stay

Chapter 61

I wake up to find both Logan and I laying along the couch. I look up to his face and see his calm eyes shut in slumber. His steady breathing is soothing as I return my head to his chest. Not much time later he begins to stir and puts his fingers through my hair. He strokes smoothly as I look up at him. "Good morning Theresa." His voice is low and edgy. The way he says my name makes me want to grab his face into my hands and kiss him until he throws me onto the bed and climbs on top.

"Good morning Logan." I respond, distracting myself from my thoughts. He smiles as he closes his eyes and presses his head back against mine.

"We should probably get ready." I look over to the clock that sits over top the TV. We only have about thirty minutes to get ready and check out. I sit up quickly and grab my phone and charger from the wall.

I laugh as Logan smiles at my hastiness. "What time did we go to sleep?"

"Like four." He says as he wads up the comforter and throws it back onto the bed. I grab my bag and close the bathroom door behind me. I change quickly not bothering to put any makeup on. I leave the door open to let Logan go in. I make sure I have everything in my bag before zipping it up and placing it over my shoulder. "You ready?" He asks as he throws his sweet pants into the bag.

"Not really." He looks up from his bag with a worried look on his face. "This was a lot of fun."

He drops his bag onto the bed and walks towards where I am standing. He looks down at me while he pulls my bag off my shoulder. "That's the best part about cars. They can always bring us back." He smiles and pulls the strap over his shoulder. He picks up his bag and we walk towards the front desk.

***

"Four hour drive. My offer still stands to drive." I smile over at him.

He smiles and shakes his head. "I trust you, but I don't think Tank does."

"Tank?" I laugh. "Is that what you named your car?"

"Tank is a manly man name." He jokingly defends.

"No argument there." We continue to joke around for the next two hours as I filled the role of DJ off my phone. Once we reached Pennsylvania he unexpectantly pulled into a shopping center parking lot. He gets out and opens the passenger side door. "Um. Hello?"

"Well if you don't want to take the truck for a spin..." He begins.

"No, no, no." I say rushed. I jump out and walk over to the driver's side. He buckles up and seems nervous. I pull the seat forward and put the truck into drive. I move the car slowly for the first few miles, but begin to get more comfortable as the roads become less crowded and the land turns into open fields. With every turn and stop he grabs the handle above the door. I laugh each time at his nervousness. He lets me drive all the way until the Maryland state line where he retakes the controls. It isn't much longer until we reach my driveway.

I unbuckle from the seat. He puts his hand on mine to stop me from opening the door. "Theresa." I stop and look up to his eyes.

"Logan?" I question.

"I got a call from my recruiter yesterday."

"Oh?"

"I am leaving for basic training in a week."

"Oh." I am not sure what to say. I won't be able to talk to him for over two months. We have grown so close and I don't want to give up the progress that we have made. "Well, that's great! Are you excited?" I try and sound enthusiastic.

"Yeah. I mean this is a big step in my career."

"I'm so happy for you Logan. You've been looking forward to this for so long." He smiles at me and opens the door and jumps out. I continue to look at the seat as he walks towards the back of the truck to grab my bag. I open the door and jump down. He walks me to the door in silence and hands me my bag. "Thanks."

"No problem. I want to see you before I leave."

"Yeah. Me too." I can't help but feel as if I am already missing him.

"I'll text you." I smile and nod. He puts his hands back into his sweatshirt. "Good night Theresa."

"Good night Logan." I walk in the door and go straight to my room. I sit on my bed and take a deep breath before feeling a tear run down my cheek. Logan was going to leave for over two months and I wouldn't be able to text him or call him. He was so close to kissing me at the party and I wanted him to pull me in close and make me sure of his feelings. The moment he told me he was leaving was the moment that I knew I wanted nothing more in life than him. When I am with him I feel free. I feel happiness. I feel whole.