Back to Strangers

Chapter 17

Leah

The car ride home was quiet. Logan didn't ask any questions which I deeply appreciated. I don't think I would've answered or even uttered a syllable even if he had. The radio was on, but he kept the sound to a minimum. It was only on so that the duration of the ride home wouldn't be in total silence. Somewhere along the way, my eyes began to feel heavy and before I knew it, I drifted away into a slumber. I don't know how long I was out, but it didn't feel long before a gentle stroke on my cheek had my eyes fluttering open. "Are we home?" I ask, my voice raspy. I haven't been asleep for long, but it felt like I had slept for ages. Clearly, my body and mind were tired from the stress of this project as well as worrying about Christian. I was so naïve to think he'd learned from the first time 'round, making myself stupid enough to worry about him thinking that something might've happened to him. But when he walked through that door, unharmed, déjà vu nearly had me toppling over from dizziness and I realized that he could never change.

"We're at your place, yes. Do you need any help on your way up?" Logan asks politely. He seems very distant as well, but I really don't have the strength to ask or even listen. I simply shook my head 'no' and took my duffel from the back seat. "Can we talk, perhaps?" Logan asks, wary of my answer. "Can it wait? I'm just really exhausted at the moment and I just want to hop into bed and go sleep." I say, a pleading tone to my voice.

"I wish it could, but I feel like you need to hear this, Leah. You need to know what Sarah had told me that day before she went missing." Logan's voice sound pleading like mine did mere seconds ago, but that's not what I focus on. The realization of what he just said, only register with my brain now. "Sarah's missing?" The panic starts to rise again and I throw my duffel back in the car. Rushing, I yell, "We need to go find her Logan, we need to go now!"

He just stands there, not even moving a muscle. The only thing he does is lift one eyebrow looking at me questioningly. "What? Why aren't you getting your ass in the car Logan?" I start to lose my absolute mind from panic. Rushing over to him, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him to the car to get in, he stops me by yanking me back and steading me on my feet. He stared into my eyes like he was trying to decipher a code.

"He didn't tell you." He says, but it's more an observation than a question. "Who didn't tell me what?" My mind starts to spiral out of control trying to comprehend what the hell he is talking about. "Christian." Logan simply states like that answers all my questions. Voiced or unvoiced. When he sees that nothing registers with me, he sighs. "What, what, what!" I plead with him to spill his guts. "God, why do I have to be the one to tell you everything." Logan says defeated as he brushed his fingers through his hair. My eyes flick to the movement for only a split second, but it's nowhere near as sexy as when Christian does it.

Logan walks around me to close the car doors I had yanked open in an attempt to get the both of us into the car to go look for Sarah. After locking it, he gestured for me to enter the lobby of my apartment building. There are now two entrances to the building, one for residents which we have a keycard to and one for visitors where they have to sign in and are only allowed in once the process is completed. Since Logan's been here before, he didn't need to go through the entire process of paperwork again and only had to give his full name for reference. We work our way up to my apartment. By the time we reach my front door, my hands are shaking and my keys fall to the floor. "Dammit!" I yell, feeling like that small inconvenience will be the thing to cause an entire breakdown. "Here, I'll do it." Logan says, picking up my keys from the floor and opening up for us to enter. We barely step inside and I already start, "Okay, spill it. I can't wait any longer or my mind will explode from trying to figure out what the hell is going on!"

Logan looks defeated and he knows there's no more holding out. We stay rooted on the spot where we stopped when we entered and he starts to explain, "First of all, let me just start by saying Sarah is totally fine. When we though she was missing, she was actually just away at a motel outside of town." I take a deep breath as my nerves start to calm down a little at his explanation, "Wait, what do you mean 'we'?" I question.

"Well, Christian had us keeping an eye on not only your apartment, but hers as well. For your safety. When we realized she hasn't been back to her apartment since Sarah and I went for coffee, he immediately went to look for her." He explains further. "Oh my god." My voice comes out barely a whisper as I clasp my hands over my mouth. That's where he was. Christian. He was out looking for my best friend and didn't stop until he found her. This time, a tear managed to escape from behind the watery glass walls. I never even gave him a chance to explain himself when he returned to the cabin. I was so in my own head and thinking about how I felt that I never even listened. "Thank you for telling me."

"Now..." His voice drifts off. My eyes shoot back to his and I wait. "Sarah told me that she knew the reason Christian had to leave so suddenly all those years ago. Before I tell you that, I need you to understand that she told me that she had no choice but to keep it to herself. Christian begged her that he had wanted to be the one to reach out to you and explain everything. I'm obviously guessing he never did, but here goes nothing..." He looks at me as if contemplating whether it's to late to back out of the conversation. That's not happening. I wait in anticipation of finally finding out what this big reason was. "From what Sarah had told me, Christian was in an accident the day he went missing. A motorcycle accident and that he was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. He had been in an induced coma for about three days and then stayed in the hospital for about another week." My heart starts to pound wildly in my chest. He was in an accident? He was in the hospital for so long. Why didn't anyone tell me? Not his parents, not mine...somebody had to know, somebody could've said something!

"Did she tell you what happened after that? Why did he leave? Where did he go?" I ask pleadingly as I tug on his arm for him to say something. "She said she ran into him on his way out at the hospital. Something about her visiting her aunt. She said he explained with little detail about the accident, asked her to not mention anything about it, that he would tell you himself. He didn't mention anything about disappearing, but she only guessed it had something to do with what happened the day of the accident. That's all she knew, and all you and I also now know." He concludes and I fall to my knees, starting to sob like a baby.

I can't believe all the information I just had to take in. None of it makes any sense, except for Sarah leaving so suddenly. That girl always up and leaves for a vacation like it's not the middle of a week and she has a job to do. I cry for another few minutes before the tears start to dry up. Apparently, I'm all out of tears to cry. Somewhere during my meltdown, Logan had placed himself down next to me on the floor. He was supportive without pushing me and feeding me useless lines like "it's going to be okay" or "don't cry" and I deeply appreciate this kind human being.

Once he sees I've stopped crying, he stood up holding his hand out to help my ass off the hard ground. "Thank you." Is all I manage to say as I give him a hug. We stand there for only a few beats before I pull away and say, "Thanks for telling me. I'm sorry you had to witness what an ugly crier I am, but I appreciate you staying while I got myself together."

"I really don't mind. I'm just glad that weight is off of my shoulders. Now I think you have to have a long and thorough chat with a certain boss of mine." He tried to say it with a little bit of humor, but I can only manage a small smile. "I think so too, but first of all...I need some rest. Thank you, again." Logan opens the door and gives me a wave accompanied by a warm smile before closing the door behind him. It feels like I came back home with more baggage than what I initially had going into this damn cabin project and I'm not talking about my stupid duffel bag.

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Two Chapters in one day!

I hope you enjoyed reading it, because there's a lot more of Christians disappearance to unravel throughout the book.😏

Please leave your thoughts and remember to vote. I deeply appreciate your continued support by reading "Back to Strangers."

All my love, Charne💕