Page 53 of All Bets are Off

“You were talking about Logan, weren’t you? I thought it was a phase.”

“It isn’t,” I say.

Doubt is written all over her face. “Sorry, but have you considered that you’re confused? I mean, from what you’ve told me, you two developed a very strong bond while serving in the Marines. I’ve heard life and death situations can mess with your head.”

“That’s not the case here, and even if it were, you and I are over, Anna.”

“No.” Resting her hand on my arm, she looks into my eyes. “I mean…can’t we be friends?”

“I think the age gap is too great, to be honest.” I sigh and remove my arm from her grip. “You’re a nice, lovely girl, Anna. But we don’t have anything in common.”

Getting up from the bench, I walk away from her. As soon as I turn the corner, I hear Gloria yelling. Why didn’t Logan text me? I knock on the door, and it’s answered by a nurse I haven’t met before, a little slip of a girl who looks like she wants to run.

“Mrs. Fields is in a bad mood today,” she says, as though I can’t hear the shouting and thumps coming from the bedroom.Following the noise, I find Gloria throwing everything she can get her hands on at Logan.

“Mom, stop.” He dodges the small jewelry box she lobs at him, and it hits the winged-back chair in the corner.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not your mother! Just get out of here, will you? I will call the police!” Gloria throws a hairbrush at him.

“If she doesn’t calm down, she’s going to have to be sedated,” the nurse says from behind me.

I clear my throat to get Logan’s attention, and my heart constricts when I see the tears in his eyes. “Maybe you should leave her alone for a while. She’s pretty wound up,” I suggest gently.

Logan’s wounded eyes suddenly turn angry. “You think?” Pushing past me, he strides out of the bedroom, and I hear the door to the apartment slam closed. Gloria immediately rushes to me, enveloping me in a motherly hug, and I can’t help but remember how much her hugs have meant to me over the years. Logan’s always been so generous, sharing his parents with me. I can’t help but feel like I’ve stolen his mom away from him during his final months with her even though I know there isn’t anything I could do differently short of not showing up at all, and Logan wants me to go with him.

I spend the next hour listening to Gloria talk about a jumble of topics, but at least she’s calm. She often stops mid-sentence and changes the subject, only to repeat the same thing a few moments later. I listen as patiently as I can, nodding and commenting, while in the back of my mind I’m worrying about Logan. I know his anger isn’t really directed at me. I hate the thought of him being all alone, though. Finally, I convince Gloria to go to bed, promising I’ll visit again the next day. The nurse takes over, and I slip out of the apartment. Logan isn’t waiting for me in the hall, so I take the elevator downstairs. As I pass through the lobby, I’m surprised to find Anna still behind the desk.

“Isn’t your shift over?” I ask her.

“I’m working someone else’s shift tonight,” she says. “Um, if you’re looking for Logan, he charged out of here about twenty minutes ago.”

“Thanks,” I say, heading through the automatic doors.

Outside, it’s dark and a balmy breeze rustles through my hair as I pull my keys out of my pocket. When I arrive at the car, Logan isn’t waiting for me. Turning in a slow circle, scanning the lot, I don’t see him anywhere.

Sighing, I climb into my Nissan and call him. He doesn’t answer. Thinking he most likely took a taxi back to the house, I drive home, but when I get there, I find no one has seen him. A little worried, I try calling him again, but he’s turned off his phone.

“Dammit, Logan,” I mutter, shoving my cell phone back into my pocket.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Colt says, aiming a dart at the dart board across the room and throwing it. It lands dead center. Dex, Mal, and Kasey sit around the room drinking beers while Cara and Ezra play a competitive game of ping pong. Hawk opens the small refrigerator beneath the bar and hands me a bottle of Miller.

“Any particular reason why you’re worried about him?” he asks, sitting across from me at the table.

“He was upset when he left his mother’s apartment.” I shake my head. “It’s so brutal the way she treats him. I know he’s hurting.”

“That sucks, man.”

Colt pulls a chair up to the table to join us. “I read somewhere that when you have something like Alzheimer’s disease, your soul moves on from your body. Even though you’re still alive, you’re only a shell. But sometimes your soul pops back in during lucid moments.”

It’s kind of a nice idea—that Gloria’s not trapped in her current confused state but off somewhere else.

I finish my beer, check my phone to find Logan still hasn’t messaged me, and head for the gym to work out and hopefully clear my head.

An hour later, I’m sweaty and calmer but Logan still hasn’t returned or answered my texts.

“He’s probably at a bar,” Jase says when I run into him in the hall after my shower. “He just needs space.”

“I know,” I say.

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