Chapter Twelve
Logan did as planned and dropped Helen off at the college. He made sure he knew what time to pick her up so she wouldn’t be alone and waiting for him. Logan was surprised when Helen leaned over and kissed his cheek. Of course, that was not enough, he pulled her back and kissed her lips. Logan whispered a promise to pick her up later that night. He could see her blush as she got out of the car.
The man observed the two. His fury was mounting faster with each passing day. How dare she kiss that man? She would be his soon. He would find her alone. He would take her again, but his time he would not let her go. She would be his forever. He would make her stay with him. He knew the things she would do to stay alive. He smiled at the thought of making her do them again. She would love him. He would make her.
Helen was walking from one class to another when she felt like someone was watching her. She looked over her should but no one was there. Helen picked up her pace. She was not sure why, but she felt she needed to. She had two more classes to go and then she would be done for the day. As Helen sat down and waited for the professor, a young lady walked up to her. “Hi. Umm I know this sounds weird but can I have your autograph.”
Helen was surprised. “You want my autograph?” she asked with a smile.
The girl introduced herself “I’m Tiffany. I am in this class and micro with you. I have been watching you on TV.”
Helen took the paper and pen. She signed it with a personal message. It read, “Tiffany do you feel the need like I do to shower every time we go over bacteria in microbiology class? Your fellow classmate and hopefully your future friend Helen Kiser.”
She handed the paper back to Tiffany and watched her reaction. The girl busted out laughing and answered. “Every time!” the two girls sat beside each other for the rest of class.
When class ended, Tiffany looked at Helen and asked, “Were you serious about us being friends?”
Helen smiled “I was and am.”
“Well then here.” She handed Helen a piece of paper with her number on it. “My number is on here in case you need to talk about little things that make us feel gross.”
Helen laughed. She took her pen and asked for the autograph back for a second. She jotted her number down on the paper and handed it back. “I’ll see you tomorrow Tiffany.” Helen waved goodbye as they parted ways.
Helen was on her way to her last class when she felt the same odd feeling. A group of her classmates was ahead of her. She again picked up her pace. One of the people noticed her and slowed down. She smiled as Helen approached. “Are you in a hurry?” she asked Helen.
“Not really. I just have this funny feeling I’m being watched.” she laughed nervously.
“You probably are. You know you are kind of famous now? I’m Jody by the way.” the girl held out her hand.
Helen shook it as she spoke. “It is nice to meet you, Jody.”
“We can walk the rest of the way together. How is dance practice going?” Jody asked.
Helen laughed a little “It is going pretty good. We have some things we need to work through, but Logan is a great teacher.”
“You two look cute together. I can’t wait to see the next segment.”
Helen laughed “Wait till you see what I did when he was teaching me to spin.”
Jody put her hands up “Don’t tell me. I want to see it for myself.”
“I won’t” Helen promised as they reached the classroom. “It was nice talking to you Jody,” Helen said, and for the second time that day, she meant it.
Helen sat down and jotted down notes. She listened to everything the professor was saying with real interest. She was looking forward to working in a lab. They had a quick question and answer session. She thought she had everything she needed but had one question. Helen asked her question, and the professor explained it a bit different. She was able to get a better picture when he answered her and adjusted her notation on that white blood cell. Before she knew it, the class was over, and she was on her way out of the building.
Helen paused at the door again. The feeling was back. She paused and was debating on what to do next when she heard a familiar voice. “Getting that feeling again?”
It was Jody. Helen smiled “I know it is probably nothing, but I just keep getting it...” she laughed as she opened the door.
“Well, we can walk together again. I’m heading to the parking lot.”
“Me too...” Helen was relieved. “I am so glad that he explained the basophile different. I was trying to understand what was going on inside a body that would make them increase in number in the CBC.”
“I was going to ask the same question.” Jody agreed. “I know someday we will look back and wonder why we thought it was hard to understand, but for now I am going to ask every question I can to get the information I need to pass.”
They were coming up on the parking lot now. Helen scanned it looking for Logan’s car as Jody waved her hand toward her car. “Well, I am over here. Where are you parked?”
Helen looked where Jody pointed and laughed “It seems right beside you.”
Jody looked, and her eyes widened. “Is that Logan Day?”
Helen was confused by her response to Logan’s presence. She had never regarded him as a famous person. She had always just looked at him as Logan, Elaina’s son. She ventured a question. “Would you like to meet him?”
