Next in Line

by R. L. Wilson

  I plonked myself on the floor in the kitchen hugging my legs and rocking back and forth breathing deeply to try and calm myself down. Logan sat down next to me and placed a hand gently on the back of my head. I looked into his eyes and I started to feel a little better until Cooper came in and slammed the door. “She is such a bitch” he said as he walked into the kitchen. The anger had worn off and now I was feeling sad that I had just lost my best friend of five years. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Cooper. He didn’t look angry anymore as he sat down on the other side of me. “I just want to go to sleep” I said to the boys. “Well you can spend the night here” Logan said to me. “Yeah I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go back to your place right now” Cooper added. Without saying anything I nodded my head and started heading towards Logan’s room. I got into the bed and Logan tucked me in and kissed me gently on the forehead. “I’ll come back in a few minutes. I want to talk to Coop first” Logan said. Once again I didn’t say anything. I just nodded my head. Sleep came quickly.

  I was so glad when the weekend arrived. I was looking forward to going to the fair with Logan. I’d spent the last two days with Logan trying to avoid Sophie as much as I could. We hadn’t said a word to each other since the fight. Normally I would have apologised so things could go back to being normal but I was being stubborn and I didn’t care. I got dressed in some jeans and my favourite pink t-shirt and went to the boys’ apartment. When I went inside Logan was standing in the living room with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth and only a pair of jeans on. He was so sexy. All I wanted to do was rub my hands all over his body. “How are you not ready yet?” I asked trying to tear my eyes away from Logan’s perfectly hard body. He laughed and went into his room. When he came out a couple of minutes later he was all dressed and ready and I started clapping from excitement.

  We got to the fair just after midday and were planning on staying until it was dark to see the fireworks. We went on every ride there and played most of the side games. When it was almost dark we went on the Ferris wheel. We were nearly at the top when the fireworks started and it was beautiful. Logan wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to him until his phone started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and sighed as he saw who was calling. “Hello chief” he said. “No I can’t right now. I’m at the fair with my girlfriend.” I could hear the chief yelling and then he hung up. I had a big smile on my face and started to blush when Logan looked at me again. “What?” he asked almost giggling. My face went even brighter as I said “So I’m your girlfriend am I?” Logan smiled and said “Well yeah. I’d like you to be.” I leaned in and gently pressed my lips against his. “I’d like that too” I said and then started kissing him again.

  When we got back to Logan’s apartment Cooper was sitting at the dining table holding up a beer and smiling at us. “Come join me” he said to us. Logan looked at me and then back to Cooper before saying “sure.” Logan grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down at the dining table. Logan and Cooper were both looking at me when I ran out of the boys’ apartment and into mine grabbing my bottle of tequila and some shot glasses. When I got back to the boys I sat down at the table and set out the shot glasses. They both started laughing at me. “What?” I asked. “If we are going to drink we should do it properly.” “None for me” Cooper said. “That stuff is nasty and I’m going into the station a bit later.” I filled the three shot glasses up and pushed one towards Logan and winking at him. He smiled and took the shot. I held my breath and quickly drank the other two. This was going to be a fun night. We sat there chatting, laughing and drinking for what felt like ages. After all of the tragedy that had been going on lately it was nice to finally relax and have a good time. We had a few more drinks when Cooper’s phone rang. He pulled a strange face before answering. “Hey Jones.” Logan’s head shot up when he heard Cooper say that name. Cooper’s expression turned from happy to angry. “What the fuck? I’ll be there soon” Cooper shouted into the phone. He stood and threw his phone against the wall. I almost jumped out of my seat when it broke into a million pieces. Cooper started to grab his keys, badge and gun when Logan walked up to him a put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” Logan asked him. Cooper turned and pushed Logan’s hand off him. “Seriously. What’s going on?” Logan asked again. Coopers hands balled into fists and he spoke through clenched teeth as he said “Sophie just got pulled over for drunk driving. She blew just over three times the legal limit. No one from the station knows that we broke up so Jones called me and said that if I don’t come and get her and sort her out then he will have to take her down to the station and she’ll spend the night in a cell.” He pushed past Logan and walked out of the front door slamming it shut as he left. “Trust Sophie to ruin a good time” I said but immediately felt guilty. I couldn’t even begin to understand what she was going through. I just thought there was a better way to handle it all than what she was doing.

