s all that matters.”
Riley had the brief thought that with Miles threatening to come over, maybe Logan wouldn’t be as safe as Gillian thought. But then again, her ex wouldn’t know she was next door with Logan, so they should be okay. “All right. But if Porter gets mad, you have to help me explain,” Riley said.
“Oz isn’t going to get mad, especially not with you,” Gillian told her. “He’s crazy about you…and Logan. He’d be more upset if he came home and found out how much Logan was struggling.”
“True,” Riley said.
“He should be home from school before long, so we’ll be there in about forty-five minutes or so. That should give him time to pack his things. Will that be all right?”
“Of course!” Riley told her. Mentally, she was trying to decide if they had enough to eat or if they needed to go to the store, but decided between her apartment and Porter’s, they’d be all right for at least tonight.
“I appreciate you calling. I know I’m not Logan’s mom, but I’d like to think I’m his friend, and I don’t believe he’s uncomfortable. I’m sure it’s not you.”
“I’m not offended,” Gillian reassured her. “He’s had a tough time of it lately. And getting into a routine is important. He’s used to you and his new room now. I’ll see you soon.”
“Drive safe,” Riley said.
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Riley hung up and stared into space for a minute, wondering if Logan was going to be okay…
and missing Porter all the more. He’d know what to do to help his nephew feel better.
Even though he was new at the whole parenting thing, he seemed to catch on very quickly.
He wasn’t perfect, evident by him springing a suitcase on Logan, but he’d immediately rectified his mistake.
He’d talked to his nephew, apologized, and made sure the boy knew he hadn’t meant to upset him.
Riley shook her head and stood. She had a lot of stuff to do before Gillian arrived with Logan in under an hour. She had to pack, figure out what they were going to eat for dinner, shoot off a few emails to let clients know when they should expect their transcriptions to be returned.
But as she hurried into her bedroom, Riley was smiling. She was looking forward to getting back into her routine of working during the morning and spending the afternoon with Logan. She wouldn’t get to see Porter for dinner, but at least she wouldn’t be alone anymore.
Two hours later, Riley was sitting next to Logan on Porter’s couch.
The little boy had given her a huge hug when he’d seen her, and it felt awesome.
Gillian hadn’t stayed long, just long enough to make sure Logan knew she wasn’t dumping him off, and that he had her phone number in case he needed anything.
Riley had made them both a snack, homemade pizza bagels, and now she wanted to see if she could get Logan to open up a little more.
“So…you okay?” she asked.
Logan nodded.
“Gillian’s nice, yeah?”
“Uh-huh.”
Right, so this conversation wasn’t going well so far. Logan had never been a chatterbox, but she hadn’t had this much trouble getting him to talk to her since the first couple of days she’d hung out with him.
“I miss Porter,” she told him honestly. “Which feels weird because we haven’t known each other that long, but something about him being here makes me feel safe.
And he’s funny, even though he doesn’t try to be funny.
I like knowing he’s right next door just in case, and now that he’s gone, everything’s really quiet. ”
“He snores,” Logan said quietly, looking down at his fingers in his lap. “Well, not really snores, but breathes really deeply. I can hear him from my room. Knowing he’s here, that I’m not alone in the apartment, makes me feel safe too.”
Riley did her best to keep her tone even. “Were you alone in your other place a lot?”
Logan shrugged. “Mom worked nights. So she left after dinner and usually didn’t get home until right before I went to school.”
Riley felt horrible for both Logan and his mom. She couldn’t imagine how that felt, to leave your little boy home alone—day or night—while you went out and worked.
“She used to leave at night all the time to hang out with her friends, but she stopped doing that. She had a really hard time finding a job, and the only one she could get was at night.”
Riley scooted closer to Logan. “I’m sure she didn’t like leaving you.”
“She didn’t,” Logan agreed. “She apologized lots, but said she trusted me to be good while she was gone.” He looked up at her. “I know she wasn’t the best mom, I’m not stupid, but she changed. Wasn’t doing drugs as much.”
Riley felt so bad for the little boy. She knew it wasn’t easy to just up and quit using drugs. But it sounded like his mom had been trying. “She loved you,” she told Logan.
He nodded.
“I’m very sorry she died,” Riley said quietly.
It was several moments before Logan responded. “Me too. But does it make me a bad person to say that I like it here better?”
“Oh, Logan. No, it doesn’t. There were many times when I was sent to a new foster family that I felt the same way.
I liked most of those houses a lot. They were clean, and I didn’t have cockroaches crawling over me when I slept.
I got to eat regularly, no one forgot to buy food.
And I didn’t have to listen to my parents screaming at each other when they were drunk.
I remember feeling sad when I had to go back home.
I loved my parents, but while they did their best, they weren’t very good at taking care of me. ”
Logan nodded as if he completely understood what she was talking about. Since it felt as if he was opening up to her a bit, Riley asked, “So, you’re happy to live with your uncle, and you like Gillian…is there anything else going on that you don’t like right now? How’s school going?”
Riley saw his bottom lip quiver before he got control over it, and she knew she’d hit the nail on the head.
He shrugged.
Riley decided the best way to get Logan to open up was to continue to let him know that they probably had a lot of common experiences.
“When I was around your age, I had a best friend. We were really close. But one day, she just decided she didn’t like me anymore.
She was hanging out with one of the popular girls in school instead, and they made my life unbearable for many years.
They made fun of me and no one wanted to eat with me at lunch.
They said I smelled, and they made oinking noises at me when I walked by.
It was horrible. I hated going to school. ”
“What happened?” Logan asked quietly. “What did you do?”