Page 67 of Paint Eater
“Oh, honey,” Sofia said, and suddenly he was pulled into a warm, tight hug.
“I’m sorry,” Logan choked out, not knowing what to do but cling back.
“Shush. There’s no need to be sorry.”
“But I hurt him.”
Sofia was silent for a moment. “The situation you were in hurt him. But now you’re here. No more of that.”
They stayed there for a while, Logan soaking her comfort in before they peeled apart.
“Okay. He’s in his room,” Sofia said.
“Thanks,” Logan said quietly.
He took a bracing breath as he approached Jay’s room, the door open, music filtering through. Jay was on his bed, a Rubik’s cube in his hands, twisting it absentmindedly.
Logan didn’t know what to say, standing awkwardly, but Jay must have seen him shift because he was suddenly looking at Logan. The Rubik’s cube fell from his hands, landing on his forehead.
“Ow, fuck!”
“Shit, sorry,” Logan apologised, finally stepping inside Jay’s room.
Jay stumbled out of bed, clutching his forehead, eyes wide. “Logan? Are you okay? What—what?”
“I…yeah, I’m okay.” He swallowed roughly. “I’m sorry. For everything. For not…for saying I didn’t want to be with you at the start, and not staying with you, and not telling you that I love you.”
Jay’s eyes widened even more. “You…what?”
Logan pushed down the terror. It was finally time to be brave. “I love you, you jerk. As if it weren’t obvious.”
“Oh, my God.” A moment of stillness and nothing, and then Jay practically lunged at Logan, kissing him messily before pulling back. “For real? Oh my God, I’ve been, like, so crazy about you for forever.Forever. You’re, like. My favourite person.”
Stupidly, Logan could feel his face heating. “Yeah. Me…me too.”
Jay grinned at him, the expression lighting up his whole face. “Fuck, you’re so…”
Jay kissed him again, and again, and Logan gripped him, trying to keep up, so overwhelmed with a soft, deep affection that he barely knew what to do with himself.
Jay pulled back again, eyes bright. “So we’re, like…going out, yeah? Like, officially?”
“Yeah.”
“No friends with benefits BS.”
“No BS.”
“We can cuddle and shit.”
Logan laughed. “Yeah.”
“And your mom, just…is okay?”
“She’s…” Logan grimaced. “No. She’s not happy about it. But she’s not going to stop me from seeing you.”
Jay looked troubled. “Logan. Is this gonna cause you to…I don’t know. Cause a lot of problems? I don’t want to…”
“Stop. Jay, I really…like you. What I said earlier. But this isn’t for you. It’s for me. I can’t live my whole life like that. I just can’t.”
