Moody. Grumpy. Confrontational. Words that were not generally used to describe Marie. Unfortunately, she woke up Monday with the blackest cloud hanging over her head. After the weird ending to her grocery trip with Logan last night, she had tossed and turned with unpleasant dreams. Bobby pointing and laughing at her "moving on" and failing without him. Her parents being ashamed of her for leaving such a good man and breaking that poor boy's heart. The gossiping biddies in Meridian shaking their heads over that D'Ancanto girl who was never going to find a man to love her.
She felt like she had been judged and found to be wanting. And now she had to start a new job, in a new town where she knew exactly one person, and that person was the source of her latest hurt. Make nice with the town's version of the Homecoming Queen. Miss Popularity.
Using enough concealer and foundation to mask the sleepless night, she hurried to get ready. She was told to be at the shop at 7:30 and it was cutting it close. She did not expect Logan to play her White Knight any longer. He had done more than enough. So if she was going to walk she needed to leave now.
She could hear him below her in the garage. Warming the truck on this chilly morning. She was thankful for the additional entrance on the back as she hurried down the steps. She hooked her purse on her shoulder and began walking.
It's not like she expected to make it to the shop before Logan, but she had hoped to make it far enough that it was clear to him she didn't expect any more handouts from him.
Logan heard the back door close and mumbled under his breath. 'God save him from headstrong women'. He knew he had hurt Marie with his abrupt, closed off attitude last night. He had intended to talk to her this morning. Smooth things over a bit. However, if she was sneaking out, with the intention to walk to work instead, he figured she wasn't ready to forgive him yet.
Taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee, he considered his options. He could hold off on leaving to give her time to get to the shop or he could pick her up and hash it out with her.
He had never been one to back down from a fight. With that thought, he jumped into the truck, slammed the door for good measure, and headed off to track down the stubborn woman who was occupying his brain more than he was comfortable with.
Marie heard the truck before she saw it pull up beside her. She was cursing her mulish nature. Her feet were beginning to hurt. She silently thanked God she wouldn't have to walk the rest of the way. Hanging her head in defeat, she jumped into the warm truck. She might be happy about the heat and not walking anymore, but she wasn't going to make nice.
The ride into town was filled with a heavy silence. Logan opened his mouth but couldn't find the words he wanted, needed to say. He didn't want to complicate their situation. Work could be stressful enough without the added tension between them.
Then there was Jeannie. He knew that if she picked up on the tension between them, she would have no qualms about questioning both Marie and him. She wasn't a bad person but she wasn't necessarily a good person either. She would never maliciously hurt someone. But she couldn't resist stirring up drama and gossip.
Being new to town and being unknown to most everyone, she was fresh meat. Jeannie would be relentless trying to find out about her. Maybe he should've tried to find her a job somewhere else. Looking at the situation from another's perspective, it did look bad. He had taken Marie to his house, even if the apartment was above the garage and not in his house, and given her a job.
He just knew that Jeannie would be primed to pump them both for details. Ready to fill in the gaps of what they didn't say.
Maybe he should just fix Marie's car and let her go. Forget the money. He could just write it off as a donation or whatever.
However, the thought of her leaving made his chest ache and his stomach clinch. And that was the problem wasn't it? Just a few days of knowing her and he had a soft spot for her.
He was fucked either way. Once her car was fixed, she was going to leave. The longer she stayed, the more it would hurt. Guess he was a masochist. He had no intentions of working on her car today.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the shop, he put a hand over hers.
"I, uh, I'm not sure if you remember Jeannie that works in the back office. I'm sure she'll be asking questions about you staying at my place. If she gets to be too much, just let me know. I'll tell her to leave you alone."
Marie looked over at him with her mouth slightly open.
"I don't need you to fight my battles for me. I'm a big girl and I can certainly handle this on my own. The good thing about this whole situation is that it is temporary. So if i piss someone off, it won't really matter in the long run. They'll just be that much happier to see me leave in a couple months."
Logan's hands clenched around the steering wheel. The way she so casually tossed out that she was leaving eventually hurt. She seemed eager to be rid of both this town and him.
"Yeah well just remember what I said. If she gets to be too much, I'll talk to her. Even if you're only here for a few weeks, no need to be uncomfortable."
Marie nodded her thanks but knew she wouldn't take him up on this offer. She'd keep her head down and focus on getting her car repair bill paid off and getting to Jubilee and Hank in Laughlin City. She figured she would get there just in time to take over before Jubilee had the babies. Unless she found a second job. She'd look at the want ads today.
Funny how the thought of leaving made her feel funny. Like a ball of lead was sitting on her chest.
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Chapter End Notes:
I know Logan may seem a bit OOC in this chapter. I'm still trying to get a firm grip on writing him without his abilities.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!