Here is the first chapter of Toxic: Logan's Story. It is the forth book in the Torn Series! For those of you who are Chloe and Drake addicts, don't worry. You'll still see them throughout the book. I REALLY think you'll love the end of this book. It has A LOT to do with them.
Logan's book is over the span of several years. It begins around the time Torn ended and goes from there. Enjoy!!!
Prologue
I stared at the room number on my schedule and then looked
back at the classroom door in front of me. 312.
I was in the right place. I took a deep breath before opening the door and
walking in.
Several students looked up to see who had entered. I ignored
their stares as I focused on the teacher sitting behind her desk in front of
the classroom.
She smiled as I approached. “Can I help you?”
“Uh…yeah, I’m a new student,” I said nervously.
I had no idea why I was nervous. It wasn’t like I hadn’t
moved to a new school before. My mom had moved us around a lot—so much that I’d
lost track of how many schools I’d been to. She promised me that this time
would be different. This would be the last time we moved.
Yeah, right.
That was what she’d said every single time. I just hoped
that my freshman year would be the year that she really meant it. I was tired
of moving all the time, and now that I was in high school, it wouldn’t be as
easy to make friends.
I held out my schedule, and the teacher glanced at it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Logan. I’m Mrs. Jenkins. Let me grab
you a book.”
She stood and walked to a door a few feet away from her
desk. Once she disappeared inside, I glanced over my shoulder to see two-dozen
students staring at me like I was the most interesting guy in the world. I
sighed, hating how this happened every time. Being the new kid sucked, but what
could I do?
The teacher reappeared and walked back over to me. “Here is
your book. We’re starting on chapter three today. Why don’t you take a seat
next to”—she glanced at the seating chart on the desk—“Chloe Richards. Chloe,
will you raise your hand, please?”
I turned to face the classroom and saw a girl raise her
hand. I walked toward her, ignoring everyone else as they continued to stare at
me. I sat down next to her without even looking her way. I knew my new neighbor
would be staring at me like everyone else.
“Class, let’s give Logan a warm welcome. Now, if you’ll open
your books to chapter three, we can begin,” Mrs. Jenkins said.
Once Mrs. Jenkins turned away from us to start writing on
the board, I glanced over at my neighbor. My mouth dropped open as I stared at
her. Damn.
She glanced over at me and smiled before turning her
attention back to the front of the room.
The girl was gorgeous. Her hair was a light blonde color,
and her eyes were bright blue. I noticed she was wearing a shirt with some rock
band on the front. She was tiny, but she had more curves than most girls our
age. She looked like an angel.
She glanced over and caught me staring at her. She leaned
over closer to me and whispered, “I’m Chloe.”
I smiled at the sound of her voice. It was as sweet as the
rest of her.
“Logan,” I whispered back.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
Where am I from? I
sighed and decided to go with the last state we’d moved from. “Missouri.”
“Cool. I’ve lived here my entire life. I’ll warn you now—there’s
nothing to do around here. It’s boring as hell.”
I
smiled. I don’t think I’ll be
bored with you around.
“Good to know.”
We both turned back to pay attention to what Mrs. Jenkins
was saying. A few minutes later, Chloe poked my arm. I gave her a questioning
look.
“Do you think her hair is real or a wig?”
I snorted in laughter, but I quickly covered it with a cough
when the students in front of us turned to look. “Uh…I don’t know.”
“I vote wig. There is no way she could get her natural hair
that high on her head.”
I glanced up at the teacher and then back to Chloe. “I think
you’re right.”
“Finally! Someone agrees with me!” she snickered.
I spent the rest of class glancing in Chloe’s direction. I
couldn’t get over how pretty she was. Sure, I was a teenage guy, so I noticed
things like boobs and ass, but there was just something about this girl.
When the bell rang, she turned back to me. “Let me see your
schedule.”
I handed it to her, and she glanced over it.
“You have a couple of classes with me. Our next one is
together, and we have lunch together, too. I always sit with my friend, Amber.
You’re welcome to sit with us if you want.”
She smiled at me, and I knew right then and there that I was
fucked. This girl was already under my skin, and I wanted her more than
anything. I would make her mine.
“Sounds perfect,” I said.
Chapter
One
Four
Years Later: Fall
I deepened the kiss and started slowly sliding my hand under
Chloe’s shirt and up her stomach. She froze at the touch and pulled away.
“What’s wrong, babe? If we’re going too fast, just tell me.
I thought after the other day…” I looked at her with concern in my eyes.
I’d thought that we were in a good place, but her body
language was telling me otherwise. We’d been together for a few months now. Plus,
I’d known her for over four years, so I knew when something was wrong with her.
“Logan, remember how I wanted to talk to you the other day?”
I nodded, but I stayed silent as I tried to ignore the
sinking feeling in my stomach. Something was seriously wrong.
