Pain

Don't Worry

Logan

"I'm home," I shout as I close the front door and put my bag down. Then I go to the kitchen and smile slightly. "That smells good, sweetie. What are you cooking?"

"Spaghetti bolognese."

"Do you need help?" I ask, moving closer.

"No, not from you," she says with a grin and shoves me aside. "You always burn the food. Set the table."

"Okay, boss," I reply, also grinning. This moment reminds me of the time when our life was perfect … No, it wasn't perfect anymore, but we were happy. Mom and Kiara always cooked together. I often wanted to help them, but I'm a total mess in the kitchen, which always made them laugh. It was a different time, a happy time, until …

"Logan?"

I blink and look around. Kiara looks at me with a strange expression on her face. "Is everyhing okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I reply, and start to set the table.

We are eating and it tastes really good. Meanwhile she tells me about her day. She has no problems in school. She is popular and a good student. No matter which way she will choose, she will be successful. And what about me? Well, I will always have problems. That's how I am. It's my destiny.

"Logan, what's wrong with you?"

Once again my mind wandered and I stopped listening to her. "Sorry."

"Logan ... you're not taking drugs again, are you?"

I shake my head. "No, you know I gave it up."

Yes, it's true. I took drugs for a while, but luckily I got rid of them quickly. No matter how crappy my life may be, drugs are not a solution. Kiara nods slowly. She believes me, but she is still worried. To distract her, I tell her about the upcoming project, whereupon her mood brightens up again.

After eating, we clean everything up just like Dad told us to do. Then Kiara goes to her room. I sit on my bed and pick up my laptop. Since we aren't at school during the project period, we have no homework. But tomorrow we should meet with our project partner and decide on a topic together. For this, everyone should create a list of suggestions. I actually devote myself to this task for a while, then I close the laptop in frustration. Who cares if I have a list or not? Camille will certainly have at least fifty suggestions, so I don't need to worry about that. I close my eyes and wonder what tomorrow will be like until there is a knock on the door and Kiara comes in. "What are you doing?" She asks, sitting next to me.

"Nothing," I answer truthfully.

"How's your eye?"

"Don't ask."

She nods. "Yes, I thought so. Here." She hands me a small can.

"What's this?"

"An ointment. It helps against the swelling."

I wave off. "I don't need that."

She rolls her eyes. "Shut up and don't move." She takes some of the ointment and carefully touches my black eye. I grimace. "That hurts."

"Don't be a baby," she says with a smile and rubs the ointment on my swollen eye. "You have to be more careful. Stop provoking him."

"I'm not doing it on purpose. It just happens."

"You have to learn to control yourself."

When I don't reply, she says in a worried voice, "I'm afraid for you, Logie. I don't want to lose you."

I pull her into my arms and hold her tight. "You won't. Do you hear me? You will not lose me. I'll take care of that. I promise."

We stay in this position for several minutes, then she lets go of me and gets up. She puts the can of ointment on my desk. "In case you need it again."

"Thanks, sweetie."

She goes to the door, but stops there and turns around. "Logan?"

"Yes?"

"This girl, Camille, will come over tomorrow, right?"

I nod. She smiles faintly. "Do me a favor and try to treat her like a normal person. It's not her fault that she has you as a partner. So please pull yourself together and don't make her life a living hell, okay?"

I nod again. "Okay. I'll try," I say, thinking of the bet with James. Of course I didn't tell Kiara about it. It's better if she doesn't know everything that is going on in my life.