The Unnamed Story

Chapter 4

  After dinner, Colton suggests going to the movies. Logan politely declines as do I, so only Dani accepts. Once they leave, Logan grabs a third Coke from the fridge and the Malibu bottle from the counter, his glare daring me to make a comment, and goes to the living room. 

I get my wireless headphones from my room and connect my phone so I can listen to some more music. I hit shuffle on my Taylor Swift playlist and start cleaning up the kitchen. It takes me about half an hour to put away the leftovers, wipe down the counters, and wash every pan and dish, but eventually I finish. Right as I finish, my all time favorite song comes on. So I sit down at the table and listen to Wonderland, (Taylor's Version) of course, twice. If I had to pick only one TS song to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be this. Or maybe I Did Something Bad. I do love that one too. But Wonderland is my favorite.

 The living room is suspiciously quiet. Logan took the entire rum bottle into that room and he's being quiet? That is not normal.  Now might be a good time to check on him. I stop my music before the song can replay a third time, dump my speaker and headphones on my bed, and grab myself a Coke from the fridge. 

Logan is sitting on the couch typing on his laptop with one hand, holding his glass in the other. He hears me enter the room, somehow. I thought I was pretty quiet, guess not. He pats the couch next to him. "Don't just stand there, Lizzie. Sit down."

I plop down on the couch and set my Coke on the coffee table next the the Malibu bottle. I raise an eyebrow, but don't comment. Instead, I ask, "Are you doing those reports?"

Logan shakes his head. "Not on your life. I told Caden they'd be done tomorrow, and they will be."

I nod. "You answered my question, but now I have another one. If you aren't doing reports, what are you doing?"

Logan turns the laptop screen toward me without answering. I was expecting him to be shopping for cars, houses, or maybe engagement rings. I was wrong.

"College applications," I breathe. I look up to meet his serious expression. "You want to go back to school."

Logan nods and takes his laptop back. "Why not?" he says. "Dani did and look where she is. She's a nurse. She saves lives on a regular basis. I'm the head of this family and all I've managed to do is become the assistant  manager of a grocery store."

I reach out and take the laptop off his lap and it on the table. Then I reach out and rest a hand on Logan's arm. I thought that I was the only one who had these fears, and the realization that my brother has the same shocks me. I have always seen Logan as a pillar of strength and protection. He was my protector as a kid and tried his best to keep me from making stupid decisions. He usually failed. I did plenty of stupid stuff when I was younger, and I still do. But Logan is always there to pull me back and calm me down. I never thought he ever felt useless. 

"You saved me," I say earnestly. "You saved Dani. You're the reason she was able to go to med school and become a nurse. You're the reason we are sitting here. You pulled all three of us out the darkest place imaginable. You might think your greatest achievement is assistant manager, but it's not. Your greatest achievement is this," I explain, motioning to the living room and the rest of the apartment. "But that doesn't mean that it has to be your only one."

Logan looks up. "You think so, Elizabeth?" His use of my full name shows just how serious he is about this discussion "I never thought about it like that. But now that I think about it, I guess you're right. I did do this myself." He smiles.

I laugh. "Don't let it go to your head. Your ego's big enough." Logan glares at me, but only briefly before he laughs. 

I drop the playful act and turn serious again. "All jokes aside, Logan, I think you should go back to college. You gave up college six years ago to support our little family. Now it's time to finish."

Logan stares at me. "Elizabeth, when did you become so wise?" 

"Well," I say. "I had a similar breakdown earlier today and Dani talked me through it. I guess I did learn something from her."

Logan looks at me, surprise evident in his face. "Dani didn't tell me you had a breakdown. It was about the job, wasn't it?" he finishes.

I nod. "Yeah. I guess I just let my nervousness get the better of me. I made a mountain out of a molehill."

Logan smiles wryly. "I know the feeling." He changes the subject. "You really want that job don't you?"

I drop my head and stare at my hands. "Yes," I answer quietly. "But if I don't get it, I'll keep looking."

Logan's hand gently lifts my chin so our eyes meet. "Tell you what, Lizzie. I'll drop a couple hints tomorrow with Caden that he should hire you. How about that?"

"Really? You'd do that?" I ask. But then another question comes to mind. "Wait, can you do that? Hint to your boss that he should hire your sister? Wouldn't that be favoritism?"

Logan laughs. "To some people, it might seem like that," he says wryly. "But I'm sure Caden won't see it that way."

I smile and spontaneously grab my brother in a hug. Logan stiffens for a brief second but then his arms close around my back.

"Thank you, Logan," I whisper. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. I love you, Elizabeth," he whispers back.

"I love you too." We stay in the embrace for a minute before Logan pulls back.

"Now, I better get back to applying," he says. "And don't you have things to do" He grabs his laptop off the table and starts typing again. 

I smile. "Yup. I have to put this Malibu back or you won't be able to go to work tomorrow.'

Logan throws me a withering glare, but I just smile, snatch the bottle out of his reach, and we both laugh.

I put the Malibu back in the cupboard. "Hey, Logan," I call. "I had an idea.

"Oh fantastic," is his sarcastic reply. 

I roll my eyes. "Wanna do a movie marathon?" I cross my fingers waiting for his answer. He stays silent for a concerningly long time. I wish he would just answer and end the suspense. Finally he does.

"Sure. Pirates?"

I try not to jump up and down in excitement. I run back into the living room. Logan barely has time to close his laptop and put it on the table before I practically throw myself on the couch.

"I take that as a yes," Logan says. He turns on the TV, opens Disney+, and starts the first Pirates movie. "You do know we can't watch all the movies back to back, right?"

I nod. "We can watch at least the first three. They're the best ones anyway."

I snuggle under a blanket and prepare for over seven hours of movies. It's the best way to spend a night, in my opinion.