Chapter 1
Logan Westin, age 13
Somewhere outside of Chicago
It was supposed to be a special day.
Logan Westin's mother had promised to take him to his favorite diner. The one he loved to look at when they walked past on their way to the bus stop. Sometimes he'd slow down , press his hands to the window and peer inside. Logan loved the look of the red-cushioned seats and the bright gleaming chrome.
Today was his chance to go inside and mother had said she'd get them strawberry milkshakes.
Logan was so excited he couldn't walk. He had to hop or run, do something more than just stroll along as if their destination wasn't a place that made him so excited he wanted to laugh out loud.
But Logan didn't laugh. Father wouldn't approve. And even though Father no longer lived with them, Logan knew he had to be careful. For Mother and for... For? Who else was he meant to protect?
Logan frowned and skidded to a stop in front of the diner. When he pushed the door open he inhaled the smells, and it all made him giddy with excitement. Coffee, and cooking meat and the polish from the black-and-white checkered linoleum beneath his feet. He pasted a huge grin on his face as he walked inside. Mother came next followed closely by a little girl whose laughter tickled his insides. She was as excited to be there as he was. They'd waited for so long.
When Logan turned to pull her pigtails he paused, stunned and confused. There was no one there. Even though her laughter still rang through the diner, the haunting sound so filled with happiness, so innocent and bubbly. He knew that voice. Knew if he reached out she'd hold his hand and her skin would be soft and smooth. Knew she'd grab his hand and pull him inside and accuse him of dragging his feet.
But there was nobody beside him.
Logan frowned but when Mother put her hand on his shoulder he looked up at her smiling face and forgot his worries. She bent and told him to choose a booth, she'd get the milkshakes, and he nodded and raced to the one he wanted. As he approached the booth he saw a young couple in the next seat. They were holding hands and the girl was smiling, so happy, so bright, like the sunshine streaming in through the windows of the diner. The girl turned her head and saw Logan approach and she smiled wider and waved her fingers at him. The sun glinted off a pretty ring on her finger. The man shifted to the edge of his seat and twisted round to look at Logan. The sun shone on his blond hair making it look ablaze with light. The man grinned at him too and winked before sliding back into the booth.
Logan flushed at the attention the couple had given him. They were so nice. He felt his stomach twist as he wished, not for the first time, that his parents had a love like that. A love where they didn't argue, where his father didn't give his mother black eyes and broken ribs. Logan slid into the leather seat and then the couple was forgotten as he grinned wider, looking through the window. This was almost the exact spot where he would stand and stare inside the diner. And here he was at last.
A movement beside him made him turn around. Mother was here. She placed the two milkshakes on the table, one in front of Logan and the other beside him. He stared at the second milkshake for a moment, a cloud of darkness filling his heart. He blinked and the glass was gone and Logan felt the loss of it like a kick in the gut. He sucked in a breath and looked up as Mother took a seat. She grinned just about as wide as Logan had.
And when she turned to face the window, the sun on her face, lighting up her red hair like living fire, Logan's heart swelled. Nobody in the world had a mother like his. She was the most special lady in the whole wide world. She closed her eyes and stayed still as the sun warmed her skin and she sighed.
And when she opened her eyes her smile disappeared and Logan's stomach hardened with fear. He knew that look. And when he turned to the window he knew what he
Logan Westin, age 13
Somewhere outside of Chicago
It was supposed to be a special day.
Logan Westin's mother had promised to take him to his favorite diner. The one he loved to look at when they walked past on their way to the bus stop. Sometimes he'd slow down , press his hands to the window and peer inside. Logan loved the look of the red-cushioned seats and the bright gleaming chrome.
Today was his chance to go inside and mother had said she'd get them strawberry milkshakes.
Logan was so excited he couldn't walk. He had to hop or run, do something more than just stroll along as if their destination wasn't a place that made him so excited he wanted to laugh out loud.
But Logan didn't laugh. Father wouldn't approve. And even though Father no longer lived with them, Logan knew he had to be careful. For Mother and for... For? Who else was he meant to protect?
Logan frowned and skidded to a stop in front of the diner. When he pushed the door open he inhaled the smells, and it all made him giddy with excitement. Coffee, and cooking meat and the polish from the black-and-white checkered linoleum beneath his feet. He pasted a huge grin on his face as he walked inside. Mother came next followed closely by a little girl whose laughter tickled his insides. She was as excited to be there as he was. They'd waited for so long.
When Logan turned to pull her pigtails he paused, stunned and confused. There was no one there. Even though her laughter still rang through the diner, the haunting sound so filled with happiness, so innocent and bubbly. He knew that voice. Knew if he reached out she'd hold his hand and her skin would be soft and smooth. Knew she'd grab his hand and pull him inside and accuse him of dragging his feet.
But there was nobody beside him.
Logan frowned but when Mother put her hand on his shoulder he looked up at her smiling face and forgot his worries. She bent and told him to choose a booth, she'd get the milkshakes, and he nodded and raced to the one he wanted. As he approached the booth he saw a young couple in the next seat. They were holding hands and the girl was smiling, so happy, so bright, like the sunshine streaming in through the windows of the diner. The girl turned her head and saw Logan approach and she smiled wider and waved her fingers at him. The sun glinted off a pretty ring on her finger. The man shifted to the edge of his seat and twisted round to look at Logan. The sun shone on his blond hair making it look ablaze with light. The man grinned at him too and winked before sliding back into the booth.
Logan flushed at the attention the couple had given him. They were so nice. He felt his stomach twist as he wished, not for the first time, that his parents had a love like that. A love where they didn't argue, where his father didn't give his mother black eyes and broken ribs. Logan slid into the leather seat and then the couple was forgotten as he grinned wider, looking through the window. This was almost the exact spot where he would stand and stare inside the diner. And here he was at last.
A movement beside him made him turn around. Mother was here. She placed the two milkshakes on the table, one in front of Logan and the other beside him. He stared at the second milkshake for a moment, a cloud of darkness filling his heart. He blinked and the glass was gone and Logan felt the loss of it like a kick in the gut. He sucked in a breath and looked up as Mother took a seat. She grinned just about as wide as Logan had.
And when she turned to face the window, the sun on her face, lighting up her red hair like living fire, Logan's heart swelled. Nobody in the world had a mother like his. She was the most special lady in the whole wide world. She closed her eyes and stayed still as the sun warmed her skin and she sighed.
And when she opened her eyes her smile disappeared and Logan's stomach hardened with fear. He knew that look. And when he turned to the window he knew what he
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