The Monkey's Paw
Title: The Monkey's Paw
Author: Melly aka squoctobird
Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush or the concept of The Monkey's Paw
Fandom: BTR
Pairings/Characters: James/Logan, Kendall
Rating: T
Summary: A re-telling of the classic tale that teaches "Be careful what you wish for" and to never, ever tempt fate. Contains JAGAN slash.
Warning: Character death
+ Thanks to stoodupforlove who beta'd and proof read for me and also gleechild
Big Time Rush had just completed their second world wide tour. They had the next month off to recover from the harsh life of being on the road and to prepare for their fourth album. Both James and Logan were jet lagged and tired from the flight back from Europe. When they entered their apartment James left his suitcase by the door and immediately flopped down on the couch with a groan.
“I am never getting off this couch,” James said taking in the comfort of the familiar piece of furniture. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable place to lay, but it was a hell of a lot better than the crappy mattresses found in hotels.
Logan rolled his eyes and sighed as he walked over to his husband on the couch. “Get up, James. We need to unpack and then we can go to bed.”
“Nooooo,” James said with a whine.
Logan tugged on James’ arm, ignoring the grumbles he received from the pretty boy. “Come on James. Let’s do this. Then we can sleep late tomorrow.”
Another grumble.
“We can stay in bed all day,” Logan sing-songed.
“Promise?” James’ voice was muffled, his face buried in the cushion.
“Promise.”
With the thoughts of the things they could do in bed the next day lingering in his mind, James finally complied with Logan’s wish. He rose from the couch, walked back to the door to grab their suitcases and followed the shorter boy to their bedroom.
They went through their things, separating dirty clothes from the clean ones, putting toiletries back in the bathroom and placing various souvenirs on the large dresser they both shared. One particularly odd thing caught Logan’s eye.
“Uh, what is this?” Logan asked holding up a small, brown, furry hand.
“Oh, that’s a monkey’s paw.”
“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Logan deadpanned.
James just smiled as took the paw from Logan. “No, it’s supposed to be good luck. Like a rabbit’s foot.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re still worried about that broken mirror all those years ago.”
“Of course not.“ James scoffed. “This was a gift from a fan. She said it gave you three wishes.”
“And you believe her?” Logan asked skeptically.
“Well, she was mystical and mysterious, but she seemed legit to me.” James shrugged.
Logan shook his head. “James these sort of things aren’t real. There’s no such thing as good luck or bad luck. And this creepy hand thing doesn’t grant wishes.” Logan took the object back from James and threw it in the trash.
James gasped and retrieved the monkey’s paw from the trash bin. “Logan, we can’t just throw this away. It was from a fan. I think we owe it to her to try this thing out.”
Logan knew how stubborn James could be. That creepy paw wasn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon, especially if he thought it would grant wishes.
Logan sighed and took the paw back from James. “Okay. Fine. We’ll make a wish. But let’s wish for something that we don’t need and won’t make any drastic change in our life. You never want to wish for something like that.”
“So what are you going to wish for?” James asked with an eyebrow raised.
Logan thought for a moment. The boys lived comfortably because of Big Time Rush, but they certainly were not millionaires. But what harm could some extra money do? Logan couldn’t think of anything. In fact, he decided if by some crazy chance the wish did come true, he would donate the money to charity.
Logan held the monkey’s paw in his hand and closed his eyes. “Monkey’s paw, I wish I had a million dollars.” He kept his eyes closed for a moment longer, then opened them one by one. He scanned the room.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a million dollars anywhere, do you?”
James pouted, accepting the fact that the object held no power. “No,” he said solemnly.
Logan kissed his husband softly. “I’m sorry, baby.” He gave him a sad smile. “Come on, let’s go to bed okay?”
The taller boy nodded and they both undressed down to their underwear. They got under the covers and sighed knowing they were finally home in their own bed. Logan snuggled up against James, his head resting on the pretty boy’s chest. He listened to his lover’s breathing and as it slowed to a steady rhythm and lulled Logan to sleep.
