Logan Chapter 74

-Emory-

Most days I blink my eyes open in the morning and it takes me a few minutes- okay, an hour and a half- to really get into my day and remember what I’m supposed to be doing. Today, I woke up with the preternatural stillness of realizing something you’ve been dreading is happening in mere hours. It’s like waking up on Christmas morning as a kid if Santa Clause was actually a demon. I realize I’m being dramatic. I love my family, of course I do. I just don’t always like them. I’ve noticed that anytime something in my life is complicated, I tend to just wait to tell them about it until everything is resolved. My parents- and Bryan, really- tend to over-simplify situations in a way that I’m sure some people would see as charmingly small-town. I just see it as naive.

Elliana and I have both grown up with the knowledge that even though we have a support system, some things are better dealt with alone. On top of my parents and Bryan, Hunter has spent his whole life trying and failing to be Bryan 2.0- he starts out being reasonable but quickly devolves into a scorched Earth mindset that makes him think it would be simpler to deal with everything by either wrecking it or ignoring it. It’s hard when your only ally is almost a decade younger, though. She and I have really only been effective as a team for the last couple of years.

None of that truly matters, though, because my entire family will be here today and there’s nothing we can do to stop them now. Logan will take me to work for a couple of hours this morning, then we’ll leave at lunch and have a full, undiluted weekend with my family. At least Landon will be here to run a little interference. I’m not sure if he’s more likely to help or hinder.

Logan’s alarm goes off, and he wakes up a little more slowly than I did. I remember when I used to sleep enough to need an alarm. Was it only a few days ago? There’s so much going on that my brain won’t let me slow down enough to get good sleep. I know it’s unsustainable, but I’m sure I’ll settle in eventually and be just fine. I hope, anyway. Logan has had his whole life to prepare to lead these people, and I’m getting a crash course over maybe a week. The full moon is in just a couple of days and I still haven’t decided how much of it I’m comfortable with.

“Good morning, baby. You got a little more sleep last night than you have been.” Logan pats me on the hip before untangling us so he can get ready for the day. I fight embarrassment at possibly keeping him up. Is he not sleeping as heavily as I thought? I suppose I did get more sleep last night than the night before... Maybe I’m starting to settle in already. We’re for sure starting to get a rhythm going in how we get going. When the both of us are ready, we grab something quick from the girls and head to work. We haven’t been talking much on the car ride, because I’m usually not coherent enough to make true conversation. Today, though, I woke up like I’d been electrified.

“Okay, so somebody’s picking up my family at the airport today. Is that going to be you, Silverson?” He flashes me a smile in the rearview mirror and shakes his head before replying.

“It’s policy to stay in range of you two for as long as you may need me. Beta Landon will be picking up your family. Last I heard, he was excited to be off of stakeout duty. He made a sign all by himself. It’s quite… intricate.” I tried to imagine what Landon would do to embellish a sign that really just needs a last name on it, and all I could picture was him drawing a bunch of dicks on it. Bryan would get a kick out of it, at least.

“I guess it doesn’t matter as long as it’s legible.” I say with a resigned laugh. It almost feels strange to hear Landon’s name with a title before it, but I should get used to that, too.

Logan pats my leg. “Even if it isn’t, he’ll recognize your family, little rose. He told me he’d be stalking your social media. If he forgot, they’ll still smell vaguely like you.” That’s news to me. I didn’t realize relations smelled similar to each other. I try to tuck away the new information with all the other new information I’ve been getting.

“Did Elder Orson get back to you about them?” I know we haven’t given him much time to convene with everyone else, but he seemed to be the early to bed, early to rise type.

“No, Nanette is a notoriously late sleeper. We won’t hear about any majority decision until at least noon.” Hours and hours from now. I’ll have just enough time to lose my ever loving mind in front of Anna. “Relax, baby. We’ve done everything we can do on that front. There’s only time to get through, now. Do you want me to add you to a group chat with the guys? Deek and Ollie always seem to be texting. It’s like they set up shifts into their days to take a break and send the rest of us memes. I have to leave my phone on silent most of the time and catch up every few hours. I bet they’d love to have someone else to volley with.”

It’s sweet of him to suggest it, but I don’t feel like I know them well enough yet. Though… I suppose the only way to get to know them better is exposure. I hear myself agree before I feel like I’ve thought all the way through it, but it’s just a group chat. We can all ignore it if we’re annoyed with one another. Logan fiddles with his phone for a minute before mine immediately lights up.

Logan: Welcome to the new group chat. You clowns get to help entertain Emory while she’s stuck outside my office door today. I only have a few things to do this morning, so I should be able to jump in now and then to referee.

Unknown: This is Derek

Unknown: James Susi

Unknown: Ollie here!

I quickly add everyone’s names so I don’t get confused as they reply rapid-fire. I see what Logan means about leaving his phone on silent. Deek and Ollie type so fast.

Deek: So you’re joining the sausage fest? I wonder what that makes us now?

Ollie: lol. What are we?

Logan: The two of you? Morons.

Me: We’re the Alpha Alliance, I thought. Weren’t you all getting shirts or something? I should at least get a mug.

Ollie: Finally, someone else with a sense of humor! It’s practically torture just to have D to bounce off of all the time.

James Susi: If it were so bad, you would do it less. Unless it’s a question of your own mental capacity…

Deek: Dude, how did you get burned by the coldest wolf in the city? Is that frostbite or freezer burn?

Logan: Freezer burn sounds better. The implication is clearer.

Ollie: Ha. Ha. Ha.

Logan: I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before. Emory should have had your numbers this whole time. This way if I can’t be reached, you all can help her.

Emory: I knew there had to be some kind of ulterior motive. You’re just trying to calm your paranoia

Logan: One of us has to be calm

Ollie: Man, burns all around in here this morning. Let’s give the chat a minute to cool down and come back.

I turn to Logan, ready to light into him for trying to get me to inconvenience his friends, but Silverson stops the car and lets us know we’ve arrived. I give him a look to let him know this isn’t over, and we walk into work.