6th June 2019
8:00 pm

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Cassie maintained a crouching position at an extreme of the dimly lit room while Logan was at the other end. It was obvious they were trying to get as far away from each other as possible, but there was a little result for their effort given the present situation.

She had no idea how long she'd stayed that way before the sound of the door creaking open had summoned her attention and she looked up to watch Flame strut in.

"Hello!" Flame greeted as the door was shut.

Cassie turned slightly so she could catch a glimpse of Logan who sat there, staring into space, looking worn out. She felt the same way.

Seeing as neither of them was going to reply to the casual greeting, Flame proceeded. "I might've heard someone call out my name a while ago."

Cassie grimaced. If only Flame had been useful enough to respond, a lot would've been avoided. But it seemed like this was all part of the plan. To get them both as defenseless and vulnerable as possible.

"Can I get a drink?" Cassie asked with a sigh.

Flame smiled to irk her further. "What would you be needing a drink for?"

"To fucking cope in this place," Cassie yelled.

"Hey. Take it easy, woman," Flame suggested as they made the gun they were holding more visible.

Cassie chuckled, wondering if she hadn't done enough to show everyone present that the last thing she was scared of was dying.

"I know something better than alcohol..." Flame started and paused, most likely to assess that they were both listening.

Logan had still not moved an inch, but Cassie nudged her to speak on maybe because she genuinely wanted that information.

"Communication."

Cassie rolled her eyes at Flame's words, unable to conceal her disappointment.

"Don't you ever get tired of drowning your sorrows? What is so wrong with letting your emotions out?"

"And don't you ever get tired of being a fucking bully? What is so wrong with getting a decent job?" Cassie scoffed.

Flame smiled and she hated it so much that she'd not for once succeeded at provoking them. It was infuriating.

"You are sometimes very amusing." They took slow steps forward. "You remind me so much of her."

Cassie quirked her brows, wondering who she was referring to.

It seemed as though Flame was about to continue their speech, but was cut short as the door swung open and a blonde-haired woman, all dressed up in black leather pants, a leather jacket, and knee-high boots had walked right in.

Logan sat up with his mouth hanging open. "Natasha?" He asked, probably as taken aback by her fierce appearance as Cassie was.

"What are you doing here?" Flame asked.

Natasha glared at Flame and took bold steps towards them. She got so close that their bodies were almost in contact. "I need you to leave," she managed the words in between heavy breaths.

Flame exhaled and raised their hands in surrender. "Fine," they said before taking one last glance at the confused couple and walked out.

"What is going on?" Logan asked, getting up.

"Hey, honey..." She moved closer to him and used her hands to cup his cheeks. "I had no idea my father was going to go to these lengths," she whispered.

"Wait." Logan felt like he'd been dropped in ice at the sickening information. "Your what?" He moved away from her on impulse. "That... That man is your father?" His voice was reduced to a barely audible whisper.

Natasha sighed and nodded. "I can explain."

"This is ridiculous." Logan turned away from her and covered his face with both hands.

There was precisely nothing funny about the confusing and overbearing situation, but Cassie caught herself laughing. "That drink would've come in handy." She laughed some more.

Natasha glared at her before walking forward and placing a hand on Logan's shoulders.

"What exactly is there to explain? Were you in on this plan to get us kidnapped all along?" He asked as he faced her with a questioning glance.

"Of course not!" She shook her head. "I am here to get you out."

That sounded like the only remotely sane thing Cassie and Logan had heard all day and their interests were piqued at that instant.

"Did you get the money?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes. "That is not necessary. Trust me, you'd leave this place without having to give my father a cent."

Logan seemed even more invested in this development. "How?"

"Leave all of that to me. I'd find a way around my father's goons and you'd be out of here in no time," she assured him.

"What good would that do? They literally know where I live," Logan complained, talking in whispers, scared and out of breath.

"He won't come after you if he gets what he wants," Natasha replied. She took a glance at Cassie and then fixed her attention on Logan again.

Cassie felt quite uneasy as she slowly processed what Natasha was insinuating, yet she was too stunned to speak.

"You mean..." Logan stared at her and with his voice even further reduced, muttered, "Cassie."

"She offended him."

"No." He shook his head.

"My love, if you leave here, my father is going to be so pissed. He'll need to take out his annoyance on someone and it just happens that she's the right person to pay for all of this."

"I can't-"

"You said you were done with her."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean..." He stopped to catch a breath.

Cassie was exchanging glances between Logan and his blonde girlfriend as they plotted her death in very audible whispers. It felt as though she was stuck in some kind of unbelievable nightmare.