--
James’ eyes fluttered open as he took in a deep breath. His eyes scanned the room and he was happy to see he was in his own bed, with his lover by his side. He looked down at the raven haired boy who slept soundly on his chest and smiled. Logan was adorable with his mouth slightly ajar and his arms wrapped tightly around James.
James let out a sigh and placed a chaste kiss on the other boy’s forehead who shifted in his sleep and mumbled something incoherent into the pretty boy’s chest. He chuckled lightly causing the smaller boy to stir again.
“Wha’ ‘ime is it?” Logan asked in a sleepy stupor.
“Does it really matter? We’re staying in bed all day, remember?”
Logan smiled, keeping his eyes closed as he nodded his head. He let out a sigh of contentment.
The two lovers laid in bed enjoying each other’s warmth, falling in and out of sleep for an hour or so before James decided to make a move. He glided his hand down Logan’s chest, over his abdomen, across his hip and down his inner thigh.
“Mmmmm. What’re you doing, James?”
“Nothing,” he replied as he peppered kisses along his husband’s jaw line and down his neck.
Logan awoke slowly but once he was fully aware he brought their lips together. It was a short, but sweet kiss. “Good morning,” he said was a smile.
“Good morning,” James echoed.
“What did you want to do for breakfast, babe?”
“Hmmmmm.” He stopped to think and a mischievous grin grew on his face. “You.”
The pretty boy let out a playful growl and pounced on his lover. The two laughed together as they exchanged kisses and rolled around in their bed. The reveled in their love for each other and nothing could tear them from each others arms.
--
James and Logan spent a majority of the day in bed together only leaving to make themselves bowls of cereal for a late breakfast. They lazily got out of bed around 3:00 pm to take a shower. Logan changed into an old t-shirt and some comfy basketball shorts but James had put on jeans and a v-neck. Logan wondered why he hadn’t put on something more comfortable.
“I’m going to the grocery store. I’m going to cook dinner for you.” James said, as if reading Logan’s mind.
“You don’t have to do that, James. We can just order in.”
“I know, but I want to,” he replied. “I’ve missed our kitchen almost as much as I’ve missed our bed.”
“Okay. Just don’t take too long.”
“I won’t.” James gave Logan a kiss and left the apartment.
--break
Logan expected James to be back in about an hour, but when it was reaching the two-hour mark he started to worry. He tried calling James’ cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. At the three-hour mark he was sure something was wrong. There was no way it would take James this long to go to the grocery store.
Logan was about to call James’ phone for the hundredth time when there was a knock at his door. As he made his way over to answer it, he silently wished that it was James with his hands too full to use his key. Instead he was greeted by two uniformed police officers.
“C-can I help you?” Logan had a bad feeling about this. His heart starting racing and his palms were sweaty.
“Are you Hortence Mitchell?” the officer with grey hair asked.
“Y-yes.” Although he went by Logan, his legal name was still Hortence. He never officially changed it.
“Do you mind if we come in?”
“What is this about?” Logan asked, but he was pretty sure he already knew. These officers had the same sad looks on their faces as the men who came to tell his mother about his father’s passing in the war.
“Sir. It would be better if you sat down and let us explain.”
No. No. No. No. No. Logan was mentally screaming as he waved them into the apartment. He took a seat on the couch trying to keep calm. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.
“Mr. Mitchell, there’s no easy way to say this, but your husband James was in an accident a few hours ago and we’re afraid he didn’t make it.”
Logan sat there in silence for a moment, tears forming in his eyes. He knew it was true, but he didn’t want to believe it. Maybe there was a mistake. “Can I see him? What hospital is he at?”
The two officers exchanged a worried look. “His body is at LA Memorial, but I wouldn’t recommend going to see him.”
“Wh-what? Don’t I need to identify the body? I have the right to see my husband,” Logan said starting to get angry.
“You do sir, but,” the older officer started, “the accident was pretty severe. He was hurt pretty badly. His face is basically unrecognizable.”
