Page 7 of Redeeming Logan

Taliah stands there with the remote in her hand and a confused look on her face. Her bottom lip is being held hostage in her teeth as she chews on it. Tilting her head and shuffling from foot to foot with nerves. She opens her mouth to speak and then shuts it again. I walk closer to the screen, pressing the two-way button so she can see me. Her eyes go wide, and her mouth drops open when I appear on the screen before her. A smirk tugs at my lips as she scans my naked chest, then her eyes fly back up to my face in embarrassment.

“Hello Taliah. Can I do something for you, sweet girl?”

She takes a step back as a gasp makes its way past her lips. She wrings her hands in front of her; I can see the gears moving inside of her head as she tries to think of a response.

“I- Um. Was that all real?” She finally stutters out as a rose color flushes her cheeks. She’s staring at the floor, probably scared of what she will see in my eyes if she looks up.

“Look at me when you speak to me, Taliah.” I order and she instantly swings her eyes up to mine. I see the spark behind them. There is something inside this girl that I can’t wait to bring out. A darkness lurks in there that is crying for me. Crying to be let out. “Yes, it was all real. Everything is real. You are wide awake. But you knew that, didn’t you? Did you enjoy watching me hack that woman to pieces? Did it turn you on when I slid that knife through her pussy lips?” I watch as she presses her thighs together and her breath comes out in little pants. Her cheeks turn redder by the second, whether from embarrassment or pleasure. “Oh sweet girl, this is only the beginning. I have a feeling that you and I will have so much fun together. I see that darkness lurking below the surface, and I am going to help you let it out.”

Her eyes go wide, and her shoulders and arms drop down to her sides. I see the acknowledgement in her eyes, like I just validated her deepest feelings. I reach my hand up and press it to the screen, while my eyes drill into her. She takes a few tentative steps towards the screen, hesitates only for a moment, and then presses her hand to mine through the screen. Her eyes go glassy, and a single tear slides down her cheek. I wish I could lick it off. Taste her sorrow, anger, happiness; taste her everything. She gives me a small smile, then she shuts the TV off. Abruptly cutting off my new favorite view.

Chapter Ten

Taliah

It’s like he can see right through me. He knows my deepest, darkest secret that I’ve tried so hard to keep hidden. He picked up on it so easily with just one look into my eyes. It makes my insides quake and my hands sweat with how easily he was able to dig that up. If he can find that with just one look, I wonder what else he can find? What else can he pull up to the surface? Forcing me to confront it.

Wringing my sweaty hands together, I pace my room. Silence echoes through the room, the plush carpet eating up the sounds of my footsteps. The room grows darker as the sun sets behind the trees surrounding the facility. A sharp knock at the steel door to my room makes me nearly jump out of my skin. A clang and a scrape sound from the door as the little door in it opens. The light shining through the room illuminates me in asmall spotlight.

Tentatively, I walk towards the door and peer through the little glass window, making eye contact with Dr. Logan. His face is a blank mask, a contrast to the smirking one he had a while ago on the TV. It makes my insides crawl with how quick he can switch it all off. With a slight clunk, he slides a metal tray of food through the bean hole. Snatching it quickly from his grip, making the cup of water slosh over the sides, spilling onto the tray beneath. Taking one last look at me, he slams the little door flap shut and walks off down the hall, leaving me in the darkness wondering what I did for him to switch his attitude so intensely.

Flipping the light switch on by the door, the room brightens, making me squint from the harsh light. Trudging over to the small desk, I set the tray on top of it, pulling out the wooden chair, and taking a seat. I roll my eyes at the measly food selection sitting before me. A cold turkey and cheese sandwich, chips, and an apple that looks like it will rot any day now. Heaving a sigh I dig into the food anyway; at least it’s better than what I usually get to eat. Well, when I got to eat, period actually. This is way more than what my own parents would have given me.

Picking up the sandwich, I inspect it, peeking under the bread to find a mayo-looking substance. I pick up a few of the salty chips and add it to the sandwich, squishing it down and melding it all together. Taking a bite of the sandwich, my teeth sink into the soft bread. Although the sandwich looks bland, the mayo and chips give it a flavorful taste, making a small moan slip from my lips. Stomach rumbling with appreciation of the meal, I devoured the sandwich in record time. Downing the cup of water next, I snag the apple from the tray, scooting the chair back, and making my way over the book shelf.

My fingers brush the spines of the books. Some are old and bound with leather and fabric; others are shiny and brand new. Stopping on the thickest book on the shelves, I tug it free from the stack.Little Bird Lost By Jessie Walkerstares back at me. The cover is the most beautiful one I've ever seen. A woman is free falling in the center with features and music sheets scattered around her. Flipping it open, I scan through the pages admiring the exquisite formatting, like nothing I’ve ever seen before, laid out almost like a music composition.

Carrying the thick book and apple over to the window seat, I settle down in the pillows, tossing the throw blanket over my lap. I immerse myself in the book for hours until the sun starts peeking over the top of the trees. It’s then that I realize that I can almost relate to Isobel. Being trapped in this room, not wondering if I will ever be able to leave. Trapped like a bird in a cage. Maybe I am Dr. Logan’s long-lostFirebird. Closing the book, I set it gently on the window seat and toss my half-eaten apple in the trash.

