“Good morning, sweet butterscotch brownie.”
Alex paused halfway through the car doorway. Slowly, her bowed head raised and met amused emerald green eyes. Her brows used the same pace and arched. Not only did she never hear those words before but she also hadn’t heard that tone. Her warning meter rose up significantly.
A delighted wide smile covered Logan’s face.
Although she wanted him to be okay, this seemed excessive.
“Okay,” she muttered, nodding to herself. She sat on the passenger seat and locked the door. Then, she snapped her head towards him, “What crimes have you committed against me that you need to suck up?”
Logan snorted. He put the car in drive and rolled down the street, “I actually have no idea where to start.”
Alex scowled, “So you did do something?”
She tuck in her seatbelt, leaning against the backrest. She didn’t know what to expect this morning but she’d gladly take this one instead of a brooding Logan. He had surprised her last night when he didn’t message her about the details of his decision and its consequences. It almost worried her enough not to get a wink of sleep.
‘Almost’ was the keyword.
“Yeah…” Logan confirmed. He kept his gaze on the road, “I punched Jae in the face.”
“What?!” Alex felt her stop for a second. She would have grabbed him if he hadn’t been in the middle of driving. Shock didn’t even begin to cover what she felt, “Are you both alright? Did you get into a fight? Did I make things worse?”
He peeked at her from the corner of his eye, “Make things worse? Pfftt, no. We’re fine.”
She didn’t believe him, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Are you really sure?”
The blood drained off her lips. It had been caused by the speed of her breathing. Her lungs didn’t get enough oxygen, signalling her brain to get more air. If this continued, the chain reaction could lead into hyperventilation, trembling of muscles and numbing of nerves.
Logan noticed the symptoms right away. The tremors had already started in her hands. He sighed, originating it from his throat, “Alex, stop panicking. We’re really okay. We played video games all night. You can even ask him later.”
It had been years since they had done that together. He didn’t have his own game console so he had to recap a bit on the buttons and movements of the game. Luckily, he kept up before Jae could annihilate him. They talked about the random-est things from the past years.
A number of them included inside jokes they didn’t get to enjoy because of the feud.
“Sorry…” Alex apologized. She slumped in her seat, forcing on her breathing pattern. It was the first thing that needed to be relaxed, “I was a little worried if I just made the wrong choice when I gave you that flash drive.”
“A little worried?” He retorted with sarcasm, “Are you sure about that?”
Alex directed a glare in his direction.
Logan merely chuckled. He shrugged, “Alex, we’re family and we love each other. You have to trust that bond is stronger than any fight or argument. It doesn’t mean things can’t be mended after.”
His statements felt like pieces of her mother’s riddles last night. She let them sink in, glancing out the window. She had arguments with her family before. She had also thought that some of them were the end of the world.
Yet…
… as time went on, she had less panic and worry over them. She became used to it even when she didn’t realize yet. Her recent encounters proved that much.
Maybe she really did worry for nothing.
“Besides…” Logan added, “I already chose Jae over Skye years ago. He didn’t admit to anything I know but he’s Jae. I know him much better than Skye. He wouldn’t be the type to do that.”
He had tried to think logically about the situation. With his twin silent, it could be anyone’s guess at what’d say about his side of the story. No matter what Logan did, he firmly believed that his twin was innocent—no matter how deep he buried it.
That left them with only one problem.
“Then, why were you two still at odds?” Alex questioned.
“Because he wouldn’t tell me at all!” Logan exclaimed, “I had been waiting. He held too much guilt for the things that he didn’t do. I tried to confront him but he adamantly refused. By that, I mean he actually hid himself away from my sight. ”
It could be the hallways, the house, the school… in whatever place that they’d pass by each other, Jae ran to the opposite direction. It had annoyed Logan one day and had tried to straighten things out. Still, his twin refused to say anything.
Even if he did, Jae usually directed Logan back to Skye’s words.
“`Didn’t she already tell you what happened? Why do you need me to repeat it?“`
Logan gripped the steering wheel tighter. He had wanted to punch his twin ever since that moment. Jae wouldn’t even look at him in the eye. Logan had him backed into a corner and he still refused to open his mouth. His pleads and complaints went to deaf ears.
The obvious dodge still ticked him off. It hurt him to see that Jae couldn’t seem to trust him with truth—how he couldn’t see that Logan wouldn’t be upset with him despite the truth, whichever had been real.
“And now you’re okay?”
A spark of hope blossomed in Alex’s chest. The issue became smaller as Logan explained. Then again, she should have known. He had been the type to always believe in someone. Hell, he had believed her even without the story behind her secret.
She sometimes debated if it was a good quality or a bad one.
“Better” Logan chuckled, “We’re the best of fwends.”
“Please don’t ever do that again.”
He cleared his throat, driving through the school gates, “Anyway, dad said that the case trial is over. He wouldn’t tell us a thing. He thought it should be you who should do it. Mind sharing so I can sleep peacefully at night?”
The path to his usual parking spot was clear.
Alex bit her inner cheek. She remembered her aunt’s word per word about the compensation. She had thought of worse scenarios. This one seemed mild compared to those. She had been bracing herself about staying at home.
Now, the future seemed a bit brighter.
“I think it might be better if I say it later at lunch when everyone is around.”
===
Sometime later…
===
“I can’t believe that bitch is getting such an easy punishment!” Lauren growled, slamming a fist on the table, “She should be in jail! Why does it feel like we lost the trial instead?”
The trays rattled from the impact. Hands steadied the mini earthquake while Colin rubbed her back. She inhaled through gritted teeth, containing her rage. She wanted an outlet but the school limited her behavior. She didn’t want to get in trouble for it.
She stuck with ranting.
“Is she allowed to have internet access?” Carla asked. She munched on an almond, reasoning that she needed a better diet for the upcoming championship, “Because I think it would be better if she didn’t have any device, not even for offline games.”
“From what my uncle said, it’s pretty much isolation,” Max supplied. He drank from his juice bottle, “It sounds more like an asylum than a jail since she has a therapist. It’s just in Conary property and luxurious.”
“So she still gets to keep her social status” Lauren snorted, “Isn’t that what she wanted the most? Now, she still has it. I doubt she’d be devastated by losing wifi connections.”
“I say that’s a one way ticket for her to go crazy” Carla laughed humorlessly, “She’s used to talking, socializing and manipulating. That kind of punishment might just push her off the edge.”
From the small time they spent together, she knew how much her step cousin loved to talk. She constantly kept contact with someone whether in real life or wirelessly. She would need a new hobby if she wanted to survive for, at least, a year. Something Carla believed she was incapable of.
The head cheerleader relished in her freedom from Skye’s voice. One syllable was enough to make her temple throb. Now, she didn’t need to avoid it at family events.
“What I want to know though…” Jae asked from Logan’s left, “Is what Alex has to do in all of this? I know you had your share of wrong but why would they even need something from you?”
Alex put down the taco she was about to bite. She swept a gaze around the table, becoming aware of their sudden attention. They had been asking all day. She had to promise that she’d reveal at lunch period for them to stop.
She took a deep breath and locked eyes with everyone.
Anticipation painted all of their faces.
Sweat began to trickle down her scalp. The more she stared, the more nervous she became. She could already imagine what they would say. So far, she expected them to have different opinions. That worried her more than the compensation.
Nonetheless, she had a promise to fulfill.
“I can keep attending school.”
