28
Mason took me home that night. He parked in my dad’s driveway, but there were no other cars. I knew there wouldn’t be. I texted David to stay at Malinda’s and that I’d be with Mason. We were there, and it was time to go in, but I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. So many emotions and thoughts were swirling through my head.
“What is it?”
There were no back lights on so we were in complete darkness. The moon shone down, casting a soft glow over us. It matched his soft tone, but I couldn’t get what he’d done out of my head. He’d been ruthless and knowing what more was coming to Kate, I didn’t know what to think anymore.
I glanced at him. He was watching me. He was always watching me. I was coming to realize it would never be the problem if he wasn’t going to be there for me, but what wouldn’t he do for me. I said, “I’m very lucky.”
A grin appeared over his face. “What makes you say that?”
“You’re willing to ruin someone for me.”
The grin vanished. “That’s not it, Sam.”
“Can you explain it to me?” I didn’t get it. I really didn’t. “You took away her friends, and you made Budd believe that she’s your girlfriend. She has no power. She has no support, and he’s going to do something horrible to her. It’s like you gutted her and threw her into the ocean for a hungry shark to devour.”
“The choice was you or her. I lined things up so that it wasn’t you. I’ll never let it be you. That’s what I did.”
I drew in a breath until my lungs hurt. A tear slipped from my eye, and I brushed it away. Jeezus. What was I doing? He was right. Budd Broudou was a serious problem. He saved me from him.
“You’re not remembering what she did to you.”
“What?” I looked at him again.
He was so beautiful—tall with broad shoulders, a trim waist, and emerald eyes—but it was his angelic face that held me spellbound right now. Mason wasn’t an angel. That was obvious, had always been obvious, but when he loved, he truly loved. It was beautiful, and it was something that I’d forgotten the past couple days.
He leaned back, but he watched me. I caught the wariness in his eyes.
He was always so cautious and on-guard. He was scared of me right now. This man that could render so much power was fearful of me. The irony was not lost on me. “I’m not remembering her the right way?”
“She wanted Nate to drug you, Sam.”
I sucked in my breath. “I didn’t know that.”
“He was supposed to get you naked and then he was supposed to take pictures of you. He was supposed to do worse things, too.”
Nate. My ribs were in flames now. Everything was screaming from pain inside of me. Nate … I couldn’t believe it.
Mason added, “Heather and Tate.”
My mind was reeling from Nate, what they wanted him to do. I frowned. “What about Heather and Tate?”
“Heather stood against them. Tate did it once, but it was enough.” He paused a moment. “Kate wanted to take your friend away and I think she wanted to make Tate your enemy again.”
He was right. He was so right. I sucked in another breath. Why did it hurt so much to breathe? I shook my head and pulled my shirt away. I needed to breathe, but I couldn’t forget. “She sent Heather text messages threatening her.”
“They were going to go to Manny’s tomorrow night.”
An invisible hand went to my chest. It began pushing down on it, pushing down on me. He was saying …
“They were going to break in and destroy as much as they could before anyone woke up in the house. You said they sleep with loud fans because they’re all light sleepers. Think about how much damage they could have done before someone woke up.”
I turned away. I didn’t want to hear any more, but his voice had a soft beckoning to it. I couldn’t look away. His eyes darkened, but I couldn’t tell if it was from pity or regret. I didn’t want to know. They were going to hurt my friend.
He continued, “She wanted to take your friends away and Tate would’ve turned against you too. I know what kind of person she is. She would’ve blamed you for that. Heather would’ve eventually grown leery. She wouldn’t have turned on you like Tate would’ve, but she would’ve distanced herself. She would’ve done it to keep her family safe unless she knew a way to handle Kate, but there’s no way to handle Kate. It’s why I had to gut her. It’s the only way to take care of Kate. I removed any power or support she might’ve gotten.”
“I took everybody on at the Academy. I didn’t have any friends there.”
“You can’t do it alone at our school. This is a school where you can get jumped in a bathroom.”
