Three

“What are you talking about? You told me that you were going to spend this afternoon with me!” Kyle roared in my ear. 

“I didn’t promise you anything. I am going to go hang out with Grady! I haven’t seen him in so long. I wanna�"” I was shoved to the ground and then Kyle got on top of me and began to strangle me and punch me. 

“You’re not going to hang out with that awful friend of yours. Why the f**k don’t you ever hang out with me you f****n’ s**t?” He screamed in my ear. 

“Kyle stop it! Stop it!” I cried. He got off of me and began to kick me really hard. 

“Stupid b***h! You care more about him than me don’t you? Don’t you!” He yelled. He stopped and looked down at me. 

“Kyle, no I don’t. I love you, but I want to spend time with my friends. They’ve been noticing a change in me, so has my family. You’re being to controlling, you need to stop.” I said standing up weakly. He cornered me into to the corner and pulled my hair back looking down at me. “Kyle, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me.” I begged through tears. 

“Are you gonna squeal to your parents about what we have?” He asked wrapping his fingers around my neck and clenching his jaw. I shook my head no. 

“Kyle, I love you so much. Please don’t do this. My dad�"” He threw me down on the ground and I cried. 

“You’re dad controls you! I don’t control you at all. I simply love you. You are nothing without me, you’re just a low life piece of s**t, Logan!” I looked up at him and he walked over to the door and walked out it. 

The water felt warm on my bruised body. I couldn’t let the pain show or else everyone would know something was up. I toweled off and looked at myself in the mirror, without cover up. My eye was swollen, my back had bruises on it, my arms were pink, which meant a bruise would soon form, my stomach was bruised pretty badly, and my neck had strangle marks on it. I went into Abbey’s room and borrowed some of his sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt from my bad. I had to call Grady and tell him not to come, but right as I was about to he rang the doorbell. I limped downstairs and hid myself behind my hair and sun glasses. 

“Logan�", whoa what’s with this outfit here? I’m told that you like to prance around in short shorts and tank tops.” I chuckled a little bit and let him in. “Where is everyone?” He asked. 

“They’re all at different places, other than my dad, Cynthia and Megan. They’re out shopping. Come on up to my room.” I said limping over to the stairs. 

“Logan, are you alright? You’re limping. Did you slip?” I turned around and then headed back upstairs to my room. “Logan, hey is everything okay?” He asked. 

“Yeah, every thing is fine.” I said walking into my room and sitting down on my bed. He closed the door and walked over and sat down with me. 

“It doesn’t look like that. You’re wearing sunglasses and a long sleeve shirt and baggy sweat pants. Angel, what’s wrong?” I shook my head. 

“No, nothing is wrong Grady. Nothing is wrong, I’m fine.” I curled up in a ball and closed my eyes. I felt him get closer and lift my chin up to look at him. He slowly pulled the sunglasses off and I looked at him. 

“Logan, what happened to you?” He asked gently touching my face. 

“Nothing...” I said quietly. 

“Did Kyle do this to you?” He softly caressed my cheek. I didn’t say anything. “Logan,” he said very seriously, “did Kyle hurt you?” I looked at him and then put my head back down and began to cry. He put his hands on me and I quickly pulled myself away. “Oh s**t...” His voice was stained with concern and sympathy. 

“Nothing is wrong! I hurt myself the other day, I accidentally walked into the fridge. Lars, Axel, and Abbey were rough housing with me and I accidentally hit myself.” He looked at me and then down at his feet. 

“How long?” Were his only words. 

“How long what?” 

“How long has he been abusing you?” His green eyes shimmered in what little light illuminated my room. 

“I never said he was! Can you please just drop it! Please? He isn’t abusing�"” I heard someone knock on my door. 

“Logan? Can I come in?” It was Cynthia. 

“Of course!” I said grabbing Grady and hugging him and putting a smile on. 

“Oh hi, are you Grady?” She asked fixing her shirt. Grady nodded and smiled. 

“And you’re Cynthia?” She nodded and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too! I just wanted to know how you guys were doing! Your father and I are home. Megan is at her friend Tara’s house and the guys will be back around 7 or 8. Holler if you need anything, okay?” She exited and I looked at Grady. 

“Logan, you need to tell me the truth, is everything alright between you and Kyle?” NO! Nothing is right between us! Shut up! He told me not to tell anyone what we have, if I love him I’ll respect his wishes. 

