Chapter 0335
+25 BONUS
I had yet to hear an actual apology, but acknowledging they were the problem was a good first step.
“We don’t want to do this over the phone,” Mom said. “Would you agree to meet us for lunch? You know that little place we like? The one with the good sandwiches.”
I did know the place they liked, but I also remembered that they rarely ever took me with them there. A few times they made it seem like I was going to be allowed to go, but then they made me sit in the parking lot with the window cracked like a dog.
“I remember…” I said.
“Good. We’ll meet you there at eleven tomorrow. Don’t be late!” Mom said, her voice suddenly brightening. “It will be so good to see you again.”
Suddenly, the call ended. She… hung up? She didn’t even wait for my confirmation or rejection! That was probably why she did it, then. She didn’t want to hear me say no.
I’d been about to. It was on the tip of my tongue.
Logan’s face was stern and cold, but he didn’t say a word. I could tell, from his expression and his silence, that he didn’t want me to go, but that he was holding himself back from actually saying so.
“It’s your choice,” he said, confirming my suspicions. “If you want to go, we’ll go.”
“We?“” I repeated, surprised.
“You can’t think I’d let you go face them on your own,” Logan said. “You told me how they treated you. I will never allow that to happen again.”
My heart melted for him all over again, I couldn’t wait for the drama currently facing us to be resolved so that we could live the rest of our lives together.
We had to win against Senior. We just had to.
As for my parents…
With 90% of my heart, I wanted to blow them off, just as they had done to me for so much of my life.
Yet, if I truly hoped to move on with my life, building a family with Logan, maybe it was better to face my past head on and resolve it. Best case scenario: they truly had changed and I could finally get my apology. Worst case: they were just as terrible as ever, and I could tell them off. Or see Logan do it.
Either way, I would finally have some closure of that chapter of my life.
“I think we should go,” I told Logan. “Not with any expectations, really. More, to close the book on all of this.” I gave him a small smile. “I want to start our life together with a clean slate.”
Logan softened slightly, enough to wrap his arms around my waist and kiss me. “Whatever you need.
I
The next morning at eleven sharp, Logan and I walked into my parents‘ favorite dinner. I felt like I had bugs crawling around in my stomach, a prickly, nervous feeling. Logan holding my hand was my only anchor.
The diner was already busy, nearly every table full.
Chapter 0335
+25 BONUS:
Mom and Dad were already seated at one of the tables in the middle of the dining room. Suspiciously, I wondered if that was the table they had been assigned by the hostess, or if that’s the one they purposefully asked for so that everyone in the room could see Logan and I approach.
There were two booth seats nearer the back that would have provided more privacy.
Mom stood up and waved. “Over here, daughter!” To Dad, she said, louder than necessary, “She brought her husband, Logan Hatfield. How nice!”
It wasn’t too late to flee if I wanted. Logan even glanced at me as if expecting it.
Subtly, I shook my head and pressed forward.
I was ready to face my past so I could finally put it to rest for good.