“Unrecognizable? Then it might not be him. You don’t know for sure! It could be someone else!” Logan’s voice was full of hope and desperation.
“I’m sorry son, but the car is registered in his name and they found his identification on the body. There’s no doubt that it’s him.”
Logan felt his heart shatter. His whole world had just crashed around him. “You- you need to leave.” He opened the front door.
“We’re sorry for your loss, Mr. Mitchell. Is there anything we can do? Anyone we can call?” the younger cop asked as they walked into the hall to leave.
“No. I…. I need to be alone.” Before the officers could say anything else, Logan shut the door. He leaned against it and slowly slid down. With his face buried in his knees he began sobbing.
--
Logan was not handling James’ death well. But who could blame him. He lost the love of his life. His best friend. His rock. He felt like he had lost everything, even his own will to live. If it wasn’t for Kendall, Logan would still be locked in his apartment, crying into James’ pillow for hours on end.
The blond was able to get Logan to pick out James’ burial outfit but that was all the smaller boy could handle. A majority of the funeral planning was left up to Kendall. He kept the service small knowing that Logan would do better without a large crowd around.
It was graveside with only James and Logan’s closest friends in attendance. That casket was kept closed through the service. Try as hard as they could, the coroners were not able to make James’ face presentable. Logan and Kendall both knew that James would not want to be remembered that way. He was the face. The pretty one. Even in death he had a reputation to uphold.
A week after the funeral, Kendall had brought over some dinner for Logan knowing the dark haired boy wasn’t take much care of himself. They sat on the couch together munching on Chinese food making small talk. Logan had shut everyone out, and Kendall was lucky that he was able to get him to speak at all.
“Oh. I’ve got something for you, Logan,” Kendall said as he popped his last piece of sweet and sour chicken in his mouth. He walked over to his bag that was near the door and brought back a stack of letters rubber banded together. “It’s your mail. You haven’t gone to the post office since….” He stopped himself before finishing the statement. Logan nodded and took the letters from Kendall.
He quickly flipped through the pile. Most of the letters appeared to be from fans who no doubt were sending their condolences and well wishes. Logan wasn’t in the mood to read them so he put those to the side. Shuffled in were also a few bills, the monthly bank statement and a letter that looked rather official.
Curious, Logan opened the cream-colored envelope pulling out it’s contents. It was a letter from James’ life insurance carrier stating they had received his death certificate and were making payment to his next of kin, which was Logan. A check had been included.
Logan’s hands started to shake as he held the check. Tears welled up in his eyes and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. “It was my fault,” he said in a whisper. “It was my fault.”
“What are you talking about, Logan?” Kendall asked, concerned.
“It was my fault, Kendall. It’s my fault that James is dead!” Logan was hysterical now, crying and having a hard time catching his breath.
“Logan. Logan. Buddy you have to calm down. It was a car accident. It’s not your fault.” Kendall tried his best to comfort the smaller boy but he pulled away from the blonde’s touch.
“No!” Logan screamed. “It was my fault! This proves it!” He handed the check to Kendall.
Kendall looked at the check but didn’t understand what it proved. “I don’t understand, Logan. It’s just a check for a million dollars. What does that prove?”
“You don’t understand! I wished for it. I wished for the million dollars and James died the same day. James is dead and now I have a million dollars.” Logan was sick to his stomach and felt like he was going to pass out. Suddenly his legs gave way and he fell to his knees. Kendall quickly ran to his side.
“Logan, it’s just a coincidence.”
“No. No. No. I wished for it. I wished for….” Logan stopped mid sentence in realization. His wish had come true. According to James, the paw granted three wishes. Logan only used one! He could use another one to bring James back! Logan jumped up from his place on the floor and sprinted to his room.
Kendall followed after him. He stood in the doorway watching Logan make a horrendous mess. “What are you doing, Logan?”
“I have to find it. I have to find the monkey’s paw.” Logan pulled drawers out of their sockets, dumping their contents on the floor. He frantically searched through the clothes getting more and more frustrated as he came up empty handed.