  The next day at work was going forever. It didn’t help that I was doing a ten hour shift so I could re-arrange the store rooms. One O’clock finally came and I raced into the staff room. I had only just walked in when I heard my phone ring. I quickly opened my locker and pulled my phone out. “Hey.” “Hey you” Logan replied. “What’s the special occasion?” I asked. “You’ve never called me at work before.” I’m having a terrible day and I thought that talking to you would help make it better.” I couldn’t help but giggle. I was crazy about him and I was pretty sure that he knew it. “Why is it a terrible day?” I asked Logan. “The chief has me on desk duty because I didn’t come in the other night. It was my night off though and I wanted to spend it with you.” I suddenly felt guilty. I probably should have told him to leave that night. I wanted to make him feel better but I wasn’t really sure how. We spoke on the phone for most of my lunch break but the Chief came back so I told him to get back to work before he got into more trouble. As soon as I hung up my phone I started to text Cooper.

  Hey Cooper. How’s your day?

  Better now you’re talking to me. Haha. What’s up little sis?

  Logan’s having a bad day so I thought maybe I could cook him dinner tonight. Do you know what his favourite food is?

  Lasagne and beer. So much beer that he can’t drink it all and has to share some with me.

  Would you like me to get you some beer Cooper?

  Yes please Holly :)

  No worries. See you at six.

  When I finished work I quickly went to the supermarket grabbing everything I needed before going to the boys’ apartment. The door was unlocked so I decided to walk straight in. When I closed the door Cooper walked up to me and gave me a hug. “There’s my little sis” He said. I laughed and grabbed the beer out of the shopping bag, handing it to Cooper. “Aw thanks” he said as he walked to the kitchen and opened one of the beers. I started taking everything out of the bags and began making dinner. I probably shouldn’t say making dinner when I brought it pre made, so all that I had to do was put it in the oven and wait. I’m really not a good cook and it’s probably a bad idea for me to try anything more complicated. When the lasagne was nearly ready I set the table, lit a few candles and got changed into my ‘lucky’ shirt and comfortable jeans. Cooper walked back into the kitchen a few minutes later. “Oh wow” he said. “I’ll make sure I take my headphones in my room and listen to music really loudly all night” he said as he winked at me. “Oh gee thanks” I said back sarcastically. I didn’t want to ask Cooper but my curiosity got the better of me. “So what happened last night when you went and rescued Sophie?” Coopers smile disappeared quickly and he looked angry. “Just the usual. I pretty much put my ass on the line so I could try to help her and then entire way home she just screamed at me saying that it’s my fault and she doesn’t love me anymore.” Cooper started to skull the rest of his beer. I walked up to him, placed my hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “I’m so sorry about all of this Cooper. That you have to put up with all of t
his.” Just then Logan walked into the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face. “Hey guys” he said. “Guess that’s my queue to leave” Cooper said grabbing some headphones and walking into his bedroom. I looked at Logan and gave him a quick kiss before saying “Surprise.” Logan looked around the room and chuckled a little. “I wanted to try and make your day better” I said. Logan laughed and pulled me into him. My heart started to race as our lips touched gently. Logan lifted me up so I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked us to his bedroom. He placed me on the bed and laid on top of me. I immediately wrapped my legs around his waist again. We started kissing harder and more passionately as I arched my back so our bodies were closer together. Logan moved his head away from mine and pulled his shirt off. Once he was done I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back down to me so I could continue to kiss him. He started unbuttoning my shirt and goose bumps covered my body. All of a sudden there was a loud beeping sound. The smoke alarm was going off. Logan started laughing as he got to his feet and headed towards the kitchen. I pushed past him and went to the oven opening the door and letting more smoke escape into the already smoke filled kitchen. Cooper stood next to Logan as they laughed at me trying to get the very burnt food out of the oven and waving the smoke away with their hands. “How did this even happen? What the hell were you guys doing?” Cooper shouted to Logan so he could be heard over the smoke alarm. They both exchanged a look and then smiled. I felt my cheeks go warm and I knew that I was blushing. I put the lasagne in the sink and then shouted “Can someone please turn that thing off?” Logan stretched his arm up and pressed the button on the smoke alarm. Silence. I let out a big sigh as I looked at the ruined dinner. Cooper started laughing as he said “Looking good Holly.” I looked down at myself and realised that in all the commotion I had forgotten to button my shirt back up. I laughed a nervous laugh as I started doing my buttons up and Logan elbowed Cooper in the ribs. “Ouch. I was just joking” Cooper said.

