Ch. 1

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Logan huffed, shifting the box in his arms.

"Now, Logan," His father began, giving him a stern look, "remember, you must call us twice a day. Once in the morning, and once at night."

"Of course, father." Logan nodded.

"And you must email me all your grades the moment you get them."

"Certainly, father."

"And you must introduce all your friends to us immediately." His father crossed his arms. "And no dating. It'll distract you."

"Yes, father. I understand." Logan sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

His father's expression softened. "I'm proud of you, y'know. Renting an apartment at such a young age."

"I'm eighteen, father." Logan reminded. "Hardly a child."

"You're practically an infant." His father sighed. "Remind me why you aren't in college?"

"I haven't chosen one yet, father." Logan mumbled, placing the box down on the floor and pulling out his key.

"You should choose one soon. You wouldn't want to end up like your uncle."

"Uncle David is a musician, father." Logan murmured, unlocking the door.

"A fool is what he is." His father rolled his eyes. Logan picked up the box again, walking inside. His father followed. "Don't follow his example."

"I won't, father." Logan reassured him, placing the box with the others.

"That's the last of it?" His father asked, looking around.

"Yeah." Logan nodded, looking around as well.

The apartment was nice. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. It was exactly what Logan wanted.

"Well, Logan," His father smiled, "this is it."

"I suppose it is." Logan replied.

His father looked like he was about to go in for a hug, but decided against it and just gave Logan a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck. I have high expectations for you."

"I know, father." Logan said, only slightly disappointed. "I won't let you down."

"Well, I should head back before your mother starts to worry." He chuckled, putting his arm back to his side.

"You're...not going to help me unpack?" Logan frowned, tilting his head. "I thought we were going to get dinner afterwards?"

"Oh, that's right." His father mumbled. "I knew I was forgetting something. Sorry, Logan. Maybe next time?"

There won't be a next time, Logan thought to himself. "Of course, father."

There was an awkward pause.

"Well, I'm off." His father mumbled, clearing his throat. He gave Logan a firm nod, turned towards the door, and left the apartment.

"Bye." Logan murmured quietly, giving a small wave. He turned back towards all the boxes on the floor, sighing.

He didn't waste any time, immediately opening one of the bigger boxes.

They had moved his furniture in here the day prior, which gave him less work to do. Still, he would've appreciated some help. He had eighteen years worth of stuff in these boxes.

The one he opened contained all his academic awards. Trophies, certificates, things that really didn't matter in the long run, but were a nice addition to the shelf.

Logan grabbed the whole box, taking it into his room. He really didn't feel like going back and forth between his bedroom and the living room, so this was the beat solution.

There were a lot of certificates that held different sorts of praise. 'Student of the Year,' 'Honor Roll,' 'Student Council President.' Honestly, it was all stuff that ultimately didn't matter to him. His mother had insisted that he frame them and take them to his new apartment, so he did.

There was a lot of space on the walls of his room, so he decided to dedicate one of the walls to his certificates.

It took Logan about fifteen minutes to hang them all. He felt disheartened, seeing that he still had so many boxes to go through.

When he walked back to the living room, he saw that another box had been opened.

When he looked inside it, he saw that the contents were completely missing. He felt his heart drop, scared that a thief had already managed to break in.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something on the wall.

They were the photographs of hid family that he had brought with him. Had he hung those up?

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Strange..." He murmured to himself, walking closer to the photographs.

They largest one had been placed in the center, with the others surrounding it.

He was young in those pictures. Young and naive. He looked happy. Logan sighed, wondering if he'll ever look that happy again.

Maybe his father had come back to help a bit while Logan was putting up the certificates? That's the only explanation he could think of.

He stifled a smile, feeling genuinely happy. Maybe his father really did care about him.

He turned back to the other boxes, suddenly feeling motivated to finish unpacking.

---

It was late at night when Logan finally finished. He took a deep breath, proud of himself.

"Way to go me." He mumbled to himself.

"Yeah, way to go you."

Logan whirled around, startled. He scanned the room, looking for the source of the voice. "Hello?"

Silence.

He frowned. Was he hearing things? Maybe it was the neighbor? The person sounded like they were in the room with him, were the walls really that thin?

He swallowed, afraid that someone had really broken in.

He shook his head, forcing himself to calm down. He had probably just imagined it.

He yawned, feeling his exhaustion finally weigh down on him. He walked to his room, ready to sleep.

He didn't hear the mischievous laughter behind him.

A/N:

sPoOkY~

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