“Only once. He told me it would never happen again and it hasn’t happened again. He’s been through a lot and he’s under pressure. You don’t know what he’s been through, I can’t even imagine what he’s been through!” I said putting my hands over my face. 

“What has he been through Logan?” I looked at Grady and then down at the floor. 

“He lost his mom, dad, and little sister in a fire when he was five, then he went and lived with his alcoholic, drug abusing uncle. Now, he’s living with a family friend and he still hasn’t recovered. I didn’t mean to push him over the edge. He didn’t mean to do any of it, he said he was sorry and I accepted his apology.” Grady took my hand and held it against his hard and kissed it. 

“I want you to be safe and careful angel. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I think I’ll leave you be for a little bit.” I hugged him and stood up. 

“I’ll walk you home, I think it’d be good to get out of the house.” We headed out and I held onto his arm. “Promise me Grady, you can’t tell anyone anything. No one. Not even Olivia. Not your parents, not Pam, not James, no one. This is between you and me.” We stopped on the side walk and felt the cold air poke our skin. He looked down at me and kissed my forehead and then he gently kissed my lips. 

“I want you safe angel, and I’ll do whatever I have to, to protect someone who means the world to me. Best friends forever.” I thought I was going to cry. 

“Did you really just say that?” I wiped a tear and let out a chuckle. When we were younger he always refused to say that.  He poked my nose and then all of a sudden we heard footsteps getting closer and before I knew it I was violently pulled away from Grady and thrown to the concrete. 

“Get the f**k away from my girlfriend you b*****d! What the f**k are you trying to do? F****n’ flirt with her? She ain’t worth flirtin’ with anyway. All she is, is a piece of crap.” Kyle said huffing and puffing. He turned his shouting towards me. “What the hell are you doing? What, am I not good enough for you, you little b***h?” He kicked me in the side and then turned his attention to Grady. 

“What the hell? Is this how you treat your girlfriend? You should be put away you sick puppy!” Kyle pushed Grady back, but Grady held himself up. 

“What the f**k did you just call me punk a*s?” 

“Kyle! Stop this! Leave Grady alone!” I said while crying. 

“You,” He picked me up and held me under his arm and put his hand over my mouth. “You shut the f**k up!” He threw me back on the ground and kicked my head and everything went black. 

“Shh! Quiet! You don’t wanna wake her�"” I fluttered my eyes open to see my dad, Cynthia, Lars, Abbey, Axel, Carter, Conner, Justin, and Megan all around me. When I slightly moved my head to the left I saw Olivia, Pam, Gretchen, James, Dex, Grady, and Kyle. I jumped a little when I saw him. He was the only one watching me, everyone was sitting and talking quietly. I guess Megan had been watching me too. 

“Oh hey, look she’s awake!” Megan said a little too loudly. 

“Hey squirt!” I said smiling at her. Kyle put his lips to my forehead and softly caressed my cheek. 

“You took quite the fall there babe, are you feeling okay?” Kyle asked kissing my cheek. I slowly sat up and looked over at Grady, who stood off in the background with a sad face on. 

“Oh sweetie! Are you alright?” Dad asked holding my hand. I put my hand to my head and closed my eyes again. 

“W-What happened?” I asked. 

“You were walking me home, when you said goodbye I heard you fall. Luckily, Kyle was near by and helped me bring you back to your house.” I nodded and pulled the covers over me. 

“We saw Kyle and Grady and everything happen. We had to know what was going on, we’re your friends Logan, and friends stick together.” I smiled and looked up at the ceiling. “Hey, Logan what’s on your neck?” She touched my neck and I looked at my dad. 

“Dad, what’s on my neck?” I asked touching it and realizing I was beyond sore. Dad touched my neck and examined my neck. 

“It looks like�"” Kyle cut him off. 

“Don’t you think we should let her sleep? She hit her head pretty hard, she may have a concussion.” Dad nodded and looked at Kyle and smiled. 

“Smart man,” He kissed my forehead and poked my nose. 

“I’ll have to set up an appointment with your doctor to see if you have a concussion. I’ll probably take you next week. I love you baby.” He kissed my head one more time and then ushered everyone out. 

“Feel better Logan.” Megan said giving me a hug. 

“Yeah, feel better sis. We know you’re strong.” Lars said kissing my forehead. I poked him and he chuckled. 

“Love you!” I called out and he smiled. 

“We love you! I’ll drop by tomorrow to see how you’re doing.” Olivia said. 

“Bye Logan! Feel better!” Gretchen said. My friends walked out and I was left with Kyle by my side. He held my hand and began to cry. 

