Have You Ever Listened To The Rain At Night?

Chapter 26

He looked up at her, breathing heavily, and shook his head. "I can't . . ."

Her face softened and she knelt down next to him. "Well, I think we both made mistakes tonight. Let me see." She placed a hand on his cheek. His face was covered in sweat and white as chalk. She gently took the towel and wiped the sweat from his face, then she handed him the water. "Here, drink this."

Gratefully, he took the water and drank a few sips. Then he tore his hair. "What should I do? I can't go home like this! If my parents see me, they will never allow me to leave the house again. I'm screwed!"

Camille felt so sorry for him that she couldn't be angry with him anymore. She put an arm around him. "We'll think of something, you'll see."

Logan sniffed dryly. "Why are you so nice to me? You should be mad at me. I said such horrible things . . ."

"I guess I'm not entirely innocent in this whole thing either. Besides, I can't be mad at you when you're feeling so bad."

"So I need to get well again before you can be mad at me?"

She laughed softly. "Yeah, something like that."

He rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry . . ."

She stroked his hair soothingly. "It's okay. Now let's think about what to do with you . . ."

"You can stay the night," James said, who came over to them at that moment, Lucy - and Carlos – by his side.

"Are you sure?" Camille asked hesitantly. He put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Sure, Lucy and Carlos are staying too."

"Really?" Camille looked over at Lucy and Carlos in surprise. Lucy shrugged. "To be honest, I try to spend as little time at home as possible, my parents and I don't have much in common. And staying here sounds way more fun."

"And what about you, Carlos?"

"Well, I wanted to ask my dad to pick me up, but he got a call and had to go back to work, he's a police officer. And my mom is out of town for the weekend. So James said I could stay too."

"Thanks, James," Camille said, rubbing Logan's back. "See? Now all you have to do is call your parents and tell them you're spending the night here with some friends."

"There is one condition, though," James said. Everyone looked at him and he started grinning. "Whoever stays here tonight agrees to help me clean up tomorrow."

"Deal!"

Logan entered the room where Camille was already waiting for him. He felt uncomfortable in his borrowed t-shirt from James, which was too big for him. He closed the door and looked at Camille. She sat cross-legged on the bed, also wearing a t-shirt from James. "I've brushed my teeth about seven times and my mouth still tastes funny," he sighed and sat down on the bed. "Plus, I'm starting to get a headache."

"You're lucky that you've gotten most of it out of your system already," she said as she ran a hand up and down his back.

"I'll never do that again," Logan groaned, massaging his throbbing temples. Camille put her arms around him and pulled him close. "Come on, let's lie you down for a while, okay?"

He nodded and let her gently lay him down on the bed. She placed her head on his shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Probably, but I don't think I deserve it," he murmured sadly.

"Logan . . . I know there have been some things that have happened in the past, but . . . but that was all before we became so close. And you must believe me when I say that I will never do that again. You are more important to me than any other person I know."