TWIN PASSIONS: (A Logan Brothers Novel) (24 page)

Crash looked directly at me, his
weary exterior beginning to harden. “I'm giving you this as a way
out Zack. Don't forget that. You've got yourself into this mess, and
you should think yourself lucky that you're getting away this
lightly.”

“
Lucky?” I said, my voice
growing louder. “You have no idea what really happened. This is all
bullshit Crash.” My head began pounding as my voice raised.

Crash was shaking his head. “I
saw the picture of you leaving Gemma's apartment on Saturday morning
Zack, Cade showed it to me. Why do you keep lying? It's only making
things worse.”

My anger continued to brew but I
kept it locked down, growling through my teeth in an effort to keep
my voice low. “Nothing happened...I slept on the sofa. I'd only
gone over there to find out if she knew anything about this whole
fucking mess. I swear to you Crash, on dad's life, on mom's life,
that nothing is going on between me and Gemma.” I was looking him
straight in the eye, trying to get through to him.

His face began to contort
slightly, his eyebrows arching down, his lips thinning. “Don't do
that, Zack. Don't swear against our parents like that.”

“
But it's true...”

“
STOP....just stop. We're all
happy you're OK Zack, but now you need to go. Take some time, let
things settle. I'll be in touch.”

With that he stood up and turned
away, pacing quickly towards the door, leaving me alone, once more,
with nothing but my frustration to keep me company.

Present Day

Gemma

I sped right through the front
doors of Denver Point Hospital and straight towards the wide
reception desk at the front. There was a middle aged woman behind the
counter, busily rustling through a drawer.

“
Excuse me,” I said quickly,
“where's Zack Logan?”

She looked up at me, her eyes
showing signs that she recognized who I was.

“
Are you family?” she asked.

“
I'm a friend. Can you tell me
where he is please. Is he OK?”

She eyed me for a moment before
turning to her computer and bringing up his notes. “OK...Zack Logan.
He was brought in on Saturday evening,” she said, reading off the
screen, “and was taken to room....124. It's just down the hall in
that direction.” She pointed over to my left with her eyes towards
the hospital wards.

“
Thank you,” I said, turning
and walking briskly off down the hall.

My heart was beating rapidly as
I went, my eyes darting around looking for the right room. I hadn't
been to a hospital in many years, not since I'd fractured my arm as a
little girl back in New York. The place seemed so alien to me,
somewhere I'd only ever see on television or when watching a film.

But this was real. Zack was laid
up somewhere down the corridor and it was all down to that scheming
bitch Tara and her puppetmaster, Mrs Banks. I didn't know what sort
of state he'd be in. I didn't even know if he'd be conscious. For all
I knew he could be in a coma or fucking brain-dead or something.

When I got to room 124 I stopped
briefly outside, my hand shaking as I lifted it up to turn the door
handle. I peered through the window, afraid I'd see Cade or Crash or
another one of his brothers sitting by his bedside.

No, he was alone, lying staring
at the ceiling, his eyes fixed in place, unmoving. I felt my gut
wrench at the sight, at the way he was just staring into space, this
vacant expression on his face. He looked lost, like he didn't know
who he was anymore.

I turned back to the door and
steadied my hand over the handle, twisting carefully before pushing
it open. His eyes slowly fell on me as I entered and a smile grew
quickly on his face. He looked completely worn and battered, his face
badly bruised and this large white bandage wrapped around his head.

I rushed forward when I saw him
turn to me, his eyes twinkling through their veil of sorrow when he
saw me appear around the door. I hugged him, bending down onto the bed
and wrapping my arms over him. I felt a huge surge of relief rush out
of me at seeing him there, safe, in the hospital bed. I'd been so
worried that something worse had happened, that he'd been seriously
hurt. 

I heard him groan beneath my
grip as I hugged him tight, and quickly loosened up my arms, leaning
back up. He smiled up at me and lifted his hand to wipe away the tear that
was now building in the corner of me eye.

“
I had no idea you were here
Zack,” I said, sniffing. “I've only just heard...I'm so glad
you're OK.”

He smiled brightly, his sullen
and weary eyes sparking into life. “It's good to see you Gem,” he
said, rubbing his fingers gently over my cheek.

I looked at his head, wrapped
tight in bandages. “Is your head OK?” I asked tentatively, still
fearing the worst.

“
It's fine, just a bad cut, bit of concussion, nothing more.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Thank
God. When are you getting out?”

“
They said I can leave today
if I want. The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.”

“
Well, are you ready to leave
now? I could take you home? I've got my car outside...it's no
problem.”

He shook his head. “That's
sweet Gem, but that might not be the best idea...you know, with
everything that's gone on.”

“
Oh...yeah...maybe you're
right.”

A short silence filled the air,
the weight of the lies that were blighting our lives like a heavy
storm cloud hanging over us.

Zack's eyes once again grew with
worry, this empty look appearing on his face. It was killing me to
see him like this, to see his life collapsing around him with nothing
he could do to stop it.

He lay for a while, staring up
at the ceiling again, before slowly bringing his eyes back to me. His
voice was grave when he spoke next, buried under the heavy rubble of
his crumbling life.

“
I'm leaving Gem.”

The words struck at me like a
knife through the chest.

“
I'm leaving Branton for a
while, until everything dies down.”

I lost my breath for a second
and spontaneously began shaking my head. “Why...you've done nothing
wrong... you can't leave Zack.”

He lay there, his green eyes
still fixed on mine. “Why not? There's nothing for me here now...”

