19
It sucked being an invalid.
I was released the next day, and it took an entire afternoon before it was decided that I’d stay at Malinda’s house for the first week. I couldn’t go back to school for a week, and she didn’t have a job. It made sense. I would move into David’s after the first week since I’d still have four to six weeks to heal. Of course, Mason and Logan followed me where I went. David already agreed, but Malinda hadn’t been told of the arrangement. When she was informed, both were adamant. David leaned close to whisper, “I warned you they’re protective.” A bright smile was plastered on her face, and she waved him off. “Oh no. It’s completely fine. The more the merrier.”
She didn’t know what she was getting herself into. She must’ve caught my reaction because she broke away from David’s side and took the chair beside me. She patted my arm and leaned in close to me. “I mean it. Those two have become your family, and you are David’s family so that means all of you are welcome in my home, at any time.” Her warm chocolate eyes doubled their sparkle as she added, “I grew up with twelve brothers and sisters. You think three more kids are going to scare me?”
She really had no idea what she was getting herself into.
When I was discharged and being wheeled out of the hospital, I felt like I was part of a Brady Bunch sort-of family. All eyes were on us as we left, but most of the nurses waved to Mason and Logan. David was shaking his head when all six of us got to the parking lot. Mason had pulled his Escalade up to the circle, and I was loaded into it. Logan hopped into Mark’s car. As everyone followed behind David’s Luxury SUV, which I assumed was owned by Malinda, Mason said that Mark and Logan were going to a party that night.
Malinda’s house was a massive log home. Logan was shown to his bedroom, which was a guest bedroom in the basement, and we were shown our room. It was tucked into a back section of the house on the main floor, so it felt like we had our own wing. Mason had packed a few bags for me, and as he dropped them on the bed, Malinda chuckled at us. “You two are like a married couple.”
Uh … I pointed to my head. “Heavy meds here. Say that again?”
She rolled her eyes. “You heard me just fine. So did you,” she threw to Mason. Then she gestured to the door across the hallway. “That’s your bathroom. Your father wanted you upstairs in case you needed something during the night.” Her gaze lingered on Mason. “But I reminded him that you’re not a single package anymore; that you come with a plus-one, whether he likes it or not.”
“Thanks for that,” Mason murmured, leaning against the far wall. He stuffed his hands into his front pockets, which moved his jeans down an inch. As he hunched his shoulders forward, it gave him a longer and leaner look. The tops of his black boxer briefs were visible now, and I could see a hint of his oblique muscles underneath.
I licked my lips. If only … Desire spread through me. When his jeans moved another inch lower, my body felt engulfed in flames. It was like a drop of gasoline had been added to a fire.
Malinda chuckled behind me. “I recognize that look. You got the good meds, for sure.”
I was burning up. “Can we open a window?”
Mason frowned. “What?”
“He says what.” She chuckled some more before stepping into the hallway. “When you get an ice pack on those loins, join us downstairs. We got couches, blankets, movies, pop, whatever you need.”
Why?
Mason said it for me, looking equally confused.
“Saturday family night.” Her eyebrows arched high. “Don’t you two know what family night means?”
We were both silent.
She snorted. “It’s a night you spend with family. Forget any plans you two might have had for canoodling. You’re in my home, and you have to endure the torture. Sorry, Sam. They said you have a mild dislocated jaw, but I got lots of liquids and soft foods for you. Yogurt. Applesauce. The good stuff, but the rest are going to be forced to eat popcorn, pizza, chips, and tacos. You name it, they have to shovel it in. Bahahaha.” She left, her laugh eerily close to an evil witch’s.
“What just happened?” Crap. I winced from pain. I’d been talking too much.
“Mark’s mom is nuts.”
I gave him a pointed look. Did he not know who he was talking to?
Mason shrugged. “So’s your mom, but this one … she seems nice and … genuine. I don’t like it.”
That earned a snort from me. A mother who was genuine and nice? It made perfect sense why he wouldn’t like it. I’m not sure I liked it either.
He gestured out the window beside him. “Did you know Mark lived down the block from my dad’s?”
I had forgotten, but now I wished I hadn’t remembered.
“Yo. Mark’s mom is hilarious. She just told me she’s Queen Royale of Bitch.” Logan appeared in the doorway and flashed a grin. Holding onto the doorframe from the top, he leaned forward, laughing at the same time. “You see how close we are to Dad’s?”
