Emotionally Broken ( Logan X ? )

Chapter 6

Roman shook Patton awake. Patton opened his eyes, they were hazed with sleep.
"Pat, Pat. Cierra wants us to go in at 10:30. "
"What time is it now?" Patton asked groggily.
"9:45." Roman answered.
Patton nodded and sat up in bed. He put on his glasses. It was then he noticed Roman was holding a plate of food on a tray. His eyes widened a bit as he realised it was his diner plate. Patton avoided eye contact with Roman.
"Its okay Patton. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just know I'm here." Roman half smiled at Patton.
Patton didn't pull a smile. "Thanks Roman."
Roman walked out of the room and left Patton to his breakfast. He cleaned up Logan and Virgil's messes from off the table. He had purposely stopped Patton's alarm clock from going off so he could sleep today, and made breakfast instead. Logan and Virgil were on the couch, kissing away. Roman heard Patton's door open, so did the pair. They separated and Virgil laid his head on Logan's shoulder.
Patton carried the empty plate and tray down the stairs. He had brushed his hair, changed into everyday clothes, and was smiling. He excitedly washed his trays.
"Roman can we go now?? To work?" He asked.
Roman looked at the clock. 10:15. He nodded. "Alright Patton. We can go."
Patton's smile grew bigger, and he raced to the door. Roman chuckled and followed. Patton opened the door, grabbing the car keys. Roman followed. Before he shut the door, he glanced back at Virgil and Logan. Virgil was lightly nibbling on Logan's neck. Roman shut the door and walked to the car. Patton climbed into the driver's seat. Roman pulled out his phone.
Roman: We are on our way.
Cierra: Great!! See you soon!
Pretty soon, Patton and Roman reached their destination at the park again. They spotted Mila and Cierra at the entrance to the adoption center. Patton and Roman walked up to them. Mila was wearing her hair down today. Her black hair framed her face perfectly. Cierra wore hers down as usual. Cierra smiled.
"Ah, an early bird I see! Fantastic. Follow us and we will get you started."
Cierra took them on a tour around the set up. She and Mila showed them the vaccination tents, where the animals got spayed and neutered, where to buy toys, where to sign adoption papers, and finally where the kennels and dog runs were.
Patton's eyes lit up as dogs ran behind the fences of the dog runs. He watched big and small get along. Cierra placed a hand on his shoulder, and guided him away towards the kennels. Patton and Roman followed her to where some dogs were inside kennels and crates. Each of them had a name tag stuck to it.
Patton crouched down next to a white and brown pitbull, and read the tag.
Hi! My name is Rosco!
I really need a home.
I am good with cats, other dogs and small children. And I LOVE bacon treats!!
Adopt me???
Patton smiled after he read the tag, and stuck his fingers into the kennel. Rosco sniffed him and licked his fingers. Patton giggled. Roman crouched down next to him and petted the pitbull through the bars. Some women walking by glared hatefully at the dog in the kennel. Patton noticed and frowned. He once again felt a hand on his shoulder as Cierra crouched down next to him.
"These are the dogs on death row." She told him.
Patton gasped. " Oh no!" He looked up and down the row of cages. "There's so many." Patton frowned.
Cierra nodded. Mila spoke up. "If you haven't noticed, most of these dogs are Pitbulls, German Shepherds, and Dobermans. Dogs who have a bad rap to their names. But really..." Mila crouched down next to another, smaller, younger Pitbull. "They're sweet hearts. So loving and kind. Yet, people can't push past their clouded judgement. And these dogs are abandoned. Nobody wants them. It's sad." Mila petted the tan dog, who Patton discovered, by reading his name tag, was Spark.
Patton frowned. "It is!"
Cierra stood up. "Which is why this will be your first job Patton." She waited for him to stand up. When he did she continued. "You are in charge of getting as many dogs adopted as possible!"
Patton's face lit up. "Roman." Cierra turned to him. "You're on poop duty." Mila handed him a poop scoop and a plastic bag.
Roman took the equipment and sighed. "Wonderful..."
