The next morning, Ava seemed normal.
Completely normal.
She walked into the café like she always did. Ordered coffee. Sat beside Logan.
Marcus and Tess were arguing about something trivial again. Jake and Bruce were discussing a match they had watched the night before. Ethan had shown up again for once.
Raxian sat with Sable near the window.
Sable was progressively recovering.
Everything looked ordinary.
If Logan hadn't been paying attention, he might not have noticed anything.
But he was.
And Ava was quieter than usual.
Not by much.
Just enough.
-
Gym class came after lunch.
Logan noticed immediately when Ava didn't change with the rest of the class.
She was sitting on the bleachers instead.
Watching.
Not participating.
Tess frowned.
"Sable… does Ava ever skip gym?"
Sable shook her head slightly.
"No."
That alone was enough to concern them.
They told the others.
Logan didn't say anything.
But he walked over to the bleachers.
Ava looked up when he approached.
"You forgot your gym clothes?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah."
Logan stared at her for a moment.
That was a lie.
Ava didn't forget things.
Not homework.
Not schedules.
Not gym clothes.
She was too responsible.
Which meant there had to be another reason.
Logan leaned casually against the railing beside the bleachers.
His mind wandered.
To yesterday.
To the moment Ava's father walked into the apartment.
The anger in his voice.
The way he looked at Logan.
And suddenly a thought entered Logan's mind.
A dark one.
What if they hit her?
He immediately rejected it.
That was ridiculous.
Parents didn't do that.
Right?
Yet the thought refused to disappear.
Logan frowned slightly.
He didn't know why his mind went there.
And he definitely couldn't ask something like that.
That would be insane.
Then Ava moved slightly.
She rolled her sleeve up just enough to reveal something underneath.
Logan's gaze dropped.
Bruises.
Faint purple marks along her arm.
Logan slowly looked back up at her.
His expression didn't change much.
Still calm.
Still unreadable.
But something in his eyes shifted.
Concern.
Just a hint of it.
He didn't ask.
She had shown him.
So he waited.
Ava looked away toward the gym floor.
"My dad hit me yesterday."
Logan absorbed the words quietly.
There was no dramatic reaction.
Just silence.
Then he asked one thing.
"…where else?"
Ava shook her head.
"Only my arm."
Thankfully.
Logan studied the bruises again.
Then he asked another question.
"Did Liam see?"
Ava shook her head again.
"He was in his room."
Logan had a feeling that didn't necessarily mean Liam hadn't heard it.
But he didn't say that out loud.
Logan leaned his arms against the railing.
He didn't really know how to react.
Physical abuse…
That could be reported.
It wasn't safe for her to stay there.
Was it?
His mind started racing through possibilities.
Should someone know?
Should someone intervene?
What could Ava do?
What should she do?
Before he could speak, Ava interrupted his thoughts.
"For them to hit me is fine."
Logan looked at her.
"If it escalates," she continued calmly, "I'll defend myself."
She said it like a simple fact.
Not bravado.
Not fear.
Just logic.
"But I don't want anyone else to see me like this."
Her voice softened slightly.
"Especially Liam."
Something strange stirred inside Logan's chest again.
That same feeling he had noticed before.
Protectiveness.
Strong enough that it almost surprised him.
For a brief moment he had an impulse.
To pull her closer.
To shield her somehow.
He suddenly understood something.
So this is how Raxian feels about Sable.
Logan looked back at her.
"If you need help," he said quietly, "I'll be there."
Ava shook her head.
"I don't want to rely on you."
Logan frowned slightly.
"Then why tell me?"
She hesitated for a moment.
Then answered honestly.
"You're the only one I can trust with this."
That made Logan pause.
For a moment he didn't say anything.
The gym echoed with the sound of basketballs hitting the floor.
Students shouting.
Whistles blowing.
But Logan barely noticed.
Because something about that sentence settled deep inside his chest.
You're the only one I can trust.
He wasn't sure why those words affected him so strongly.
But they did.
And suddenly Marcus's joke from yesterday echoed in his mind again.
You two look like a couple.
Logan glanced at Ava.
She was staring at the gym floor.
Quiet.
Composed.
Strong in ways most people didn't even realize.
And for the first time Logan understood something clearly.
He didn't just like being around her.
He cared about her.
A lot more than he had admitted to himself before.