I flinched as I was transported back to that room. The door closed, but they were already there. All four of them. They chased me into the stalls. They crawled underneath to grab me. I’d been so close to the door, but they pulled me back in.
Mason was right. Kate had to be destroyed. He had done it for me. He had done all of this for me. “Thank you.” The words wrung from me.
“Sam?”
“Mmm?”
He had turned away, and his hand gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Next time you’re pissed at me, can you do me a favor?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t go to Logan.” His eyes moved to mine and held them captive. My mouth dropped open as he stole my breath away. That hand went back into my chest and squeezed, but it was a different pain this time. It was from the pain I caused him.
I nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“He’s my brother. You’re my other half. I can’t …”
When he struggled for words, I reached for his hand. I started to go to him, but my ribs protested, so I gripped his hand as tight as I could. “I won’t ever do that again. I promise.”
He nodded, but I saw that he couldn’t say anything.
“Mason,” I whispered.
“What?”
“I’m sorry for that.”
He nodded again, exhaling a deep breath at the same time.
“That must’ve looked,” horrible “not good.”
A harsh laugh came from him. “Probably the same as you seeing me with Kate.”
The anger began to flood back in, but I didn’t want to think about it. I felt bad for her, but he was right. Kate got what she had coming to her, and whatever else was going to happen, it wasn’t me. Mason took care of me again. The magnitude of everything that had happened over the last few weeks rushed in, and I grew overwhelmed. “Let’s go to bed.”
As we went inside, the lights were left off, and I took his hand, leading him to my room.
I hadn’t taken full inventory of my room my first night back, but taking Mason to it made me look at it through new eyes. My desk was covered in old pictures: Jeff. Lydia. Jessica. All four of us at various events and Jeff’s football games. Jessica and Lydia were both on the cheerleading squad our freshman year. I was the only one not in a uniform. I hadn’t cared then, but now it struck me. Had I always been the odd one out?
Mason went to sit on my bed, and I held my breath.
My quilt was patched together with different patterns and colors. My grandmother made it before she died, and it was an item I was surprised Analise let me keep. As she handed it over to me, her jealousy had me clutching it close. I had come home every day for a year wondering when she was going to ruin it. She never did, but as Mason stretched over it, it looked too old-fashioned for him. My entire room was too old-fashioned.
“What’s wrong?” He followed my gaze as I studied my old books. “Babysitters Club?”
“I used to read a lot.” I used to do a lot of other things, but that seemed so long ago. I sat beside him and felt him take my hand. “I’m seeing everything through your eyes. It must seem so …”
“This was your home, Sam.”
I ended with, “Childish.”
“Why do you think that?”
Gesturing to my desk with my old books, my old CDs, the pictures, even my old backpacks. “Analise told me not to bring a lot of my stuff. She said it was pointless. That none of my stuff would fit in at the Kade house. Your place was too modern and wealthy. My stuff would remind everyone of how poor we were.”
He laughed, tipping my head up to his. “I never thought you were poor.”
“You didn’t? You could’ve. I forget sometimes that you come from money.”
“Why does that matter?”
“It doesn’t.” But it did.
“Then why’d you look away just now? Sam,” he brought me back to face him, “money is just padding. It can be used to shelter you from some things, but there’s no sheltering from other things like love and kindness. Money has no effect on the real stuff.”
“Is Helen going to buy that house? Nate’s old house?”
“Wait. Where’d that come from?”
Money was important to her. Helen Malbourne would never approve of me; she didn’t think I was good enough for Mason. “I know she’s there. It’s another thing you didn’t tell me this past week.”
“Oh.” His hand fell away from my face. “You don’t trust me now?”
After all he had done, that was the last thing I should be feeling. “No. I’m sorry.”
“Sam.”
I sighed on the inside. Would I ever be secure enough?
“Sam.”
“What?”
“Look at me.”
I refused, glancing at my hands. Twisting them in my lap, I looked again after he gently nudged me with his shoulder. He smiled at me. Seeing the tenderness in his gaze, I melted inside. Then he murmured as he drew closer to me, “You have baggage. I understand. Your mom betrayed you. Both of your dads left you. Your two best friends and your ex screwed you over. I start keeping secrets, and you see me kissing another girl. I get it. I’m sorry for making you doubt me.”
