Page 4 of Twisted Fate

“You wanted to know about Keily, didn’t you?”

That stopped him.

“No, she’s gone and…” He couldn’t think of a lie and his voice trailed off.

“She’s fine. She has a job, she’s got a place to live, and she’s fine.” Rosa’s words came out slowly, guarded, and he knew she didn’t want to reveal too much to him, but she did want to relay some information.

“That’s, well, that’s good then, I guess.” He replied simply, not satisfied really, but what else could he say? Demand Rosa give him the details of Keily’s life over the last few months? Demand a report with pictures, graphs, and receipts?

That wouldn’t happen. First, because she wouldn’t do it, and second because he wouldn’t stoop to it. Keily wanted to be left alone, so he’d leave her alone.

“I guess so, Logan. Listen, I have some work to do so I have to go. Unless there was something else you needed from me?” Her voice wasn’t curt now, it was more resigned to the situation.

He could almost picture the look on her face as she spoke and he hated to be the cause of it. Rosa was nice, as an employee and as Keily’s friend. She was loyal to Logan at work but loyal to Keily as a friend. He could respect that.

“No, but thanks, Rosa. Take care and I hope to be on that side of the country soon.”

“I’m sure everyone will be glad to see you back over here. At work.” That last part was an addition that he took to mean he should stay away from Keily.

But maybe he was reading more into it than he should. “Alright, take care, Rosa. See you soon.”

“Take care, Logan. ‘Bye.”

The connection broke and the car filled with the sound of nothing. Logan clicked a control on the steering wheel until Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles came on to chase the silence away. Everything was great for a few minutes as he tried to figure out what kind of drugs the Fab Four must have been taking to write such weird lyrics. His moment of peace was shattered when John Lennon began to sing Love, however.

He almost flicked to the next track, but for the first time in his life, he actually stopped to really listen to the song. It nearly broke him.

John Lennon might have been gone from this world for a very long time, but the words he sang so simply described exactly what Logan had never known. What love was. If he hadn’t been hemmed in by other cars, he’d have pulled off the road to collect himself. Since he was stuck, he just hit replay and let the words wash over him.

Images, memories, flashed through his mind as the song played, Keily’s smile, her face as he made love to her, the way she’d loved nothing more than snuggling on the couch with him, the way he made her sigh, the way she made him…feel. Fuck, this was getting out of hand, he thought, as a horn blew behind him. Traffic was moving at last and he was holding it up.

Maybe it was time to go home? Perhaps if he saw her, even a glimpse of her, he could ease this ache that felt as though it would tear his heart in two.

But he knew that was another stupid idea. The minute he saw her he’d want to talk to her, touch her, apologize for the cruelty he’d inflicted on her. What must she think of him?

He’d kept his identity a secret, misled her about so many things, and played her for a fool, whether he’d actually meant to or not. Although, he had to be honest, at first, he had wanted to mislead her, he’d wanted to hurt her the way he’d been hurt all those years ago. The more he’d come to know her, though, the less he wanted that revenge, the less he wanted to see her broken.

So why had he done it then?

He still couldn’t fully explain the cognitive dissonance he’d felt the last night he was with her. He didn’t want her pain anymore, he wanted to make her smile again, but he was fairly certain that ship had sailed.

The Keily he’d met all those months ago wasn’t the woman he’d left that night. That original Keily, she was a schemer, out for whatever she could get. She’d changed somewhere along the way. Logan didn’t know if it was his doing, or Rosa’s, maybe both? Or perhaps Keily had finally been allowed the freedom to grow up, so she had?

It could have been all of those factors, but he’d never know for sure because he’d blown his own chance at happiness for a moment of petty revenge. And the fucking nightmares hadn’t stopped either. It seemed they never would.

3

Keily

“How long have you got left on your shift?” Rosa asked from the opposite side of the booth she and Keily occupied.

“A few hours,” Keily said with a complete lack of enthusiasm. Another month had passed, her bump had grown at least another inch, or so her pants told her, but little else had changed. “I just want to go home.”

“So why don’t you just quit, Keily?” Rosa was a little exasperated with her, but sighed before she went on, her face downcast. “I’m sorry, Keily. I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

“I know,” Keily said, reaching across the table for her friend’s hand. “I just don’t want to spend what I have saved up. I’m getting through school alright, and when I’m done with that, I might take a break, or find a less demanding job with the degree, but right now, I want to save that nest egg for my maternity leave and any future problems I might need to spend my way out of.”

“I guess that makes sense. Although...” She paused as if to consider what she was about to say, her left eyebrow, dark and perfectly shaped, arched over her brown eye “If you told Logan about the babies, he’d probably help you out. The state may insist he pay child support anyway.”