Then it hit him. They had thrown it away! He desperately dumped the contents of the small trash can on the floor, praying that it hadn’t been emptied since that night, praying that the monkey’s paw was there. He let out a childlike squeal when he found the damned thing.
He quickly stood and made his wish. “Monkey’s Paw I wish James was alive!” Logan smiled for the first time since James had died, sure that his second wish would come true.
Kendall gave him a sympathetic look. “Oh, Logie. You of all people know that these things aren‘t real. You’re a man of science. Magic isn’t real. The million dollars was just a coincidence. A horrible, tragic coincidence.”
“No. It has to be real. It has to be,” Logan was crying again. “I can’t live without him, Kendall. I just can’t”
Kendall engulfed Logan in his arms, squeezing him tight. The dark haired boy cried bitter tears, soaking the blond’s shirt. He whispered to the smaller boy, rubbing comforting circles on his back. Logan’s crying was starting to die down when there was a loud pounding at the front door. Logan gasped and looked up at Kendall with bright eyes.
“It’s James!” Logan started to run out of the bedroom, but was stopped when Kendall grabbed his arm.
“Logan. It’s not James.” Another loud pounding echoed through the apartment.
“Let me go, Kendall,” he hissed as he struggled from the taller boy’s grasp. “James! I’m coming, James!”
“Logan! Even if it is James, he’s been dead for nearly two weeks. He wasn’t recognizable when we buried him, what do you think he looks like now?”
There was another loud pounding and Logan finally broke free. “James! James!” He ran down the hall and through the living room to the front door. He was so excited he was fumbling with the deadbolt and couldn’t open it.
“You can’t let that thing in here!” Kendall said pulling Logan away from the door and knocking the monkey’s paw from his grasp. The blond dove to the floor, scrambling to reach the object while the brunette ran back to the door.
Kendall finally had the paw in his grasp as he heard the clacking of the deadbolt. He quickly breathed out his wish as the door creaked opened. Logan let out a loud wail of misery and disappointment when all he saw were some muddy footprints.
James wasn’t there.
Author: Melly aka squoctobird
Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush or the concept of The Monkey's Paw
Fandom: BTR
Pairings/Characters: James/Logan, Kendall
Rating: T
Summary: A re-telling of the classic tale that teaches "Be careful what you wish for" and to never, ever tempt fate. Contains JAGAN slash.
Warning: Character death
+ Thanks to stoodupforlove who beta'd and proof read for me and also gleechild
Big Time Rush had just completed their second world wide tour. They had the next month off to recover from the harsh life of being on the road and to prepare for their fourth album. Both James and Logan were jet lagged and tired from the flight back from Europe. When they entered their apartment James left his suitcase by the door and immediately flopped down on the couch with a groan.
“I am never getting off this couch,” James said taking in the comfort of the familiar piece of furniture. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable place to lay, but it was a hell of a lot better than the crappy mattresses found in hotels.
Logan rolled his eyes and sighed as he walked over to his husband on the couch. “Get up, James. We need to unpack and then we can go to bed.”
“Nooooo,” James said with a whine.
Logan tugged on James’ arm, ignoring the grumbles he received from the pretty boy. “Come on James. Let’s do this. Then we can sleep late tomorrow.”
Another grumble.
“We can stay in bed all day,” Logan sing-songed.
“Promise?” James’ voice was muffled, his face buried in the cushion.
“Promise.”
With the thoughts of the things they could do in bed the next day lingering in his mind, James finally complied with Logan’s wish. He rose from the couch, walked back to the door to grab their suitcases and followed the shorter boy to their bedroom.
They went through their things, separating dirty clothes from the clean ones, putting toiletries back in the bathroom and placing various souvenirs on the large dresser they both shared. One particularly odd thing caught Logan’s eye.
“Uh, what is this?” Logan asked holding up a small, brown, furry hand.
“Oh, that’s a monkey’s paw.”
“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Logan deadpanned.
James just smiled as took the paw from Logan. “No, it’s supposed to be good luck. Like a rabbit’s foot.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re still worried about that broken mirror all those years ago.”
