Boo

Ch. 20

Logan had left his apartment not too long after he had finished cleaning up. He didn't want to waste too much time.

The address ended up being a thirty minute walk, which wasn't as far as Logan was expecting.

He approached the address, which seemed to be some sort of private clinic.

Logan pursed his lips, tentatively approaching the property.

He pushed open the front door, looking inside. "Hello?" He called.

The woman at the front desk glanced up at him. "Hello, dear. Do you have an appointment?" She asked kindly, giving him a small smile.

"Oh, no, I don't." Logan mumbled awkwardly. "Is, uh, Emile here?"

"Dr. Picani is currently seeing another patient, I could book you an appointment, if you'd like?" She offered.

Dr. Picani, eh? He sounded like quite the interesting character already.

"Oh, come on, Gwendolyn." A gentle voice spoke up from the back. "There's no one else booked for today, surely we could give the boy some time?"

There stood a tall man in a beige sweater, white undershirt, and a pink tie. A pair of glasses lay in front of his soft brown eyes, slightly obscured by dark blond hair.

Behind him stood a shorter person. Logan couldn't see much of them, but they were dressed darkly, as far as he could tell.

The woman at the desk, Gwendolyn, furrowed her brow. "Sir, we don't have this boy's records. We can't just--"

"That can all be sorted out on a later date, there's only thirty minutes till closing time. We can just get acquainted." The man insisted. He turned to this person, smiling at him. "You did excellent today, Elliot. I'll see you again soon?"

They mumbled something under their breath, leaving the clinic.

The man walked up to Logan, holding out his hand for a handshake. "Hello there, cadet. I'm Dr. Emile Picani, nice to meet you."

Logan stared back dumbly for a second, before reciprocating the handshake. "I'm, er, Logan Berry. Likewise."

He gave Logan a once-over, before smiling brightly at him. "I like your shirt, cadet."

Logan glanced down at his shirt, and flushed in embarrassment.

In his rush to leave the house, he had thrown on that stupid Rick And Morty shirt he had bought to amuse himself. Logan had never even watched the show. His father hadn't allowed him to.

He stammered out a bunch of jumbled syllables that scarcely resembled words, growing redder in embarrassment by the second.

Emile seemed unphased, just giving Logan a warm smile. "Let's head into my office."

---

"Have a seat." Emile suggested, gesturing to the couch that lay in front of a desk, which he sat on.

Logan sat down, posture stiff and face tense. Emile laughed.

"Relax, Logan. I don't bite." He chuckled. "Tell me why you're here, son."

Logan swallowed. "I was told...that you knew of a boy named Remus."

Emile's smile faded away, an oddly blank expression on his face. "Were you one of his friends?" He asked flatly.

"That's...complicated." Logan shrugged, sinking in on himself.

Emile rested his forearms on his desk, looking away from Logan. "What do you want to know about him?"

"It's not really things I want to know about him." Logan cleared his throat awkwardly. "It's more so things that...I want to know about the people around him."

"I'm afraid you're gonna have to be more specific, son." Emile murmured lowly, watching Logan carefully.

"...can you tell me about Anne-Marie Ågren?" Logan asked, glancing in between Emile and the floor.

Emile stared at him for a second, before letting out a deep sigh. "I can't do that, Logan."

"Why not?"

"If I share information about Ms. Ågren..." He gestured his hands in a flimsy manner, "you'd be getting mixed up in a world you'd want no part in."

"If you don't want to share her information, then just give me her address. I'll find her myself." Logan said.

Emile laughed wryly. "You're a brave one, Logan. Braver than I, at least. I see why Remus was friends with you." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "It was truly a tragedy. His death, that is. He was so young." He furrowed his brow, frowning slightly.

"Were you close with him?" Logan blew a piece of hair out of his face.

"I thought we were close, I'm not sure what he would say." Emile took a sip out of the mug on his desk. "We shared a common enemy."

"Jasper?" Logan questioned.

"Mr. Jakobsen?" Emile chuckled, shaking his head. "Remus didn't think much of him. He said that Jasper was 'barely smart enough to tie his own shoes, much less pose a threat.'"

"That does sound like him." Logan sighed.

"No, the enemy we shared was Ms. Ågren herself." Emile told him, looking Logan dead in the eyes. "Of course, it took him longer to realize that she was a dangerous person. He idolized her, worshipped the ground she walked on."

"What happened?" Logan furrowed his brow.

Emile considered the question for a moment, eyes glazing over in thought. "...he grew up." He said, taking another sip from his mug. "And she didn't like that."

Logan frowned in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Emile glanced at him. "Who are you, Logan Berry?" He asked lowly. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"There's no concrete way to know you can trust anyone. For all I know, you could be lying to my face." Logan stated. "You just have to believe in me, just as I believe in you."

Emile hummed in consideration. "I'm about to tell you something that...cannot leave this room. If it does, well..."

Logan shifted uncomfortably, waiting for him to finish. After a moment, he spoke up. "Well...?" He prompted.

Emile leaned his forearms against the desk again, eyes darkening. "I'll have to kill you, son."

A/N:

Emile when first meeting Logan: 😁🤗☺

Emile when Logan brings up Remus: 😐👹😰