The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(90)

I grabbed some gravel from the side of the road and ran up to the house, throwing it at the front door. My aim was off and I heard the sound of windows cracking as the small rocks slammed into them. I saw a light come on, and I stood there defiantly. I wasn’t scared and I didn’t care what happened. It was time for me to face the mayor. I needed to let him have it, and I didn’t care if I was arrested in the process.





Chapter 4

Maddie



I heard the sounds of thunder against the windows downstairs and I sat up, slightly frightened. My mother’s cat came running into my room hissing, and I jumped out of bed, unsure of what to do. I wanted to go downstairs to see what had happened, but I knew that was a bad move. I’d seen enough horror movies to know that only idiots went to see what was going on. But I also knew I didn’t want to stay in my room, waiting for something to happen. I sighed and reached for my old tennis racket in the corner of my room. It wasn’t a baseball bat, but it would have to do. Why had my parents chosen this week to go out of town? I was super pumped when they had told me they were going out of town and they hadn’t made me go with them. I had almost been in shock; my dad was so overprotective that he usually liked to accompany me to the grocery store. It had taken me four months to convince him that I would be safe going to a college out of state, without a private bodyguard. It was so annoying and cloistering, and I hadn’t known what I was going to do if he kept hovering over me as if I were some soon-to-be-extinct species.

The fact that they had chosen to let me stay home by myself was a huge feat, and I knew that if he knew what I had done the previous night, I’d never be let out again. But I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It had been the best night of my life. I hugged myself as I thought of my time with Logan Martelli; it had been magical. He was magical when I got into the car to be with him, or maybe that feeling was due to the fact that my heart had still been racing after my attempted car theft. That had been crazy, and I still couldn’t quite believe that I had done it. I hadn’t planned on trying to steal it; my only plan had been to go down to the pier to bump into Logan. That was the best way to meet him; at least that was what I had been told. But then as I was walking and saw the cop car with the keys in the ignition, something came over me. I wanted to know what it felt like, but I panicked when the cops saw me pull away, and I jumped out of the car and started running. I knew I could outrun them; being the track star of your high school will give you that confidence. And then I saw Logan staring at me, and I paused for one brief second. And as our eyes connected, I saw the amazement, respect, and surprise in his eyes. And I felt like I was on fire. He was even more gorgeous than I had expected. I wanted to run over to him and kiss him, but I knew I couldn’t stop.

My immobile body started shaking as I heard the sound of cracking down the stairs. My grip tightened on the tennis racket and I took a deep breath and crept through my open bedroom door and walked down the stairs slowly. I listened to the creaking of the stairs underneath my feet and cursed that my parents hadn’t updated the historic mansion and put in a marble staircase. I tiptoed down and held my breath. I looked into the formal living room that was next to the entryway and realized that the windows were cracked and not broken. I peered through the windows and my breath caught as I saw the solitary figure standing by the main gate at the front of the house. It was Logan. What was he doing here? And why was he trying to destroy my house? Was he mad? I ran to the front door without thinking and ran outside in a hurry.

“Logan,” I screamed at him, my heart beating rapidly. “What are you doing?”

“Where’s your dad?” His voice was hoarse and he had a crazed look in his eyes.

“He’s not here,” I shouted at him as I ran down the porch steps. “Come inside.”

“What do you mean, he’s not here?” He frowned at me. “You told me you didn’t want to come home right away because you didn’t want to deal with your parents.”

“I lied.” I looked at him coolly, still mad at how he had treated me earlier in the evening.

“You lied?” His eyes narrowed and he took a step back. “What the fuck?”

“Would you have taken me to the field if you had known my parents weren’t home?” I shivered in the cool night air. I was only wearing a pair of short-shorts and a tank top. I saw Logan look down at me, and his eyes took in my whole appearance. I shivered again, but this time it wasn’t because I was cold.

“You were in bed?”

“Yeah, it’s still nighttime, you know.”

