See You in Hell

14

Louise had been so eager to jump at Logan's offer she hadn't fully thought through what it would entail. Now she was alone with him outside of work. All the alarm bells in her head were going off. To make everything worse, they had bumped into Ollie on their way down Ocean Avenue. He was visibly shocked at the sight of them together.

"Hey, I was just coming to get you."
"Logan is gonna let me borrow some old film equipment." She offered the explanation almost defensively. "You know, to replace the lens? Apparently, he has something we might be able to use. " It was all true, so why did Louise feel like she'd been caught out doing something wrong?

"Oh! OK. I thought we were gonna go see a movie?" Ollie's tone was a bit hurt.
"Oh right, sorry. I forgot. Um.."
"We can do this another time." Logan offered mildly. Ollie saw Louise's stressed face and jumped in to reassure her.
"No, no! No worries! We can go to a later showing." He smiled at her encouragingly. "I guess just come over to my place when you're done and we can go from there?" Louise felt like an ass.

The rest of the walk was mostly awkward silence.
"Is your Mom okay with you having people over?" Logan gave her a funny look. She realized instantly that it had been a childish question.
"She doesn't really care about that kind of thing. Also she's not home."
Bob and Linda had strict no boys in the house rules, not that it had stopped Tina from sneaking around. Being a guy must be nice, she thought bitterly. There was such a double parenting standard.

Logan's house was in the fancy part of town. The streets were quieter here, shielded from the noisy tourist hubbub by the pier. They walked up the steep front steps of his neatly painted white victorian with its manicured lawn and Louise was struck by the luxury of a free standing home. She couldn't imagine living in a building that didn't share walls with its neighbors.

Inside it was even more impressive. There was so much empty space. Growing up in a one floor apartment with two siblings had given Louise a special appreciation for space, but Logan's house left her cold. It was a different brand of discomfort than she experienced at the Pesto's. It felt almost hollow, devoid of any signs of life that would mark it as a home and not a show room for designer furniture.

"Wow. Your house is so... clean."
"Yea. My Mom is kind of a neat freak." Louise wondered how you could be both an alcoholic and maintain this level of perfection. She supposed money gave you the option to pay someone to clean up your messes.

Logan led her up the imposing foyer staircase. She found it increasingly strange how there were no personal items around, not even a picture on the wall. At the end of another empty hallway they reached an office room. Inside Logan gestured to the two big leather chairs facing a stately mahogany desk.
"You can sit if you want, it's going to take me a bit to find the stuff."
Louise nodded but didn't take him up on his offer. She felt more comfortable standing. The armchairs looked as if they were intentionally selected to make the occupants uncomfortable; lowering the guest in a recline that was subordinate to the towering desk chair across from them.

Logan disappeared into a closet that was bigger than Louise's entire room. She was left to wander listlessly as he searched. She realized this office must have belonged to Logan's Father. Mr. Bush was a prolific Doctor whose reputation extended out of the little community in Seymour's Bay. The office looked like it had been frozen in time. A sleek mug with the sticky remnants of coffee still sat next to the keyboard at the desk. Unlike the rest of the house, Mr. Bush had a few pictures scattered around his space. They mostly featured him on his bicycle standing on top of various mountains and sea cliffs. Cross country trophies and signed cycling jerseys lined the walls and shelves. No family photos though.

"You're Dad's really into biking."
"Yup. For now." Logan's tone was bitter over the shuffling of heavy boxes.
"Not your thing?"
"Not really." There was a loud thud of cardboard hitting the floor. "Found it."
Louise came to stand tentatively in the doorway of the closet. When she saw what was in the box her jaw dropped.
"Holy shit!" She came over to kneel by it in awe. Before her was a treasure trove of equipment. The good stuff too, the kind that the Pros used.