Chapter 49

Emily

The moment Elsie's back disappears into my mother's house, I let out a sigh of relief. I can't believe how well this entire thing went! I turn to Logan and hug him tightly. "Thank you so much! This couldn't have happened without you!"

He encircles his arms around my waist and presses his lips on my forehead. "You were wonderful with her Em, she's so lucky to have you."

His words make my stomach tighten. It's the first time I was able to spend a meaningful time with Elsie, one-on-one, and let her get to know me for who I truly am, without having the pressure of my mother's glares digging holes into my back.

I'm also glad that the nanny wasn't as annoying as I expect.

I was able to let go and allow myself to just enjoy every second and be present. A smile makes its way to my lips as I feel a sense of quietude acquiring my being. "We need to celebrate."

"Celebrate me getting grilled by a seven years old?" He jokes.

I shake my head. "She did give you a pretty hard time, didn't she?"

"I wonder who she gets it from," His voice drips with sarcasm. "Anyway, yes, I'm so down to get wasted, please!"

I roll my eyes at him. "Of course, you are. But let's leave the getting drunk part for the after-party. I was thinking, are you down to-" I pause for dramatic effect before smiling eagerly, "go bungee-jumping?"

His eyes widen at the suggestion. "No way, are you kidding?"

"Nope. There's this hidden gem about half an hour away from here. If we go now, we'll make it before sunset."

"That's insane. Of course I'm down!"

"Cool, you can even drive," I say, handing him the precious keys to my car without giving much of a crap. I'm too happy to care if he wrecks my car.

"Gosh, you know the saying happy wife, happy life? This quote has never hit me deeper than seeing you this buoyant."

I plaster a fake smile. "Well, I suggest that you refrain from making such trite remarks if you want this happy wife to stay happy."

He gives me a mock-salute. "Yes, ma'am."

On our way to the lake, we bicker over driving directions because Logan clearly has no clue how to differentiate between Right and Left, and he doesn't seem to understand that  if he keeps driving this nicely, we might never reach our destination.

The road takes about forty-five minutes instead of half an hour since Mr. Citizen-of-the-year over there makes it a point to stop at every orange traffic light. I think he only does that to piss me off and unfortunately, it works.

However, all that bickering becomes insignificant the moment we arrive. The lake is beautiful, surrounded by gigantic mountains and tall trees. The water is crystal blue, with small waterfalls coming out all around the lake.

"Tada!" I turn towards Logan who is in awe of the view.

"Em, I think that's the most beautiful place I've ever been to."

"I know, right?"

"You have no idea how much money visiting a place like this would cost in the states. I can't believe that places like this are completely free here."

I shrug. "That's exactly the issue with capitalism: it monetizes the basic joys of lives and make them a luxury when they are in fact a right."

"I forget how smart you are sometimes. Here, let's take a picture together," He casually says as he takes pictures of the lake.

I'm taken aback for a second because that is the most random thing ever. I contemplate on whether to make fun of him for being cheesy but considering I really like this side of him, I refrain from doing so.

So I lean towards him as he snaps a selfie of us. It's a candid picture, with both our faces way too close to the camera and our smiles wide as a Cheshire cat. But I like it. "Text me the picture."

He nods. "Once I have wifi, I'll send it to you."

I shake my head at him. "You're so cheap, Logan! I can't believe you won't buy yourself some mobile data," I say as we walk towards the car.

"Says the girls who pays me a shitty salary."

I grab my swimsuit and change behind the car, completely ignoring his comment.

"Wait, you brought your swimsuit?"

"I always have a spare one in my car. Just in case."

"Unbelievable!"

"Did you think we were going to go skinny dipping or something?"

"Uh, duh! Why do you think I got so excited in the first place?"

I bite back a laugh. What a Logan-thing to say. I obviously have a spare swimsuit for Adam in my trunk, but I'm going to tease Logan a bit more before letting him know. "You can still go skinny dipping on your own."

"That's not fun." His eyes shamelessly roam over my body as I walk back to him. I'm not wearing some sexy bikini or anything, it's a basic, black one-piece swimsuit that you would probably find in your grandma's closet.