Jody stopped walking toward the car. “You don’t mind?”
“Not at all Logan is very nice. He would not mind either.” Helen assured her with a chuckle.
The two started toward the cars again. Jody watched Logan get out to go around and open Helen’s door. She leaned over and murmured to Helen “Such a gentleman.”
Helen laughed and continued walking. She walked up to Logan and smiled “Hi.” she said softly.
“Hi,” Logan said back. Forgetting that she had a friend with her, he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
Helen did not forget Jody, though, “I would like you to meet Jody.”
Logan tore his eyes off of Helen and extended a hand toward Jody. “Nice to meet you Jody.” his smile was genuine.
Jody could not help but be relaxed. “It is nice to meet you too.”
Helen laughed and said, “Jody, and I walked to class today. She noticed I was trying to catch up to her group and stopped to wait for me.”
Jody added to her details. “She told me she felt like she was being watched. I had to tell her the news that she was a bit famous and probably was being watched.”
Logan hid his reaction to that little bit of information, but he did capitalize on it. “Well, I am glad she had you to laugh with her about it. I’m sure she enjoyed having you with her. She is not the most comfortable with the famous part. Maybe you can help her?” he kept it light.
Helen knew what Logan was doing. She could not be mad at him for it either. The fact was Jody came at a point in time that Helen totally needed her. She agreed. “Jody and I have no problem walking to class with each other. She will keep my head on the ground.”
Jody laughed and agreed, “My mom says I have a real talent for keeping it real.” She really wanted to ask if they were dating but didn’t. The sparks on TV were nothing compared to seeing them in person. She held her tongue, though.
“I’ll see you tomorrow Jody,” Helen said as she got into the car.
“You can count on it.” Jody waved as she opened her car door and got in the driver’s seat.
The couple watched Jody pull out and drive away with another wave. Logan had hoped he had not overstepped things. He was a little worried Helen might be mad at him. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry if I overstepped there.”
Helen looked at him in surprise. “Why in the world would that upset me? You were only looking out for me. I think it is nice that you care.”
“Have I told you
how great you are?” Logan whispered. His heart was in his eyes. He was not falling in love, he was in love.
“I think you are pretty great yourself,” Helen said softly with a smile.
“I was thinking that if we are going to be dating, we should probably go on a date. What do you say?” Logan was kind of nervous about asking her out. He had already kissed her. He could not imagine why this part seemed so hard.
Helen looked over at him in surprise. He was asking her out on a date. She was back to being shy. “I would love to go on a date with you Logan.”
Logan looked at her and realized she was just as uncomfortable as he was. The look in her eyes told him she realized the same thing about him. They both started laughing. “You would think this part would not be this hard.”
Helen agreed “I know I am still trying to figure out why I was so shy about saying yes.” she was giggling again as she finished.
They continued to chat throughout the quick drive home. She only lived two blocks from the college, but in that short distance, they had agreed that the following day he would be taking her out for supper after she finished classes.
Helen smiled as Logan pulled into the driveway. She could see her mother had the porch light on for her. She watched as Logan got out and came around to her side. He opened the door and put out his hand. She took it and allowed him to help her out. Helen looked up into his face. She reached her hand up and touched his cheek. She smiled has he reached up and took her hand and kissed it. They had never kissed facing each other. Her mind flashed to the dance lesson that day and she knew he wanted to kiss her. She also knew he was waiting for her to give him some clue it was ok. She pictured the shocked look that he would get if she just grabbed his face and planted a kiss on him. The image made her start laughing. Just when she thought she could control herself, she would picture it again and go into another fit of giggles. Poor Logan looked confused now.
Logan watched the emotions play on Helen’s face. He watched her erupt into laughter. She certainly was interesting to watch as she came out of her shell. She was also very confusing to watch. He could not imagine what had her going into fits of laughter. She would no sooner stop and then start laughing again. He was curious but took his time asking her why she was acting like such a goof. It was nice hearing her laugh. He finally needed to know why she was giggling, though. “Do you care to enlighten me on what has prompted this temporary lapse of sanity?”
Helen took a minute but finally was under control. “This is just completely uncomfortable. We have kissed, but I know if we kiss now it will feel different when you hold me. I know you know I know this.” she was laughing again as she repeated that part “How funny is that? I know you know I know.” Helen got herself in check again. “I know you will wait for me to give you some idea it is ok. I just pictured me pulling your face down and planting a kiss right on your lips. The face that I imagined you would make at ….” she trailed off as she looked at his face and started laughing again. She hiccupped like a little drunk as she said, “Yes! That is the face.”
