Logan

37. I Need Some Air

*Natalie's POV*

We managed to rifle through my modest film collection to find "The Breakfast Club," "Juno," and "Clueless," and I was all for it. Somehow we managed to fit myself, Damien, Kellan, AB, and Alex onto our sectional and still had room. I tried calling, texting, and leaving messages for Logan. I still had no idea why he was gone, and it was beginning to worry me. Scarlet said he used to do this a lot before me, and that it probably wasn't me, it was probably something he had on his mind. But I couldn't help but wonder why he wouldn't just call me back, text me, something to let me know he was alright.

Something to let me know that we were still us, and that nothing changed. Everything was fine, and then he was gone.

I fought my urge to cry, to run away, and instead focused on the movie. Even Scarlet was gone, and I felt so alone. Everyone was paired up except me, and it made me feel like the awkward fifth wheel. For some reason, AB was still being salty, I caught him giving Damien and Kellan a dirty look more than once. Alex was getting tired of it too, I tried talking to him about it once we came back to the house but he honestly didn't know what was up.

We were midway through the second movie when I heard the front door open and looked over to see Scarlet, and some girl I didn't know.

"Hey Damien," that was all the girl said. Damien looked up from his phone and looked over at her. His hands clamped over his mouth and he vaulted over the couch, and grabbed her into a hug. Damien buried his face in her neck, and twirled her around. She laughed, and I felt irrationally jealous.

Scarlet and Damien giggled, and he hugged her, too. "Skip, did you set this up?"

"I wanted your holidays to be more comfortable, so I asked her to visit for the holidays and she said 'yes', well, with a little prompting anyway."

Damien went through the role of introducing her to everyone, until it came to me.

"Tali, this is Jordana, this is the girl I told you about. Jordana, this is Natalie."

Jordana was a five-foot-five girl, her skin was a light brown, her hair in a long french braid, and she seemed to be staring right through me.

"Natalie, I've heard a lot about you from Damien." She grabbed me in a tight hug, and I felt myself involuntarily stiffening up... "I heard that he's got a brother, where is he?" She pulled away and looked over my shoulder, and I turned away.

"Um, he's not here. I don't know where he is, actually." I hated saying that. She just nodded, and kept talking to Damien, and then they sat down where I had been sitting. Everyone seemed to be interested in what she was saying, so I quietly retreated back to my room. The laughter and chatter faded when I partially closed my door. Fifteen minutes or so went by when I heard a quiet knock.

"Hey, you okay?" It was Kellan, his eyes looked tired, and he took a look around my room before seeing the chair by my vanity "Mind if I sit?" I shrugged, and he sat down. "So, are you feeling alright?"

"Logan's been gone for almost two weeks, I don't know where he is, or if he's okay, or when he's going to come back. Just...what did I do wrong?"

He shook his head, "No, no, no, doll, you can't think of it like that. You didn't do anything wrong. It's probably not even about you and he's too chickenshit to talk to you about it. Honestly, if he can't face up to you sooner or later he's not worth it."

"But I love him," My eyes had been welling up, and the tears finally fell. "What if, we can't get over this? What if he just keeps doing this?"

"Jesus," Kellan stood up, pulling a kerchief from his back pocket and handing it to me. It was that classic white, with a red 'K' embellished at one of the corners. "Listen, I didn't mean to make you worry more, or doubt yourself, it's just...I've seen a lot as a bartender. Chances are, most people don't tell the truth because they're scared, and they care about the person they love. Logan, he cares about you. He loves you. Before you, from what I could tell, he wasn't right." He sighed, "I also wanted to ask about something else." His voice was now somber, his hands wringing in his lap.