THREE. THE BAD MAN
1470 Words
"You're too hard on her. You scared her."
Wren rebuked Logan, who had been pacing back and forth in his room. Logan's face was wrinkled and filled with anger. He unbuttoned three buttons of his shirt to get rid of the heat that spread across his skin. Even though the air around him was very cold, he felt extremely hot. That girl messed him up. She didn't want to be his baby's mother. And the girl looked at him with disgust.
"She deserves my wrath. She threatened to kill my baby. You think I'll just shut up if she does such a cruel thing to my baby-to-be."
“Riley couldn't have done it. She was just shocked and scared. You should have given her a chance to think clearly and accept her new condition. That's normal for a girl like Riley."
"Not. I still don't agree. You said she was the right woman to conceive my baby. You should also make sure that she is really willing to carry my baby."
Logan growled. His knuckles clenched against the surface of Wren's window, which had a view of the deserted hospital grounds. Logan tried to neutralize his anger by pressing his forehead against the surface of the window and watching the people down there who were busy with their own business.
“I'll talk to her again after lunch. She must be feeling better after being left to think for a while.”
“What if she still refuses to bear my baby? I'm sure she'll find a way to abort the baby someday."
"We will prevent it from happening. You have to calm your anger.”
Logan still had his back to Wren. He didn't say anything and just stared at the people downstairs who had just come out of the lobby. Three women just came out of the lobby. They walked in groups and looked very familiar with each other. Logan even wondered what they were talking about, that they were huddled together like that. Then he saw a woman walking at a slower pace behind the three women. He thought the woman was a bit lousy because she was ignored by the three women in front of her. But the woman didn't seem to be from the gang because they parted ways when the three women turned right to retrieve their car, while the woman, walking alone, continued straight to the hospital exit.
Logan furrowed his brows for a moment. He had never been this detailed about something he should have had nothing to do with. But he always had a sharp instinct. Something that seemed trivial might actually be something very important to him.
"What color is Riley's hair?"
“Why are you suddenly interested in her hair color?” Wren narrowed his eyes in surprise. He put down his glasses, staring at Logan's back.
"Just answer me. What color is her hair? Brown?”
“Brown like almond. Unique hair color. She said it was a natural hair color she got from her grandmother."
"s**t!"
Wren jumped in surprise when suddenly Logan threw himself from the window and ran out of his room like he had just seen a ghost.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Wren tried to catch Logan, who was running very fast toward the fire stairs. He was even horrified at how brutal Logan was as he ran out of his room. He had a fresh post-operative wound on his chest. Logan shouldn't have moved that fast.
"Explain to me what's wrong!"
Wren shouted from the fire stairwell door. His breath was ragged, and he had to kneel down, holding on to the door frame to calm his racing heart. Logan was already a long way above him—seven steps above him, and he didn't seem to stop.
“That girl ran away, Wren! She ran away."
"No way. She must still be in her room.”
"Then I'll make sure of it."
Logan shot up, finishing the remaining six steps before she reached the floor where Riley's treatment room was. The place seemed deserted. Logan didn't even find anyone passing by around the hallway other than himself, who was now creating a commotion.
"Sorry sir, please don't make any noise, our patient is sleeping."
To hell with them!
He ignored the warning from a nurse who was standing near the nurse's station. He just kept running toward Riley's treatment room. And then when he pushed the door hard, he was greeted with an emptiness and a chill that rattled his skin. The room was empty, and the gurney was very messy. There were blood stains on the blanket. Meanwhile, bright green IV fluid pooled on the floor. The woman did run away. The cupboard in the corner of her room was wide open and the blue pajamas she had been wearing lay on the floor with two wooden hangers.
"Logan, what are you doing?"
"She ran away. That damn girl ran away!”
Logan roared like a beast. He pushed Wren hard until his back hit the wall. Then Logan pulled his shirt collar so tightly that Wren almost choked.
“You recommended that girl to be the mother of my child. But look what happened. She ran away? She ran away with my future child, you bastard!”
"Relax Logan, we will find Riley. She couldn't have gone far. She doesn't have the proper clothes to hang around in the freezing cold outside."
"Don't try to calm me down!" Logan growled.
The nurses started arriving outside Riley's treatment room. They were all shocked to see Logan's brutal actions, and they tried to pull Logan's shoulders away from Wren. Wren calmly ordered them all back to the nurse's station because Logan was his business.
“Please leave us. I'm fine. Just close the door."
Although reluctant, the last nurse to leave the place closed the door behind her quietly, then she walked briskly toward the nurse's station as if there was no fighting going on in that room.
"Please, Logan, calm down. We will find Riley.”
“How are you going to find that damn woman? We don't even know where she lives."
"She's not going to her house. She's been kicked out by her mother."
Logan really wanted to punch Wren in the face hard and brutally. This man was the source of all his troubles today. If he hadn't recommended the girl, he couldn't have been this angry. His whole pulse was throbbing with heat. He just wanted to get angry and explode.
“Please let me go. Please."
“No matter what, that girl must be found. And I'll take it straight to my house."
Logan violently stomped on Wren's neck and let him groan in pain on the floor after his frail body crumbled like a string puppet.
“I saw her coming out of the hospital gates in jeans and a maroon sweater. You gave her clothes?”
"That's for her home from the hospital tomorrow."
With difficulty, Wren got to his feet. He patted his tight chest, then smoothed the collar of his shirt which was wrinkled by Logan's strong hands. He would remind himself not to get into trouble with Logan. The man was destructive. He could have died in Logan's hands if he didn't immediately calm his emotions.
"We'd better look around the hospital. We'll split up."
"I agree. Let me know asap if you find her. Don't try to hide the girl."
Wren furrowed his brows in confusion. He walked out of Riley's silent treatment room and followed Logan's wide stride.
When he reached the nurse's station, six nurses stood tensely behind the desk staring at him strangely. They all looked really worried about him, and he was quite touched by their actions. Wren gave them a sweet smile that showed he was okay.
"Did you just think I had betrayed you?"
Logan smirked. "You might. Why did you give her clothes before she actually got out of here? I was thinking, you seem to be doing that on purpose.”
“What kind of ridiculous idea is that? I gave her clothes a few days ago because I couldn't bear to see her always wearing hospital pajamas. In addition, the clothes she wore when she first arrived at the hospital were not proper. I told a nurse to throw it away. That's why I gave her clothes."
"Well, I'll trust you this time."
The elevator chimed softly. Logan stepped out with hasty steps toward his car. He didn't have to wait for Wren at all. His focus now was only on how he could find Riley as soon as possible. He wouldn't let Riley escape again. He would lock Riley all day in his house until the baby was born.
- Writer