“Kyle, what’s wrong?” I asked. 

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper. I’m so sorry baby, it’s just I’m under so much stress and well when I saw you hugging  Grady, I got very jealous. My mom’s friend, Kelly, she brought home some guy tonight and I had to deal with that s**t. I’m sorry baby, I want to change for you and become a better person. I want all of this to end, I really do. I care about you so much, do you forgive me?” My heart was aching. I loved him from the day I met him back in 4th grade. He was that brave outgoing fifth grader who always loved to tease girls. 

“Of course I forgive you. Kyle Daniels, I love you so much. You really do need to change how you act and your temper. Please, baby I love you so much.” He nodded and kissed my lips. 

“I will change just for you baby, I’ll change just for you.” 

“Kyle! Your ride is here!” Dad called from downstairs. 

“I love you Logan.” He said kissing my hand. 

“I love you too Kyle.” He kissed my lips and then left my room. I had faith in him that he could change. I have always had faith in him, and I wasn’t going to give that up. 

I avoided going to the doctor. The internet can do wondrous things for people when they really need it. I had dad look up ‘how to tell if you have a concussion’ and it turned out I didn’t have one. That was a good sign. 

* * *

Kyle seemed calmer than he had been, which was a huge step. A week without really losing his temper at me and hurting me. 

“Cynthia, do we really have to go with you? I mean you showed me the dress and I told you I liked it, so why do I have to go try it on?” I asked. Cynthia’s wedding planning had been put off for a month due to laziness. She had picked out completely new bridesmaid dresses and me, Megan, Lars, and Kyle were going with her. 

“I know, but since your brother is going to be your partner in the wedding, hence why I dragged him along, I wanted his input along with your boyfriend’s.” She said. 

“Then why am I here?” Megan asked crossing her arms. 

“Because your the flower girl and we have to see how it will look with my dress you silly girl.” She laughed and I felt my phone vibrate. Kyle took my phone away from me and looked at it and then glared at me. 

“Hey man give her, her phone back!” Lars whispered. 

“Are you her boyfriend? No! She’s with me and she can’t talk to whoever the hell is calling her.” Kyle said annoyed. 

“Kyle, it’s only�"”

“I don’t care who it is, you are spending time with me, not them.” Cynthia pulled into a parking spot and she told us that she’d get Megan’s dress and text either me or Lars telling us to come inside. 

“Take your f*****g phone back.” He threw it at me and hit my face. 

"Ow." I said quietly. 

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing Kyle? You just hurt my sister!” Lars said. 

“Yeah? Well, she deserved it. She’s f****n’ talkin’ to people while she’s with her boyfriend. Do you want your girlfriend to be talkin’ to whoever when you’re with her?” Kyle said. I looked at Kyle and then at Lars. 

“Don’t you ever hurt my sister again you a*****e.” Lars said under his breath. Kyle turned to look at Lars.. 

“What the f**k did you just say?” 

“You heard me, I called you an a*****e. Don’t you ever hurt my sister again!” I rubbed where Kyle had hit me with my phone and got out of the car. Kyle and Lars followed shortly after and Lars embraced me in a hug. 

“You need to cool down Kyle, we’ll be inside. Come in when you’re calmer.” I looked at Kyle and he took some deep breaths. 

“I’m sorry, I just�"I really want to be with you Logan. I don’t want anyone else to interrupt our time together. I’m sorry, can you forgive me?” I looked at Lars and then at Kyle. A tiny smile spread across my face and I went and gave him a hug. 

“I accept your apology Kyle.” He sighed with relief and kissed me. He pulled me close to him and Lars huffed and walked away. “Lars!” I called out. 

“What?” He asked turning around. I felt Kyle begin to kiss kiss my neck and start distracting me. 

“Nothing, can you come and tell me when Cynthia needs us?” I asked. 

“Yeah, sure.” Me and Kyle got back into the car and laid down in the back seat. He had me on the bottom and began kissing my neck again. 

“Baby, not here what if someone sees us?” I asked looking up into his eyes. 

“The windows are tinted are they not? Your step mom, sister, and brother are in the store and it’s just you and me in the car. “ He began to lift my shirt up and slide his hand under my bra. I gave into those blue eyes of his and helped him take off my shirt. He kissed down to my belly button and then back up to my lips. I then pushed him on his back and got on top of him and kissed his neck. I felt his hands snake around to my bra and fiddle with the hooks. “Come here baby.” He pulled me down and kissed my lips and unhooked my bra. I began to grind myself against him softly and breathe heavily into his ear. “I want you so badly baby, I want to feel your skin against mine.” He breathed into my ear.  All of a sudden there was a knock on the car window and Lars opened it up. 