“Of course not.“ James scoffed. “This was a gift from a fan. She said it gave you three wishes.”
“And you believe her?” Logan asked skeptically.
“Well, she was mystical and mysterious, but she seemed legit to me.” James shrugged.
Logan shook his head. “James these sort of things aren’t real. There’s no such thing as good luck or bad luck. And this creepy hand thing doesn’t grant wishes.” Logan took the object back from James and threw it in the trash.
James gasped and retrieved the monkey’s paw from the trash bin. “Logan, we can’t just throw this away. It was from a fan. I think we owe it to her to try this thing out.”
Logan knew how stubborn James could be. That creepy paw wasn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon, especially if he thought it would grant wishes.
Logan sighed and took the paw back from James. “Okay. Fine. We’ll make a wish. But let’s wish for something that we don’t need and won’t make any drastic change in our life. You never want to wish for something like that.”
“So what are you going to wish for?” James asked with an eyebrow raised.
Logan thought for a moment. The boys lived comfortably because of Big Time Rush, but they certainly were not millionaires. But what harm could some extra money do? Logan couldn’t think of anything. In fact, he decided if by some crazy chance the wish did come true, he would donate the money to charity.
Logan held the monkey’s paw in his hand and closed his eyes. “Monkey’s paw, I wish I had a million dollars.” He kept his eyes closed for a moment longer, then opened them one by one. He scanned the room.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a million dollars anywhere, do you?”
James pouted, accepting the fact that the object held no power. “No,” he said solemnly.
Logan kissed his husband softly. “I’m sorry, baby.” He gave him a sad smile. “Come on, let’s go to bed okay?”
The taller boy nodded and they both undressed down to their underwear. They got under the covers and sighed knowing they were finally home in their own bed. Logan snuggled up against James, his head resting on the pretty boy’s chest. He listened to his lover’s breathing and as it slowed to a steady rhythm and lulled Logan to sleep.
--
James’ eyes fluttered open as he took in a deep breath. His eyes scanned the room and he was happy to see he was in his own bed, with his lover by his side. He looked down at the raven haired boy who slept soundly on his chest and smiled. Logan was adorable with his mouth slightly ajar and his arms wrapped tightly around James.
James let out a sigh and placed a chaste kiss on the other boy’s forehead who shifted in his sleep and mumbled something incoherent into the pretty boy’s chest. He chuckled lightly causing the smaller boy to stir again.
“Wha’ ‘ime is it?” Logan asked in a sleepy stupor.
“Does it really matter? We’re staying in bed all day, remember?”
Logan smiled, keeping his eyes closed as he nodded his head. He let out a sigh of contentment.
The two lovers laid in bed enjoying each other’s warmth, falling in and out of sleep for an hour or so before James decided to make a move. He glided his hand down Logan’s chest, over his abdomen, across his hip and down his inner thigh.
“Mmmmm. What’re you doing, James?”
“Nothing,” he replied as he peppered kisses along his husband’s jaw line and down his neck.
Logan awoke slowly but once he was fully aware he brought their lips together. It was a short, but sweet kiss. “Good morning,” he said was a smile.
“Good morning,” James echoed.
“What did you want to do for breakfast, babe?”
“Hmmmmm.” He stopped to think and a mischievous grin grew on his face. “You.”
The pretty boy let out a playful growl and pounced on his lover. The two laughed together as they exchanged kisses and rolled around in their bed. The reveled in their love for each other and nothing could tear them from each others arms.
--
James and Logan spent a majority of the day in bed together only leaving to make themselves bowls of cereal for a late breakfast. They lazily got out of bed around 3:00 pm to take a shower. Logan changed into an old t-shirt and some comfy basketball shorts but James had put on jeans and a v-neck. Logan wondered why he hadn’t put on something more comfortable.
“I’m going to the grocery store. I’m going to cook dinner for you.” James said, as if reading Logan’s mind.
“You don’t have to do that, James. We can just order in.”