Mila giggled and Cierra walked off to show Roman where he was to clean. Mila walked over to a nearby table and started taking notes on a sheet of paper. Patton noticed a family walking towards the adoption place. He took a deep breath and walked a little ways to meet them.
"Hello there!" Patton greeted as the family reached him. It was made up of a mother, a father, a teenage girl, and a young child. "Are you interested in looking at dogs to adopt today?"
The mother spoke. "Yes, we are." The father grumbled a bit as the mother agreed.
"Great! Then follow me!" Patton led them to the start of the kennels.
"So what are you looking for in a dog?" Patton asked the family.
"Well, it has to be good with small children." Patton's mind instantly flew to Rosco.
"And not too big of a dog. It needs to have energy, but not too much energy." Maybe not, Rosco seemed more relaxed. Patton nodded in thought. "Why don't you take a look around the cages and see if one catches your eye."
The mother smiled. "Yes, we will. Thank you!"
The family moved from one cage to another. The youngest child suddenly stopped at a cage. He looked at the dog inside. It was a black pitbull with white patches of fur all along his body. He sniffed eagerly at the young boy, wagging his tail. The boy laughed, drawing the attention of his parents. Patton saw the mother look worriedly at her son so close to a Pitt.
Patton began walking over to them right away. Before the mother could drag her son away, he knelt down and stuck his fingers in the cage. The little boy looked at Patton with wide, blue eyes.
"So I see Leo has caught your attention. Do you want to pet him?" Patton asked the boy.
"Yes!" The boy spoke excitedly.
Patton unlocked the cage. Leo shot out of the cage wagging his tail. The mother gasped and flinched as the pitbull turned his attention to the little boy. Leo's tail was still wagging. He slowly padded towards the young child with his head down, sniffing.
"It's alright. Touch him." Patton cooed gently at the boy.
The brown haired boy reached out his small hand and patted Leo on the head. He soon began to pet Leo's massive head and then scratch it. Leo raised his head and panted in happiness. He walked closer to the boy and licked his face. The little boy squealed and took a step back from the dog. Leo followed and bounced around the small boy on light, gentle paws.
Patton addresses the boy. "Do you like him?"
The boy nodded. "Yes."
Patton chuckled. "Good, because I think he likes you."
Patton looked up at the rest of the family. The bot followed his gaze.
"Momma, Pappa? Pet him, he's so gentle."
The parents gave each other questioning looks before bending down and petting Leo. Leo wagged his tail at the positive interaction. All that was left was the teenage girl. She looked disapprovingly at her family. Patton stood up and gently whispered.
"Give him a chance." The girl looked at him. Her eyes widened a bit when he spoke to her. Patton was looking down at the family and the dog. The girl cautiously bent down and petted Leo. A smile soon crept across her face. Leo yipped in happiness and licked the girls hand and fingers.
"I think we'll take him!" The mother stood up and looked at Patton. She was smiling.
"Great! Right this way then." Patton put Leo back in his cage and led the family towards the adoption papers, where Mila and Cierra were waiting.
Cierra smiled as the family told her which dog they wanted. Cierra gave them the papers and told them Leo would be ready to go to a forever home tomorrow. The little boy was turned to look at the cages. Pat kneeled down next to him.
"Want to go say goodbye to him?" The boy nodded.
Patton led the boy to the cages again where Leo was. The boy stuck his hand through the bars and pet Leo one last time.
"Ricky!" His mother called to him. "It's time to go." Ricky looked once again at Leo then stood up to go to his mother.
"It's okay Ricky. You'll see him tomorrow." Patton smiled.
Ricky's eyes lit up and he hugged Patton. He then turned and raced to his mother. His sister was eyeing Patton. She turned away as he caught her eye. Patton watched them leave. He spotted another person coming towards the adoption center. A young women with long dark hair. She looked about Cierra and Mila's age.
"Hi, yes. I'm here to pick up a dog. I signed the adoption papers yesterday." Patton nodded as she showed him the papers.
"Wonderful! What dog are you picking up?"
"Lilo."