  Cha

  pter Twelve

  Logan

  I took another sip of my coke and I stared out the window watching the construction site. The chief was still mad at me. He’d had me and Coop doing this for days now. I don’t know why he had us watching the place during the day. All that was happening was construction workers doing their job and whistling at any and every female that walked past. I was daydreaming when someone walked past the window and knocked on the girls’ apartment. I popped my head out of our doorway and saw that it was the postman. “No one is home at the moment” I said. “Oh ok. Well will you sign for this package then?” “Umm sure” I said back. I signed the piece of paper, took the package and put it down on the dining room table. Cooper looked at the package and then looked at me. “Why do you have Holly’s mail?” Cooper asked me. “Well I told the stupid postman that she wasn’t home and he made me sign for it.” Coop looked at the package again and then back at me grinning. “Should we open it?” He asked. “Seriously Coop? You’re a cop. That’s illegal. What the hell is wrong with you?” Coop just laughed at me. Oh great. Now I was curious. “Your turns not up yet Logan” Coop said pointing to the living room. I let out a sigh and went back to the living room and sat in front of the window watching the construction site.

  It wasn’t too much later when I saw Holly getting out of her car and walking up to the apartment. She stopped right in front of the window and was flipping through her mail when she looked up at me and let out a little squeal. She put her hand to her chest and I couldn’t help but laugh. She walked inside and said “Logan that’s not funny. Why are you sitting in front of the window like that? It’s kind of creepy.” I stood up, stretched and then wrapped my arms around her hugging her tightly. “Chief is making me watch the construction site” I said as I let go of Holly a little to kiss her on her forehead. “You got a package today. It’s on the dining room table.” Holly raised her eyebrows and then walked into the kitchen. She hugged Coop from behind and sat down next to him. “Logan wanted to open it but I wouldn’t let him” Cooper said to Holly and then started laughing. I just stood near the sink glaring at Coop and then hoping that Holly didn’t believe him. Holly opened the package and pulled out some light pink lingerie. “What the hell?” Holly said as she threw the lingerie back into the box it came in. “Little sis, I don’t think it’s appropriate to open that in front of me. At least wait until you’re in the bedroom” Cooper said. Holly opened a piece of paper and then threw her hands up to her mouth. “Oh my god” She gasped. “What’s wrong” I asked Holly and started walking towards her. I picked up the piece of paper and written on it was one word saying ‘perfect’. “What’s this about?” I asked Holly confused, passing the note to Cooper who was now standing with his hand out. “I don’t know but I didn’t buy this” Holly said putting her hands up in the air. “So someone sent this to you?” Cooper asked. “Yeah, and this isn’t the first letter that she’s gotten like this either” I added. “What do you mean?” I had forgotten about the other letter until now. I walked into my room, grabbed the note and then walked back into the kitchen and passed it to Cooper. “What does ‘Always’ mean?” Cooper asked. “I don’t know. Holly got it in the mail last week. I thought maybe you did it as a joke and I was going to ask you, but when we got to the apartment you and Sophie were fighting so I put it in my pocket and forgot about it until now” I said back. “This is really creepy” Holly said as she pushed the package away from her. Holly got up and started pacing a little so I walked over to her and pulled her close to my chest. “It’s okay Holly. I’ll protect you. Coop and I will figure it out” I said. I felt Cooper’s arms wrap around us and he said “Yes we won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Holly giggled and I pushed Cooper away from us. It’s your turn now isn’t it Coop” I said pointing at the window. Cooper put his hand over his heart. “Oh wow man. Rejection hurts” Cooper said as he pretended to wipe away a tear while he walked into the living room to take his turn watching the construction site.