“Hey you guys, Cynthia needs Lo�", okay! I didn’t see anything. Jeez, Logan, how’d you get that bruise on your back?” Lars asked. 

“She fell the other day by accident. F**k, why didn’t you call or text you idiot?” Kyle asked and pushed me off of him. 

“Don’t call Lars an idiot. He’s anything but.” I stated. 

“Yeah? Well then that makes you the idiot. you should’ve f****n’ told me he was comin’, goddamn it.” 

“Kyle, I didn’t see him. It’s no one’s fault. Drop it, okay?” I said putting my shirt back on and crawling out of the car. I felt a hand on my back and shove me hard forward. 

“God, you’re so slow.” Kyle said. “Don’t you f****n’ say a word to anyone you little b***h, or I’ll kill both you and your sister.” I turned around and looked at Lars and he was glaring at Kyle who kept shoving me forward. 

“Kyle, stop it! I thought you said you were going to change? Why haven’t�"” He put his hand out and pushed me up against the wall and Lars stopped him. 

“Hey hey hey! Kyle! Cool it! Why don’t you go back to the car and I’ll take her in.” Kyle scoffed and pushed Lars away from him. He walked closer to me and I cringed. He kissed my forehead roughly and looked me in my eyes. 

“I love you.” I stared at him and didn’t say a word. He walked away and I looked at Lars and cried. He embraced me in a hug and cupped my face. 

“Lars, please don’t say anything. Please, please promise me that you won’t say a word to anyone. No one. I’m begging of you.” He looked deep into my eyes and hugged me close. “Lars the only other person that knows is Grady. You have to promise me you don’t say anything. Look, he’s trying so hard to change, he really is and I have faith that he can.” I could tell he was holding back tears. 

“You have to promise me that if it happens again, you come to me.” I stared at his face and then looked down at the ground and then at him again. I nodded. We walked into the bridal store and over to Cynthia and Megan. 

“There you are sweetie, alright I have the dress and it’s in the�", sweetie are you alright?” Cynthia asked. I nodded and smiled. 

“Yeah I’m alright, I just got into a tiny fight with Kyle. I’m good.” I said smiling. She smiled and handed me the dress. It was  a strapless dress that went to mid-thigh and it was blood red. “Is it alright if Lars helps me? I just I uhm...I’d prefer it.” Cynthia looked at the sales woman and then nodded. 

“I think she will look beautiful in this dress. Here follow me over here.” The woman said. Me and Lars walked over and into the dressing room. 

“Why do you�"” I took my shirt off and looked down at the ground. “Logan! What the�", what happened to you?” I looked at him and gave a dry chortle.

“It’s funny how you think someone is going to change and they don’t. I’m pushing him to change Lars, but uhm....there’s a part of me that’s scared. Turn around.” I said. He faced the wall and I took my jeans off along with my bra and slipped the dress on. “Can you help me zip up?” I asked. He turned around and I faced the wall. I felt his hand touch my back and I winced in pain. 

“What happened to my twin baby sister?” He asked quietly zipping up my dress and touching my shoulders. “I am so sorry Logan.” I turned around and looked up at him and gave a weak smile. I hugged him and looked at him. 

“It’s not your fault Lars, it could never be your fault.” 

“Logan, are you ready?” Cynthia asked. I opened the door and walked out and looked in the mirror. “Oh my gosh! Sweetie, you look gorgeous! Doesn’t she look beautiful?” 

“Wow! Logan you look really pretty!” Megan said smiling. 

“Aw thanks silly. It’s actually a really nice dress. Does it go well with the dress for Megan?” I asked. 

“It sure does. It will look great with your brothers suit and the others. Great! Wait, it looks a little big, what size is that?” Cynthia asked. 

“Uhm a five, would you like it in a three?” The sales woman asked. 

“Would a three fit?” 

“Yeah, it will. I will put that in for you miss Grady.” The woman said. I looked at Lars and had him unzip the dress. 

“Logan! What happened to your back?” Cynthia asked. I looked at Lars and then at the ground. 

“Nothing, it was from when I fell and hit my head. It’s getting better.” I walked into the dressing room and changed back into my clothes.

Author's Note

Yay for shorter-ish chaptersssss :P sorry it's long, wht can I say? I like to write ^-^