Chapter Twelve

Phoebe

"You need to call him," Maggie says as we sit on my bed.

"I can't." I feel sick when I think about the letter I left him. I ran scared and used something that happened to my sister and Alex as an excuse. I wasn't affected except that I was in some of the pictures.

"You love him and it's stupid to deny yourself that."

"How am I supposed to be with him and here with you and Rosie? We have the album to finish and then touring. I can't be a good partner through that." I throw my body into the pillows so maybe I won't hear her tell me how ridiculous that all is, because I know it is.

"Like Rosie does it with Alex and is going to do it with our niece or nephew. We are all trying new things and growing up. You can't turn away from love because of a record deal, Phoebe. I know you've been writing music like crazy. Not just pop music, but all kinds of music. Maybe that's what you are meant to do next."

"Do you really think we are going to move on?" I ask, afraid of her answer.

"I think we will always be The Pandemonium Pixies and will always play together. More importantly, we will always be sisters. But, I do think we will do different things as we grow up."

"What do you want to do?"

"I think I want to try musicals," she announces.

"Really?"

"Yes, I've thought about it a lot."

"Should I call him? Is he going to hate me?" I ask her, really afraid that he will.

"You big dummy, he's in love with you. He's been calling Alex for updates. Texting me. If we told him you were here he would be camped outside your door."

"He has?" I didn't know he was talking to my family. "Is he okay?"

"No, he's not. He's brokenhearted. I don't say that to hurt you, I just want you to know that he didn't just forget about you and move on. The girls have also been checking in, but you've been talking to them."

"How'd you know that?" I'd asked them not to tell anyone, which I felt horrible about.

"I know how much you care about them and that you would never ghost them. They are at way too vulnerable an age for you to do that to them." Maggie smiles. "You love them."

"I do. I love Logan too." I jump off my bed and start packing.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going home." I laugh. "You're right. We are growing up and things change. We can't live in the same house as our married sister with a baby. We can't stay in the same place creatively that we were at fourteen. I can't turn down the love of my life because I'm afraid."

"Woohoo!" Maggie screams.

Rosie comes running into the room. "Is everyone okay?"

"Phoebe's gonna get her man," Maggie tells her.

"Finally," Rosie sighs, sitting next to Maggie on the bed.

My two sisters sit and watch me pack up everything I need to get by until I can send for the rest of my stuff. They are both quiet until Maggie sits straight up and raises her hand like she's in school.

"Yes, Maggie?" I call on her.

"I never did get a full answer to my question."

"You're question?" Rosie asks.

"Oh my God, Maggie!" I exclaim. "Do you actually want an answer to the sex question?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, you asked for it. There has been no penetrative sex, but there was oral copulation."

Both of my sisters crack up.

Maggie asks, "Oral copulation?"

I nod.

"But no penetration?" Rosie asks just as Alex walks into the room.

"What the fuck?" he asks.

"We're talking about Phoebe and Logan," Maggie helpfully tells him and I throw a pillow at her head.

Everyone starts laughing and I tear up at the idea of not having this every day. I know that there will be new amazing things in life with Logan and the twins, but I've always had my sisters.

"You're packing?" Alex asks hopefully.

"I'm going to see Logan. Hopefully, he'll forgive me for being so stupid."

"You weren't stupid," a voice I've missed hearing for three weeks says from the hallway.

I push through my sisters and Alex to find Logan standing in the hallway. He looks tired, but still so good. I reach out to touch him, afraid he's not really there, but pull my hand back afraid he'll reject me. Logan growls and grabs my hand pulling it against his body.

"I've missed you, baby."

"I'm sorry, Logan. I'm so sorry."

He wipes away the tears that are falling from my eyes. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I wish we had talked things through instead of spending these three weeks apart, but we're okay. I love you, Phoebe and nothing will change that."

"Say it again."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Logan. So much," I say with the first real smile I've had in weeks.

I pull him into my room so I can grab my suitcase. My sisters and Alex are just watching us like we're a spectator sporting event.

"Uh, hi, everyone," Logan says.

"Hi, Logan," Maggie says with a snicker.

"Maggie, do not mention penetration," I say under my breath where she can hear me, but hopefully Logan can't.

"What don't you want me to mention, Phoebe?" Maggie asks at a normal volume.

"Maggie," Rosie says, "not now."

Logan looks confused and Alex tells him to just ignore the sister stuff earning him an elbow from both Rosie and Maggie.

I hug my sisters and Alex goodbye and leave with Logan. Once we are in the car, Logan turns to me. I'm sure he's about to confess his love again, instead, he asks, "What was Maggie not allowed to mention?"

"Oh my God! If you really want to know she wasn't allowed to mention penetration."

"Whose penetrating who?" He asks.

"Well, the conversation was about how you and I never got to the penetration only the oral part of sex."

"Something we are going to fix very, very soon," he says with promise.

"I hope so," I laugh.

"I love you, Phoebe, and as soon as I get you home I'm not going to let you out of our bed for at least twenty-four hours."

"That sounds amazing. I love you, too. I do have one question."

"What?"

"Where are the twins?" I've missed them, but I do want that twenty-four hours in bed with Logan to be uninterrupted.

"They're staying with school friends this weekend. Their clout went sky-high once it was known that they hung out with The Pandemonium Pixies. I'm not telling them you're here until they get home so I get you to myself." He looks over at me. "It's their punishment for being in communication with you and not telling me."

"I'm sorry."

He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. "Don't be. I knew they had to be talking to you or at least getting messages. They would have been way sadder if they weren't. I didn't want to interfere in your relationship with them. If for some insane reason, I couldn't convince you that we are soulmates, I still wanted them to be able to have a relationship with you if you wanted to."

"You are a good man, Logan Gibson. It's one of the reasons I found myself falling so fast for you. The way you take care of your sisters and how hard you worked to make a secure, stable life for them is so admirable. Plus, you are seriously hot."

He laughs and kisses my hand again.

"I fell in love with you for kind of the same reason. You have such a beautiful heart. I expected a famous pop group to be standoffish and kind of snobby. Instead, you immediately started including two twelve-year-olds who looked a little like clowns and helped them find their beauty. The relationship you've built with your brother-in-law is also a testament to how accepting you and your sisters are. You and Maggie just took Alex in as a brother because Rosie loved him."

"They'll do the same with you and the girls. I hope you are ready to have two obnoxious sisters and a semi-obnoxious brother. They will treat the girls like nieces and spoil them ridiculously. It's just what we do."

We spend the rest of the drive to the winery in companionable silence, holding hands and enjoying being together.