And Then He Smiled (Logicality)

Chapter 84 - This Isn't How It Was Supposed To Go

Door bell rings as Logan flinches out of his seat at the sound of the door. He was expecting her.

Making his way over to the door, his feet dragged behind him as the door approached closer. The doorbell rang again. The door knob was slightly dirty yet still retained the colour it had when Logan had first moved in, yet reaching for it felt nothing like that time. Fear, anxiety, rejection.

Twitching, his hand buckled away from the door knob as he reached for it. Cursing himself, Logan forced himself to grab it. Breath seemed to abandon him, the door clicked open. He'd convinced himself to expect an unforgiving monster but what he found....

...was a woman.

His eyes widened as he looked at the woman, standing there motionless in the doorway as they stood there. Her stormy grey eyes and chestnut hair held his heart tightly as his throat closed on the right words, leaving him breathless.

The woman smiled, her dimpled face dipping into her freckled cheeks, the fine wrinkles of age beamed softly as she made her way into the house, following the walls to a seat. Settling into the one she'd known Logan hadn't sat in, she waited, watching as Logan's stepped seemed to shudder as he walked over. Her pale hands rested in her lap as the sofa seemed to recoil at the contact of Logan sitting down.

Turning towards her, Logan gazed at her. Flickers of blue could be counted in her eyes easily. He'd seen her wear this outfit before on a day he'd rather not remember. It was a long black cardigan with a cyan vest gently embracing her dark blue shirt. Trousers were more worn and the colour had faded.

Breath tighted in his chest, pounding againest his chest waiting to be breathed. "I don't blame you, and I know I should have told you that, that day," Saving Logan the pains of starting a conversation, Eleanor started with the hardest part. "I know how much you two loved each other," She stated, her grip loosening in her own hands, "I read the letters, even the one you were supposed to get," his eyes widened as he flicked his head from her hands to her face. Guilt plastered all across her expression, even weaved into the creases of her skin. Taking the breath for him, she continued, barely meeting his gaze, her eyes hesitating to even look at his face. "I have it here if you'd like to read it,"

Moving to her side, paper crinkled as she brought out a piece of paper, every crease carefully preserved as best as it could have been. It didn't seem to be read, but there were slightly dark creases to the edges where it would have been held. Some of the paper recoiled in on itself in the middle.

Carefully placing the paper in his hand she slowly brought her hands back to her lap, her eyes remained glued onto the paper. "I should have given it to you as soon as I found it," she apologised, pathetically lifting her head, attempting to meet her mistake as it lay visibly upon her late son's dearest friend's face.

It wasn't an expression an innocent person would ever expect to see. Betrayal plastered across his face in a cruel slew of emotion, his eyes fell down to the piece of paper that was crumpled in his hand, as it only just barely shook. Jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth together, yet his hand gently craddled the letter in his palm. His throat felt unbearably tight in his neck, the grasp of breath clumped together. A sharp intake of breath corroborated his pained face.

"Please..." Logan croaked out, staring down into the palm of his hand. "Please leave," he lamented his voice was wet with grief, "Just leave," he begged.

Hastily, Eleanor grasped the strap of her bag, standing up with a wobble, her legs trembling beneath her. "I'm so sorry dear," Eleanor pledged as she clung onto her bag.

"Leave,"

Hurriedly, her head hung shamefully, she almost tripped over her own feet before going through the front door. It took a moment before the door faintly closed behind her.