01 // Pillowtalk

Logan had never been so conflicted before in his entire life, except for one time back when he worked as a tutor in highschool. 

It was matric farewell for the class of 2004, and he had asked MJ to be his date, but he never picked her up due to an unexpected turn of events.  

He had been with Lola and Jorge earlier during the day when Lola started to get chest pains, and they had to take her home.  

Later at night when he was about to leave his house to fetch his date, Lola's mother called him and told him that Lola was not waking up. He panicked and sped off to her house immediately and when he arrived, he found her unconscious on her bed with her mother placing a damp cloth on her forehead. 

When Logan asked Mrs Leibrandt how long Lola had been out, she told him that since they dropped her off earlier. Logan freaked out and asked her why she did not call an ambulance, and Lola's mother broke down. He calmed down and dialled 112 for an ambulance, but two hours passed before it arrived. 

When the paramedics arrived and they asked Mrs Leibrandt a few questions, that's when Logan learnt that Lola had a heart condition and she had a heart attack a few hours ago. When asked why she did not call an ambulance, she could not answer. 

Lola was rushed to the hospital and Logan drove after the ambulance and stayed at the hospital until he was sure that Lola was stable. After seeing her that night, he went to the matric farewell, though late, and he sat alone at the bar and drowned himself in alcohol after finding out that Jorge had left. 

The next day, he found out that MJ was hospitalised too and she refused to see him. That was the last time he had seen or heard from her, and before he knew it, Jorge stood panting at his doorstep and told him that MJ had run away from home. That was the last time he saw her, and when she returned thirteen years later, he did not know how to approach her because he knew he was perhaps part of the reason she ran away. 

He wanted to let her know that he knew who she was. He could never forget the face that haunted his mind and heart for the past thirteen years, but the moment he opened his mouth to say her name, the words died in his throat. He stared at her and all he saw was a shell; her body was rigid and her eyes were almost lifeless, and he realised at that moment that maybe this was not the same person who he knew thirteen years ago. 

Yet, he kept her around waiting for a moment where he would see something in her that reminded him of the old MJ. But each day was worse than the other, and he became acquainted with the new MJ; taking in her hard face, her hollow eyes, her sardonic smiles, her devious smirks, her cold voice, her emphatic language, and her unsympathetic soul. MJ was heartless and vengeful, and when he walked in on her and Carmen, he did not think that something must have gone down between them until it was too late and Carmen rolled down the royal staircase, and before he knew it, he was back to the night of the farewell party and he sat there helpless as they waited for the ambulance. 

Three hours had passed and almost everyone had left except for Jorge, Doctor Becker, Lola, and Demi. Thuso had taken his wife, Mosetsana, home; and Natalia had to leave because of the coming storm. The Dos Santos women and Jameson left after Logan's fallout with Antonina, and Anita scored herself a lift from someone at the engagement party after MJ left alone with the car. 

"Caroline, I still think it would have been better if we drove to the hospital." Logan said and ran a hand through his hair. 

"We can't, it is not safe for her or the baby, my biggest fear right now is that she might have fractured her neck; she needs to be handled with care," Doctor Becker said as she continuously dialled numbers on her phone. "There is no signal." She threw her phone on the couch and sighed. 

Silence fell once again and everyone stood in anticipation. Loud footsteps echoed from outside, and the door burst open, revealing a drenched Jorge with paramedics running after him with bags and a stretcher. 

"Sorry we are late, there was a number of accidents on the way, and then the storm just caused an immense traffic jam," One of them apologised as he came forward and squatted next to Carmen. He did the normal routine; checked her pulse and then asked what happened. 

Doctor Becker explained what happened as Logan seemed to have lost his voice. 

"Is the baby going to be okay?" Logan asked as they put Carmen on the stretcher and strapped her in with her neck balanced. 

"We can't tell until we see the sonogram, especially since there is no sign of bleeding. Come with us, we will check once on the ambulance."  

They carried Carmen out of the house, trudged through the drenching rain, into the ambulance, and Logan entered after them along with Doctor Becker. 

"Jorge and Thuso, please follow behind with one of the cars," He said before the ambulance doors closed and they drove out of the compound. 

"She's going to be okay, and so is the baby," Doctor Becker assured him as she put on her synthetic gloves. She switched on the sonogram in the ambulance and took out the gel before she started to strip off Carmen.  

She gently removed Carmen's leather jacket and unbuttoned the flowery dress from from the top. She had just reached below the breasts when she noticed something unusual. Her breath clogged in her throat and she swallowed hard. 

"Caroline, why did you stop?" Logan asked, and she shook her head. 

She already knew what was going on, but against her better judgement, she continued to unbutton the dress as she watched Logan's movements from her peripheral vision and his tense figure confirmed to her that perhaps he had an idea of what was happening. 

Her hands stopped below Carmen's false stomach and everything went south, including her own heart. 

"Logan–" she tried to reach his hand but he shook his head furiously, hot tears burning inside his eyes, but he refused to let them down. He could not believe that Carmen had deceived him. "I'm so sorry, Logan." Doctor Becker whispered sadly. 

Logan watched Carmen's body, his eyes glowering in pure hatred. His saliva got clogged in his throat, and he gulped it down and looked up to meet the stares from the doctor and the two paramedics at the back, and his gaze hardened. 

"Stop the ambulance." He muttered, and Doctor Becker stared at him as if she had not heard clearly.  

"Logan–" 

"Stop. The. Ambulance." His face paled as if he had been exposed to the cold for hours without an ounce of warmth. 

One of the paramedics knocked on the window connecting to the front. "Stop the ambulance!" He shouted over the noise from the rain and looked at his fellow paramedics in panic. 

"Logan, it is raining outside. Can't you come with to the hospital and then Thuso can pick you up from there?" The doctor asked worriedly, and Logan glared at her, causing her to shift uncomfortably. 

The ambulance slowed down and packed on the side, and Logan did not waste any time jumping out of the vehicle. 

Doctor Becker stuck her head out and panicked when she noticed that they were parked in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees only. She cast Logan a worried glance but he did not pay her any heed as he walked back in the direction they came from, his figure slowly getting swallowed by the rain and darkness.