“I know, but I want to,” he replied. “I’ve missed our kitchen almost as much as I’ve missed our bed.”
“Okay. Just don’t take too long.”
“I won’t.” James gave Logan a kiss and left the apartment.
--break
Logan expected James to be back in about an hour, but when it was reaching the two-hour mark he started to worry. He tried calling James’ cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. At the three-hour mark he was sure something was wrong. There was no way it would take James this long to go to the grocery store.
Logan was about to call James’ phone for the hundredth time when there was a knock at his door. As he made his way over to answer it, he silently wished that it was James with his hands too full to use his key. Instead he was greeted by two uniformed police officers.
“C-can I help you?” Logan had a bad feeling about this. His heart starting racing and his palms were sweaty.
“Are you Hortence Mitchell?” the officer with grey hair asked.
“Y-yes.” Although he went by Logan, his legal name was still Hortence. He never officially changed it.
“Do you mind if we come in?”
“What is this about?” Logan asked, but he was pretty sure he already knew. These officers had the same sad looks on their faces as the men who came to tell his mother about his father’s passing in the war.
“Sir. It would be better if you sat down and let us explain.”
No. No. No. No. No. Logan was mentally screaming as he waved them into the apartment. He took a seat on the couch trying to keep calm. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.
“Mr. Mitchell, there’s no easy way to say this, but your husband James was in an accident a few hours ago and we’re afraid he didn’t make it.”
Logan sat there in silence for a moment, tears forming in his eyes. He knew it was true, but he didn’t want to believe it. Maybe there was a mistake. “Can I see him? What hospital is he at?”
The two officers exchanged a worried look. “His body is at LA Memorial, but I wouldn’t recommend going to see him.”
“Wh-what? Don’t I need to identify the body? I have the right to see my husband,” Logan said starting to get angry.
“You do sir, but,” the older officer started, “the accident was pretty severe. He was hurt pretty badly. His face is basically unrecognizable.”
“Unrecognizable? Then it might not be him. You don’t know for sure! It could be someone else!” Logan’s voice was full of hope and desperation.
“I’m sorry son, but the car is registered in his name and they found his identification on the body. There’s no doubt that it’s him.”
Logan felt his heart shatter. His whole world had just crashed around him. “You- you need to leave.” He opened the front door.
“We’re sorry for your loss, Mr. Mitchell. Is there anything we can do? Anyone we can call?” the younger cop asked as they walked into the hall to leave.
“No. I…. I need to be alone.” Before the officers could say anything else, Logan shut the door. He leaned against it and slowly slid down. With his face buried in his knees he began sobbing.
--
Logan was not handling James’ death well. But who could blame him. He lost the love of his life. His best friend. His rock. He felt like he had lost everything, even his own will to live. If it wasn’t for Kendall, Logan would still be locked in his apartment, crying into James’ pillow for hours on end.
The blond was able to get Logan to pick out James’ burial outfit but that was all the smaller boy could handle. A majority of the funeral planning was left up to Kendall. He kept the service small knowing that Logan would do better without a large crowd around.
It was graveside with only James and Logan’s closest friends in attendance. That casket was kept closed through the service. Try as hard as they could, the coroners were not able to make James’ face presentable. Logan and Kendall both knew that James would not want to be remembered that way. He was the face. The pretty one. Even in death he had a reputation to uphold.
A week after the funeral, Kendall had brought over some dinner for Logan knowing the dark haired boy wasn’t take much care of himself. They sat on the couch together munching on Chinese food making small talk. Logan had shut everyone out, and Kendall was lucky that he was able to get him to speak at all.
“Oh. I’ve got something for you, Logan,” Kendall said as he popped his last piece of sweet and sour chicken in his mouth. He walked over to his bag that was near the door and brought back a stack of letters rubber banded together. “It’s your mail. You haven’t gone to the post office since….” He stopped himself before finishing the statement. Logan nodded and took the letters from Kendall.