“Well, there’s something I need to tell you.” She closed her
eyes and took a deep breath before opening them to look at me again. “Something
happened between Drake and me. Right after we got together, I went over to his
house to hang out and study for a couple of our classes. Neither of us intended
for anything to happen, but we ended up having sex. I am so sorry I didn’t tell
you. I just couldn’t stand the thought of hurting you. It was an accident.”
I froze as I looked down at her. Drake was the local rock
star and someone she’d become good friends with since we came to West Virginia
University. While she had sworn that nothing was going on between the two of
them before, I’d noticed how he was always watching her. My gut had warned me
about him, but I’d refused to listen. Instead, I’d blindly trusted her,
assuming that she would never lie to me.
“An accident? What? You just accidentally fell on his dick?” I
yelled, losing my temper.
How could she do this
to us?
We’d been doing so well together. I was happy. She was happy—or
so I’d thought.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Why are you
telling me this now? Why wait all these months and then dump this on me?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just couldn’t take the guilt
anymore. I don’t want to keep lying to you.” She stared into my eyes.
“I’m glad you told me, Chloe. I want you to be honest with
me. I don’t really know what to say, but I’m trying to understand here. You
said this was right after we got together?”
She nodded.
“Okay, well, as long as it was just once, I am willing to
look past it. I know how confused you were about us then.” I pulled her into a
hug as she burst into tears. “What’s wrong, Chloe? I forgive you, baby girl. I
forgive you.”
She continued to sob as she managed to gasp out the few
words that would seal our fate. “It wasn’t just then. It happened again a
couple of weeks ago. I went to his house to try to work things out because we
hadn’t really talked since it happened, and things got carried away.”
My body tensed as I tried to fight the rage building inside
me. “You had sex with him two weeks ago? What the fuck, Chloe?” I dropped my arms
from around her like I’d been burned, and I stood up. She was still crying as I
continued yelling, “That son of a bitch! He knew you were mine, and he still
went after you. Twice! Un-fucking-believable! I’m going to kill him!” I stormed
across the room to the door and threw it open.
She jumped off the bed to go after me. “Logan! Logan, stop!
Where are you going?”
I glanced over my shoulder at her, and I headed for the
stairs. “I’m going to teach that bastard a lesson. I knew something was up
between you two. I just never thought he would pull that. I never thought you
would do this to me! How could you, Chloe?” I continued to yell as she chased
me down the stairs.
All around us, students stopped dead in the hallway and
stairs to stare at us as we passed.
“I’m so sorry, Logan, but please just stop.”
She reached for my arm, but I threw her hand away.
“Stay away from me, Chloe, or God help me, I won’t be
responsible for my actions.”
We had made it down the stairs and out into the parking lot.
I quickly unlocked my car and jumped in. Chloe tried to open the passenger
door, but I kept it locked as I put the car in drive. I left black marks as I
screeched out of the parking lot. I glanced back in my rearview mirror to see
her running for her own car and jumping in. I turned my attention back to the
main road.
I drove straight to the bar where Drake played, knowing he
would be playing on a Friday night. As soon as I shut off my car, I jumped out
and ran toward the building. I heard Chloe calling my name as she chased me
across the lot, but I ignored her as I went into the bar.
Drake was up on stage, playing with the band, when I
entered. I headed straight for the stage with Chloe on my heels. Before she
could stop me, I jumped up on the stage and punched Drake in the face. She screamed
as Drake’s head jerked back with the force of it. Blood started trickling down
onto his lips from his nose. The crowd started screaming, and the other band
members quickly grabbed me as I lunged for Drake again.
“What the fuck?” Drake yelled as he glared at me.
He glanced up and went pale when he saw Chloe standing in
front of the stage, crying and shaking.
“You stupid son of a bitch! Did you think I wouldn’t find
out that you’ve been fucking Chloe behind my back?”
I lunged again, and Adam, one of Drake’s bandmates, was
caught off guard, letting me go. Drake saw me coming and jumped back before
landing a punch of his own in my stomach. I grunted and dropped to one knee
before standing back up and going at Drake again.
“Come on, pretty boy, I’m standing right here. Come and get
me,” Drake taunted me.
I threw another punch that Drake wasn’t quick enough to
dodge, and it landed in his rib cage. I threw myself at Drake while the pain
distracted him, and we flew backward into the drums, sending them flying. I
could hear Chloe screaming at both of us as we continued to throw punches before
Adam and Eric could pull us apart.
Eric pried Drake off of me and held him tight as Adam
twisted my arm behind my back and held me in a death grip. I struggled to get
loose, but it was no use.
Jade—another one of Drake’s bandmates, who had been standing
on the end of the stage the entire time—put her fingers in her mouth and
whistled. “That’s it! Grow the fuck up, boys, or at least take it outside!”
