Logan

16. Walking Away

*Natalie's POV*

"Hey... you alright?" I didn't answer the mystery voice, the deep, heavily accented words that had pierced through the thick fog surrounding my entire being.

I didn't answer, because I was certain it wasn't real.

I was sure it was my brain attempting to create a calming situation for itself, as it tried to quiet down from the disaster that had been the last 12 or so hours...
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As soon as I'd woken up, I'd managed to shower and clean myself up, and pull on a pair of black jeans and my Batman hoodie before walking outside and heading towards town.

I wasn't going anywhere in particular... and I think that scared me. I'd left without my phone, and without telling Alex anything.
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"Amiga?" The voice was closer now, and I finally lifted my head from my hands and looked up to see a tall, very handsome man standing over me. I flinched away when he extended his hand, and he immediately backed away, both hands up by his face in a non threatening position "Hey... I'm not here to hurt you or anything. Just saw you crying from inside and... thought you could maybe use someone to talk to... my name is Alberto."

"Natalie." I used the end of my hoodie sleeve to wipe my eyes, and Alberto cautiously sat down on the sidewalk to my right after silently asking, and receiving, my permission "I'm sorry. I just... found out I was being lied to and..."

"Can I do anything Natalie?" I shrugged, again using my sleeve to wipe my eyes and then pushing at a leaf that had blown into my lap "I'm a good listener?"

"My..." I swallowed, turning to look at him, and I just knew, I knew this man wasn't here with any intention to hurt me "Logan. He just... he lied to me..." I trailed off, picking up the leaf that was still in my lap and crumbling it in my palm, watching the tiny pieces float away in the light breeze "I gave him every part of me and he didn't deserve any of it." Tears were again pouring down my cheeks, dripping onto the hard pavement of the sidewalk, but I continued to speak, and Alberto continued to quietly listen "I trusted him... I trusted him enough to tell him things about myself that I've never shared with anyone else and... he still chose to not tell me the truth. Logan lied about sleeping with his friend Vic before we..."

"Damn..." He finally spoke up, after I'd trailed off and resorted to attempting to calm myself down before saying anything else "You know what you need?" He held his hand out, and I eventually grabbed onto it and let him help me stand up "A friend... and a drink."
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"I've actually met Logan before." My eyes widened as Alberto leaned back in the booth, his hand running through his perfectly styled hair "And Alex? He's your brother right?" I silently nodded at him, my fingers fidgeting with the small stack of napkins on the table.

"Yeah..." I trailed off as the waiter arrived with our drinks and a basket of chips and salsa, and I took a careful sip of my whiskey and coke before looking up at him "He's single."

"How did you..." Alberto laughed, and I smirked as I reached for a handful of chips, taking a deep breath and steadying my still trembling hands.
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"Where were you?" Alex sat up from the couch, rubbing his eyes as I leaned against the far wall of our living room "You've been gone all day Nat. You weren't answering your phone... Logan..."

"Don't..." I grumbled under my breath, stumbling a bit as I moved towards the couch "Don't talk about him around me Alex." I sat down on the end of the couch, leaning back and closing my eyes, trying to calm the anxiety that was already unfortunately roaring back after my encounter with Alberto. He'd taken me out to dinner, and we'd sat and talked for hours, until the place had started to close up.

"I was just worried about you... You know I think the world of you right? You're my sister, and I love you." Alex put his hand on my shoulder, sighing as he waited for me to look at him "All I want is for you to be happy... you deserve that, more than anything else. I'm sorry you got hurt again."

"I met a guy. He works at the recording studio downtown..." I hesitated when I saw the way his eyes had widened, almost like he knew exactly who I was talking about "His name is..."

"Alberto..." He muttered under his breath, pulling his hands into his lap, and I could tell he'd started shaking "Sorry it's just... I know him. Used to anyways... Did he take you to Brass Kettle?"

"Yeah..." I stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water, leaning back against the counter by the sink "He mentioned he knew you guys, that you'd done some stuff together at the studio and..."

"And?" Alex steadied me as I moved to walk up the stairs "What else did he say Nat?" His hands fell to his sides as I sat down on my bed and kicked off my shoes, his eyes studying me as I pulled at the ends of my sleeves.

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SOTD "Walking Away" by Jonny Lang