Lilo turned out to be a black and red German Shepherd. Patton had her on the leash and was walking towards Cierra and Mila. The trio turned as Patton walked up to them with the dog.
"Alright. One Lilo, ready for her forever home!" Patton announced as he handed the girl the leash.
The girl took it from his hands and smiled, petting Lilo on the head, she spoke to Patton.
"Ah, yes. You must be new here. I heard you got a pitbull adopted on your first day. I must say, I'm impressed. My name's Maya. I'm a very close friend to Cierra and Mila." Maya held out her hand. Patton shook it. "Patton." He responded.
Maya nodded at him. "Well I must be off. Come on Lilo!" The dog barked and followed her new owner put of the park.
Roman came up to them with the poop scoop. He looked thoroughly disgusted. Roman handed Cierra back the poop scoop. Cierra giggled. Roman turned to Patton.
"I've heard you adopted out a dog." Roman said to Pat.
"Yes, I did." Patton smiled hugely.
"So what dog was it?" Roman asked.
Patton replied. "Leo. He is a Pitbull."
Romans eyes widened a bit and he nodded. Patton walked off to the cages again. Roman turned to Cierra. Mila had walked away to file adoption papers. Cierra looked at Patton, then back at Roman.
"So, tell me exactly what happended last night." Cierra pulled up two chairs and the two sat and talked.
"I don't exactly know. We were having dinner as usual. Patton made it, served us, then served himself and sat down. I looked up from eating and noticed he was looking down at his lap. He had tears in his eyes. I didn't want to draw attention to him, so I stayed quiet. Soon after Patton suddenly stood up and raced upstairs." Roman finished. His eyebrows we're knitted in confusion as he recalled last night's events.
Cierra thought. "Hmm..." Cierra thought.
"And one more thing... Patton's been acting weird lately. Late at night when he thinks everyone's asleep, he creeps off to his own room about to cry. I can't figure out what could possibly be wrong."
"Well, keep an eye on him. Try to find out what his source of sadness is. Everyone gives off clues unintentionally. Even if they are trying to hide it." Roman nodded as Cierra spoke. "and continue to be there for him. Be a shoulder to cry on if he wants to cry. Give him space if he wants space. Follow your gut when it comes to things like this."
Roman nodded as she stopped talking. Her gaze drifted beyond Roman and focused on something else. Roman turned around and saw Patton playing with the pitbull Rosco. Cierra chuckled.
"Keep bringing him here. It'll do him good to be away from the environment for awhile." She stood up. "Right. We still have some work to do. It's only 12 you get off at 3. Hey Pat!" She shouted at the laughing trait.
Patton stood up straight and looked at Cierra. "Put Rosco back in his kennel. We've got to get Leo in tip top shape to go to his home tomorrow."
Patton nodded and led Rosco back to his kennel. He petted the strong dog on the head before closing the door. He followed Cierra and Roman to Leo's kennel, and opened it. Cierra clipped a leash on Leo's collar, and led him to the wash station.
"Here." She handed Patton the leash. "You and Roman wash him." She walked away.
"Yes ma'am!" Patton said eagerly.
Patton turned on the hose, and started to fill up a huge, silver wash basin. Once it was filled enough. Patton began the task of getting Leo into the tub. Leo surprisingly went in with hardly any trouble. Roman got the dog shampoo and, after rolling up his perfect white sleeves, squirted some on the palm of his hand and began to scrub Leo.
Patton turned the hose on again, and rinsed off Leo. Leo jumped out of the silver tub and onto a waiting towel. Patton sprayed his massive black paws to get the soap off. Leo sneezed, clearing water from his nose, then shook his strong body. Roman and patron held their hands up in a failed attempt to shield themselves from the water spray.
Patton and Roman took quickly to drying Leo off. Patton went to a basket and took out a green bandana. He kneeled down and tied it around Leo's thick neck. Leo licked Patton's face. Patton giggled and petted Leo on the head.