I looked at Drake with pure hatred in my eyes. “How could
you, Drake? I asked you that day at lunch if there was anything between the two
of you before I went for her. You told me nothing was going on, and nothing
would. You promised me that you would leave her alone, and look what happened.
You fucked her not once but twice behind my back.”
Drake glared right back at me. “Yeah, I did fuck her twice
because once just wasn’t enough for me, and I’d do it again if I could.”
I tried to lunge for him, but Adam was prepared this time,
and he held tight.
“All right, guys, both of you outside now,” Adam growled as
he held me back.
He marched me offstage and across the bar to the door. Eric
followed closely behind, still holding on to Drake. With their arms wrapped
around each other, Jade and Chloe followed behind them at a distance.
When I stepped out into the cool night air, I breathed
deeply, trying to control my rage. How did
my life come to this?
Chloe was everything to me, and she’d betrayed me. She might
as well have stuck a knife in me. It wouldn’t have hurt as bad as this.
Once we were far enough away from the bar doors, Eric and
Adam released Drake and me, and they stepped back.
“All right, you want to kick the shit out of each other, be
my guest. We’re not going to stop you, but you guys need to get your shit
together. Fighting over a girl is fucking ridiculous, and you know it. So, do
what you want. Just get it out and over with before our drums suffer anymore,”
Eric growled as he and Adam made their way over to where Jade and Chloe were
standing.
Drake and I faced each other, both of us glaring at the other.
We both glanced down when Chloe stepped forward to stand between us.
“Listen to me, both of you. This is so stupid, like Eric
said. This is all my fault, and the two of you beating the shit out of each
other isn’t going to fix anything. I fucked up, not you two. So, if you want to
take your anger out on someone, take it out on me. I ruined everything.” Tears
ran down her face as she looked at both of us. “You both mean so much to me,
and I will never forgive myself for what I have done to you.”
She quickly turned away from us and headed across the
parking lot to her car before either of us could say anything. We watched in
silence as she pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner.
Once she was out of sight, I turned my attention back to Drake.
“You destroyed everything!” I shouted at him.
“Fuck this. I’m going back inside. As much fun as it would
be to watch you two idiots beat the shit out of each other, it’s cold out here,”
Adam muttered as he turned and walked back to the bar.
Eric and Jade watched us for a second before turning and
following him. I didn’t miss the pity in Jade’s eyes, but I ignored it. I
didn’t want anyone to feel pity for me.
“You think I don’t know that, asshole?” Drake said as he
glared at me. “I know this is my fault.”
“Then, why did you do it?” I shouted.
“Because I love her!” he shouted back, stopping me in my
tracks.
Of all the responses I’d expected, that wasn’t one of them.
Drake used women. He didn’t love them.
“You what?” I asked incredulously.
“I love her. I’ve tried to ignore it—believe me, I’ve tried—but
I can’t. I love her, and I don’t know what the fuck to do about it.”
“You’re incapable of love, Drake. I’ve watched you screw
every woman in sight for months!”
“I haven’t touched another woman since I figured out how I felt
about Chloe. I wouldn’t do that to her.” He ran his hands through his hair.
“Look, I think we need to talk and not in the middle of a parking lot. My house
is right around the corner. Let’s go there and figure shit out, okay?”
I stared at him, debating on whether to go with him or punch
him again. Finally, I decided that talking was the only thing that would solve
this whole mess even if punching him would make me feel better. “Fine. Let’s
go.”
Neither of us said a word as we walked to his house. He hadn’t
been kidding when he said he lived right around the corner. I waited
impatiently as he unlocked his front door, and then we walked inside. Once he
flipped on the lights, we walked to the living room and sat down across from
each other.
“So, now what?” I finally asked after several minutes of
silence.
“I don’t fucking know. I do
know that I want Chloe more than anything else in this world,” he said as he
stared at me.
“Yeah, well, so do I. I’ve loved her since the moment I laid
eyes on her. It’s taken me five years to get up the nerve to tell her how I
feel, and then you come along and sweep her off her feet in a few months.”
“I didn’t mean for it to go down like this. I’m not a
complete asshole. I just…I can’t control myself around her.”
“I’ve noticed,” I growled as I clenched my hands into fists.
“If I had known she was sleeping with you and me both at the same time, I would
have—”
“You would have what? Left her? Told her you hated her?
Called her a slut?” he asked.
“I don’t know what I would have done, okay? I’ve spent most
of my teenage years in love with her. I don’t know what to do.”
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “This is so
fucked-up! I actually care about one girl, and she’s with someone else.”
“We have to let her choose. That’s all we can do,” I said.
He looked up at me and smirked. “And the loser does what?
Walks away and pretends that none of this happened?”
“I guess so. What other choice do we have?”
“I can’t just walk away from her, Logan.”
