Chapter 63 The boy who promised me the world
~Ava's pov~
Something was off.
Logan’s hand was warm in mine as we sat on the bench, his thumb was repeatedly brushing over my knuckles like he needed the contact to keep steady.
But I could feel there was something bothering him. The weight in his silence. The way his eyes flicked too quickly when Aaron passed by.
It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed it.
Whenever Aaron was around, Logan changed. Not in an obvious way. It wasn’t like he growled or stormed off. No, it was more subtle like his jaw tightened, his shoulders stiffened, and sometimes, he looked at me like he was waiting for something to fall apart.
And that made me nervous. What if it's something bad? What if it tears us apart?
“So,” I said casually, as we walked toward my class building. “You and Aaron… everything good?”
Logan didn’t even look at me. “Yeah. Why?”
“You just seem tense around him. Every time he’s near me, you act like you're ready to fight.”
He exhaled sharply. “It’s just football stuff. Competitive crap. He gets under my skin sometimes.”
I nodded slowly, watching him. “That all?”
He met my gaze then, and I swear I saw something flicker in his eyes. Was it guilt? Fear? But it was gone too fast to name.
“Yeah,” he said. “Don’t worry about it, Ava. He’s a dick, but he’s harmless.”
Liar.
Bullshit!
Maybe not entirely but enough that my gut twisted. I knew something was going on but I didn't want to keep asking him and making him feel bad.
I didn’t push further. Not then. But the seed was already there, burrowed deep in my mind.
\~~~
By the time my shift at the diner started, I was hoping the buzz of clinking plates and the sound of the coffee machine would drown out the doubt spiraling in my head.
But no such luck.
I kept replaying the way he keeps zoning out even when it's just me and him. The way he keeps getting irritated when Aaron is around.
Nate was already wiping down the counter when I arrived, flashing his usual easy grin. “There’s our star waitress.”
I gave him a tired smile and tied my apron. “Hey, Fork Boy.”
He laughed. “Still not letting that go, huh?”
“Never.”
We worked side by side in a peaceful silence, but Nate wasn’t just charming. He noticed things. And it wasn’t long before he spoke again, his voice soft, and curious.
“You and Logan. You both are okay right?”
I blinked, pausing mid-swipe on the coffee pot. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
He shrugged, wiping a spot on the counter that was already clean. “He just seems… I don’t know. Wound up. And you seem distracted.”
I didn’t answer.
Nate studied me. “You trust him?”
I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
But even as the word left my mouth, my chest tightened.
Because trust should feel lighter than this. Not like holding a balloon full of lead, afraid it might fall at any second.
He nodded slowly. “Good. That’s important.”
I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. And when he walked away to help a table, I leaned against the counter and let the doubt swell in silence.
Logan was hiding something. And whatever he was hiding was definitely bad enough to keep me in the darkness.
And sooner or later, I was going to find out what he was hiding.
\~~~~
I hadn’t intended to stop outside that classroom. We were just passing through, trying to find Logan. Charlotte had said he might be somewhere in this wing and my only plan was to ask him why he’d been so off lately.
Why did he flinch when Aaron was near?
Why did he change the subject every time I brought up the past?
Why I couldn’t shake the feeling that something ugly was sitting between us, just beneath the surface.
But nothing, nothing could have prepared me for what I heard next.
Aaron’s voice drifted through the cracked door, smug and loud.
“So... did you win the bet or what?”
Bet? Did they bet on something?
I froze. My pulse thudded in my ears.
Charlotte’s hand gripped my arm, but I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to hear more but I couldn’t stop listening.
And then Logan’s voice came, low and clear.
“I don’t love her.”
The world spun beneath me.
“She was just a bet and a quick fuck for me. She was so uptight that I had to make her trust me, fall in love with me... then fuck her. And I’m done. It's not like I'm planning my wedding with her”.
My lungs forgot how to work. My heart cracked clean down right in the middle.
It wasn’t true.
It couldn’t be.
Charlotte gasped beside me, her grip slipping. “Ava—”
But I was already backing away. The tears started falling before I even turned, hot and endless. My legs moved on instinct, pushing me down the hallway, faster and faster, until the voices behind me were just echoes.
“Ava! Ava, wait—please!” Charlotte's voice rang out behind me.
It was her yelling that gave me away.
I heard the scramble from inside the classroom, chairs scraping, Miles shouting, Logan cursing loudly—“Shit—Ava!”
But I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
I felt like I was going to throw up. My vision blurred from the flood of tears. My chest ached like someone had reached in and crushed my heart in their fist.
The hallway stretched out forever as I ran. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to be anywhere but near him.
The boy who made me feel safe.
The boy who held my hand like it meant something.
The boy who kissed me like I was his whole world…
The boy who promised me the world…
Had played me.
Used me.
Mocked me behind closed doors like I was nothing.
Hated me while pretending he was utterly in love with me…
And the worst part?
I believed him.
I let him in.
I let him break me.