Giving the brothers space, I studied for my science exam. Mason and Lucas were outside butting heads over what to do for their troubled family. When they took time out, they ate the food I cooked, and we all shared a bottle of alcoholic apple cider Mason had pilfered. It was my first time tasting anything alcoholic, but I wasn’t about to let the boys know. That night, exhausted from their terse exchanges, the boys slept soundly.
The next morning, I took a walk back through the forest to where the wildflowers were always in bloom. Mason and Lucas had been preparing the fishing rods in hopeful anticipation of catching something for dinner. It was a beautiful day, and I wore my yellow sundress to better my mood. The lack of resolution between the brothers wasn’t sitting well with me. There didn’t seem to be an answer to the problem. After our weekend at the cabin, they would be going home to face the same demon.
The wildflowers sat perched on tall grassy stems, reaching almost mid-thigh. A clearing framed with trees was brightly lit with the burning sun and blooming colors that worshiped the heat. Armed with a pair of scissors, I started collecting my bouquet.
I was cutting my last flower when I heard it.
A twig snapped.
It sounded from the thick of the woods, only a few yards away. Forgetting the flowers, I turned toward the noise. Compared to where I stood under the burning bright sun, the woods, staring in, were dark and ominous. It revealed nothing.
I waited patiently for movement, but there was none.
“Paranoid,” I chided.
Returning back to claim the last flower, my skin prickled. I swallowed hard, the ill feeling making me wish I was back at Little Wren. Maybe we hadn’t explored enough. Maybe we weren’t the only people out here. But I knew I wasn’t alone. Quickly snipping the stem and adding the flower to the bouquet, I started making my way back. I entered the woods with darkness consuming me and a chill on my warmed skin. I was only a few yards in when I heard the heavy footsteps. They crunched the debris behind me. I quickened my pace, but they followed. Gripping the scissors in my tight fist, I turned on the intruder ready to defend if necessary.
“Jesus, Mason. You scared me,” I scolded, pulling my hand back, the scissors having only been inches from stabbing his face.
For a moment he didn’t say anything. He just stared at my trembling hand.
“Why are you running, Gem?”
“Why are you chasing me, Mason?”
He answered first with a patronizing smile. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Mason’s eyes narrowed, and he continued in an unusual whisper, “What are you doing all the way out here? You never know who’s around.”
I held out the bouquet of flowers in answer, then asked, “What are you doing? I thought you were with Lucas fishing at the creek.”
He gave a small shrug. “I had to fetch a few things for Lucas from Little Wren. I saw you weren’t there and like I said, I wanted to see if you were okay.”
Lies.
Dressed only in shorts, his muscled, tanned chest gleaming with sweat. It was obvious he hadn’t collected anything from the cabin.
“What did Lucas ask for?”
He shrugged. “Couldn’t find what he needed. But now I have.”
Mason let his suggestion slap me in the face, lips twitching in amusement.
I was in danger, and I wasn’t quite sure how to get myself out of it.
If I panicked, he’d react.
“I’m going back to find Lucas,” I said, turning on my heels hoping he couldn’t smell my fear.
“Not just yet, Gem.” Mason’s hand curled around my upper arm, spinning me to face him, both the bouquet of wildflowers and scissors slipping from my grasp. His mouth settled only inches from mine, eyes hooded with a familiar look that terrified me. I tried to shrug him off, to free myself, but his fingers dug deep.
“Mason, you’re hurting me.”
“I just want to talk.” His voice said otherwise.
“Then let me go, and we’ll talk.”
“Mmm… no.” His eyes narrowed, lips turning slightly at the edges, “I’m happy just like this.” He forced me backward, my feet struggling to keep pace. Instinctively, I gripped Mason’s shoulder to avoid stumbling, a sharp, protruding branch slicing through my calf.
He backed me up against a tree and I couldn’t move. I was trapped, his body pressing up against mine, his height imposing, wide shoulders threatening.
“Let me go, Mason,” I seethed, attempting to push him away. “You’re hurting me.” Ignoring my pleas, he moved closer until I was forced to turn my cheek.
“I’m learning so much about you, Gem,” he murmured. “Wanna know what I’ve learned?” Mason didn’t wait for a response. “Almost sixteen and never so much as kissed a boy.” His finger traced my collarbone and drew a line down to my breasts. “You prefer lacy bras,” he taunted, catching glimpses of white lace. Humiliated, I bit down hard on my bottom lip to stop the sobs. “You wanna marry my brother…” Mason continued, “… but you’re too scared to tell him how you truly feel. And you’re curious. Curious about sex.”
“Enough,” I screamed. “Get off me.” I bucked and jerked, trying to shake him off. There was some give but not enough that he lost grip. In response, Mason pressed his groin against mine, the uncomfortable hardness igniting a fear for my life and everything I preserved.
“Not so fast, Little Wren.” He smirked with a perverse sense of victory, knowing he had, and always would have, the upper hand. “We’re not finished. Hell…” he laughed, “… we haven’t even started.”
Mason yanked me away from the tree, his heel coming in contact with the back of my foot. I fell to the ground, him landing on top. I struggled and squirmed underneath him, but there was little I could do when he pinned my wrists above my head with one hand.
“Lucas!” I screamed. I shrieked so loud, I thought my throat would tear. “Lucas, help!”
“Scream as loud as you want, Gemma. You’re too far from home for anyone to hear.” His smirk spread from ear to ear. He was enjoying every moment of this.
Tears slid from my eyes and ran down my temples. Using his thumb, Mason gently wiped them away.
“What will you do if Lucas sees you like this?” I seethed. “To see his brother attacking his best friend?”
“You chose the wrong brother, Gemma.” Mason’s eyes stormed. This wasn’t an opportunist seizing the moment. This had been a premeditated endeavor. All those times Mason had studied me so lewdly, made revolting remarks about my body and threatened me—they were all warnings leading up to the main event.
Using his knee, he pushed my legs apart and settled in between. Mason’s free hand traveled from my knee to my inner thigh, his fingers pulling my underwear to the side. I was crying, no longer concerned he’d see me as weak. The scent of damp dirt and decaying leaves beneath me mixed with Mason’s cologne. Earthiness versus sweet and spicy.
“Don’t do this, Mason,” I pleaded. “Please don’t.”
He studied me for a moment, caught in contemplation. “Are you saving it for Lucas?”
It being my virginity.
I turned away feeling my cheeks blaze. “Lucas wouldn’t even know what to do with a girl like you, Gem,” Mason spoke as if in a trance. “He wouldn’t know how to touch you, or how to kiss you.”
“Mason, you know this is wrong. So, please… please don’t hurt me.”
His fingers grazed under my panties, threatening penetration.
“Relax,” he cooed. “I’ll take what’s mine when the time’s right. I just wanted to give you a taste of things to come.” Using his thumb and forefinger, Mason gripped my jaw, turning my face until our eyes met. He saw the fear and in some sick perversion, it only encouraged him.
“But… Lucas can’t have everything.” Mason claimed my mouth, kissing me hard and fighting against my struggles. His fingers dug deep, holding me in place, my muffled pleas evaporating as the monster from next door became my first ever kiss. He was forceful and possessive, driving my skull into the ground as he took some more of what wasn’t his to take. When he finally managed to part my lips, and his tongue searched for mine, I seized the moment.