Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

“I just couldn’t sleep,” I said, returning the hug. I pushed my worries aside. Bringing up the pictures would just alienate Logan. I needed to focus on our relationship and forget about Kristina, as difficult as that was. “Don’t get up on my account.”

Logan kissed me on the neck. “Come back to bed. You don’t have to sleep.”

I laughed and playfully hit him on the arm. “It’s too early for that. I might not be able to sleep, but I’m still exhausted.”

He grinned. “You have a dirty mind. I just meant that we can cuddle.”

I laughed and obliged his request, following him back to bed. He wrapped his arms around me, his chest against my back, and the warmth of his body radiated through me. We were silent for a while, content just to be together. Logan was the one to break the silence.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Just how crazy all of this is,” I replied truthfully. “Amnesia and a love triangle. I feel like I’m in a soap opera.”

I was joking, but Logan’s voice was serious when he responded. “There is no love triangle. It’s just you and me.”

His words were as comforting as his warm body, and before I realized what was happening, I was drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

The next thing I knew, a phone was ringing loudly. I groaned, reluctant to rouse. It was so warm in bed next to Logan, I wanted to just stay in bed with him for a week or two.

I heard Logan fumbling for his phone on the nightstand, and then mutter a grumpy hello. I turned over to look at him, and his sleepy countenance disappeared as he abruptly sat up in bed.

“What happened?” he asked, sounding wide awake. I sat up as well, watching him with trepidation as his glance flicked over to me.

He was silent for a while, listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. I felt myself tense as I stared at him. He wasn’t talking to Kristina, was he?

“Thanks for calling me,” Logan finally said. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“What’s going on?” I asked when he disconnected the call. “What’s wrong?”

Logan took a deep breath before answering. “That was Mack. Apparently Kristina took too many sleeping pills last night and is currently at the hospital, where she had to have her stomach pumped.”

Shock went through me. “Oh, my God. She tried to kill herself?”

He paused. “She’s claiming it was an accident, that she didn’t realize how many she took. But according to Mack, she swallowed nearly the entire bottle.”

I felt nauseous. As much as I disliked Kristina, I had never wanted anything like this to happen. Had she done it in response to hearing Logan and I make love last night? It had been a cruel and vicious thing for me to do, but I never imagined in a million years that she would try to hurt herself.

I felt myself starting to tremble. It was like a nightmare that was repeating itself. First Cassie, and now Kristina.

Logan rubbed my back soothingly, seeing how upset I was. “It’s okay. Mack said Kristina is doing well, considering the circumstances.”

I shook my head as guilt weighed down on me. “I never meant for anything like this to happen. I just wasn’t thinking.” I took a long shuddering breath. “This is my fault, isn’t it? Do you think she did it because she heard us last night?”

“I don’t know, Maddie,” he said quietly. “But you’re not responsible. It’s not your fault. You can’t drive someone to kill themselves.”

It was like déjà vu. Logan had said those exact same words to me after Cassie’s death. But this time I knew for sure I was responsible.

I tried to rein in my emotions as we got ready to leave. It was never discussed, but we both knew we were visiting Kristina at the hospital. We were silent on the ride over, although Logan held my hand the entire time.

Mack met us in the waiting room. He looked tired, and his face was strained.

“How is she?” Logan asked.

“She’s okay. They were able to get the pills out of her system. It seems like they’re buying her story that it was an accident, because they’re discharging her tomorrow.” Mack shook his head. “There’s no way this was an accident.”

I swallowed past a lump in my throat. If Mack only knew what I had done last night, he would have confirmation that it was no accident. “How did you find out?”

“She called me. I assume she felt like she didn’t have anyone else to contact here, and she didn’t want to be alone.” Mack glanced at Logan. “I guess she felt like she couldn’t call you.”