A Post-Dance Phone Call
While the new year was beginning to take full force, Logan found himself in a whirlwind of trouble. With the sudden move back to Crecent City, this Valkyrie found himself walking on eggshells. His wife was not the least bit happy about the move despite the intention of Logan helping his younger sister. Logan found himself packing alone for the family to stay motivated and return to his home town. While Dinah regularly expressed disinterest in returning to the city, Logan had to force them on the back burner to not cave in. What Logan would never admit was how much he needed his home, and how much the young man was struggling internally with all the recent events. His daughter's kidnapping a year back was enough to put Logan on edge about Crescent City. Finding his own family, his youngest brother was behind the kidnapping hit Logan like a dagger through the heart. He should be able to trust his city, his family, and now he wanted nothing but to run. All while he thought he kept her protected, she feared exposing the truth of injuries to him. That was when he knew something had to change. The safety of his only daughter was the sole thought on his mind, and he would follow her to college if it meant protecting her. Addy and Dinah thrived in their new home in Missoula. Addy excelled in her classes, adjusting well to college life. Despite living in the dorms, they still saw their only daughter regularly. Dinah too flourished in the new setting. For the first time in years she had a grasp once more on her magical abilities. It put her in a cherry mood, which Logan longed for since her accident when they were kids. To someone looking in, life became perfect for Logan. Yet there were many internal struggles he hid, even from his wife. In Crescent City, Logan did not care for pack politics. The duel between his half-sister and cousin meant little to him. What finally got Logan’s attention fixated on his hometown was the death of his father. Originally the news made a slight sting in his heart, but the feelings passed for a few hours without concern. Logan and Landon were the thorn in his father’s side, the regret of Ryder’s past. Yet Logan was always a bit closer to his father than his twin was, and regularly received some perks for trying to keep in contact with his biological father. There were no summer homes to borrow to take the girls on a quick vacation, no financial help around holidays to truly spoil Addy. Deep down, Logan hoped he would one day win his approval. While Dean Weston was Logan’s true father figure, it hurt to lose both fathers. After he heard about his step-mother passed shortly after losing Ryder, Logan worried for his younger sister’s well-being. He knew she had a rough life to begin with, and now lost both parents at the same time. Knowing the Valkyrie coping habits would surely pass down to Rylie, Logan made a point to regularly check in with her over the phone. He planned a weekend trip to spend time with her, which was only delayed by the attack against his own mother. Logan rushed to the Weston household and did what he could to help his other sister and mother. After learning about Nikolas leaving his wife, Mira walking out with Landon’s kids, the murder of his sister-in-law, Rylie’s rise in power, and Lucas’s return to Crescent City, he needed to return home. >Despite the protests from both Dinah and Addy, Logan packed up his family and moved back to Crescent City. While he intended to help Rylie adjust to becoming alpha, Logan needed to be close to his family in general. I felt the responsibility to protect his mother and sister, especially when his other Weston brothers failed to do so. Serving on the security team gave Logan some sort of assurance the city was safe for his family, especially if he was the one looking over it. If repairing the security’s hold on the city was not stressful enough, he quickly discovered his fiancee regularly used dark magic and was also pregnant with their second child. Between all of the chaos, Logan was finding it hard to stay afloat. After spending a few nights with Landon, Logan found himself turning to wolfsbane more frequently. While Dinah was out of the house or studying her dark magic, Logan took the opportunity to cope in his own poor ways even if his family, both living and spirits, warn him otherwise. Despite the regular drug use, Logan never found himself in trouble. That is, until the masquerade.
It was about three weeks since the masquerade. Three weeks since he dressed up and took his girls out to some town dance. It was an innocent night; a little ballroom dancing and call it quits early in the night. Kaylie was staying sober and Landon was trying to win Mira over, so there was no reason for Logan to need an excuse to act out. Yet he slipped a little in his drink, intending to lighten himself up and clear his mind. After all, this was the party of the family’s greatest enemy. One little sprinkle in his cheap vodka became two, then six, then he is spending alone time with his best friend.
...Or did he?
Logan replayed the night repeatedly in his head. It felt like a dream, a distant fantasy he felt when he was a kid. He was there with his wife and daughter; he didn’t spend more than an hour apart from them. Yet he could vividly remember sneaking away with Isobel that night and returned to the party before Dinah became suspicious. At the very least, he was sure Dinah had no idea. The weeks after the masquerade carried on like normal. Addy returned to school to finish off the semester. Dinah settled into their new home and was preparing for the new baby. Logan tried to play it off like nothing happened, but he knew he was becoming unintentionally distant with Dinah. He kept away from his friends, couldn’t remember the last time he called Kaylie or Landon. The one person he intended to avoid was Isobel, even though he knew it was not fair to her. He simply couldn’t work up the courage to talk to her before this point. It was a lazy Saturday morning. Dinah was out visiting her father, and Logan had the house to himself. He sat on the couch, staring at his cell phone sitting on the table before him. He told himself since Dinah made her plans that he would call Isobel. The memory of the night sparked his mind throughout the day, dreams were becoming more vivid and clear. It was driving him insane, more than the current stress on his shoulders could. He already tried dialing twice, his hands freezing before hitting the call button. He had nothing to fear; no one was home and would not be for a few more hours. Logan did not want to confront the problem; he never did. He checked his phone for the time; 10:32. He knew Isobel would be busy, probably at work. At least that’s what he told himself as he finally hit the call button. As the phone began to ring, he immediately regretted this call. He could hang up now while he still had the chance. But at this point there was no hiding the call from her phone, so he forced himself to stay on the line. If he hung up now, he would be avoiding her calls for another month. Suddenly the voicemail picked up, and Logan signed in relief. At least he did not have to talk to her just yet. Leaving a message was easier, or at least at first it seemed that way. “Hey Iz--” Logan found his voice getting caught in his throat. Why was it so hard to say her name? There was no one around to hear what he had to say, nor would it be suspicious for him to call his best friend. Logan coughed and cleared his throat before continuing. “Sorry. Hey, Isobel...” And like that, all he had rehearsed for hours slipped his mind. He was silent for a moment, trying to reorganize his thoughts. But when that didn’t work, he had to start spitting something out. Better that than to leave her a five minute silent voicemail. “Look, uhh... We need to talk. In person somewhere. I mean, if you want to.” Logan was mentally kicking himself. This was one of his best friends, no one new or different. He knew Isobel wouldn’t judge him, or at least, he was hoping she wouldn’t after all that happened between them. “I hope you’re not mad at me. I wouldn’t blame you if you were. I hope you’re not. I miss you, and... well... Call me back?” Logan was silent for a few seconds before hanging up the phone. He dropped it back on the table and laid back on the couch. He finally did it, but he did not feel better about the situation. Now all he could do was wait; wait for Dinah to come home, wait to go back to his normal life, and wait for Isobel to call.