“Of course I’m sure!” I said angrily. “It’s not exactly something you can be mistaken about. Unless you think hanging out with a naked woman in bed can be innocent.”
“I’m sorry,” Mack apologized. He shook his head. “I just can’t believe Logan would do that. He’s devoted to you.”
“The old Logan,” I clarified bitterly. “Maybe this Logan is an asshole.” I clenched my hands into fists. “Then again, I don’t know if the old Logan was cheating on me too. Maybe the whole engagement story isn’t a lie.”
“There’s no way Logan was going to break up with you to marry Kristina,” Mack insisted. “Even if he was an Academy Award winning actor, there’s no way he could pretend the kind of love he has for you.”
I gave him a caustic look. “He has a pretty shitty way of showing his love.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not going to do anything,” I said in a scathing tone. “They can have each other. I never want to see Logan again.”
“I’m so sorry, Madison.” Mack reached over to touch my shoulder. It was at that inopportune moment that I saw Logan step through the doorway of the bar. His eyes zeroed in on us, and I could feel his rage all the way across the bar. His face was a mask of fury as his long strides ate up the space between us. I drew in a quick breath and Mack turned to see what I was looking at. I saw his body tense. He stood up quickly as Logan approached us.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Logan snarled. His eyes moved from me to Mack. “You fucking asshole. I knew you were angling to get a chance with Maddie this entire time.”
“Logan, calm down,” Mack said calmly, although I could see how tense he was. “It’s not what you think. We’re just here as friends.”
“Friends,” he sneered. “Right.”
He pushed Mack out of the way, and I saw Mack’s hand clench into a fist although he didn’t do anything. Logan towered over me but I just glared at him.
“What the hell do you want?” I said scornfully. “Is Kristina busy?”
“We’re leaving.” Logan grabbed my wrist and pulled me up from my chair.
“Get off me!” I wrenched my arm away but his grip on me just tightened.
The next few seconds happened in a whirlwind. Mack grabbed Logan’s arm to pull it off me, and Logan spun around, his expression enraged as if he were an animal having his territory threatened. Before I realized what was happening, he swung and punched Mack in the face. Instead of going down, Mack returned the swing and pandemonium ensued. Logan let go of my wrist and I staggered back as they became a blur of swinging arms and fists. The other patrons in the bar crowded around them, talking excitedly amongst themselves as if they were watching a spectator sport. Even with the loud chatter, I could hear their grunts as fists made impact with flesh.
“Stop it!” I screamed, finally snapping out of my stupor. I didn’t know what to do. No one was stepping in to stop them, and they were fighting like they wouldn’t stop until one of them was unconscious or dead.
I grabbed Mack’s shirt, trying to pull him away from Logan, but instead his elbow connected with my eye. The pain was sharp and intense and I gasped, letting go of Mack’s shirt to cup my eye.
Logan growled and grabbed Mack, throwing him to the ground. “You stupid fuck,” he spat out. “You fucking hit her.”
Logan came near me but I backed away, putting a hand out to ward him off. “Stay away. Don’t touch me.”
“Maddie, just let me make sure you’re okay.” His face was bloody but that didn’t hide the pained expression.
“Both of you are assholes,” I hissed. I glanced at Mack who had gotten back up. His expression was unreadable. “Just leave me alone.”
I grabbed my purse and coat and ran out of the bar, welcoming the bitingly cold air that met me. I couldn’t believe they had just brawled in a bar. It was embarrassing and stupid and just made everything worse.
I put my coat on and walked home. I barely felt the cold since my anger kept me warm and walking helped to expend some of my wound up energy. When I finally got home, I stripped off my clothes and changed back into my sweatpants and oversized shirt. I was going to stay home all weekend and get drunk. I glanced at my cell phone, which I had put on silent on the walk home, because it had kept buzzing with calls and texts. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, especially not Mack or Logan.
I decided that screwdrivers were my drink of choice and made my first one. I sprawled out on the couch with the TV on for mindless noise. I gingerly touched the edge of my eye and winced. I was definitely going to have a black eye in the morning.
I was on my third drink when the buzzer to my building’s front door sounded. I knew it had to be either Mack or Logan so I ignored it, but it still made me anxious to know that one of them was right outside. I was relieved when the buzzing finally stopped, but then I heard footsteps coming closer to my door. Even if one of them had made it past my building’s front door, there was no way I was letting them into my apartment.
Despite my conviction to stay silent, the never-ending knocking was hard to ignore. I was sure my neighbors were getting annoyed with all the noise, but I didn’t know what else to do but ignore it.
Finally, I had enough and I stalked over to the door. “Leave before I call the cops,” I yelled.
“Madison, please open the door. I just want to talk to you.”
Out of the two, Mack was the one I was least angry with. Yes, he had gotten in a fight with Logan, but that was his only offense. And he had done it trying to defend me.