He quickly flipped through the pile. Most of the letters appeared to be from fans who no doubt were sending their condolences and well wishes. Logan wasn’t in the mood to read them so he put those to the side. Shuffled in were also a few bills, the monthly bank statement and a letter that looked rather official.
Curious, Logan opened the cream-colored envelope pulling out it’s contents. It was a letter from James’ life insurance carrier stating they had received his death certificate and were making payment to his next of kin, which was Logan. A check had been included.
Logan’s hands started to shake as he held the check. Tears welled up in his eyes and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. “It was my fault,” he said in a whisper. “It was my fault.”
“What are you talking about, Logan?” Kendall asked, concerned.
“It was my fault, Kendall. It’s my fault that James is dead!” Logan was hysterical now, crying and having a hard time catching his breath.
“Logan. Logan. Buddy you have to calm down. It was a car accident. It’s not your fault.” Kendall tried his best to comfort the smaller boy but he pulled away from the blonde’s touch.
“No!” Logan screamed. “It was my fault! This proves it!” He handed the check to Kendall.
Kendall looked at the check but didn’t understand what it proved. “I don’t understand, Logan. It’s just a check for a million dollars. What does that prove?”
“You don’t understand! I wished for it. I wished for the million dollars and James died the same day. James is dead and now I have a million dollars.” Logan was sick to his stomach and felt like he was going to pass out. Suddenly his legs gave way and he fell to his knees. Kendall quickly ran to his side.
“Logan, it’s just a coincidence.”
“No. No. No. I wished for it. I wished for….” Logan stopped mid sentence in realization. His wish had come true. According to James, the paw granted three wishes. Logan only used one! He could use another one to bring James back! Logan jumped up from his place on the floor and sprinted to his room.
Kendall followed after him. He stood in the doorway watching Logan make a horrendous mess. “What are you doing, Logan?”
“I have to find it. I have to find the monkey’s paw.” Logan pulled drawers out of their sockets, dumping their contents on the floor. He frantically searched through the clothes getting more and more frustrated as he came up empty handed.
Then it hit him. They had thrown it away! He desperately dumped the contents of the small trash can on the floor, praying that it hadn’t been emptied since that night, praying that the monkey’s paw was there. He let out a childlike squeal when he found the damned thing.
He quickly stood and made his wish. “Monkey’s Paw I wish James was alive!” Logan smiled for the first time since James had died, sure that his second wish would come true.
Kendall gave him a sympathetic look. “Oh, Logie. You of all people know that these things aren‘t real. You’re a man of science. Magic isn’t real. The million dollars was just a coincidence. A horrible, tragic coincidence.”
“No. It has to be real. It has to be,” Logan was crying again. “I can’t live without him, Kendall. I just can’t”
Kendall engulfed Logan in his arms, squeezing him tight. The dark haired boy cried bitter tears, soaking the blond’s shirt. He whispered to the smaller boy, rubbing comforting circles on his back. Logan’s crying was starting to die down when there was a loud pounding at the front door. Logan gasped and looked up at Kendall with bright eyes.
“It’s James!” Logan started to run out of the bedroom, but was stopped when Kendall grabbed his arm.
“Logan. It’s not James.” Another loud pounding echoed through the apartment.
“Let me go, Kendall,” he hissed as he struggled from the taller boy’s grasp. “James! I’m coming, James!”
“Logan! Even if it is James, he’s been dead for nearly two weeks. He wasn’t recognizable when we buried him, what do you think he looks like now?”
There was another loud pounding and Logan finally broke free. “James! James!” He ran down the hall and through the living room to the front door. He was so excited he was fumbling with the deadbolt and couldn’t open it.
“You can’t let that thing in here!” Kendall said pulling Logan away from the door and knocking the monkey’s paw from his grasp. The blond dove to the floor, scrambling to reach the object while the brunette ran back to the door.
Kendall finally had the paw in his grasp as he heard the clacking of the deadbolt. He quickly breathed out his wish as the door creaked opened. Logan let out a loud wail of misery and disappointment when all he saw were some muddy footprints.
James wasn’t there.