Mason pounded on the door. "Leave!" Then he waited until the giggling faded.
Adam shook his head, perplexed. "Who the hell were those guys?"
"Idiots," Mason and Logan said at the same time.
Nate tossed a beer to both of them and popped open his own as he studied Adam with narrowed eyes. "They're cousins. What are you doing here?"
Adam drew in a deep breath. His shoulders lifted, his chest rose, and the tendons in his neck stretched. He was ready to explode, but I stepped forward. I held my hand out to stop any more interrogation. "He helped me out, okay? That's why he's here."
"Sam." Mason stepped closer to me. "Remember what he did to you."
Reality sunk in.
Adam snarled, "You're such a jerk. I'm trying to be her friend. I'm trying to—"
Mason had him against the wall in the next second. He growled at him, "I already told you what I'd do to you if you wouldn't stay away from her. Now you're trying this angle? Friendship?"
He struggled against his hold, but it didn't matter. With a cold mask over him, Mason looked lethal. He clipped out, "You turned her friends against her. I don't know what you've done to get her to forgive you, but it's not going to work. I won't let you screw her over again."
Nate and Logan wore similar expressions and as Adam looked around the room, the fight left him. He swallowed before his shoulders slumped down in defeat. Then he turned to me, but the damage was done.
I remembered. He had lied and pushed a friend away. He wanted to punish me because I wouldn't date him, and now after one afternoon where he apologized, I was ready to take him back into my world of friendship? I was nuts.
But he lied to my mom for me. He had the power to take back his words and my night would be blown. I swallowed painfully. He had the power to send Mason to jail. He couldn't do that. I couldn't let him do that. When I looked up and caught Mason's gaze, I knew he saw the fear on my face. I couldn't mask it. My hands started to tremble. I couldn't lose him.
Mason made the decision for all of us. "You're going to leave, Quinn. You're not going to say a word about any of this to anyone. If you want to try the friendship angle, fine. Help out. Be a pal to her. But if I get wind that you're working a different angle, I will follow through. Now, this is family only. We appreciate that you brought her here, but you're not welcome any further."
Logan grunted in agreement.
Adam gazed around the room with a soft plea. "Look, I care about her too. I won't do anything to hurt her."
Nate decided to speak up, "Yeah, well, you've hurt her enough. We all know it."
Shocked, I whipped my gaze to him. He had a serious look in his eye, threatening even as he stared Adam down. Then Adam stuffed his hands in his front pockets. His demeanor was submissive, but his next words lashed out in a snarl. "Family only? You got a screwed up family."
I sucked in my breath. Closing my eyes, I wanted to bang my head against a wall. Why had he gone there?
Logan flared up, but Mason grabbed Adam's arm and yanked it behind him. As he fell to the ground with a panicked scream, Mason twisted his arm and started to clench his fist around one of Adam's. His screams grew and he began to tremble on the ground.
"I told you what I would do," Mason warned, looking calm and cold.
Adam's screams cut off and a sob started deep from his throat. He began weeping instead as he pounded the floor with his free hand. He cried out, "I'll sue you. I'll sue all of you—"
Nate stepped forward. He was the closest to me and drew me behind him. Then he spoke in a quiet voice, "You already took her friend from her."
His sobs grew and an inhumane shriek came next. I could hear him struggling underneath Mason's hold.
Logan pulled me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and blanketed my head into his chest. He held his other hand over my ear.
Nate continued and I could still hear him. The softness of his voice sent chills down my back. "You keep saying that you want to be her friend, but you're hurting her. You're not hurting us. We don't care if you like us or if you sue us, but she does. Be the man you keep thinking you are." He stopped as he let his words settle for a second. "Taking her friend from her, that's what a coward does. It makes you look pitiful."
I didn't know how they knew about Becky, but I wasn't surprised they did. And Nate was right. I never would have done that to him.
