Free An Act of Redemption by K. C. Lynn

guess that means I’m walking you.”
    “I don’t need a babysitter!” I snap.
    He shrugs. “Maybe not, but either way you shouldn’t be walking home this late at night by yourself.”
    “I’m actually quite capable of taking care of myself, Jaxson taught me. If you would like I could demonstrate on you.”
    He glances over at me with a smirk. It softens his hard expression and has butterflies fluttering in my tummy. I look away, hating that after all this time he can still affect me this way.
    The jerk .
    The silence between us becomes deafening and downright awkward. Logan is the one to end up breaking it. “I heard you’re studying psychology.”
    “Yup,” I respond abruptly, not liking that he knows another thing about me when I still know nothing about him.
    It doesn’t matter, Anna. You don’t care about what’s going on with him, I remind myself.
    “Are you liking it?”
    “Yup.”
    “That’s good.”
    Before I can stop it a scoff escapes me and I want to kick myself. I hate feeling like this. I hate feeling so bitter and angry, but that’s exactly how I feel. The last time we spoke was when he ripped out my heart, and now we’re just supposed to have a normal conversation, like nothing ever happened.
    “You know, Anna, if you have something to say then just say it.”
    “I have nothing to say to you.” I lie.
    “Clearly you do, so just fucking say it.”
    I stop and turn on him. “Why are you doing this? Why did you come here tonight?”
    “To give you back the fucking bracelet, I said that.”
    “Who cares about the bracelet!” I snap.
    “You obviously do or I wouldn’t have fucking found it.”
    Hating that he’s right, I shake my head and start off again. I’m not strong enough to hash this shit out right now. I don’t make it far before he grabs both of my arms and pulls me against him. “Say it! Just fucking say what you really want to say,” he demands, his face only inches from mine and his eyes finally showing the same frustration I’m feeling.
    “Why are you acting like four years ago didn’t happen?” I shout, unable to hold back any longer.
    “Do you really think I can act like it didn’t happen? I’ve been fucking living it every goddamn day.”
    “What about me?” I wail. “Do you think I’ve forgotten what you did to me?”
    His expression softens but his gaze remains fierce. “No, Anna, I don’t, but don’t you understand why I did it?”
    “Oh yeah, I understand perfectly—you didn’t trust me.”
    “That’s not true! Trust had nothing to do with it. I knew you would stay, I knew you would stick it out and I didn’t want that for you. My life was fucking over, I wasn’t going to ruin yours, too.”
    “It wasn’t your choice to make!” I scream. “It was mine and you stole it from me.” My breath hitches and I can’t hold back my tears any longer. “I went back every weekend for two months and you never came out, not once.” Every word falls with agonized sobs. “And now you think you can just ask me about my life but keep yours a secret? Well fuck you!” I rip out of his grip and run, not wanting him to see how deep my pain still runs.
    Thankfully, he doesn’t come after me, but I didn’t expect him to. There’s nothing left to say between us. No matter what he says I’ll never forget what it felt like to show up every weekend only to be sent away. It’s a pain I will remember forever.

CHAPTER SIX
    Logan
    I pull up in front of the small house that holds a lot of memories for me—most of them not good—and am surprised to see it in the best shape it’s ever been in.
    My gut churns at the thought of seeing my mom and sister after all this time. It doesn’t help that I’m still fucked up from my run-in with Anna last night. I knew I should have stayed away, and I know that I need to, more for her sake than mine, but after finding that bracelet I had to see her. I could’ve asked Jaxson to give it to her but for some reason I