ʀᴏᴏᴋɪᴇ | ᴋᴏ ✔︎

10

It took almost 30 minutes but I finally managed to convince Megan and Hope to leave and go home. Their presence here was only delaying the inevitable - that I would have to re-enter my own home knowing that my brother wasn't going to be there.

Walking back in, I can instantly sense a shift in the atmosphere. Without Kevin, it feels cold, dead. There's no warmth here, no younger brother at his usual spot at the kitchen table, face hidden behind a stack of books.

Taking a deep breath, I venture to his bedroom.

It's now just a shell of what once was.

His bed, still messy and unmade from the last time he slept in it just this morning. His drawers left open and empty. His clothes, shoes and books are gone, along with his notepad, pens and pencils. He didn't have much, we never really did, but seeing it like this only highlights that he's not here and that even if we weren't well off, we had each other and we learned to live with the limited amount of supplies we had.

Sniffling, I wipe my tears with the sleeve of my sweater, still unchanged from practice. I bite my lip, refusing to cry once again and I steady myself as I shuffle back to the kitchen for a glass of water, after dropping my kit bag on my bedroom floor.

"The fuck are you crying about?"

I sigh as my mom decides to wake from her alcohol-induced coma. I don't answer her, knowing that I'm too angry and I'll snipe at her. Which, in my eyes, she deserves but I don't want to stoop to her level.

"Don't ignore me! What the fuck is wrong?"

"Kevin's gone!"

"Where?"

"Where?!" I look at my mom with indignation. "You  let the Social worker in! You  called Mrs Holland to tell her to send Kevin home. Don't fucking stand there and act like you don't know shit!"

"Don't talk to me like that! I'm your mother!"

"Fucking act like one then!"

Our argument turns physical as my mom slaps me across the face, obviously angered my statement. I push her away as she continues to slap at me, only for her to come back swinging. Knowing that she's not going to stop, I back away and head towards the door while not turning my back on my hysterical mother. I open the door and my mother shoves me out. I trip over my own feet and fly backwards, landing hard on my back.

"You're a fuckin' psycho!" I yell at her once regaining my breath from the fall. She slams the door in my face and I hear her lock it.

I mumble to myself for the next five minutes while I work out a plan of where I'm going to be sleeping tonight since my mom has been ignoring my pleading for her to just open the door. Seconds later, my attention is caught by the closing of a car door and I turn to see two patrol officers walking towards me.

"Are you Logan Scott?"

"Why?" I ask, defensive, before it hits me - my mom called the police.

Turning back around, I kick the front door, simply out of anger. "You started this then you call the police?! You're a fucking bitch, mom!"

"Ma'am please-"

The next minutes are spent arguing with police, trying to convince them that I was right to be angry, but my outburst aimed at the front door didn't help my case and before I know it, I'm placed in the patrol car, driven to the station and left in a cell.

_______

Three hours later, and my head is aching. The other people here that were arrested have been yelling for hours, screaming that they're innocent.

Yeah, I know the feeling.

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear keys jingling in the lock, an officer trying to open the door to the cell.

"You've been bailed, Miss Scott. Follow me."

I do as told, following the officer out to the front entrance, my mind swirling with thoughts on who it could be and I find out it's the one person I should expect.

"Hey, Rookie."

"Hope." I mutter, feeling ashamed that any of my teammates see me like this.

She simply puts an arm around my shoulder and started to guide me towards her car which was parked directly outside the building. We both climb in once she unlocks it and we're swallowed by a thick silence.

"Are we gonna talk about what happened?"

"Nope." I cut her off immediately, staring off out of the window.

"Logan. What happened when Pinoe and I left?" It takes a few a minutes, a few lip bites as my mind sorts itself out. "I'd like the truth, kid. I can't help you if you don't let me."

"Fine, fine." I sigh out. Exhausted from the days events but happy that I have someone on my side. I fill the 'keeper in on everything that happened once she left and to say that Hope is unhappy is a huge understatement, to say the least. I watch as she grips the wheel, her knuckles turning white.

"Where are you staying?"

