31. Emily
emily
S pring is in full force, with birds chirping outside our windows.
The weather has warmed up significantly, and the brighter sunshine days have been a welcomed relief.
I wouldn’t mind spring so much if it weren’t for all the rainy days.
I’ve enjoyed seeing the town come alive with activity once winter finally released its icy grip on the world.
Storefronts have their welcome signs out on the clear sidewalks, and fresh flowers bloom all along the town green.
People are walking around the neighborhood more and are even friendlier than they have been.
Today’s an exciting day for the town as it’s the annual Bramblewood Day.
It’s a day for all the local shops and vendors to display their goods at the town square under tents to avoid the direct sunlight beaming down on everyone.
The event also hosts multiple food trucks and kid-friendly activities and rides.
It’s like a miniature carnival, and I didn’t know this existed until I happened upon a flyer while Ben and I were browsing the shops the other weekend.
We walked over from our apartment and sampled some snacks from the food trucks while browsing the vendor tents.
I’m looking at a painting of a naked woman being embraced by a demon with black wings. I’m not sure where Ben went, but as I am about to ask the shop owner about the price, someone calls my name. Turning around, I come face to face with the last person I want to see.
“Emily, I thought that was you.” Logan smiles at me warmly, like he has never been happier to see me.
He moves to give me a hug, and I stand there in shock as his arms wrap around me.
He pulls away after an awkward second but keeps his hands on my arms as he looks down at me. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Hey, Logan,” I clear my throat and step back so he would release me. “What are you doing here?”
He raises a brow at me as if I asked a rhetorical question. “I work for the town, remember?”
How could I have forgotten that Logan is the town’s cop? I’d never run into him before when he was working, and since he’s not in his uniform, it must be his day off.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot about that.”
“How have you been?” He questions, eyes darting around, searching to see if I came alone. “You look great.”
“Thanks…” My voice trails off, but Logan appears distracted. “You haven’t been responding to any of my messages lately.” He glares, his voice growing harder.
I frown in confusion. His abrupt change in demeanor is giving me whiplash.
“Are you still living with that guy? Ben?” Logan continues. I try to answer, but he cuts me off. “He’s bad news. You need to be careful.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but… I have reason to believe that Ben isn’t who you think he is.”
I freeze.
“Excuse me?”
I watch with trepidation as Logan pulls out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me. My hands tremble as I reach for it and unfold it with shaking fingers.
Subject: Benjamin Walker
Incident Report: Class D Misdemeanor — theft
Status: Unresolved Investigation
My chest tightens, and my eyes blur. It looks like a police report.
“You ran a background check on him?” My voice comes out shaky.
Logan moves closer, his voice low and worried. Repulsion floods me as his hand touches my shoulder, and I resist the impulse to recoil.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I thought you’d want to know what type of person you’re with. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
Something doesn’t feel right. This whole situation feels like a setup. My gut twists as I try to make sense of what’s happening.
“Ben would never hurt me. He would never do anything to hurt me.” It’s the one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. “You should go.”
A look of shock washes over Logan’s face as his expression falters. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need your protection. Not anymore.”
I look at Logan—really look at him. His expression hardens under the scrutiny, dropping the mask of concern.
It was all an act to get me to distrust Ben.
This was never about protecting me. This was about asserting his control over me, making me doubt my relationship, and keeping me in the past, where I used to see Logan as my protector.
I crumple up the paper and shove it into his chest. His hand comes up in surprise and briefly grips mine before I pull away in disgust.
“You need to stop, Logan. Lose my number and stop texting me. We’re over.” I glare at him, hoping he gets the picture and leaves me alone.
“Is there a problem here?” I stiffen at the sound of Ben’s gruff voice.
At the feel of Ben’s arms around my waist, I breathe a sigh of relief.
I’m warmed by his heat at my back, dispelling the chill Logan’s news has caused.
Ben places a possessive kiss on my throat, and I turn my head slightly to him.
“Hey, you, there you are,” I say to Ben, relief evident in my voice. “Logan was just leaving.” I glare at Logan.
“Sorry, babe, I saw something I thought you’d like.” He shows me a shopping bag. My attention catches on the unexpected gift. I squeal in excitement and try to grab the bag, but Ben pulls it away from me.