“Actually, it’s morning.” He gave me a sarcastic smile, and I resisted the urge to kiss him and wipe the cocky smile off of his face.

“Actually, most normal people are still in bed sleeping at this hour.”

“Actually, most working-class people are getting up at this hour because they have to get to their minimum-wage-paying jobs.”

“Well, I guess that rules you out, then?” I lifted one eyebrow at him. “Or do car thieves make minimum wage these days?”

“Maybe car thieves get up early to steal cars before anyone else is up.” He leaned towards me and my heart fluttered. “But you tell me, seeing as you joined the ranks yesterday, or at least, tried to join.”

“Come inside.” I grabbed his arm, and my stomach dropped as he yanked it back away from me. “I don’t want people to see us standing out here.”

“Scared to be seen with the town criminal?”

“No, but I don’t want people to call the cops because they don’t know what’s going on.”

Logan stared at me for a few seconds and shook his head. “I’m going home, have a good night, Maddie.”

“Wait a minute.” I poked him in the chest. “You’re not going to tell me why you were throwing rocks at my windows?”

“I wasn’t throwing rocks,” he responded petulantly, and I almost laughed.

“Pebbles, rocks, whatever,” I hissed and walked up to him. “But, I guess that’s your M.O., just walk away when the questions start coming.”

“Excuse me?” He glared at me. “I’m not walking away from anything. Just because you don’t get your way every single time, it doesn’t mean that I’m the bad guy. Maybe this will help you see what the real world is about.”

I tried to ignore the hurt that coursed through me. I had been told he had a chip on his shoulder. It wasn’t personal. I just had to remember that.

“Please come in, Logan.” My voice was soft and I stared into his eyes, this time resisting the urge to touch him again.

“Why?” He laughed. “You want to fuck again?”

I turned away from him and felt my face flush. I wanted to slap him across the face, but I couldn’t ignore the heaviness between my legs. He was right: I did want to sleep with him again. More than anything. But I also knew what he must think of me. What sort of girl sleeps with a guy on the first day they met? And what sort of a girl sleeps with a guy a second time after he treats her like shit? I didn’t want to be that sort of girl.

“I’d like to chat.” I looked back at him again. “That’s it.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds and I watched as Logan ran his hands through his dark blond tousled hair again. His eyes narrowed as he thought, and I could see that his shoulders were tensed. He looked back into my eyes, and as I stared into his deep, secretive green irises, I felt excited and scared.

“Okay.” He paused. “I’ll come in for a few minutes.”

“Great.” My heart soared and I walked quickly back up to the door with him right behind me. A part of me was a little scared. I really had no idea what I was getting into letting Logan Martelli into my house and my life. I’d had a small crush on him for a few years but that was based on a few photos and conversations about him with friends I’d gone to elementary school with, in the summers I’d come home from boarding school.

“Let’s go upstairs.” I closed the door behind him, not knowing if I was being too forward by taking him up to my bedroom.

“Okay.” He looked around the house almost eagerly and I saw him soaking everything in. A part of me was worried that he was taking inventory of all of my parents’ belongings. Maybe he was planning on coming back to steal everything. I ignored the brief hesitation and grabbed his arm. “Ready?”

“Your house is just as I imagined it would be inside.” His tone was even and almost wondering. “It’s grand, but it’s warm as well.” He stared at the antique grandfather clock next to the dining room entryway and walked over to it. “This is nice.”

“It’s heavy.” I uttered the words without thinking and blushed. He turned towards me with a sardonic smiled and rolled his eyes.

“Thanks for letting me know. I guess I won’t steal it when I come back.”

“I didn’t mean that.” I walked to him. “I’m surprised you came back tonight, after what you said earlier.”

“I came to talk to your father.”

“Why?” I didn’t really understand why he cared to talk to my father. Was he planning on telling him that I was on my way to becoming criminal and had slept with him in a field? It didn’t make sense.