ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ | ᴘᴏʟʏ

3

"It's all gonna burn"

Logan had been enjoying her time back in Seattle before she moved on again. Spending time with her brother, avoiding her mother, and hanging out with Hope and Megan - it's almost as if nothing had changed.

Almost.

Thanks to a number of social media posts, Logan had a feeling in her gut that everyone she had been avoiding knew she was back in the States, mostly Kelley. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid her ex, she just didn't know what to say. Logan would repeatedly open a new chat, preparing to spill out her heart to the one that she never got over, but she simply couldn't find the words. The small nagging voice in the back of her head constantly reminded her that it had been years, that she had her chance to reply to the numerous emails, texts, DM's that she received from Kelley. The nagging voice always seemed to win, especially after Logan scanned Kelley's IG and read the cryptic captions about being with someone else, there was never any pictures posted of the so-called significant other, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Kelley had moved on, and Logan wasn't the type to get in the middle of someone else's relationship.

Therefore Logan kept her focus on staying busy - from the moment she woke in the morning to when she passed out at night. It wasn't everyday that a woman in her profession got more than a few days off, but she was committed to enjoying her downtime before her unveiling in a few days.

The local coffee shop near where her brother was living became her favorite place. The coffee wasn't extraordinary, neither were the cakes, pasteries, sandwiches. But the warm welcome she got everytime she entered the small store was all she needed. The comforting scent of warm, fresh brewed coffee which attacked her senses the second she walked through the door was always inviting, but she had become friendly with her usual waitress - Sarah.

Granted, she didn't know much about the shorter girl other than she was always smiling, and she made a decent cup of joe. Logan would often be found during the quieter times in the coffee shop, her nose in a book. One thing she did know about Sarah was that she was a poetry nerd, and so Logan would bring a new book of poems with her each time she would visit.

"So, what do you have for me today?" Sarah chirped as she took the seat opposite Logan at the only occupied table in the small coffee shop. She placed Logan's order in front of her before sipping on her own coffee - black and sweet.

"It's an anthology of poems from wars," Logan answered nonchalantly, although inside she was happy she could geek out with someone who would actually understand.

"So you're a history nerd too, interesting. Which war?"

"All of them. Well...from the 8th century until 2000."

"Wow. That doesn't say anything good about mankind, does it?" Sarah chuckled while shaking her head. "Read me something?"

Logan flips through the hundreds of pages, ignoring Sarah watching her, as she finally settles on one poem.

"Okay, it goes;

Still falls the rain--
Dark as the world of man, black as our loss--
Blind as the ninteen hundred and forty nails
Upon the Cross."*

"Thats beautiful," Sarah breathes out, only snapping out of her gaze when Logan looks up as the small bell above the door chimes, indicating a new customer.

The customer makes a beeline for Sarah, who smiles at the newcomer as she approaches from behind Logan.

"Hey baby!" Sarah squeals as she stands, throwing her arms around the taller woman. Logan keeps her attention on her book, not wanting to interrupt such an affectionate moment for her new friend.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Logan hears the customer ask. The voice is familiar but she tries not to listen in on Sarah's conversation.

"Oh, we were just talking about poetry." Sarah beams.

"We?"

"Yeah! This is my new friend, she has great taste in literature! Kel, this is Logan, Logan this is-"

It's then that Logan turns around, "Kelley?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kelley asks, completely taken by surprise by the unexpected arrival.

"Drinking coffee?" Logan replies, knowing that she probably shouldn't be a smartass when Kelley is so obviously angry, but she simply can't help herself.

"Can you give us a minute?" Kelley asks Sarah, who obliges, more than happy to get back to work, or at the least make it look like she's working. "I don't want you anywhere near my girlfriend."

"I didn't even know she was dating, nevermind dating you." Logan defends.

"Sure. Why don't you do what you're best at and leave." Kelley snipes. She regretted it the second it left her lips but when Logan doesn't react, it only served to make Kelley angrier.

"Okay."

"Okay? Seriously?" Kelley repeats, her anger now reaching a dangerous level, no thanks to Logan's apparent nonchalant rebuttal. "You know what, fuck you. You don't get to just show up out of the blue and act like you did nothing wrong-"

"I didn't. We weren't together when I left, Kelley."

"And now I find you cozying up to my girlfriend?" Kelley's voice raises, gaining the attention of Sarah who hadn't seen this side to Kelley, nor had Logan.

"I'm not 'cozying up' to anyone."

"Bull-fucking-shit, Logan!" O'Hara yells, now not giving a fuck about what she says or how she says it. In the back of her mind she doesn't even know why she's reacting the way she is. She's not the jealous type, but in this moment she knows she sure looks like she is. "You just read poetry to any girl you meet? That's a load of crap, you never read that shit to me."

"It's been four years, Kelley. I've changed, I'm more comfortable in sharing what I like. It doesn't mean I'm trying to get your girl. Now, will you please calm down?" Logan asks, her voice calm even when Kelley yells at her.

"Get out."

"What? You can't kick me out of here, you don't even work here."

"No, but Sarah can." Kelley insists, and Sarah ducks being the counter when she hears her name, knowing she's about to be dragged into the center of a fight between exes.

"Seems like she doesn't want to." Logan chuckles, only for her face to be forced to the right, her cheek taking the brunt of the slap.

"Kelley! What the hell?!" Sarah jumps up at the sound of the assault, and immediately sets herself between her furious girlfriend and her poetry loving friend.

"It's okay, Sarah," Logan smiles at her friend, completely ignoring Kelley. "She's right, I should go."

Nobody says a word while Logan stuffs her book in her bag, slings the bag over her shoulder, leaves a few bills on the counter and walks out of the shop. The small bell above the door cuts through the silent tension.

Had Logan simply glanced at Kelley after the slap, she would have seen the regret on her face, but she didn't.

She knew Kelley would be angry, but not angry enough to lay hands on her.

"I guess she changed, too."

*First verse from Edith Sitwell's "Still Falls the Rain."