The Lies He Spoke

NINE

OLIVIA

Olivia sat across from Logan at the dining table, watching him push pasta around on his plate, the limp spinach leaves being dragged back and forth on his fork. He hadn't taken a single bite of his food yet.

Sometimes, Logan needs help to keep going. Sometimes it gets a bit complicated for him and he needs someone to tell him it'll be okay.

Logan's eyes were red. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. And he hadn't said more than two words since he picked her up from school three hours ago.

I'm not going to lie and tell you it's not going to be a hard job. Because it is sometimes.

Olivia stared down at her own plate and wished Elijah had never opened his big fat mouth and made her promise she would try. What on earth was she supposed to do? She didn't even know why he looked so out of it today.

She couldn't remember saying anything ugly or argumentative to him that morning. She'd even waited until he stopped the bike to get off this time. Maybe it was Blake? Maybe something happened at college?

She took a deep breath and tried to calm the butterflies fluttering up her throat because she was his sister, and from what she had seen of Blake and Elijah, they always, always tried with Logan, no matter what happened afterwards. Without a hint of hesitation and without a hint of cowardice, they always tried.

Wasn't she his family too? She had better start acting like it.

"Are you okay, Logan?" she asked.

He groggily raised his head and blinked at her, looking surprised that she was even talking to him. He stared for a moment before saying, "I'm fine."

Fine? Did he expect her to believe that?

"Your eyes are really red," she said.

Logan's dark eyes flashed with anger. "I said I'm fine," he growled.

Olivia looked back down at the table and sighed. "Okay," she said. She knew his angry tone meant nothing, that he would never hurt her. It was just something that came out when he couldn't figure out what else to do. But she also didn't want to get into his business if he really didn't want her to.

So she changed the topic instead, if only to hear his voice and know he hadn't floated away somewhere she couldn't reach him anymore. 

"I got detention today," she told him, although he already knew because he had picked her up after her detention ended.

Logan rubbed his temples and set his fork down. "Olivia, why are you getting so many of them?"

Olivia stabbed at her food. Mrs. Mayhew had once again managed to get on her nerves by making not so subtle comments about Elijah being in jail. Needless to say, she hadn't stayed very long in that class. "I don't like the teacher. She's an uptight prick."

"Do you want to switch classes?"

"I don't think I can."

"Do you want me to talk to them about it?"

Olivia stopped mincing the rest of her pasta, her anger suddenly dissipated at Logan's casual offer. He himself looked like he was about to pass out for half a century, and he wasn't even angry about her detentions. Instead, he was looking at her questioningly, completely willing to try to help her out of her awful teacher.

She wanted to hug someone so badly it began to hurt her in her chest.

"It's fine," she said. She didn't want to give him more problems.