“Uh uh uh. Not yet,” he tuts at me, and I pout like a toddler being deprived of a gift. Ben chuckles and pecks my nose with a sweet kiss, and we hear the clearing of a throat. We both look over to see a peeved Logan standing with his arms crossed.
“Oh. Sorry, forgot you were still here,” Ben deadpans.
“I can see that. So, you two are together?” A look of anger twisted Logan’s features.
“Yup,” Ben replies curtly and steers me away with an arm around my shoulders. “Nice seeing you, Chad,” he shouts over his shoulder, and we walk away. I glance behind me, catching sight of Logan standing rigidly, his eyes narrowed in a furious glare burning into our backs as we walk away.
I shake off the unsettling encounter and snuggle in closer to Ben. Forcing my mind to focus on the present.
“So, when can I see what you got me?” I whine.
“Soon.” Ben smiles down at me.
We walk back to the apartment with me tucked under Ben’s arm, and the mystery present swinging in his other hand.
He won’t let me open the present until after he makes me come twice.
Only when we’ve come up for air, and the encounter with Logan is long forgotten, does he finally hand over the bag.
I shriek in delight as I pull out the hand-wrapped miniature figurines of a pair of cats that resemble Buffy and Spike.
I thank him by jumping into his lap and giving him a kiss.
Sometimes, I feel like all of this is too good to be true, but rather than dwell on it, I feel grateful for what life has put us through to bring us together.
T he next day, I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling of my encounter with Logan.
I couldn’t escape his words in my mind the entire night.
The strange encounter followed me in my sleep and haunted my dreams. The police report and Logan’s constant texts have left me feeling uneasy.
I haven’t told Ben what’s bothering me, even though he knows something is wrong.
I’m full of unanswered questions. I built up the nerve to talk to Ben about what happened with Logan, going over it repeatedly in my head, but he was over at Jason and Amanda’s.
Jason needed a hand to build something down in the basement.
Ben invited me to hang out with Amanda, but my anxiety was too overwhelming.
I’ve cleaned every surface in the apartment until it sparkles. Even the cats are avoiding me after I used the vacuum cleaner for the third time. My furious pacing fails to alleviate my restlessness. As a car nears, I run to the window, a sharp exhale escaping me at the sight of Ben’s car.
Finally, he’s home.
Seconds tick by as I wait on the edge of the couch.
In the hushed apartment, the sound of his keys unlocking the door is amplified.
When he yells his usual greeting, letting me know he’s home, my heart flutters excitedly.
I’m overwhelmed by a sickening mix of anxiety and excitement.
I’m so incredibly stimulated that I feel like I’m going to burst.
I remain still, my hands clasped, as he approaches. He catches sight of me on the couch as he gets to the landing. A worried look replaces his smile, and he runs to me.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
I shake my head. “Nothing happened.”
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
Exhaling deeply, I recount my conversation with Logan, omitting nothing. I cautiously bring up Logan’s police report, noticing his expression harden into apathy. Feeling like ages have passed, I stop and sink into my seat. Letting everything go felt good.
Ben has been quietly and attentively listening to me. He seemed furious at first about what Logan said, but now it feels like he is concealing his true feelings.
“Ben?” My voice cracks as I wring my hands.
For a moment, he examines my face before collapsing onto the couch, throwing his head back with laughter.
His reaction baffles me.
“Ben? What’s going on?” It feels like I’m not in on whatever the joke was.
Ben rubs his face, his laughter fading to a quiet chuckle. Turning his head, he looks at me and takes my hand.
“Your ex is a prick.” I nod in agreement, waiting for Ben to continue. “When I was in college, I was arrested.”
Shocked, I gasp, and he signals for me to let him continue.
“Now, before you freak out, it wasn’t as big of a deal as he’s making it out to seem.
Jason and I were living in the dorms, and some frat boys were handing out T-shirts.
Unfortunately, we found out later when the campus cops came knocking on our doors that the shirts had been stolen from the locker room.
They wanted us to rat out who gave us the shirts, and we kept our mouths shut.
That’s where the misdemeanor comes from. ”
“Oh.” I slump into his side. “That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it.” He chuckles as if the memory is still fresh in his mind.
“Yeah. Logan is a prick.”
The absurdity of the situation makes me laugh. I can’t believe I let Logan get under my skin again. He’s done enough damage to my life. Never again, I vow.