“You have to. And if she chooses you”—I took a deep breath—“I’ll
walk away. We’re ripping her apart.”
“You’re right.” Drake stood and kicked the chair he’d just been
sitting in. “Why the fuck can’t I let her go?”
“For the same reason I can’t—you love her. Chloe is
special.”
He smiled, the first one I’d seen all night. “Yeah, she is.”
I frowned as he stared off into space with that damn smile
on his face. He pulled out his phone and started typing on it.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Texting her to see if she’s okay. She was really upset when
she left the bar.”
“So, what do you want to do? Go talk to her now, or wait
until she calms down?” I asked.
“Let’s wait. I doubt if she’d speak to either of us right
now,” Drake said as he looked at me. “Look, I know you don’t like me, and I
sure as hell don’t like you, but let’s try to be civil with each other until
this is sorted out. Once she chooses, we can go back to hating each other. I
don’t want to upset her more than she already is.”
“Fine with me,” I mumbled.
We spent the next hour texting Chloe, but she didn’t respond
to either of us. I started to worry, especially with her psychotic mother
trying to contact her again.
“Maybe I should go check on her,” I said as I stood and
started walking to the door.
“You’re not going over there without me. I don’t know what
you’ll say to her. I’m coming with you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I just want to make sure she’s
okay.”
I ignored him as I walked back to the bar where my car was
parked. I climbed in and drove back to the dorm, refusing to think about
anything. I would deal with everything when I was in my room by myself. If I
thought about it now, I’d lose my mind and probably hit Drake again.
I pulled into the dorm parking lot and shut off my car. I
stared at the dorm in front of me, unable to move. I didn’t want to face Chloe
right now. I loved her more than anything, but I also hated her at the moment.
We’d finally found happiness, and she had to go and screw it all up. If she had
stayed away from Drake, we’d still be in her room together right now.
I opened my door when I saw Drake walking past my car. I
followed as he walked into the dorm. I wasn’t about to let him see her alone
either. I couldn’t handle that yet. We were both silent as we walked up the
stairs and onto her floor. Once we reached the door, Drake knocked. A minute
later, the door swung open, and Chloe was standing in front of us. Even though
I was pissed, the mere sight of her took my breath away.
She smiled at both of us as soon as she saw us. “Hey, guys!
How are you?” She giggled. “Actually, never mind. You’re both pretty damn fine,
like always.”
She turned without another word and made her way back to her
bed. She fell on top of it, and she glanced back at us, still smiling.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” I mumbled to Drake as I
stepped into the room. “Are you all right, Chloe?” I asked, my voice louder.
“I’m great! I had a couple of shots, and now, I’m all set.”
She smiled brightly at us. “What are you guys doing here? Wait, you’re
together, and there’s no blood!”
Both of us continued to stare at her. I glanced around the
room to see a bottle of vodka on her nightstand. Shit, she’s drunk. That was what the warm welcome had been all
about.
I leaned down beside her bed and looked into her glassy eyes.
“Just how many shots have you had, love?”
“Only a couple.” She
motioned to the bottle on the nightstand. “See? It’s still full. I just opened
it tonight.”
Drake glanced at the stand before looking back at her. “Uh,
Chloe, the bottle is empty.”
She stared at the bottle, realizing that he was right. She
slapped her hand across her face before laughing. “Whoops! Guess it’s a good
thing it was the cheap stuff. Otherwise, I’d be seriously drunk right now.”
Drake and I exchanged looks with each other, both of our
expressions filled with concern. She was past drunk and moving into wasted.
“Chloe, honey, you are
drunk, excessively drunk actually,” I said as I watched her.
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, guys, I’m fine. Why are you
here?”
Drake spoke up from his spot in front of the bed. “Look,
Chloe, you’re trashed, so I don’t think right now is a good time to talk, like Logan
and I planned. We’ll come back tomorrow”—he glanced at the bottle again—“or the
day after. I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to be up to any talking tomorrow.”
“I said, I’m fine!” she
grumbled as she sat up.
Two seconds later, she grabbed the garbage can beside the
bed and threw up violently into it. I jumped back a couple of feet as she
continued to throw up. It seemed like hours passed until she finished.
Jesus. I’d never
seen her like this.
Finally, there seemed to be nothing left in her stomach, and
she rolled back onto her bed, groaning, “Fuck. Maybe I am drunk.”
Drake chuckled quietly. “No shit, Chloe.”
She glared at him. “Just say what you came here to say,
asshole.”
“We came to tell you
to decide who you want. Both of us want you, but who you want is what really
matters. Whoever you don’t choose will back off—no questions asked.”
She looked back and forth between us. “What if I want both
of you?”
And then, she passed out.
Fuck.
Release Date: May 19th, 2014
Cover Reveal: April 19th, 2014
