Unwanted guests

Ava’s POV

I had barely taken a sip of my morning coffee when a loud, insistent knock echoed through Logan’s apartment. My stomach twisted into a familiar knot of dread. I already knew who it was.

Brian and Kate.

I regret giving them Logan's address, will he be mad?

Logan, who had been stretching lazily on the couch, raised an eyebrow. “You expecting someone, nerd?”

I set my cup down with a sigh, rubbing my temples. “Unfortunately.”

He nodded then continued scrolling his phone. Guess he isn't angry as I expected him to be

The knocking grew more aggressive.

“Jesus, are they trying to break the door down?” Logan muttered, walking over to open it.

The moment the door swung open, my older brother, Brian, strode in like he owned the place, his eyes immediately scanning the apartment with a look of disapproval. My sister, Kate, followed right behind him, her arms crossed, her expression a perfect mix of annoyance and rudeness.

Brian’s sharp blue eyes landed on me, narrowing instantly. “Ava. What the hell are you doing here? Is this your place?”.

Kate scoffed, glancing at Logan. “And who’s this? Your boyfriend?”

Logan, to his credit, didn’t seem fazed at all. He leaned casually against the doorframe, crossing his arms. “Logan Carter. Nice to meet you. And you are?”

Brian ignored him completely, turning his full attention back to me. “Dad told us to check on you. He said you weren’t answering his messages, and now I see why.” He gestured vaguely at the apartment. “You’re shacking up with some random guy?”

Heat rushed to my face. “It’s not like that,” I snapped. “Logan is my… friend.” The word felt strange on my tongue, considering everything that had happened between us.

Kate arched an eyebrow. “Friend? Since when do you have guy friends? Let alone friends”.

I groaned. “You two don’t get to show up here and start interrogating me like I’m some kind of criminal. I was evicted, okay? I had nowhere else to go.”

Logan turned to look at me his eyes searching for the truth, I bent my head down avoiding his piercing stare. I hear him exhale loudly.

Brian clenched his jaw. “And you couldn’t call us?”

I threw my hands up in frustration. “Oh, sure. Let me just call my overly judgmental older brother and my passive-aggressive sister to remind me how much of a failure I am. Sounds great.”

Kate sighed, her expression softening slightly. “Ava, I'm not passive aggressive, you're just a bitch!”

I wanted to yell at her but Logan cut me off " whoever you're you do not get to speak to Ava like that, she's not a bitch you're!”

I was shocked that Logan defended me but also I was touched guess I was wrong he isn't an asshole as I thought he will be.

Brian, however, was far less understanding. “This guy isn’t your friend, Ava. I know his type. He’s a player, a jock, who doesn't know Logan Carter? You could be friends with anyone but him!”.

Logan let out a low chuckle. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Brian turned his glare on him. “Stay out of this.”

“Not happening,” Logan said easily, stepping beside me. “See, the thing is, Ava doesn’t need you barging into her life, acting like you get to control it. She’s fine before you were here and she'll be fine too after you go away”.

Brian squared his shoulders, clearly not liking Logan’s casual defiance. “You don’t know anything about her.”

Logan smirked. “I know she likes her coffee with too much sugar, that she chews on her pen when she’s overthinking, and that she doesn’t let herself rely on anyone because she’s terrified of being disappointed.” He tilted his head. “I’d say I know her just fine.”

I stared at him, my breath caught in my throat.

Brian, however, was unimpressed. “And yet you let her crash at your place instead of helping her find an actual solution. Sounds like you’re just taking advantage of her situation.”

That hit a nerve.

I stepped forward, my hands balling into fists. “You don’t get to come in here and act like you suddenly care, Brian. Where were you when I needed help before? Oh, right off living your perfect life with your perfect family, too busy to deal with me unless Dad told you to.”

His jaw tightened. “That’s not fair.”

“Neither is you assuming the worst about me.” I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. “Look, I get it. You don’t trust Logan. But he’s not the problem here.”

Kate sighed, rubbing her temples. “Okay, okay, can we all just take a breath? Brian, we’re not Dad. We don’t get to dictate what Ava does. And Ava… you don’t have to push us away just because you think we’ll judge you.”

I glared at her “don't say anything Kate, stay out of this you were never interested in my life before nor I'm I interested,so let's cut this out".

The room fell into silence for a moment.

Brian still looked like he wanted to drag me out of here himself, but after a long pause, he finally exhaled. “Fine. But I’m not leaving until I know you’re actually okay.”

Kate gave me a small smile. “And maybe we could all grab lunch or something? You know, actually catch up?”

I hesitated, glancing at Logan, who merely shrugged as if to say, Your call.

Finally, I sighed. “Yeah. Fine. Lunch.”

Brian gave Logan one last warning look before stepping aside. Kate hooked her arm through mine, already chatting about where we should go.

As they walked ahead, Logan leaned down, whispering in my ear, “You’re really cute when you’re all fired up, nerd.”

I elbowed him in the ribs, but I couldn’t stop the small, amused smile tugging at my lips.

Unwanted guests or not, maybe today wouldn’t be a complete disaster.