More Than This - Logan Exclusive Scene



            The next morning Dad calls to let me know he just ran into Mandy at the store. She’s spending the weekend packing up Micky’s house. She told him that her and Nathan are turning the room above their garage into a bedroom for her. It’s a pretty amazing thing to do, but her and Nathan are pretty amazing people, so it does’t surprise me. Not even the slightest. Dad also mentioned that Mandy’s having a hard time finding a rental truck that’s not stick. Apparently she can’t drive stick. I can. I don’t even think twice about helping out.
            I call Dylan to see if he wants to trade cars for the day. His truck will be more useful than mine. I don’t know how much stuff Mandy plans on bringing over but his truck alone might be enough.
            “Hey, man,” he greets, when the call connects.
            “Hey. So I kind of have a favor to ask.”
            “Shoot. What is it?”
            “I need to borrow your truck. You feel like trading for the day?”
            “What for? I mean, it’s no problem. Just curious why.”
            “I’m going to help Mandy move some of Micky’s stuff from her house over to Jake’s.”
            It’s quiet for a beat. I guess he’s taking in what I just said.
            “Hang on,” he says. Then I think he covers the phone with his hand because I can hear the muffled sound of people talking. “You there?”
            “Yeah.”
            “Dude, we’ll all help out.”
            “All?”
            “Yeah, Cam, Lucy, Heidi and me.” The line’s silent for a moment, while I think about what he’s saying. It’s cool that they’re willing to give up their time to help out. I mean, it’s not a big deal for me. I have nothing better to do. “Logan,” Cam starts. “Uh, it’s not—we’re just having breakfast together. I mean, it’s Heidi and Lucy’s thing. We’d invite you, but I didn’t think you’d—”
            “Dude, it’s fine.” He must have mistaken my silence for something else.
            “It’s just that, they like to have these double dates and—”
            “Seriously, I don’t care.” I really don’t. “So meet me over at the field. I’ll call Mandy now and get the address. How long do you need?”
            “We’re done here. We’ll be there in 15.”
            We hang up and I call Mandy. She yelps excitedly when I tell her that we’re coming to help. Something about taking on way too much on her own. Whatever. I’m just glad we can help Micky somehow.

***

            Micky’s house is a good half hour drive away. She lives further out of town than anyone I know. You can see the damage the fire has made from the outside. The garage is completely gone and the part of the house that’s attached to it is half missing. We pull up in 3 different cars. When we get in, Mandy practically pounces on all of us. She starts to give out orders and we comply. She came here last night and took picture’s of Micky’s room. She wants to replicate it over at her house. She’s already gone through the house and packed anything valuable or personal. She was leaving Micky’s room to last. The girls go there and start packing the smaller stuff. They empty her dresser and closet and move to the bathroom to do the same. Cam and Dylan are looking at the bed, seeing how to pull it apart to fit on Dylan’s truck. I stand over her dresser and look at her things. She has picture frames with her best friend and James all over the place. Pictures of her and her family, too. A few with just her and her sister. Emily, I think her name is. She has girly stuff all over the place, perfumes, dried flowers, a bunch of those note cards with writing on them. I don’t read them.
            She has a necklace hanging around one of the frames, a picture of her and James in it. They’re facing each other. He has his arm around her waist, she’s leaning back slightly, looking up at him. Huge smiles on both their faces. In the background you can make out a banner hanging up; “Happy 18th Kayla”. Under the banner you can just make out her best friend. Megan, I think. She’s looking right at them with a scowl on her face. Huh.
            I finger the necklace and it falls off the frame. I pick it up and look at it. It’s got a heart pendant with a huge diamond in the middle.
            We’re only there for a couple hours before everything is packed. Heidi and Dylan go with Mandy to the hardware store to pick up paint supplies and rope to tie down the furniture on the back of the truck. Cam and Lucy hang back with me to do a final check of the house.
            I open the door opposite Micky’s room, and it must be Emily’s, because it screams prepubescent girl. Everything is purple. It’s basically a shrine to Justin Bieber. It make me chuckle a little.
            I take a few steps in and spin in a slow circle, taking a look around. When I’m half way around, I swear, I almost shit myself. I hold my hand to my heart, to settle it down. A frickin full size Justin Bieber cardboard cut out is staring right at me. I move a little to the left, but his eyes follow. I move to the right, same thing. It’s freaking me the fuck out.
            I calm myself down, then keep looking around the room. She has one of those cork boards with pictures all over it. I walk to stand in front of it and check it out. They’re pictures of her and her family. All of them laughing, and smiling with her. She has some of when she was a baby, then some older, up to now. She’s smiling in every one. I pull of what I think might be the latest one of her and hold it in my hands. Then I lean against the wall and slide down it, sitting with my back against it.
            I’m staring at the picture when Lucy walks in, “Logan?” She sees my sitting on the floor, then takes in the room. “Jesus Christ,” she breaths out. “It’s like Barney vomited in here.”
            I chuckle. “Think she liked Justin Bieber?”
            She laughs and takes a seat next to me. She nudges me with her elbow. “What you got there?” She nods towards the picture in my hand. I hand it to her. She stares at it for a long moment, before handing it back. Then she looks at me, straight at me. We sit there looking at each other for who know how long. Then slowly, her eyes fill with tears, and a single one drops. My hand automatically comes to wipe it away. “Luce?”
            “It’s just so sad, you know? I mean, it doesn’t matter who this happens to. We barely know Micky and we feel this. Can you imagine . . . I mean, I hate to say this, or even think it, but could you imagine if it happened to one of us. It could have. It could have happened to any of us.” She takes a deep breath, and tries to continue through the lump in her throat. “What if something happens to my dad, Logan. Then it would just be me and all six of my fricken brothers. What would—” She breaks down in a sob and I put my arm around her. I kiss the top of her head.
            “Lucy, nothing is going to happen, and if it does, you have all of us. We would all be there for you.” She begins to cry even harder, causing her breath to catch every few seconds. “Hey,” I coo. I bring her into me and hold on to her tighter. “Nothing is going to happen, I pro—”
            I get interrupted by Cam clearing his throat. I look up at him, standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. He glares at me, eyes narrowed. “Plus,” I look back to Lucy, “You have one thing that Micky doesn’t.”
            She looks back at me, blinking away her tears. I pull myself away from her and stand up. She watches me. “You have Cam.”
            I start to leave the room and Cam nods his head in understanding, before brushing past me and taking a seat next to Lucy on the floor.
            “Hey, baby. . . .” I hear him say, before I make my way down the stairs and out to my car.

***

            We spend all of saturday and most of sunday morning at Jake’s house. The girls have painted and decorated and it looks exactly the same as her room back at her house. Mandy is an amazing woman. If I had a mom, I’d want it to be her. Plus, she’s kind of hot . . . for a mom. Just saying.

***

            Jake: Thank you! You have no idea how happy Kayla is right now.
            Logan: All good.