I was still shaking my head,
finding it hard to stop. “What about your job...the club. What
about your family and friends?”

He huffed lightly. “No one
will care if I'm gone...not when all of this gets out. That paparazzo
will take those pictures to print Gem, and when they do, people will
hate me. Cade's their local hero now...and I'm nothing, just the
jealous twin brother who tried to steal his girlfriend.”

“
Well I'll care Zack...you
can't go, not now. You've done nothing wrong!”

He looked on at me, his eyes
deep wells of feeling. “I...I have Gemma, I can't be here anymore,
it's too difficult.”

“
But this is your home. I know
who took those pictures Zack, it was a girl in my office...we can get
her to admit the truth, clear our names....”

His voice cut me off. “No, I
deserve all of this.”

My eyebrows shot down in a
frown. “What do you mean? How could you possibly deserve all of
this.” I said, gesturing with my head around the room.

He looked away from me, his eyes
falling down. “Nothing has happened between us Gem, but....” his
voice grew even quieter, cracking slightly under the weight of his
words, “but that doesn't change how I feel.”

I reached in and touched his
shoulder, bringing his eyes back to mine. “What do you mean?” I
whispered, leaning in closer.

His eyes were set straight on
me, unblinking. “I love you Gemma....I always have.”

I felt my heart drop several
inches in my chest, my breathing caught short.

“
We may not have done
anything...but I've always wanted to. Ever since you came back into
my life, I've wanted you to be my girlfriend, Gem, not Cade's. If the
clock hadn't struck the other night I'd have kissed you, and then all
of this would have been real. So I do deserve it. I deserve
everything I get.”

I could feel tears welling in my
eyes, three words still striking at my heart. I whispered quietly, my
words low and disbelieving: “you love me?”

He turned his eyes away from me,
looking out of the window against the opposite wall. “I'm sorry
Gemma, I've tried to fight it. I've loved you since high school,
that's never changed.”

I
reached forward and gently pulled his head back towards me with my
hand. His eyes stayed low now, refusing to meet mine. I leaned in,
his words now fusing through me.
He loves me.

I saw his eyes rise gradually to
mine as my lips approached his. I felt my heart race as our lips
slowly came together, memories of our first kiss, my first kiss,
flooding through my mind. His lips were gentle against mine, soft and
warm. I closed my eyes as I felt his hand rise to my neck, his
fingers sliding over my skin. I felt tingles rush through me at his
touch, delicate yet sensual as his hand slid up and through my hair.

The kiss lasted only a few
moments, but there was more meaning in it than all the kisses I'd
shared with Cade. His touch felt right to my skin, his lips causing a
stir inside me that I hadn't felt for years.

I leaned back, the irony of it
all bringing a smirk to my face. The lies that were destroying us had
begun to morph into reality, like some sort of warped self-fulfilling
prophesy. The look on Zack's face showed that he was thinking the
same.

But no, it wasn't like that at
all. The lies, the slander that was about to be printed and shown to
the masses wasn't the truth. They'd paint a picture of the two of us
cheating on Cade, of breaking the heart of the local hero. No, Cade
and I were doomed from the start, and it was never going to work.

The truth was that every time I
spent any time with Zack, I felt warm and safe and happier than I
ever did with Cade. There was something more there, something that
Cade could never have given me. His life was the ring, and I was
simply becoming a facilitator for his success. There was no such
motive with Zack, no alternate desire. We had history and memories.
We could laugh over anything and tease each other without ever
getting mad. We could sit in silence or talk for hours, and neither
ever made us feel uncomfortable. I could tell him anything, reveal my
deepest desires and greatest fears and he's listen to every word.

It all made sense with
Zack....it always did. And now he was lying there, telling me he
loved me, and that made sense as well.

It made sense because I loved
him too.

Present Day

Gemma

I sat in my car, my mind now set
on the task ahead of me. I'd spoken for a little longer with Zack
after we'd kissed, trying to convince him not to leave, to ride out
the storm and clear our names, but he couldn't be convinced.

He'd told me he loved me and was
now going to leave me. It was like being back in high school all over
again, having him ripped away from my grasp when I needed him the
most.

I opened the door of the car and
stepped out, walking purposefully through the doors and back into my
office. I had one thing on my mind now, something I needed to do.

I felt eyes on me as I
walked through the building and into the lift. I knew rumors must
have been going around about why Cade and Zack had been fighting that
night and, whether people thought I was involved or not, they still
stared at me as if they'd get an answer.

If Mrs Banks gets her way
they'll all get their answers soon, and it'll be just the sort of
scandal they'll all lap up. But not if I have anything to do with it.

I stepped out of the lift and
didn't even bother going towards my desk. I could see Annie out of
the corner of my eye, standing up and watching on as I stormed
through the office. She might have seen me rush off only a couple of
hours before, but I hadn't noticed her then. No, then I only had
thoughts of Zack's safety on my mind – now something else was
dominating it.

I
paced straight along the wall and down the corridor, keeping my eyes
firmly on my target ahead of me. I felt like how Cade must feel when
entering the ring – staring at his opponent and not looking
anywhere else. I had the same tunnel vision now, my eyes set on
Banks' office.

I heard Brenda once again
protest as I stormed forward, but her words meant nothing to me. No,
I carried on straight through the door and into the office, not
caring if anyone else was in there or whether she was busy in a
meeting.

As I entered I saw that she was
alone, sitting behind her desk. I half expected to see Tara behind
her, creeping over her shoulder like a good little minion. Thank God
I'd not descended so low. Thank God I'd be able to escape this
fucking place with my integrity still intact.