Chapter 4

LOGAN

Shoot…I didn’t mean for her to see me like this. I thought I could duck before she saw me pointing the camera at her, but she saw me before I could put it away. I was caught red-handed.

Last night, I came home from college and tried to go to sleep but couldn’t. And then I saw movements in her bedroom, so I got curious.

I’ve always been curious about Marina. We grew up together, but I always felt like I didn’t know her. Like, really know her. She had an aura of mystery as if she was always trying to hide something or herself. And it didn’t hurt that she was hauntingly beautiful.

We were best friends growing up and did everything together. We played together but it was mostly at my house because her mother was always passed out in her room and didn’t like us to make too much noise. We had to tip-toe around her mom because she was always angry and abusive toward her.

We stopped hanging out, but I never stopped thinking about her. I’ve always liked her but never had the guts to say anything, so I watched her from a distance. Of course, if she found out, she’d probably think I was creepy, so I had to be careful.

I should’ve never looked at her window through my camera because now it looks like I was taking a picture of her when she was vulnerable. And she wasn’t wrong. I was taking pictures of her tearful face. She looked beautiful with tears sparkling down her cheeks.

“What the fuck, Logan! Are you spying on me!” she screamed at me.

I called her cellphone, so we didn’t have to keep yelling and risk waking up the entire neighborhood.

“I’m sorry, Marina. I swear I wasn’t trying to snoop. I just wanted to see if you were okay. Why are you crying, anyway?” I asked once she picked up the phone.

“That’s none of your business,” she hissed.

“Does it have something to do with that guy at the club?” I asked, ignoring her hostile tone.

“No. And like I said, it’s none of your business. Did you take a picture of me when I was crying?” she demanded to know.

“What? No way!” I denied.

"I don't believe you, but whatever. Just stay away from me," she hung up then closed the curtain.

Great…I might've ruined my chances with her. If I ever had any.

The next day, I ran into her while she was walking to school.

She didn't have a car, mainly because she couldn't afford it. As far as I knew, her mother didn't make a lot of money at her restaurant job, and even if she did, she wouldn't buy her a car.

"Marina, wait!" I called after her. She turned around and winced as she realized it was me. She must still be mad at me.

"What do you want, Logan?" she asked grimly.

"I wanted to know if you needed a ride," I said.

"No thanks," she said.

"Let me, please? I go there too, so it'd make sense for us to carpool," I said.

Her facial expression changed. "You go to my university? Since when?"

I chuckled as she looked at me suspiciously. Does she think I followed her there? "Yes. They have a wonderful photography program. Why are you looking at me like that? Is that a problem that we go to the same school?"

She shook her head.

"Then how about it?" I said and pointed at my truck.

Marina sighed and walked to my truck. I knew she hated to walk every morning.

She didn't speak to me until we were at the parking lot. She turned to me once she got out. "You were taking my picture, weren't you?" she asked.

Damn, I thought we were done talking about that.

"Um…actually, yeah," I said and smiled guiltily.

"Why?" she demanded to know.

"I just… don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you looked really beautiful when you were crying, so I wanted to take a picture of you," I told her the truth.

Marina's cheeks turned pink. I wasn't sure if it was because she was blushing or because she was angry at me.

"Ugh! You are such a creep!" she exclaimed, then walked away.

It looks like it was because she was angry.

I began my walk to my first class, which was English Literature. But before I made it all the way, I stopped in my tracks.

Police cars were sitting right by the curb. Students have gathered around, murmuring amongst themselves. I took my camera out and took pictures of the crowd, then walked toward it.

“What’s going on?” I asked, hoping someone in the crowd would answer.

“Remember Eddie Wilson? He is a student from the science department who went missing. They found his dead body this morning,” one of the students replied.

So they found his dead body, huh? I thought to myself.