Page 33 of Wicked Devotion
“And maybe something less pasta-y,” she adds, and I stifle a laugh.
“Pizza it is, then.”
Charlie has this habit of buying a batch of fancy frozen pizzas at the start of the month, and since it’s his fault the kitchen is empty, I feel entitled to take one. He can eat with Sam and Rockwell since they are now best friends.
“Did you know that tomatoes are botanically a fruit?” Lily starts, filling the silence around us as I put the pizza in the oven.
“A fruit, and red too,” I say, clutching my chest. “I’ll buy you a whole rainbow bouquet of vegetablesandfruits to make it up to you, baby.”
She laughs when I turn around to look at her, and for a moment, she makes me forget about the chaos all around us.
Lily isfast asleep in my bed. Not a single sound comes from her, and I wish she’d snore, or at least breathe a bit louder, because with how she’s lying there, unmoving and so goddamn quiet, I’m fighting the urge to get up and check if she’s still alive.
Cracking my stiff neck, I try to find a bearable position on the couch before I reach for my phone. The message I sent Logan hours ago is still unread, so he’s either pissed or busy. Or, the option I don’t want to think about, he disappeared.
It’s constantly at the back of his mind, just like the packed duffle bag that’s daunting me whenever I open his closet. A constant reminder of that night in Mexico when dying and letting him go felt like the same thing, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d be convinced simply thinking about the day he’ll leave could kill me.
A sound at the door makes my muscles tense up. In theory, we’re in a very safe space, but now that I have to protect Lily, I’m on high alert.
Moments later, I’m standing next to the door. By the time the handle moves and a familiar scent reaches my nose, my gun is already pressed against the intruder’s side.
“Put that fucking thing away, or I’ll have you gagging onit,” Logan hisses, pushing me away to demand entry to my room.
With a sharp inhale, Lily sits up straight. She rubs her eyes, and I wonder when Logan and I will get her to a point where she wordlessly packs a little bag and goes out into the night.
“Get up, sweetheart. You two are coming over to my room.”
I raise my eyebrows, and Lily stares at Logan, unmoving.
“I don’t like to repeat myself.”
“Thought you’re not a fan of sharing your bed.”
“Did I say that anyone’s going to sleep in my bed? No. So get fucking moving.”
Logan turns around and steps out into the hallway, clearing his throat when he doesn’t hear the telltale sound of Lily and me gathering our stuff.
“I’m going to count to three, and then I’ll drag you to my room. One…”
I scramble to collect my necessary things for the night and tell Lily to do the same. Fast. Because, unlike my mom, Logan doesn’t start all over again when he reaches three.
Soon, we’re standing in Logan’s room, or rather the two floorboards that can still be accessed. His bed is in its usual place, but his couch and dresser were moved to make space for an inflatable mattress. Mine, I realize a few sleep-deprived seconds later.
“How did that get in here?”
Logan gives me a pissed look. “You, bed,” he tells Lily, pointing at the inflatable mattress. “You, couch.”
There’s a dirty grin on his face, and I accept my fate with a groan. At least his couch is bigger than mine.
“Don’t get comfortable yet. We need to talk. Alone.”
Lily keeps herself busy by making her bed, and after stealing one of his sweaters, I follow Logan out of the room.
“Why did you bring us over?” I ask as he closes the door, locking it. “Why—“
He shushes me and pulls me toward the stairwell. I spend the elevator ride up to the fourth floor with brows so furrowed it’ll cause wrinkles, and it’s only when he drags me up the emergency staircase leading to the rooftop that my expression softens.
We used to come up here often. With the whole gang, we’d call it our five-star rooftop bar while we sat in cheap camping chairs, grabbing beers out of a cooler as laughter filled the night. Not as colleagues but as friends, and somehow, it feels like a lifetime ago.
