“I’ll be right back,” I say to the old woman.

When I get outside, Logan lifts his worried eyes up to me. The man, a young guy with a military cut, is sitting on his motorcycle. The one that we rode together just a few days prior to a secluded part of the beach where we shared our first kiss.

I wrap my arms around Logan’s waist as he touches his lips to the side of my head. Then, the man starts up the bike, and I feel Logan wince. A moment later, the bike is rolling away, and the man shouts a thanks to us as he waves goodbye.

Logan doesn’t move for a moment. So I squeeze him a little tighter, hoping to love the pain out of him. He wraps his arms back around me and pulls me into his body as I feel him breathe a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper against the soft skin of his neck.

“It’s okay,” he whispers back. “Clean slate, right?”

When he pulls away, I look up into his eyes and see a totally different guy than the one I met just a few days ago. There’s a little more hope there than before. He leans down and kisses me slowly, and I let myself feel a touch of hope too. Prospects of owning the bookstore and staying here on Wickett seem so much more reachable.

“I promised Murph I would go to a thing tonight,” he mumbles, finally. “I don’t want you walking around Wickett alone, though. Just lay low until this is over with tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about me. Tonight is the family gathering with my parents at the country club, the only night they ‘let me come with them.’”

“Okay, good,” he answers. “Stay with them all night. Meet me here bright and early?”

“You got it,” I answer, reaching up to kiss him again. I could kiss him endlessly.

Logan

There’s an aching emptiness without my motorcycle keys in my hands. But more importantly, my mind can’t erase that image of Sierra in Hale’s grip, the terror on her face. I should never have gotten her involved in all of this, but if she’s already involved, then it’s up to me to handle it, end it, and keep her safe.

I walk her back to her apartment to be completely sure she’s home safe. She promised she would stay with her parents all night, and it gave me a small amount of peace to know that he had no reason to threaten her anymore.

It was late afternoon when I finally got back to my apartment. Murph’s pamphlet kept taunting me, telling me to go, only to convince me that I would never be free and that I should just stay home. Finally, telling the voices to fuck off, I grabbed a jacket and walked out the front door.

When I reach the church, I want to leave more than ever. This feels fake. I don’t belong here. There is a small group of people hovering around a table inside the poorly lit event room. Just like in every movie I’ve ever seen, there are brown folding chairs situated in a circle.