Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton Page B

never wanted to believe existed.” He grabbed my hand, and this time, I let him.
    “I’m sorry,” I replied, attempting to take my hand back, but he wouldn’t let it go.
    “Everything you’ve read about is true, and it’s worse than what you’ve read. I guarantee it.” Making his point, he finally let my hand go.
    “Well, the unfortunate part is that I haven’t read that much,” I paused. “Is that why you believe my story?”
    “Yeah, that’s exactly why I believe it,” he nodded, his face solemn, “and why I want to help get your mom back.”
    “So you believe she’s alive too?”
    He nodded, his blue eyes searching mine. His lips parted, about to speak, but he stopped himself.
    I felt like my world was starting to fall into place. I might not be crazy. My mom might actually be missing, not swallowed by the sea like everyone would love for me to believe. There’s a chance of getting her back. Tears began surfacing again, and I looked down at the grass immediately. After finding out what I did about Logan, I didn’t want him to think the person sitting next to him was a weakling. These tears would be a dead giveaway.
    He pulled me to him unexpectedly and didn’t let go. His breath skimmed my neck, creating a shiver throughout my body. The sensation I had been trying to beat down started boiling up again. I hadn’t felt the beginnings of something like this for someone before, except for him years ago, but I knew I couldn’t start now. With every breath that he expelled onto my skin, I did my best to coat an extra layer of concrete around my heart to combat it. This was not a good idea and would never be. But why am I not moving away from him? The tears started to build up again, but I forced them back down. Crying would only confirm that I didn’t believe my mom was alive.
    I started hearing familiar laughter behind me and then heard a holler that confirmed my suspicions. The friends who I thought abandoned me had tracked me down and were here; maybe things were going to be okay after all.
    “Triss!” I heard hollering and feet running up behind me.
    I jumped up, releasing myself from Logan’s embrace and ran toward them.
    “We are so sorry!” Jenny said, hugging me. “We tried to get here, but all the flights were full, and we knew driving wouldn’t get us here in time so we just camped out at the airport until we could get on a flight.”
    “We feel horrible,” Angela continued, eyeing Logan quickly.
    “Please, guys, don’t. Everything has been a mess,” I replied.
    I felt Logan’s palm land on my shoulder. Turning, I met his eyes and smiled. He smiled back, finally approving of my friend selection.
    “So you are Jenny and Angela. I’m Logan,” he said, holding out his hand to shake theirs. The formality threw me and carved a little piece of the hardness away from my heart. It was quite endearing.
    In typical Jenny and Angela style, they giggled and each shook his hand.
    Jenny’s blonde hair was clipped back, and her pink checked shirt was all wrinkled from the journey. Angela looked immaculate, as always, in her jean shorts and a black T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. I caught myself quickly glancing at Logan to see what his reaction to them might be, and he didn’t seem to notice them in that way . I kicked myself internally for even caring.
    “Is this your boyfriend?” Angela asked, completely puzzled since she only just left town.
    As I started shaking my head, I noticed Logan was nodding.
    “Nice try,” I said, gently kicking at his shin, thankful he was trying to lift my spirits as best he could.
    “No, he’s just a drifter right now. Doesn’t really have a place to stay,” I said grinning, as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I think he enjoyed sharing a little joke between us. Hopefully, it made up for the Trevor incident, even though I wasn’t sure what that was.
    “Well, your aunt told us you were probably here at the park, and we