"Can you just take me home?" I ask, only to be met with an expression of confusion and a little bit of anger on Hope's face. "Please?" She eventually caves, sighing in what I assume is exasperation as she makes her way back to my crappy home.

"Maybe you should call Kelley." Hope suggests as she pulls into the driveway of my house, killing the engine to look at me.

"No. I can't drag her into all this shit, Hope." I start, motioning towards my house, and my drunk mother that's inside. "I don't even want you in it, or Megan."

"Trust me Logan, I understand. " The solemn tone of her voice catches my attention, the gleam in her eyes portrays that she means it, it's not just words. "But I think Kelley could help. Just think about it."

I nod, and hug my friend goodbye. Climbing out of her car, I throw her a wave and watch as she drives off. I stare at the front door as I contemplate whether or not to simply try and open it. Shrugging, deciding that it couldn't hurt to try, I reach for the handle and furrow my brow in confusion when it opens.

"Huh?" I enter, with extreme caution, and take a look around to see that my home is empty - no mom and no Kevin. "Whatever." I mumble, heading to my bedroom to grab some clothes before taking a shower and getting ready to sleep until my phone rings. Sighing I answer it.

"Logan, it's Laura."

"Hey, Laura..." I trail off, wondering why my boss is calling.

"I need to see you tomorrow, we need to talk."

________

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Ugh, for real?" I grumble, checking my phone to see that it's 6am.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"I hear you!" I weakly yell out, muffled as I throw on a Seattle sweater and stumble through the hallways to the front door, towards the incessant knocking, ready to kill the culprit. I take a glance at my mom's couch to see that she isn't there but I shake it off, not ready to deal with her shit. I open the door to be engulfed in a hug so tight that it takes my breath away as she spins me in a circle.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Kelley mumbles into my shoulder as she puts me back down on the ground, which I'm thankful for.

"Of course I am." I speak slowly, showing her how confused I am, she simply chuckles at me while shaking her head.

"Get dressed Logan, I'm taking you out for coffee. You look like you could use some."

It takes me about 20 minutes to get myself presentable, and Kelley orders an Uber to take us to the closest coffee shop. Kelley orders for both of us, and pays much to my disagreement, and she takes a seat across the table from me.

"You know, you should've called me. I would have been here in a heartbeat for you."

"I didn't want to drag you into my mess. We've only been on one date-"

"For now." She cuts me off, placing her hand on top of mine on the table.

"Huh?"

"We've only been on one date for now." She clarifies, laughing at my inability to follow the conversation after she touched my hand. "Besides, I do care about you and I like Kevin, he's a good kid."

Kelley and I talk for a few hours before she has to head to the airport to get back to her team so we grab an Uber to the airport. We wait for as long as possible, continuing to get to know each other, until she has no choice but to go through security.

"This is me." She sighs out, clearly not wanting to go home.

"Call me when you land, okay?" I ask her, only to be met with a smile as she closes in on me.

"You care about me." She sings, grinning like a mad man, making me blush because it's true. "You're cute when you blush." My head drops in embarrassment as the Pro before me starts to chuckle.

"Thanks for coming and checking on me when you could have just called." I speak up, finally lifting my head to see that she's inches away from me.

"Well...duh." She scoffs at me "I wanted to check on you, Hope didn't tell me much over the phone." She trails off, not hiding the fact that she's looking at my lips. I try to fight against it, the urge to lower my line of sight towards her own lips, but I lose my inner battle and I know she knows it when she starts to smirk. Before I can say anything, her lips capture mine and my heart begins to beat so hard in my chest that I think she might hear it.

My hands instinctively find their way to her neck, then into her hair, drawing her closer as hers wrap around my waist, achoring me in place. We eventually have to pull away to breathe, much to my disappointment.

"I'm sorry." I pant out, resting my forehead against her as I try and catch my breath. My arms falling from her hair down to her shoulders.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I should have called you and told you everything myself." I admit, finally looking into her eyes.

She simply smiles while looking back into my eyes, leaning in to kiss me again before she admits defeat and goes through security to board her flight, and I make my way out to grab the Uber I ordered and headed towards the stadium to see Laura.