"Logan, I'll be back as soon as I can." She moved even closer to him and shut him up with a light kiss on his lips. He did not respond. Yet, it didn't make Cassie feel any less sick as Natasha turned to face her with an intimidating glare and a spiteful smile playing on her lips.

"Don't do anything stupid," Natasha said to no one in particular before walking towards the door. She tapped on it three times and a huge man with a gun had opened the door, enabling her to walk out.

Logan settled down on the floor and buried his face in his hands as though trying to make any sense of their situation. Cassie only sat there at a safe enough distance and watched him.

She didn't know long she'd stayed there in silence, just watching him wallow in frustration while feeling much worse herself.

He finally raised his head and glanced at her, observing that she'd been staring. Her attention remained fixed on him and he'd opted out instead. 

"The red dress, the blonde wig..." Cassie broke the silence, arousing his interest. "I was trying to look attractive. A little too hard perhaps. I thought that..." She paused again and he'd turned to face her. "I thought that if I looked beautiful enough, maybe as beautiful as those other women that keep your bed warm, you'd want me back," she said.

Logan sighed. He didn't utter a word but maintained his rapt attention on the woman who would soon likely be his ex-wife or probably even dead, depending on how time and fate decided to deal their cards. 

"You're going to leave me here." Cassie inhaled deeply as her voice proceeded more like a forced whisper.

"No," Logan said as he shifted closer to her. "I won't... I can't."

"I deserve it. I have been a terrible person, haven't I?" She asked as she felt tears sting her eyes.

Logan opened his mouth to speak but closed it just as prompt. In her opinion, it was a much better choice that he decided not to lie to her.

"A terrible wife. A terrible mother..." She felt tears stroll down her cheeks.

"Stop." Logan moved even closer. "You were not a terrible mother," he said.

"My children left."

"No." He shook his head. It was obvious he couldn't stand any more of that conversation. It had hurt them too much. But like Flame said, what good would it do to keep running from sorrow?

"I chose to blame you so I could live with myself. But the truth is just as glaring as it always was. It's all my fault. I did this. I ruined our family," She said pointing to herself.

"No, it's not. Cassie, I will not let you blame yourself for this." He shook his head as he enhanced their proximity.

"Why don't you tell me the fucking truth for once? In a few minutes, you'd be a free man and I do not know what's going to happen to me." She stopped to take a breath. "We might never see each other again. So... Tell me the truth."

"Cassie, don't do this."

"I hated Lucia. I hated my own daughter and I thought that if I loved Cameron enough, it would make up for how badly I treated her. But guess what?" A smile played on her lips as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "Karma said, 'no fucking way!' His death was just to punish me."

"No. No!"

Logan tried to touch her, but she moved back to prevent it from happening. He made another attempt and no matter how hard she tried to fight him off, he managed to take hold of her hands and force her into an embrace.

"Let me go. Let me go..." She cried as she rested her head on his comforting shoulders.

"Cassie, please listen to me. Whatever happened with Lucia was not your fault. You did not hate her." He held unto her and used his hand to rub her back gently.

"I know what I felt, Logan. I know what I felt." She cried as she struggled to set herself free from him but he tightened his grip on her even further.

"You went through postpartum depression all alone. Please don't do this to yourself," he pleaded.

"That is just the excuse you and that therapist used to help me live with myself. It's a lie." She sniffed as she held unto him for support because she felt like she had no strength left in her.

"That is the truth."

"I should've treated her better. I should've loved her more. I should've done more. You should've done more since you knew that I was not good enough. But you didn't. You didn't love her." She rummaged the words too quickly till she was almost gasping for breath.

"She's my child."

"You don't know that for sure," Cassie whispered and it broke her heart further as Logan's grip on her weakened.

He lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "She's my child," Logan muttered.

"You had your doubts. Didn't you?"

Logan closed his eyes and bowed his head. Cassie knew that if he wanted to be completely truthful, then he could not deny her accusation. He might've not done anything to hurt Lucia, but it was always quite evident that he cared for Cameron much more than he ever cared for her.

"Why didn't you let me take the DNA test? We would've known for sure," she whispered with a shaky voice.

He shook his head and raised it to look into her eyes. "I was scared, Cassie... I was scared."

"What were you so scared of?" 

Logan placed his hands on Cassie's cheek and leaned forward till his forehead was touching hers. He shut his eyes and a tear had dropped from his cheek to hers.

"Losing you," he whispered his confession.

Before she could find the words or the courage to reply, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her. It was slow, heart-wrenching, and passionate. The moment evoked all kinds of conflicting emotions from both parties.

As Cassie tried to make any sense of why her almost ex-husband was kissing her, the metal door was opened and his girlfriend stood there with widened eyes and a gun in her hand.