The gray, drizzly Seattle sky was the complete opposite of my mood. I was moving all over the house, making sure that everything was in order for Logan's thirtieth birthday. My mother had my three month-old daughter, Addison in the kitchen and Lea was making sure everyone was in place for when Logan got home. Quickly, I finished strapping on my heels and I clicked into the kitchen. "How's she doing?" I asked my mother, taking my daughter in my arms. Already my beautiful daughter was looking like her father with his dark hair and eyes. She giggled as I tickled her. "She was being kind of cranky when I tried to get her to eat earlier."
My mother smiled and got up, straightening her calf-length skirt. She said, "She ate fine just now. And she's not in a bad mood either. She'll be just peachy when Logan gets home in a couple of minutes."
"Hear that, Addy?" I said with a big smile on my face. "Daddy's almost home!" I gave an excited gasp, making her look at me with wide eyes and a coo. "Let's go, Mom," I said, walking into the living room where the ton of people that Logan knew and worked with were gathered. Lea, her boyfriend Pablo, and my brother Stephen were all having the time of their lives talking with most of them. My brother in particular seemed to be cozying up to Logan's colleague, Dr. Rita. Dr. Rita was the woman who had done the emergency C-section when Addison was born and Stephen had lost his heart all those months ago. And the good doctor seemed to be enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying hers. After I had delivered Addison, it was a few weeks before we were able to get home. We then moved into a huge old house on a quiet street close to the hospital that Logan worked at. Logan filed for divorce with his wife, Lisa, but she disappeared without anyone knowing where she was, leaving us no option to get married. She still had not showed up and I wasn't exactly hoping she would. I had seen Lisa once in my life and I'd only seen her from afar. Her body was tall, lean, and built like a supermodel's. Her hair was the perfect shade of blonde and her eyes were a glittering blue-grey that pierced like ice.
If I ever saw her, I was sure that she'd want to come after me.
"Alright people!" I called out with Addison on my hip. "He should be home any minute. If you're not surprising, you don't get booze." There was a mock groan in the room and I laughed. Lea excused herself from her conversation to come over and take Addison from me. "Auntie Lea just can't seem to keep her hands off you, can she?" I cooed.
Lea just held Addison up in the air and laughed. "You're just so much more fun than your Mommy, you know that?" she told Addison, who just smiled down at her godmother. I put a birthday hat on Addison's head and laughed as she looked up at it with confusion.
People had quieted down now and we all heard the door to the garage open. "Char?" Logan called. I shushed the people in the living room, shut the lights off, and walked down the hall and into the kitchen where Logan was kicking off his shoes. His face brightened when he saw me and I went over to kiss him. He bent his head down and put his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his body. "Mmm," he said, burying his face in my neck. "Where's Addy?" he asked, letting his hands travel from my waist down to my thighs. He unbuttoned the buttons near the top of his shirt and I laughed.
"No," I said firmly, trying to hide a smile. "C'mon." I grabbed his hands and pulled him with me down the hall towards the living room.
"What's going on?" he laughed as we walked down the hallway and into the darkened living room. I popped the lights on and the swarms of 'Suprise's filled the room. Logan's face was completely suprised and broke out into a smile. Addison's face lit up when he walked into the room and she held out her arms, wanting her father. I laughed and he leaned down to kiss me again. "Thanks, Char," he whispered in my ear.
I sighed and he went forward to take Addison in his arms. "Hey," he said, kissing her forehead, trying to avoid knocking the hat off the top of her head. He began going around and thanking people while I sat back and watched him. Despite being happy looking, he also appeared to be tired. Even when he was tired though, he looked sexy. Logan's dark eyes met mine from across the room and he smiled at me lovingly.
Lea came up beside and put her hand on my shoulder. "You did good with this, babe," she said, leaning her head against me. "You did good."
"Thanks," I murmured. "And thank you for helping me put it together." I hugged her tightly. "Thank you for being with me through all this crap."
"You're very welcome," she said with a smile. We embraced again and we went to help pour the drinks.
***
"I'm going to go get some more ice," I said, rising from the floor where Logan, Addison, and I were huddled. Stephen and two of Logan's friends were passed out on the floor already and my mother and the rest of Logan's friends had already headed home. Lea and Pablo were sitting on the couch, sipping from a bottle of champagne.
Logan smiled and touched my calf. "Hurry back," he murmured. I leaned down and kissed him softly, then dashed off down the hall and into the kitchen. Opening the door to the garage, I flicked the light on and stepped onto the cold cement floor. The cold made me feel like I was walking on ice and I silently cursed myself for not bothering to throw my shoes back on.
