Page 54 of Staying Selfless

“Yeah. Hey, Sarah.”

“Happy Birthday,” she says quietly. “Is Logan here?”

“She’s on her way. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

“Alright, here’s the deal.” Cam begins pouring shots for all five of us. “I told Patrick to find another place to be tonight, so he’s not coming. I told Lauren she’s not invited, mostly because Ali scares the shit out of me, and I’d rather not set up a fight between the two of them over your brother. And I told Alyssa she wasn’t welcome, but she doesn’t listen to shit I say, so I’m pretty sure she’s around here somewhere.”

“Of course, she is,” I say with exhaustion.

Cam, Goody, Benny, and Sarah hold up their shot glasses for a cheers, waiting for me to do the same.

“Go for it. I’m gonna hold off until Marc and Logan get here.” But to be honest, I don’t know if I’m going to drink tonight. I just feel over the whole scene. College, parties, drinking—it just seems so juvenile compared to everything going on with Logan.

It’s not that I don’t want to have fun, but my view on fun looks a whole lot different than it used to. A night in with my girl sounds like the most fun I could possibly have at this point.

As my teammates take their first shot of the night, Marc and Ali approach the kitchen island. And the first thing I notice is my girlfriend’s obvious absence.

“Where’s Logan?” I ask my brother before any hellos can be exchanged.

He gives me an awkward shrug, trying to seem casual. “She wanted to drive herself.” I keep my pointed gaze on him, pressing for more information. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

“Talk to me about it, now,” I demand, flustered. At this point, I feel like I have some sort of tethered pull on my girl. I know something is wrong with her right now.

Marc glances back to Goody, Benny, and Sarah, clearly not wanting them to listen in on this conversation as Ali averts her eyes downward. My two teammates and Benny’s girlfriend make themselves scarce, picking up the weird vibe that my brother is throwing out. Cam stays put in his spot, which is fine. He knows about what Logan is going through already.

Before Marc can tell me what’s going on, Alyssa walks by.

“Happy birthday, asshole.” She flips me her middle finger. “Hey, Marc,” she adds in a flirtatious tone, while seductively running her nails across his shoulders as she saunters by.

“Oh, hell no!” Ali quickly interjects, territorially wrapping her arm around Marc’s waist.

Marc lets out a startled laugh from the whole situation, never once having been hit on by Alyssa as he casually drapes his arm over Ali’s shoulders in reassurance.

Even though I’m currently stressing over what’s going on with my girlfriend, I can’t help the small smile playing at my lips from seeing Marc and Ali be affectionate in public. And I don’t mean them grinding on each other on a bench in the backyard.

“What’s that all about?”

I casually shrug my shoulders. “I told her she was being a bitch the last time I saw her.”

“That’s all it took?” Cam asks in surprise. “You should’ve done that years ago.”

“What’s going on with Logan?” I turn to my brother again, this time with even more concern.

“She’s still coming. Don’t worry. She just needed a little extra time and wanted to drive herself.”

“Why?”

He pauses for a moment and quiets his voice. “She found something from her mom and was upset. But she’s okay, I promise. And she’s still coming. She just needed a minute.”

My eyes widen at his words. “Did you see her? Why didn’t you wait for her? What did she find? I don’t want her driving in this weather in her tiny fucking Honda, especially when she’s upset.” I run my words together, not taking a breath between questions, and having a flashback to the last time she was left alone and upset in her dorm.

“EJ, chill out,” Marc scolds. “Remember how you’re giving her space to get herself through it? Letting her regain some independence? This is a prime example.”

He must notice the concern on my face because he softens his tone almost immediately.

“Yes, I saw her,” he explains. “She was upset, but she’s okay. It’s not like last time, I promise. And I didn’t wait for her because she told me not to, and we both know how stubborn Logan is. She’s still coming. Everything is okay.”

“Everything is really good, actually,” Ali reassures. “She’ll be on her way soon.”

---