“I didn’t get away. He dumped me.”

She shrugs. “You know how guys think. Losing you was probably his biggest mistake.”

I glance over at him again, and Logan’s looking at me, his hazel eyes almost amber in the dim lighting.

He gives me a slow smile, and my heart skips several beats.

“Yeah, it should be.” I blow my bangs out of my face. “I think I need some fresh air.”

“You want me to go with you?”

I shake my head, smiling. “Call Nate.”

Her face brightens, and she hurries to the bathroom.

I step outside using the back-alley exit, and no one is outside, which is unusual because it’s a common smoking spot.

I lean against the brick outside, letting the cool air clear my head. I’m dressed somewhat warmly, so I’m not too cold.

When a hand touches my arm, I’m so sure that it’s Logan that it takes me a second to open my eyes.

It’s not Logan. It’s the guy from earlier, the one who cornered Dina.

I open my mouth to tell him off, and he claps his hand over it. I can taste tobacco on his palm.

“Let me go,” I scream, muffled behind his hand.

“You’re the one who took away that girl,” he slurs, clearly out of it. But he’s half a foot taller than me and has a hundred pounds on me, so I can’t move.

I’m trapped between his body and the brick, and no one but Dina even knows I’m out here.

I start to scream again as I jerk my head, trying to dislodge his hand, hoping it’ll startle him even behind his palm, but he just presses closer.

The back door swings open, and my eyes dart over there, but all I see is a body hurtling toward me.

My scream finally hits the air when the man is tackled off me.

I straighten up, shell-shocked, as the two men scuffle around on the floor.

When the other man stands, his hair bounces around his face, and I know it’s Logan who saved me.

“Meredith, are you all right?” He puts his arms out.

It doesn’t even occur to me to run away. I go into his arms immediately, pressing my face into his chest, and his arms go around me tightly.

He leans down to murmur something into my ear.

But I don’t hear him. I don’t hear anything around us because I’m taken back in time.

“So, it’s over?” My voice cracks. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

His voice is flat, his expression blank.

“Can I... can I have a hug?” I hate myself for asking, but I need some kind of closure, and a big part of me is hoping that when his arms are around me, he’ll forget all the reasons he wants to break up with me.

He nods shortly and holds out his arms, and when they go around me tightly, it feels like I can’t breathe.