When I was about to open the freezer, a voice called out, "Little bit cold of an evening for not wearing any shoes wouldn't you say...Charlotte?"
Startled, I backed up against the freezer. "Who's there?" I called out nervously. I heard rustling from the darkness.
"You didn't think I would miss my husband's birthday, did you?" From the shadows crept a tall, elegant woman clad in a skimpy red dress. Her cat-like features had an amused look on them and her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a twist. My saphire blue eyes met her ice blue ones. A shot of fear raced up my spine.
Lisa.
Apparently my expression made her laugh. "Don't look so afraid of me," she said, her voice layered thick with charm. I could sense a trace of poison too. "I hear you're not afraid of much. I'm certainly not very frightening." She sauntered forward and leaned against Logan's car, patting the spot beside her. "Come here. Let's have a little chat, shall we." I stood rooted to the ground. Her laugh came out as musically the second time as it had the first. "Suit yourself, my dear." Taking on a more serious look, she said, "Now, I want you to listen. You will pack up your things and you will leave here with no explanation why. You will leave Logan and you will leave Addison, who will be brought up as my daughter. You-"
Finally I found my voice. "You will never lay a finger on my daughter!" I cried, rushing towards her, ready to beat her to the ground. But Lisa was stronger and faster than me. She had her hands around my throat and my body up against the wall before I could blink. I struggled to claw at her hands, trying desperately to get some air.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to interrupt?" she asked, her voice staying infuriatingly calm. "Now, as I was saying, your daughter is going to be my daughter. You will never hear her call you 'Mommy'. That baby is supposed to be mine. Logan is mine!" Her voice was razor sharp and her nails were now digging trenches into my neck. With no other option, I brought my knee up into Lisa's chest and kicked her backwards into the car. She fell backwards with a crash and I made a run for the door.
"Grab her!" Lisa screeched. My hand almost reached the doorknob when two pairs of arms grabbed me from behind. I let out a cry of pain as one of them swiftly thrust their fist into my stomach, making buckle over. The two men that had me were carrying me out of the garage. From the door that led into the house appeared Logan and Lea, both of them looking confused. When they saw what was going on, both of them sprang out the door.
"Logan!" I screamed, still kicking at my captors. They reached the street where there was a sleek black car parked, throwing me inside the vehicle. Both of them and Lisa made it into the back, slamming the door shut.
"Drive!" one of the men shouted as the driver of the car sped away from the curb. I was able to get one last look out the back window at Logan running as fast as he could down the street. As we drove faster, his figure began to fade until we turned a corner and then I couldn't see him at all.
"Knock her out," Lisa commanded. Before I could start fighting again, a fierce blow was dealt to my head and I fell into a dark spiraling hole.
***
When my eyes opened again, a terrible throbbing pain was the first thing I felt. The second thing was that I was laying on a damp, freezing floor and the room was dimly lit.
"Hello Sunshine," Lisa said, kneeling down to look at me. I gazed up at her, unable to move. The bitch had kidnapped me! How crazy was she? "Glad to see that you're awake. I've got a little suprise for you." She snapped her fingers and an achingly familiar face entered the room.
"Asher?" I croaked.
Asher strolled into the room just as if he was coming into a class in high school. His handsome face was the same, his bloodshot eyes were the same, his smug expression was the same. However, he had cut off all his hair, leaving himself with a buzzcut. "Oh, hey Charlie!" he said brightly, kneeling down next to Lisa to smile wickedly at me. "How are you? A couple pounds lighter than when we last met, I see."
"Asher, what the hell are you doing with her?" I demanded. "She's crazy!"
He sighed. "Lisa here is my partner. We're working towards the same thing. Getting revenge." His eyes glowed when he said the word 'revenge'. "And she's going to let me have my way." He swiftly removed his shirt and began to unzip his pants. Lisa smirked at me and retreated to a corner.
As Asher got down on the ground, I backed away. "Asher, no! No, no, no! Please don't!"
"Oh, yes. I'm going to!" he responded, crawling over closer to me. He landed on top of me and I began to scream. Tears rolled down my face and I thrashed around, trying to escape from Asher's hands, which had found a way to remove my underwear.
Pain hit me and I screamed. "Stop! Please, Asher! Just stop!" His fist met my face and I knew that fighting would do me no good. In the corner, I heard Lisa giggle like a schoolgirl.
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