“I know.” Mason gestured to me. “I was just telling Sam that.”
“Mom’s going to flip when we tell her where we’re staying.”
“Yeah …” Mason was deep in thought. He leaned forward to look out the window and moved so he could see further up the street. “You know Nate’s old house? The one he lived in before his parents moved?”
“The one at the end of the block?” Logan moved next to him. Both were studying a house through the window. “The couple that bought it from them moved, didn’t they?”
Mason nodded. “They’ve been trying to sell it for six months. Want to bet that Mom’s going to move in there?”
“No way. She won’t buy that.”
“Dad’s is three houses down. We’re in this one, and Nate’s old place is three doors the other way. She’s going to go nuts when she realizes how close we are to Dad’s. She thought she finally got us all to herself.”
Logan shook his head. “Man, most of our stuff is at the hotel. She won’t think we’ll want to drive there to grab anything we forgot … it’d be easier to just leave it at Dad’s and grab it when we need it. Or that’s what she’s going to think.”
Mason cracked a grin. “If she doesn’t buy that house, she’s going to rent it. I bet you money. Somehow, Mom’s going to be living somewhere on this block.”
A curse slipped from Logan. “And we’re not telling her we’re only staying here for a week, are we?”
“You want to?”
“No way.” A smile stretched across his face. “This’ll be way funnier when she learns we’ve moved to Sam’s old neighborhood, the ‘poor’ community. Mom will shit a brick thinking she’ll have to live there. She won’t know what to do.”
Listening to them and watching from the bed, a pang went through me. David lived in a poor community according to them. I knew neither cared, but their mother thought like that. It was a middle class neighborhood. People weren’t poor, but they weren’t wealthy. They were normal. I was normal, but I was different from them. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but I was reminded of how different I was from them.
It stung more than a little.
“Hey.”
Mark stood in the hallway now. He glanced around before stepping inside. As he closed the door, everyone grew quiet. “David and Mom are downstairs, so I thought it was the right time to come up and say this.”
The feel of the room changed. It was like a cold blast of wind tore through it, and everyone tensed. Mark said, “I don’t know what you guys have planned.” He glanced at me, but everyone knew he was talking to Mason. “But I’m in for whatever it is. I know how you are with trust. You don’t trust anyone except the three of you in this room. You don’t have to tell me the plan; you don’t have to explain anything to me. Give me a job to do and I’ll do it.” His gaze lingered on me before his jaw hardened and he looked away. “No questions asked. That’s all I wanted to say.”
He started for the door, but Mason stopped him. “One thing.”
Mark paused.
“Your friends can’t come here this week.”
“It’s already done. I told them my mom’s having guests staying here. My mom never says anything, so if you guys don’t say anything, no one will even know you’re here. Not like it’s a secret or anything.” He lifted the corner of his mouth up and shrugged. “Besides, it’s usually only Adam that drops by or comes over for dinner. My house is quiet compared to his, but he won’t ask any questions. My mom has random visitors all the time. We had a homeless dude stay for a week one time when she volunteered at the shelter last winter.”
Logan started laughing. “Your mom can’t be any more opposite from ours.”
Then we heard from the hallway, “MARK!”
“And she summons …”
“MOVIE’S STARTING IN NEGATIVE FIVE MINUTES.”
Mark said to us, “She won’t pick a comedy because she doesn’t want to make Sam laugh.”
That was much appreciated.
“But if we don’t get down there and pick the movie first, the scariest damn movie will be starting. My mom never gets scared from horror films. I have no idea why. Her other sisters are like that, too. I wish I had inherited that gene, but she loves watching the rest of us when we’re close to pissing our pants.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re right Logan, but my mom is not like any other mom. She’s not normal. For real.”
The doorbell rang.
“MARK, GET THE DOOR. THOSE ARE THE PIZZAS.”
He grumbled, but left.
“If Mark wasn’t a cool guy, and if your dad hadn’t got there first, I’d bang Mark’s mom.”
If I could talk easier, I would’ve informed Logan my vomit was coming in three … two … one … I couldn’t and it would’ve hurt to throw up. It hurt to do anything, so I gave him the middle finger. That would have to satisfy me for now.
Logan laughed, and for the rest of night, he flirted. Mason didn’t care. I did. Mark seemed confused, and David shook his head. As we watched a movie about teen wizards, followed by a documentary about polar bears, Malinda seemed to enjoy herself. Her cheeks were red by the end of the night from her wine.
