The End of the Innocence

"Let go of me," he said, pulling with all his strength until I finally let go. "I'm still not over what you two did." I watched as he walked away, his shoulders sagging a bit as he ran his hand through his dyed hair.

"Logan!" I called, chasing after him. He sped off, me just barely on his heels. Grabbing his hand once I got the chance I spun him around and threw him against the closest building. "Damn it, man! Will you fucking stop for five minutes?!" I yelled, causing what few passers by there were to look our way. "I want to talk to you."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm not up for talking, Saunders?" he spat, his usual brown eyes now an unnatural green. Contacts, I thought, flinching internally. "You two didn't trust me. The two most important fucking people in my life, and you didn't trust me!"

"It's not that we didn't trust you!" I replied. "We didn't trust that fucker that showed up! The one that nearly killed someone!"

"I was doing it for you and Evelyn! You know that!" he said, grabbing the front of my shirt with both his hands.

"I promised I'd have you get checked out, and you didn't! You pulled a me and ran off, acting like a fucking pansy! Don't you realize that? You don't know when to admit you need some help!"

"I'm a pansy? I'm a pansy? You ran many times, leaving me to take care of a child that wasn't biologically mine, and then randomly showing up who knows how much later, and expecting everything to be fucking fine!" Logan screamed. What he said hurt, even though I knew ever bit of it to be true. "Don't you dare say that I knew why, either. Because you were scared, or weren't ready. Even then you didn't trust me. Trust me enough that we could, I don't know, work it out. We could have done something so you didn't run off, leaving any parental duties to someone else."

"I couldn't leave Evy in foster care, I just couldn't," I said, barely over a whisper.

"It would have been a hell of a lot better for her than what you actually did," he replied, pushing me away. I sometimes forgot just how strong Logan actually was. "Look, Shane. It's time for you to man the hell up and figure something out. I know we're married, but until you learn to trust me, and Evy can trust me, I can't come home."

"Logan, you don't mean that," I said, taking a step towards him, stopping when he threw his hands up. "Please. Just come home."

"I've made my case. Go home to Evelyn, tell her I'm alright, and I'll be home when the trust is there. Until then, like I've been for many years, you are on your own." At that, he walked away, and I stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, watching the only other person who got me put more distance between us.

The only thing I could say, even though I knew he couldn't hear me was, "I've never stopped trusting you."

Time Elapse -- One Month

Evy and I were currently hanging out in the arcade of the movie theater, waiting for our movie to start, when a group of guys came in, becoming louder with every step. There was a laugh, and both Evy and I tensed up. Logan.

We turned enough to watch him heading to the ticket counter with four other guys, all about his height. "Mom," Evy whispered, twisting completely around to see him more easily. Judging by her stance, she was about to run for him, and I grabbed her by the waist before she go the chance.

"No, Evelyn. Now is not the time," I whispered, struggling to keep her contained. "Evelyn Rose, you better stop," I warned her, causing her to look up at me with glaring eyes.

"But it's Mom. I haven't seen him in over a damn year, and I want to talk to him," she said, stomping as hard as she could on my foot. Having dealt with this tantrum just the month before, I was used to the pain. "Dad, come on! Five minutes won't hurt!"

"It will for him, and you know it. He'll come to us. I tried forcing him before, but of course, you know he had more on me than I could take," I said, barely loosening my grip on her.

"Hey, dude, aren't you a bit old for her?" someone asked, causing me and Evy to look up and notice it was one of the guys Logan was hanging with. When Logan caught sight of us, he froze, but it wasn't enough for the others to notice.

"She's my daughter, you prick," I replied, pushing her gently as we walked out. "Gentlemen," I went on, nodding once in Logan's direction before making our way towards the concession stand.

I was about to start ordering when there was a cough behind us. We turned, and again, I grabbed Evy before she could run to him. "I just wanted to see her, Shane."

"Well, it has come to my attention that we don't trust you enough," I spat, the anger and hurt from the month before rising up like steam. "Until then, don't come around." At that, I pushed Evelyn down the hall towards our theater, not allowing her to look back at him.

"That was mean, Dad. Seriously," she said, tears sounding in her voice. I didn't reply, just opened the door to the theater and walking in.

"I'm sorry, Evy. I've had enough shit on my plate for one lifetime, and married or not, I'm not allowing him to add more. He refuses to trust me, so I'll refuse to trust him." The room darkened, the trailers started, and we both fell silent.