  The next day I took the letters and lingerie that Holly had gotten into the station with me. I was determined to figure out what was going on. There was no return address or name on the package so I called the company who had delivered it and got a pretty poor description of the man who had dropped off the package. I put my hands in my face and sighed. I was getting nowhere. I felt a hand touch my back and I jumped up. “Someone’s jumpy today” Cooper said. “I’m just getting frustrated. Holly’s a little freaked out with all this and I can’t seem to figure it out.” Cooper picked up the notes and then said “Well I think it’s a safe bet to say that your girlfriend has a secret admirer. Or stalker.” “That’s not funny Coop” I snapped. “Who’s laughing” he said as he got up and started walking away. I put the letters and the package in my bottom drawer and tried to forget about it for a while. There was no point stressing myself about it now. There was nothing that I could do at this point.

  When Coop and I walked into our apartment Holly came running up to us. “Hey guys” She dragged out. “We should go into the kitchen and have some fun.” Coop and I both looked at each other and then back to Holly. She was acting very strange. We heard a little bang and then a giggle coming from outside. “Spencer, stop it” Sophie giggled. “Cooper don’t” Holly yelled but Cooper had already walked outside. Holly and I followed Cooper and when we got outside we saw Sophie and Spencer making out. Cooper ran up to Spencer and pulled him off of Sophie. “What the fuck Sophie” Cooper yelled. Spencer grabbed hold of Coopers shoulder and spun him around so they were facing each other. “So you’re the guy who destroyed my girlfriend” Spencer said. Holly walked up next to Cooper and said “Come on Cooper. Let’s just go.” “Yeah Cooper” Spencer said. This guy was acting like a dick and I knew that Cooper wouldn’t put up with much more of it. “You need to shut your mouth right now” Cooper shouted. Spencer didn’t say another word. He just swung his arm and his fist connected with Coopers face. Cooper didn’t waste any time retaliating. He punched Spen
cer in the nose, knocking him to the ground. I ran up and pulled Holly out of the way. “Stay back there” I shouted to her before grabbing Cooper around the waist so he couldn’t hit Spencer again.

  I didn’t notice that anyone was walking up to us until I heard Holly yell “Dante stop.” I looked over and saw some guy charging up to us. I managed to grab my badge out of my pocket while still holding Cooper. I held it up to the guy who was still walking towards us and yelled “You need to stop now.” The guy stopped in his tracks. Well that was one problem solved. I had only just noticed that Sophie was screaming hysterically. I turned back to Spencer’s friend and said “Take Sophie inside.” Her screams were starting to irritate me now. Once they were inside Coop pushed me off of him. I thought he was going to hit Spencer again who was still on the ground and had blood pouring from his nose but instead he walked straight past, got into his truck and sped off down the road. I looked at Spencer and said “You need to leave now before I arrest you for assaulting an officer.” Spencer slowly got to his feet. I walked over to Holly and gently rubbed my fingers up and down her arms. “I’m so sorry” I said. “Please go inside and put a movie on or something. I’ll be back in a little bit. I need to sort this out.” Holly shook her head. As much as I liked being with her I wanted to know that she was somewhere safe. “Please just do it” I asked in as nice of a voice as I could. I kissed her on the cheek and she turned and walked into my apartment.