The first night passed quickly and so did the rest of the week.
Things seemed normal between David and me. There were no awkward silences or uncomfortable moments. In hindsight, I realized it was because of Malinda. She always had a quick retort for Logan, and when there was a lull in conversation, she’d grill Mark on his love life. He was mortified when she suggested getting a vibrator for his girl. “Mom!” he cried out. She shrugged. “You’re not a virgin, and I’m promoting her pleasure as well. The girl will enjoy it a lot more. They don’t always, you know.” She scanned the rest of the table. “I’m sure you two bucks think you’re the stud for all those does,” she remembered me and amended, “well maybe just you and Logan, but I’m telling you. Girls fake it eighty percent of the time.”
That opened a whole new channel of adoration from Logan. He wanted to know it all.
The rest of the conversation was a question and answer forum from Logan while Mark looked ready to throw up. I even caught Mason listening intently to her. He told me later that he’d be stupid to pass up information like that. When I came back from the bathroom, ready for bed, his eyes had darkened in lust. His hand skimmed over my waist, gently rubbing before he moved to cup my breasts. Curling into my side, he kissed the side of my neck and remarked, “Six weeks cannot get here sooner.”
I knew what he meant. The ache lingered in me, but it was mixed with pain and stiffness. However, that ache conquered all other aches when he would get ready for school in the morning, or for bed at night, or come back from basketball practice, or being around me in general. By the end of the week, when the pain was starting to lessen even more, the ache for Mason was unbearable at times.
During the time when they were at school, it was easier, but Mason was gone. Malinda didn’t hover. Thank god. I had worried she would, but she seemed to pop in at the right moments. She brought me smoothies. At first, my stomach protested at the sight of the green color, but I was reassured it was delicious. I soon craved them, so I spent hours in the kitchen watching her experiment with new recipes.
The rest of the time was spent watching movies and I napped. I napped a lot.
Mason was granted half-day practices. He could leave after an hour into practice, so he was there when I woke from my naps. Principal Green approved of his request so he didn’t lose any playing time for their games. Between the two, they got all of my homework assignments for me, every day. It wasn’t until the end of the week that I asked, “What’s everyone saying at school?” Heather had called a few times, but she hadn’t said much either. When she was vague, I let it go, but something was wrong. I wasn’t stupid, but I hadn’t been ready to tackle this hurdle.
I was now.
Mason, Logan and Mark were all doing homework at the dinner table. An instant hush came over them, and they stopped what they were doing. Malinda was in the kitchen, experimenting on more recipes. She loved sneaking tofu into dinner. She loved sneaking tofu into dinner. We were having chicken enchiladas that night. The tofu was going to be covered in cheese, but she paused as well.
David wasn’t there. He had an evening meeting for school.
Everyone looked at Mason. He asked, “You want the truth?”
The truth. That felt like a kick in the gut. The truth was that everyone had been pretending. This week was a haven for me. I was allowed to hide from the rest of the world, but the truth was that I had been attacked. I had two fractured ribs. It still hurt to talk and eat because of my jaw. The truth was that I hadn’t been able to bring myself to look in a mirror because I knew I looked like an assault victim, but I was one. It was time I started to deal with it.
I never flinched. “Yes.”
Mason narrowed his eyes, searching inside of me. He always did that when he was checking to see if I was being honest. When he saw that I was ready, he nodded. “The truth is that Kate thinks she won.”
I held my breath.
He kept going, “She thinks we’re friends again.”
It hurt to breathe.
“She thinks she’s at the top again.”
An intense pressure was on my chest now; it felt as if someone was pushing down on it.
“She thinks I’m going to dump you.”
I flinched as I felt someone kick me again. I heard the crack in my ribs from that night. I felt the crack in my ribs from that night.
He looked like a cold stranger to me as he finished, “And she thinks she’s going to be my girlfriend.”
I couldn’t talk. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to do anything except sit there and let his words sink in. All the pain that my medication had been holding at bay flooded me. It all came back in one wave, all at the same time, and I was paralyzed in my chair. I couldn’t fight any of it. “Why would she think that?”
Logan looked away. Mark’s head went down, but Mason didn’t turn away. He stared right back at me as he said, “Because I’m letting her think that.”