MAISY

Logan's gaze locks onto me and I squirm underneath his perceptive eyes. He isn't going to make this any easier; I can already tell. The silence stretches for a little bit too long and I suddenly feel the need to fill it.

"You look good," I mumble, staring down at my hands instead of at him. But I don't have to look at Logan. I know he looks good; he's always looked good. Staring at him right now would just remind me of that, and that's the last thing I need; I'm making enough of a fool of myself as is.

"And you're a lawyer too now, huh? That's amazing. That's what you always wanted to be, right? I remember you saying that." I'm blabbering now but can't stop myself. "I guess you made it to college after all. That's great. I knew you'd do it. I'm not surprised. Are you married? Do you have any kids?"

"Maisy, stop."

He doesn't raise his voice, but he doesn't have to. The power behind it alone is enough to make me startle and clamp my mouth shut. Nervously, I swish my eyes up to his, but end up tearing them away the minute I take in his stony expression. It's plainly obvious that he's in no mood to play catch-up with me. This surprises me a little bit and hurts more than I'd care to admit. The Logan I knew wasn't like this. Of course that was a long time ago; he's bound to have changed. I certainly have.

When I think of my life its cut into two drastic parts-- my life before that night, which included everything up to the point where I waved goodbye to Logan at my front door, and then my life after, when I threw my things into a bag and stormed out of my house right before dawn. I rarely think about the part of my life that Logan was involved in anymore; it's usually too painful, but now here he is, sitting across of me, and it's like I have no choice but to remember everything.

"I'll have the documents fixed and I'll call you when they're done. We have your number?"

I nod, feeling slightly stung by his clipped tone. After all these years his voice has changed. It's deeper, more masculine, and some of his southern drawl seems to have slipped away. I never lost mine. I tried; all part of the reinventing Maisy campaign, but never could shake it.

"It shouldn't take more than 24 hours and then you can be on your way." Logan smiles at me but it's tight and insincere. I know what Logan's real smile looks like and that isn't it.

My heart plummets. I have no idea why his standoffish attitude is affecting me so much, but it is. I raise my eyes. He stacks the papers in front of him into a neat pile, and I watch his long fingers work as he straightens the edges, instantly remembering what his hand felt like in mine. Logan Stanfield had his choice of girls back in high school and, judging by his behavior towards me right now, I'm convinced I was probably just one of them.

My cheeks heat as I stand up, pushing the chair back with shaky legs, and cursing my stupidity. I may have put a lot of importance on that night we spent together, but it changed the course of my life. I'm sure it didn't hold the same impact for Logan; he probably didn't even remember it.

He stands with me and walks me over to the door. He smells the same, I think to myself, like clean laundry, but I don't allow myself to inhale it in; that'd be dangerous. As he opens the door and we step out into the hall, an awkward silence falls over us as he leads me down the corridor and out into the reception area.

"I'll be in contact," he says. I look down at his outstretched hand in front of me and I almost can't bring myself to take it. I'm not prepared for the emotion I know I'm going to feel, but I don't seem to have any other choice.

Reaching out, I curl my fingers around his warm flesh, prepared as I'll ever be for the ripple of longing that washes over me. I jerk my hand back. It still feels the same.

Somehow I manage to thank him and get out of the office without melting into a complete mess on the expensive hardwood floors, but it's not until I reach the parking lot that I feel like I can breathe again. I fold my arms against the roof of my car and rest my forehead on them, trying to calm myself down.

That went worse than expected.

I knew that coming back to town was going to reopen old wounds and force me to deal with all the shit I'd left behind, but I hadn't been prepared for that. I hadn't been prepared for Logan Stanfield.

I tug open the door and get inside, slamming it shut behind me. I should've left the past where it belonged, behind me. My life may not have ended up like I told Logan it would that night in the playground, but I'd done my best. I jam my key into the ignition and start the car.

When I left town close to dawn that morning eight years ago, I had no idea where I was going; I just knew that I had to get out of there-- that the course of my life depended on it. I ran back to the park and attempted to collect myself, hiding in the shadows of the trees as I tried to come up with some sort of plan. Things were moving quickly and I was scrambling to keep up.

I heard the ambulance and the police sirens as they started to arrive. That's when I called my friend Kim, and pleaded with her to come and pick me up. She drove over and got me without any questions; Kim was good like that. She didn't ask about the bruise forming on my cheek, or the fact that I was cradling my arm against my chest, or why there was blood smeared all over me; she just drove.

When we got to the bus station she begged me to let her take me to the emergency room. When I said no, she promised to drive me anywhere I wanted to go, anything to keep me from getting out of the car. That's when I broke down and told her about finding my mom.

I described how I walked into the kitchen and found my mother's body there on the floor, drenched in her own blood. I was so stunned that when I turned to run, I ended up smacking straight into an opened cabinet and then slipping on some of the blood and falling to the floor myself, injuring my arm in the process. I squeezed my eyes shut picturing what it felt like when I hit the ground, how I could sense my mother's body just inches from mine, and the pain that seemed to darken everything around me.

I told Kim that I just needed to clear my head, that I was going to my grandparents, that I needed a few days. I promised her that'd I'd be back. I lied.

I had no intention of ever coming back. After washing up in the bus station bathroom and throwing on a pair of old jeans, I shoved my blood-stained jean skirt into the trash can, forgetting about it along with my old life.

But it wasn't as easy to forget about Logan. My lips were still bruised from his kisses. I brushed my fingers over them and imagined what this was going to do to him. I had almost given a message to Kim to give him, but I knew that would've been a bad idea. There was no need to drag him into this mess.

Besides, it was just one night. In the scheme of things it was just a mere moment in our lives and soon would be forgotten. Given time, Logan wouldn't even remember my name, and I'd forget all about him. I lied to myself easily; it was a skill that came in handy growing up in my house.

I stood at the counter and did some quick math trying to figure out where to go with the the money I had. I remembered Logan talking about Texas and when I saw Austin up on the board with a fare that was in my price range, it felt like a sign. I handed my money over and bought a one way ticket. I didn't have any plan besides getting far, far away, and right then Austin was far enough.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry for the delay in updating, and I might as well apologize for the one chapter update this week. I've got to admit. Between editing The Return, tweaking The Restoration, writing The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore, and this story, the work is starting to catch up with me. I'm doing my best to stay ahead of it, but can't make any promises. You understand...

Anyway, we've gotten a little more about the night Maisy left in this chapter. Well, at least a version of events from that night. We also saw that Logan wasn't gushing at Maisy's return, which in my humble opinion is totally understandable. The girl devestated him when she took off. Now, as soon as he corrects the paperwork, Maisy's planning on taking off again. I wonder what Logan will do about it...