Making my way to the closet, I choose some black silky pajama shorts and a tank top. Quickly changing into it, I relish the feel of the soft fabric against my skin. I’ve never worn anything this nice before. Always wearing hand me downs from the thrift shop or from Sarah. At least when I got them from Sarah, I knew exactly where they came from. But this pajama set definitely came from an expensive shop. I make my way to my bed and climb under the cozy soft covers. Surrounded by the fluffy down comforter and pillows, I let the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees outside lull me to sleep.

Chapter Eleven

Logan

“Son, come and meet your new mother and sister!” My father yells from the living room. Staring up at my bedroom ceiling, I let out a deep sigh before making my way to my feet. When he told me last week that he married a new woman, I flipped my shit. Told him he was betraying my late mother with what he was doing, and he didn’t care at all. Told me to be on my best behavior when they moved into our home. He said that my new sister is only thirteen and I needed to be a good big brother to her. I think our ideas of what a big brother should be are different, though.

I trudge down the pristine hallway, looking at old family photos as I go. We were happy when mom was alive. Father was the opposite of what he is today; fun to be around and always loving towards me. Now I’m lucky if he even talks to me anymore. My mother would be ashamed of him if she were here. When the cancer took over her body, her only dying wish was for my dad to take care of me and make sure we lived a happy life. Happy? Not so much these days. Turning the corner of the hallway and entering the living room, my dad stands off to the side with a tall, slim woman beside him. Peeking out from behind the woman is a smaller girl with brown curly hair andblue eyes. Her blue eyes are sparkling with excitement, and I wonder what they look like when she cries?

“Oh, there he is! Logan, this is your stepmother, Miranda, and her daughter, Shannon. Shannon is only four years younger than you actually, so she will be going to the same school as you. I expect that you will treat her with kindness and help her as a big brother should, son.” He says to me sternly while one of his bushy white brows rises up his forehead.

Turning towards the girl hiding behind her mother, I examined her from afar. She has a few freckles on her perfect skin, and her cheeks are rosy with a blush that's creeping down her neck. She’s slim, just like her mother, but not nearly as well endowed as she is. Her eyes hold a curiosity as she stares up at me. I smile at Shannon, and she lets out a small gasp and backs further away, hiding more behind her mother like a child. That makes me smile even more. Peeking over at my father, he smiles at me, almost like he knows exactly what’s going through my mind right now. “Of course, father, I will take very good care of Shannon. I will be the perfect big brother to her.” And that was where my obsession began.

Memories of the past assault me as I watch Taliah sleep soundly on the monitor. She sleeps in the same position that Shannon did when she was younger. Buried so deep in her blankets and pillows, you could barely see her until her foot would pop out of the edge of the blanket. I remember the first day I met Shannon like it was yesterday. I was so angry at my father for bringing her into my home at first, but after a while I realized that she was the best gift he could have ever given me.

Shannon was resistant to my advances at first. Always tattling to her mother and my father about the compliments I would give her or the way I would look at her. When I finally molded her to what I wanted her to be, it was glorious. Watching her crawl on her knees for me when I asked, or doing anyasinine thing I could think of that would make her uncomfortable. The memory of the time that I told her to steal a movie for me from the store floats through my mind. She was terrified as she ran out of the store like it was on fire. She was paranoid for weeks after that, clinging to me like I was the only person who could save her if she got caught.

I thought that Shannon was perfect for me, but now I’m not so sure. As I think back on our memories together, I can tell how toxic it was. She wasn’t what I needed or what I wanted her to be. She only did it to please me, and that irritates me. My perfect little lamb should do what I ask because she truly wants to, because it makes her feel better if she does. What I would give to find a little lamb who is just as much of a freak as I am.

Taliah stirs on the monitor, kicking off the blankets; her body is clad in a black satin pajama set. The cami rides up her toned stomach, her pale skin glowing in the moonlight. Taliah has something dark hidden deep down inside of her. Something that I’m itching to pull to the surface, but I don’t want to rush with her. I know after everything that I put Shannon and Vanessa through, that that is such an odd concept to hear. Taliah is different from them.

She watched as I tore that woman apart; she couldn’t even look away from the blood dripping down to the floor. I watched as she rubbed her thighs together to try and soothe the ache between them. I could see the confusion in her eyes as she tried to figure out what was going on with her body. I want so badly to show her just how good we could be together, but I think I need a new tactic this time. Obviously, my previous obsessions didn’t work out for one reason or another. Maybe I should let her come to me on her own? Maybe if I give her the bare minimumof attention, she will cling to that like a liferaft. She’s so used to being left alone; no one gave two shits about her in her previous life. What little attention I’ve already given her has made her look at me differently.

The doe look she gives me when I smile or speak to her, you would think that I just hung the moon. Her previous life broke her so badly that she doesn’t know what it feels like for someone to actually notice her. I think that makes her uncomfortable as much as it makes her feel seen. Watching Taliah sleep soundly has a few ideas floating through my head on how to make her mine. By the time I’m done with her, she will be begging for me to keep her. Pleading on her knees for me willingly.

Chapter Twelve

Taliah

---