Sacrifice (Heart of a Wounded Hero)

I nod and let him embrace me. I pull back and pat him on the shoulder. "Thank you. Really, thank you for breakfast and getting me out of here. You’re a good guy."

He rolls his eyes. “Please try and keep that to yourself. I have a rep to protect.”

I laugh and get out of the car. I walk slowly up toward the house. For just a minute, I debate whether I should knock before entering or not. Finally, I put my hand on the door and turn the knob to walk in.

Chapter 13

Logan

I'm shaking mad, and I kicked Harper out again. I guess kicking her out of the hospital room and then not giving her the time of day last night was not enough. Walking into my house and seeing her here went all through me. I did let her talk, but I barely listened to her. Instead, I looked at her and tried to examine how I felt. I waited to see if any old feelings would surface, but all I felt for her was indifference. The less I talked, the more she had to say, but when she said Ella's name, that's when I started to pay attention. I asked her, "What did you say?"

It's then that she told me that Ella went on a date, that she left with another man. At that point, I was over Harper being here, and I didn't want to hear anything else that she had to say. I had her leave, and then paced back and forth in my living room, wondering what the hell was going on.

I almost called Ella at least twenty times. There's no way that Harper could be right. She was lying to me. That's what I kept telling myself anyway. And actually, I almost had myself convinced until I heard the car pull into the driveway.

I peek out the front window, and that's when I see Ella in Bryce's arms. I bend over double as if somebody kicked me right in the stomach. My head starts to pound, and it's the worst headache that I’ve had since I got out of the hospital. When I see her pull back from Bryce's arms, and she's smiling as they talk back and forth, I can't help but notice how close they are. I saw last night when she was getting his phone number. Was I just a substitute for her? Is that all last night meant to her?

By the time she walks up to the house and inside, I can barely hold it all in. She comes through the door, and one look at her face says it all. She's not smiling at me. If anything, she looks nervous, maybe even a little guilty. I point to the door that she just came through. "It's time for you to go, Ella."

Her mouth drops open in surprise. "Logan."

But I shake my head, not wanting to hear any of it. "I'm not going to do this with you, Ella. I want you out of here. I can't even look at you right now."

I turn on my heel and walk out of the living room. She sobs loudly, and I almost stop, but then I shake my head and keep going.

She follows behind me. "Logan, I'm not leaving here. You have another three days before your follow-up appointment."

I turn on my heel and look down at her. Her eyes are glistening from tears, but I try not to let it faze me. Obviously, she's good at faking things. "I don't need you. Last night obviously didn't mean anything."

She gasps, and one hand goes to her chest, but I shake my head. "But what, you thought we would sleep together? And then what? Get married or something?"

"I thought—" she starts, but I don't want to hear it.

"I'm telling you, I don't want you. I don't need you. I want you to get out of my house. As a matter of fact, you have a week to get out of my apartment. I don't ever want to see you again."

Her tears start to flow freely then. I can feel myself softening toward her, and I sort of hate myself for it. She doesn't deserve my sympathy or empathy. I turn away from her and walk into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I can hear her sobbing on the other side of the door, and then I hear her walking room to room. I'm sure she's gathering her things.

Her sobbing gets louder, and I put one hand on the door to open it. I stand here listening to her and it takes everything I have not to go to her. She’s playing you, Logan.

I think about the days in the hospital waiting on Harper to show up. I was hurt, but not like this. No, right now I feel a kind of devastation that could destroy me if I let it. I turn and walk toward the bed and stop when I see the haphazard sheets. Images from last night keep going through my mind. I loved Ella last night. That’s the only word I can use to describe what happened between us. And in one instant, she threw it all away.