Logan listened to her explain why she was laughing. He was a bit taken back when she laughed at the look he knew he must have on his face. He decided to turn the tables. In his eyes, she had just given him the ok to kiss her. She was still laughing but stopped when he looked at her lips. The smile left her face as he tugged her hand bringing her closer to him. Logan wrapped his arms around her as he leaned down and hovered just above her lips. He then asked, “Where you doing something like this?” He took his time as he claimed her lips. He had kissed her before but this one he deepened just a bit. He felt her tremble and pulled back to make sure she was not afraid. She did not look at all worried. However, she did look somewhat concerned.
“Logan, we need to be careful about doing that. It umm” she blushed and looked away, “yes well it makes me. Hmmm… just well now…” Helen could not put one thought into words. That kiss had made her feel things that she did not understand. Things she was not sure she wanted to know. It was nice, but wow it was wow. Good grief she could not even form a proper thought about it.
Now it was Logan’s turn to laugh. He pulled her into his embrace as he chuckled. “You are so sweet, Helen. I will say though if that was the shocked look you saw on my face it is funny. I promise I will be more careful about how I kiss you, though. I agree, or at least I think I do. You did have a problem saying that we need to be careful about how our bodies react to a kiss. I would hate to have impure thoughts that resulted in sin. If we are to become one flesh, it will be with a wedding ceremony first.”
Helen blushed at the thought of being with Logan in that way. She was not afraid of him, but she did not understand why her body responded to him like it did. “Logan this dancing could put us in a compromising place. We need to make sure we pray about that too.”
Logan thought about the dance and what she said. It was the truth. They would have to be very careful. He had no doubt it could lead to longing. He smiled down at her. “You are right. Thinking about it, I can see that we are going to have issues if we don’t cover it in prayer.” he looked at her lips again. “May I kiss you again? I promise to keep myself more in check.”
Helen nodded her head. She watched as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. His kiss was gentle and sweet. She kissed him back.
They chatted a little more about prayer before it was time for her to go into the house. He walked her to the door and kissed her one more time before he left.
Chapter Thirteen
After Logan had dropped Helen off, he went home. It was still early in the evening so he allowed his mind to look back on the last week and few days. He had thought about how quickly he and Helen seemed to be falling for each other. It felt good, but a part of him wanted to make sure he had a person that he could seek some advice from. He was not close with any Christian men, but he knew he needed to seek this advice from a man who listened to God’s voice. The only one that came to mind was the pastor. He decided he would ask his mom for the number and give him a call.
Elaina smiled at her son when he walked in the door. Logan returned her smile as he walked over to the chair she was sitting in. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. After doing that, he straightened up and went over to sit on the sofa.
Elena knew by Logan’s look that he had something on his mind, so she put the book she was reading down and waited. It wasn’t long before he confided his thoughts in her.
“I’m in love with her, Mom. I am not falling. I have fallen.” he looked up at his mother to gage her reaction. He saw nothing but a smile. He continued, “I can’t hurt her. Everything is going so fast. Two weeks ago, I had not even met her. Now I can’t imagine not being near her. I need some advice. I need a man that loves God to help me with this. Someone I can open up with about the things I may struggle with as a man.”
Elaina was so proud of her son. The man he was proving to become in just the last week made her beam. She sensed he did not want her to speak yet, so she remained silent.
“I was thinking about talking to the pastor about this. What are your thoughts?”
Now that he was ready for her advice Elaina spoke with confidence “I think you are right to seek Godly wisdom. Pastor Jeff would be perfect. I know he would love to talk with you. When I told him about your decision to follow Christ, he was thrilled. Would you like his number?”
His mother’s confidence was all he needed. “Yes please,” he answered.
Elaina got up from her chair and went to get the number. She handed it to her son. Elaina knew he needed her silence now, so she simply went back to her chair and picked up her book. The choice to call and talk to the pastor was now in Logan’s hands. She prayed that God would give him the words to say to the pastor. She also prayed the pastor would have the words that Logan needed.
Af
ter a couple of minutes, Logan got up from the sofa and headed for the kitchen. She heard him talking on the phone and smiled. “How do I thank you, God, for saving my child from hell?” her prayer was soft and honest.