When Patton and Roman walled Leo back to the kennel. Cierra laughed and said he looked like a fine gentleman. She then instructed the two to take out all the death row dogs to stretch their legs. By the time they finished that task, it was 3:55. Roman and patron were just getting the last of the dogs back in their kennels. The adoption center was starting to close down.
Roman and Patton were willing their faces with towels. Cierra came up next to them.
"Good work today. I was very impressed!" She smiled at each of them. "Go on and head home. It's past 3." Cierra began to walk away as Mila walked by them.
Cierra slung her arm around Mila and walked towards the parking lot. They stopped at a silver car. Roman and patron headed in the opposite direction to their own car. Roman could tell Patton was exhausted. On the car ride home, Patton fell asleep.
Roman looked at Patton's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. As Roman pulled up to the house, Patton did not wake. Roman turned off the car and unlocked the doors. He gently closed the driver's door, then walked to the other side of the car. Carefully he got Patton out of the car, and upon closing the car door worth his foot, he carried Patton inside.
When Roman opened the door, Logan was in the kitchen reading a newspaper and sipping water from a mug, and Virgil was spread out on the couch. Roman got questioning looks from the both of them. He ignored them as he carried Patton to his room and laid him done on the bed. Roman tucked morality into bed, turned off the lights, closed the door, and went back downstairs.
"So Roman, is that why you've been spending time with Patton so much? Because you like him?" Virgil teased.
Roman walked into the kitchen and poured a small bowl of chips. "Oh shut up Virgil. It was a long and eventful day at the adoption center. Patton and I worked hard. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to take a shower, because I reek of dog, then I am off to bed as well."
"What? But what about dinner?" Virgil sat up on the couch as Roman ascended the stairs.
"Patton's exhausted, don't bother him. Let him sleep." Roman paused briefly. Then continued.
"Figure it out yourselves. You're a big boy, right?" Roman called from over his shoulder as he made his way to the shower.
Virgil grumbled and got up from the couch. He made himself a simple bowl of cereal. He offered a bowl to Logan, but Logan kindly declined. Virgil shrugged and went back to the couch.
Logan have Virgil a kiss on his forehead before wishing him a goodnight and heading upstairs as well. Logan entered his room and sat down at his desk. He drummed his fingers on the wooden structure. Virgil's words echoed in his head.
So, Roman. Is that why you've been spending so much time with Patton? Because you like him?
Logan sighed as slight anger filled his chest. He didn't know why the anger was there it just. Was. He turned off his light and changed into bedtime attire. He crawled into bed, hearing Virgil watching TV. He took off his glasses and closed his eyes. He tried to relax to let sleep consume him, but it will be a long time before Logan finally slept.
Roman got out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked from his bathroom to his bedside and debated on wether to change or sleep naked. He decided to change, and quickly did so. He scratched his pink hair and sighed. He had a feeling that Patton was sad because he did just about everything in this house. And everyone expected him to do so without a second thought. Roman didn't know for sure, so he still decided to keep an eye on Patton. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and inferred that it was Virgil. He turned over in his Royal red bed, and turned off his light. He quickly fell asleep. Events at the adoption center finally getting to him.

Cierra pulled up to the house. Mila was sitting next to her with a box full of papers in her lap. She looked tired. Cierra unlocked the car doors worth a yawn, and stepped out. Mila followed. Locking the car, they walked in unison to the house they were renting.
Cierra thought about the day. She looked at Mila putting things down and picking up papers around the house. She walked up behind Mila and wrapped her arm around the other girl, she guided Mila's hands to put down everything she was carrying.
Cierra leaned in close to Mila's ear and whispered. "Get some rest. It's been a long day for everyone." Cierra hesitated, a though crossing her mind. To kiss Mila on the cheek. But in her hesitation, Mila had walked out of her grasp nodding and mumbling a simple 'okay.' and was headed down the hall to their shared bedroom.
Cierra watched her go with a frown. She sighed and followed Mila. She got into bed and Mila turned off the lights. Before Cierra closed her eyes, she spoke into the darkness.
"Goodnight Mila."
I love you.
"Goodnight Cierra."
I...I love you.
The words went unspoken as the two drifted off into sleep.