Truly Mine - (Mason & Sophie 1, Roommate Duet 3)

After I apply heavy makeup and fix my hair, I walk into the living room where he’s sitting with the bottle in his grasp.

“Babe,” I plead. “I really can’t go to this alone. I want you there by my side,” I say, knowing damn well he won’t let me leave without him.

“Fine,” he huffs, slamming the bottle on the coffee table, swaying as he walks past me toward the bedroom.

Weston returns dressed, dangling his keys in one hand and mine in the other. There is no way in hell I’m getting in a car with him in this state, but I know he probably won’t let me drive my car either. He’ll kill us both and possibly someone else too.

“Sorry about your keys,” he says, handing them over. He actually sounds geniune, but I know from experience it’ll be short-lived.

“Babe, you should let me drive.” I try to reach for his keys, but Weston jerks his hand away from me.

“No. You aren’t driving my truck,” he states firmly.

“I’ll drive my car,” I quickly say.

“I’m driving,” he states firmly, his eyes narrowing in on me as if he’ll crack in a second.

Instead of arguing with him, I try to reason with him and force a grin. “Okay. Let’s have some coffee then. It’ll help you sober up a bit before we leave.”

He hesitates, then thankfully agrees. After an hour of waiting, his eyes don’t seem nearly as glassy. Though I know he’s still got a ton of liquid courage streaming through him, it’s not as bad as before. I check the time again, and when I see Lennon called me, I know I have to respond before she gets worried even though I’m sure she’s well past that point. I hurry and send her a text so she doesn’t do anything drastic.

Sophie: Sorry, ran late. On our way now.

She immediately replies.

Lennon: Okay, I’ll meet you in the hallway. I have big news!

I can only imagine what her big news is, and already, I feel as if I’m going to rain on her parade. I hate the fact that I’m holding so much back from my sisters, but telling them the truth could put them all in danger too.

As I follow Weston to the car, I have a bad feeling that maybe we shouldn’t go and almost ask if we can cancel. But staying here with him in his current mindset could be dangerous for me. I need to tell Lennon and Maddie what’s going on, though it will be obvious as soon as they see me. Nothing gets past them—surely, a black eye won’t—and they won’t let this slide.

We get in the car, and Weston speeds down the road. I want to ask him to slow down but don’t want to set him off again. He grabs my hand and forcefully interlocks his fingers with mine, holding me so tight it hurts.

“You’re mine, Sophie. You’ll always be mine,” he says with a threatening grin that sends a chill up my spine.

“I know.” It’s all I can say as he speeds recklessly down the highway in a vehicle that could easily be used as a weapon. When I finally see the reception hall, I’m so thankful. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing we made it okay and feeling grateful nothing bad happened to either of us. He zooms into the parking lot and nearly hits a pedestrian. I cover my mouth with my hand to hold back my scream, and he laughs as if it’s a joke while veering around the old man trying to enter the hall.

“Weston,” I whisper.

“He’ll learn to get the fuck out of the way, won’t he?”

Fear builds in the pit of my stomach, and I force it down as he parks. Weston turns and looks at me. “Be on your best behavior in front of your little boy toy, Sophie. He better stay the fuck away from you.”

“I don’t have a boy toy, Weston. I’ve got you, and you’re all I need,” I say, knowing my lip service will feed his ego.

He grabs my cheeks with his hands and roughly pulls my face toward his and kisses me. “I better be. Best behavior, or you’ll regret it.”

“Okay,” I whisper, and he releases my face. When I step out of the car and see Lennon crossing the parking lot toward me, I’ve never been so thankful to see her. Weston’s a dick, but in front of my sisters, he puts on a show, displaying just how charming he is when he wants to be.

“Hey!” Lennon says and pulls me into a big hug. I smile, happy to see her and happy to be alive after the drive over here. “Everything okay?”

She studies my face, and I turn my head toward Weston, who’s walking fast behind me and making sure to keep me in line. “Yeah, totally. We just lost track of time.”