After Logan had dropped her off, Helen went into the house and headed for the kitchen. She was starved, but most of all, she needed to talk to her mom. Her mom had her food on the table ready to eat. Ester sat at her place drinking a glass of ice water.
“Hi Mom.” Helen greeted Ester before she walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Hi honey.” her mom greeted her back. “How was your day?”
Helen bowed her head and said a quick prayer of thanks before she answered. “It was great. I think I may have made two friends. I would say new, but to be honest, I have never really had a close friend since Tammy.”
Ester’s eyebrows rose as she thought about that statement. “I never really thought about it, but when we moved here, you did not seem interested in having any new ones.”
Helen looked at her mom. She thought about her life and the things that had happened. Helen wondered how Logan had figured it out in a day, but her mom seemed clueless. She had a lot of questions about these new emotions, but the thought of talking to her mom seemed strange. Through the years, she had just kept everything inside. The only person other than Elaina who appeared to try to open her up to friendship and some honest conversation was Jen, Pastor Jeff’s wife. From day one, Jen had always made sure Helen knew she could talk to her. Now that she thought about it, Helen could honestly say the offer was repeated many times through the years.
“What are their names?” Ester asked from her place at the table.
“Tiffany and Jody. They are both going for MLT as well.”
Ester smiled “You are a special person Helen. I hope that you know that.”
Helen smiled at her mother. At that moment, she understood why her mom had not seen her true pain. Her mom could only see the good things in this world. It would never even cross Ester’s mind that her child had been mistreated so badly. Helen believed that God had a plan, and if now was the time He was asking her to start dealing with this horror from her past, Ester was the perfect mother to have given Helen all of the time and space she needed to come to this point.
“Now, you know I really mean that. I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother.” Ester winked at her.
Helen laughed now. She looked at her mother with all the love of a daughter’s heart as she continued to think. Helen also knew that she needed to take Jen up on her offer to talk. The things that Helen was unsure about and the changes she was going through with her awareness of Logan as a man and future mate would bring up some uncomfortable things from her past. She wanted to make sure that the time was right when she told her mom what happened. Now, it did not seem like it was the time for her to talk to her mom. Helen was at peace with that.
Ester cleared the table. She had the urge to pray for her daughter, so after giving Helen a motherly kiss on top of the head, she headed up to her room.
Helen got her cell out of her backpack. She scrolled down until she got to Jen’s number. No looking back now. Helen made the call.
Jeff and Jen were sitting watching a show when his cell phone rang. Getting up from the couch, he winked at his wife as he went to answer it. Jen watched Jeff go. She loved him more and more each day. Fifteen years ago, she had said she would be his. Jen knew she had no regrets. She was just thinking about how handsome he was when her cell rang.
Both husband and wife spent the next couple of minutes on the phone. Both were surprised at who they were talking to. Neither of them had a clue how interesting their lives were about to get.
Jeff hung up the phone. He looked out into the living room and noticed his wife on the phone too. He could not wait to tell her who he had a meeting with the following day. They had been praying for Elaina’s son for some time. They both rejoiced when she had told them he was now a follower of Christ. It seemed Logan had a good head on his shoulders. Logan had told him briefly that he had some things he felt he needed to be accountable for and needed some advice. Logan asked if Jeff would be available for a meeting. Jeff agreed, and they set it up for the following day. Looking at Jen’s face made him wonder if she was ok. She had just hung up the phone and had the strangest look on her face.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
“You are not going to believe this, but Helen just called me.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow “I’ll give you one guess as to who I was on the phone with.”
Jen looked up and answered, “It was Logan.”
“I think we are going to start needing to pray about this as a couple.”
Jen agreed “I was thinking the same thing.”
“One thing is for sure,” Jeff started “this is going to be interesting.”
Jen didn’t look at her husband. She knew what he was thinking. Observing Helen all of these years had broken her heart for the girl. Her husband was well aware of why.
“You have prayed for this moment, Jen,” Jeff said softly to his wife.
“Do you think she knows that I am aware of why she is so uncomfortable with people?” Jen asked her husband.
“I don’t think that she is aware. I know you are not always comfortable with the gift God has given you, but He gave insight on Helen to you for a reason.”
The gift of discernment was not an easy gift to be given. Jen prayed continually about making sure she knew the difference between judging and discerning. She could see how her heart not being open to God could have ruined the gift she had.
Jeff held out his hand to his wife. “Shall we turn in early so we can spend some time in prayer?”
Taking his hand, Jen looked up at her husband. “We shall.”