"Only you would make this thing look so sexy," He murmurs before shaking his head. It makes me smile and sends butterflies to my stomach.

"Considering you're being cute, I'm going to end your misery by informing you that I do in fact have a spare swimsuit for Adam. It probably fits you so you can put it on."

He throws his head back dramatically and winces. "Yes! Of course, you have one. I should have known. Thanks, babe. I'll be back in a minute, unless you want to watch of course."

I roll my eyes. "Nope, I'm good here."

"Well, it's nothing you haven't seen before, so-" I can picture him shrugging.

Two minutes later, he's back, and now it's my turn to ogle at his chest. Logan didn't have solid eight-packs or bulky muscles. It's more like he just has an athletic figure - a hint of a six packs and a well-built chest along with defined shoulders and occasional biceps flexing whenever he raises his arms or something.

I like that way more than unrealistic masculine standards that the media portrays. "I'm ready whenever you're done admiring the view, babe."

I sigh at him before motioning for him to walk behind me. "I should warn you though, the water is most probably going to be freezing."

"I'm excited. Can you believe we haven't gone to the beach even once this summer? I used to spend my summers by the shore!"

I contemplate at the thought too. "It is weird. But yeah, we can go. There are many beautiful beaches here that you would absolutely love. Anyway, that's the rope."

I point towards the tiny boardwalk where a rope is positioned at the end. "This is insane. You're going first since it was your idea."

I grin. "I don't mind, but I think you'll have to push me," I say as  I walk towards the edge. I can hear the echo of our voices. In this moment, it feels like we're so tiny in comparison to this gigantic place but everything is so quiet except for our laughter that fills the silence between the mountains.

I grab the rope tightly and look at Logan. "I am going to hate you so much once I hit the cold water."

His lips touch mine. "It's okay, I'll make it up to you later."

Before he could swing me, he trips on a piece of rock and everything happens so fast - one second he's holding me, the next he tries to hold on the boardwalk but his fingers slip and he's shouting and I'm shouting too because I have no idea what just happened. I hear his body hit the floor, so he didn't fall in the lake.

I quickly let go of the rope and run towards him. Thankfully, the boardwalk is only around five feet above the lake so he couldn't have gotten any serious injuries. At least I hope not.

"Logan?" I scream his name as I walk back down, and finally spot his body right under the boardwalk. Jesus Christ, I hope that he's okay.

My heart is going to beat out of my chest and a gazillion thoughts are running through my head. "Logan, are you okay?" I manage to make out before throwing myself beside him.

My arms violently shake his chest, his arms, before my fingers try opening one of his eyes. Oh my God, what do I do? All those Red Cross trainings, what is the first thing that they teach us? Pulse! Check for a pulse - alright, I can do that.

I sigh in relief as soon as my fingers feel his pulse on his neck. Then I notice that his chest is moving up and down too, so he's still breathing. "Jesus, Logan," I sigh, my hands moving towards his head, checking for any injury.

There's no blood, so he wouldn't have hit his head. "Logan?" I shake him again. "Logan, wake up, please."

"I'm sorry,"  He whispers. "Amy, I'm so sorry."

I cry in relief. "Okay, you're up, that's good. Now, you need to do open your eyes."

"No, Ames, I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"My goodness, Logan, what on earth are you even saying? Wake up!" I shake his shoulders and look into his eyes while holding both lids. He's unconscious, there's no use.

"She's dead," He whispers. My heart drops to my knees. What the fuck is talking about? I find myself grabbing some water from the lake and splashing it on his face.

The moment the cold water hits him, his body jolts upwards.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Jeez, Logan, you scared the living shit out of me."

He frowns, his eyes fluttering slowly. "What happened?"

"You slipped from the boardwalk and fell on the concrete. You've been out for like, five minutes."

"Fuck, my head is throbbing."

"Come on, I'll help you up. We'll go to Adam." I help pull him out but after the first couple of steps, he can walk on his own.

On our way towards Adam's clinic, my mind is swirling with the words he whispered when unconscious. And I can't help but think back of our gazillion conversations about what happened before with his brother's ex-girlfriend. Oh my God, do I even want to know?

a/n

i literally wrote this chapter at 2 AM.