emotions tormenting me.
The rising sun shining through my bedroom curtains
brought a frown to my lips. It was the time of morning I’d usually be out for a
jog. Even in the coldest winters, I never skipped my morning exercise. But that
wasn’t an option now, and no amount of charming endearments, fancy flowers, or
free meals would change that. Yet there was no denying Logan cared in a way
that taunted me. But was it enough?
After watching him walk away, I was even more torn. I
wished he could give me more time—allow me to come to him when I was ready.
With a tightening grip on the robe I’d flung on, I
shuffled to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of orange juice. The plastic
bottle of pain pills sat on the table, but the dull ache was manageable enough,
so I decided to go without. A little pain was better than spending another day
heavy headed from the side effect of fatigue they caused.
The sun was making its way up and the cool morning air
leaked in from the old windows, further energizing my renewed spirit. It was a
new day and the beginning of a new week, and I was ready to start taking
advantage of a fresh start.
Enjoying the freedom of my own house so early in the
morning, I heard a honk sound from outside. It was none of my business, but I
couldn’t help myself as I approached the front window and pulled back the
curtain with one hand, holding my juice in the other. I beamed at the snow
covering the ground, nearly a foot deep. My driveway sat empty. No car to warm
up or scrape ice away from...no, my car sat in a junkyard somewhere,
demolished.
The thought brought a sigh through my downturned lips,
which grew deeper when I noticed movement in Logan’s driveway. My attention was
diverted back to why I was staring outside to begin with. I assumed he was
heading to work, and part of me hoped he wouldn’t stop over as he said he
would. It was going to take more than a few days apart to flush him from my
system.
What I wasn’t expecting, however, was what I saw when I
leaned in a little closer to the glass: he wasn’t alone. Craning my neck every
which way to get a better angle, I pressed my nose against the cold window, my
breath fogging it up. I squinted to see beyond the snow-covered shrubs
separating us and caught sight of a woman standing in front of him.
My stomach dropped, the death grip on my juice glass
nearly bursting it into tiny shards as an unexpected surge of fury coursed
through my veins. Logan stood beside a sleek black SUV, laughing with the
unfamiliar woman. Her short, dark hair was cut into a sloping bob, but that was
about all I could make of her appearance other than the skintight jeans she
wore with a form-fitting, snow-white coat.
My mouth lacked enough moisture due to my gaping, and
thus swallowing proved futile. I stood there, unblinking, zoned out until the
woman leaned in, embracing him in an all-too-comfortable and lingering hug
followed by a kiss on his cheek.
I dropped the curtain and stepped back, struggling to
control the jealousy festering in my heart and seeping into my wounds. I’d made
it clear the previous night that he stood no chance, and he’d finally listened.
That was that. Logan was the same guy he’d always been—quick to jump into bed
with the first woman who looked his way. I knew it was bound to happen, but it
still stung.
I wasn’t worth fighting for, after all, and I was right
to hold onto the fact that he wasn’t going to change for some small-town
kindergarten teacher.
The walk back to the kitchen was nothing more than a
fog-induced trance. I dumped the remainder of my orange juice down the drain.
Then something, most likely my self-preservation switch, clicked.
I was stronger than I ever thought possible—Logan had
said so himself, though I didn’t need to hear it from him to know it was true.
A soft knock rattled my front door as well as my
thoughts, pulling me away from the melancholy breaking my spirit as quickly as
it had
The rising sun shining through my bedroom curtains
brought a frown to my lips. It was the time of morning I’d usually be out for a
jog. Even in the coldest winters, I never skipped my morning exercise. But that
wasn’t an option now, and no amount of charming endearments, fancy flowers, or
free meals would change that. Yet there was no denying Logan cared in a way
that taunted me. But was it enough?
After watching him walk away, I was even more torn. I
wished he could give me more time—allow me to come to him when I was ready.
With a tightening grip on the robe I’d flung on, I
shuffled to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of orange juice. The plastic
bottle of pain pills sat on the table, but the dull ache was manageable enough,
so I decided to go without. A little pain was better than spending another day
heavy headed from the side effect of fatigue they caused.
The sun was making its way up and the cool morning air
leaked in from the old windows, further energizing my renewed spirit. It was a
new day and the beginning of a new week, and I was ready to start taking
advantage of a fresh start.
Enjoying the freedom of my own house so early in the
morning, I heard a honk sound from outside. It was none of my business, but I
couldn’t help myself as I approached the front window and pulled back the
curtain with one hand, holding my juice in the other. I beamed at the snow
covering the ground, nearly a foot deep. My driveway sat empty. No car to warm
up or scrape ice away from...no, my car sat in a junkyard somewhere,
demolished.
The thought brought a sigh through my downturned lips,
which grew deeper when I noticed movement in Logan’s driveway. My attention was
diverted back to why I was staring outside to begin with. I assumed he was
heading to work, and part of me hoped he wouldn’t stop over as he said he
would. It was going to take more than a few days apart to flush him from my
system.
What I wasn’t expecting, however, was what I saw when I
leaned in a little closer to the glass: he wasn’t alone. Craning my neck every
which way to get a better angle, I pressed my nose against the cold window, my
breath fogging it up. I squinted to see beyond the snow-covered shrubs
separating us and caught sight of a woman standing in front of him.
My stomach dropped, the death grip on my juice glass
nearly bursting it into tiny shards as an unexpected surge of fury coursed
through my veins. Logan stood beside a sleek black SUV, laughing with the
unfamiliar woman. Her short, dark hair was cut into a sloping bob, but that was
about all I could make of her appearance other than the skintight jeans she
wore with a form-fitting, snow-white coat.
My mouth lacked enough moisture due to my gaping, and
thus swallowing proved futile. I stood there, unblinking, zoned out until the
woman leaned in, embracing him in an all-too-comfortable and lingering hug
followed by a kiss on his cheek.
I dropped the curtain and stepped back, struggling to
control the jealousy festering in my heart and seeping into my wounds. I’d made
it clear the previous night that he stood no chance, and he’d finally listened.
That was that. Logan was the same guy he’d always been—quick to jump into bed
with the first woman who looked his way. I knew it was bound to happen, but it
still stung.
I wasn’t worth fighting for, after all, and I was right
to hold onto the fact that he wasn’t going to change for some small-town
kindergarten teacher.
The walk back to the kitchen was nothing more than a
fog-induced trance. I dumped the remainder of my orange juice down the drain.
Then something, most likely my self-preservation switch, clicked.
I was stronger than I ever thought possible—Logan had
said so himself, though I didn’t need to hear it from him to know it was true.
A soft knock rattled my front door as well as my
thoughts, pulling me away from the melancholy breaking my spirit as quickly as
it had
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