“This week sucked.”
He laughed, capturing my hand again and bringing it onto his lap. He held it with both of his. “The past couple weeks have sucked.”
“Is it done?”
“Who knows?”
I cracked a grin. “That’s not very reassuring.”
“Whatever else happens, we’ll deal. We always do.” Turning to me, he lifted me onto his lap and scooted back until he was resting against my headboard. For some reason, sheltered in his arms in my old room gave me a peaceful feeling. My old and new had combined and somehow that was all I’d needed. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “You don’t believe me?”
I did, but words weren’t coming to me right then and there. My throat swelled and a big knot lodged in my chest, but it was the good kind. For once.
“Sam,” he whispered, his breath caressing my skin, “I love you.”
I clasped my other hand over his and squeezed with as much force as I could. I loved him. I just couldn’t say it. The knot had doubled, so I tried to turn around so he could see it. I needed him to see my love. Tears and all, they were shining within me, and I wanted him see it all. He always saw everything.
Then he groaned, “Do you know how hard I am right now?”
A laugh broke free. My ribs hated me, but I kept laughing. It wasn’t until later that night when the lights were off and we were in my bed that I was able to speak over the pain, “So your mom really is buying that house?”
His arms tightened around me. “Yeah, I think so and especially after last night.”
“What else happened?”
He stiffened underneath me. “I got a call last night from my dad, and I didn’t even think about it until now, but you should know something. Your mom had another freak out. My dad had to call the cops on her.”
I didn’t know what hit me first: fear or hope.
He added, “She was admitted to the hospital and she’s under a seventy-two-hour psychiatric hold. My dad says that your mom has a disorder or something. She’s going to some treatment center.”
“For how long?”
“He’s hoping for as long as it takes.”
“Takes? For what?”
“I don’t know. For her to get better, I guess. Maybe just for her to deal with things before bringing her back. The bottom line is that they’re going to be gone for a long time. My mom hasn’t said anything, but I’d be surprised if that doesn’t seal the deal. She’ll buy that house or another one in the same neighborhood.”
“To be close to your dad’s house?”
“Because of you.”
I lifted my head from his chest. “What?”
“Because of Malinda Decraw. It’s where she lives.”
“What are you talking about?” I sat up and leaned against the wall, gazing down at him.
He grinned at me, reaching for my shirt and pulling down on the top so he could graze against my breasts. He captured one in his hand. “Your dad’s going to marry that woman, and you’ll be there from now on.”
“We could go back to the old house, your dad’s.”
“Nah.” His thumb rubbed back and forth over my nipple, and I sucked in my breath. A burning sensation was going through me, the kind that I couldn’t do anything about. “I’m not dumb, Sam. You moved back in with your dad. You can’t leave him, not when you just got him back, and that’s his woman, so I’m guessing we’ll be spending a lot of time going between Malinda and my mom’s houses.”
“What about this house?” I just got it back, too.
“You really want to stay here? We can if you want.”
But he was right. This home was cold now. David was right. This was Analise’s home. There were too many bad memories here. Malinda’s was warm. Loving. Caring. She was the future for my dad. I sighed out loud and laid back into his side. “Well, that’ll be interesting.”
“What will?”
“Going between Helen and Malinda’s houses all the time.”
“Yeah.” His voice dipped and he shifted to his side. His arm tightened around me and he slid his hand down the length of my side. When he stopped and began to rub my thigh, he said, “I know you can’t do much, but maybe I can make you feel better.”
His hand inched down and began to rub between my legs. I closed my eyes and laid there as his fingers dipped inside of me. Later, as he moved down between my legs, and I felt his lips on me, I opened my eyes and gazed at him. His lips were sending me over the edge, but it was the sight of him that sent a burst of desire through me. His back was sculpted. All the power was there, but he held himself so he wouldn’t hurt me. Even now, he protected me. Then his tongue swept inside and I was gone.