There was silence for awhile. Everyone was eerily still. The room was already thick with tension, but now a different danger filled it. I closed my eyes. They could hurt him. If they really wanted to, they could do it. I didn't want them to hurt him. Adam could hurt Mason back. And then I heard Adam choke out, "Sam. Please. I'm sorry. I am. I—"
Relief flooded me.
"That's enough," Mason remarked, so calm while the anger simmered within him. It gave him a brutal edge that would've terrified me if I didn't know him from the inside out. I closed my eyes as I heard him saying something in a softer tone to Adam. I couldn't make out the words, but a sudden need to be in his arms surged over me. I needed his shelter.
"Leave."
My head jerked up. Logan's eyes glimmered in fury as his hand had dropped from my ear. It was curled into a fist now. His jaw was clenched tight. "Leave, man. Forget whatever the hell my brother's saying to you. Leave her alone. I mean it. If you don't, I'll pound your ass and send you to the hospital."
"Logan." Mason stepped away from Adam, but he kept a hand to one of his shoulders to hold him in place.
"What?" Logan jerked his gaze to his brother's. "You're going to let him go with that? Are you kidding me? He hurt Samantha, we all know it. Whatever the hell he said to that girl did the deed. We all know she stopped being friends with her. She doesn't have any friends anymore and it's because of this piece of crap. We pissed him off so he hurt Sam instead. You're damn straight that I want to beat the shit out of him. Let me at him. If he tries to sue us, he's gonna have to sue all of us. Four against one. If he's smart, he'll take the beating and keep his mouth shut."
Mason was torn. His one hand jerked in reaction and I knew he wanted to do what Logan was threatening, but then he caught my gaze. We both remembered the other bomb my mom could drop on us and Adam held a part of his life in his hands. If my mom knew I was here, she'd go to the police. She would file for statutory rape and Mason would be found guilty. Everyone knew he had sex, everyone knew that he had sex with me. If Mason was found guilty, who knew how long the damages could last for him, for us.
I jerked away from Logan. Adam had apologized. Why couldn't he have let it alone?
Then Logan continued to add to my nightmare.
He turned to me, his eyes pleading. "I talked to some people, Sam. Nothing will happen to you. So what if you get arrested as a runaway? Nothing happens the first time and the second time," he rolled his eyes. "You might get house arrest. That'd be drawn out in court, longer than a month. You can do whatever you want and your mom can't do a thing to you. You don't need to be indebted to this trash."
But the statutory rape charges would hold.
I drew in a shuddering breath. I hadn't talked to a lawyer, but I had a good feeling those charges could hold for a long time, longer than the month before I was an adult.
"Runaway?" Adam asked.
Mason turned to him. "Shut up."
Then Nate moved forward. A look of disgust twisted his features as he grabbed Adam and dragged him to the door. When he opened it, he clipped out, "You say a goddamn thing, and you'll regret it. By the time we're done with you, you'd be getting off easy with a pounding. Trust me. We've done worse to people for less."
Adam opened his mouth, but Nate shoved him out and slammed the door in his face. When he surveyed the room again, he slumped against the door. His head leaned back and he heaved a deep sigh.
I looked at Mason and found his eyes on mine. A look of vulnerability flashed over him. I shot forward and pulled him against me. His head dropped to my shoulder. Swallowing a knot, this was m
y fault. If he went to jail, it would be because of me. I couldn't let that happen. No matter what, no matter what I had to do, I was going to make this right. My eyes closed and despair swept over me. I'd have to go to my mom. I'd have to do what she wanted, anything, but she couldn't hurt Mason that way. No way.
"Why do I get the feeling something else is going on?" Logan pulled me back to the room. He raked a hand over his face and shook his head. "What the hell is going on?"
Nate and I both looked at Mason. It was his decision. He was the leader and it was his life, but when his head fell down my gut flared. He was going to lie. I knew it and I held my breath as I heard him mutter, "Nothing's going on, but it'll go on her record, Logan."
"What? Come on—"
Mason's head snapped back up and his eyes were inflamed. "Leave. It. I mean it. She could get arrested and that'll be on her record, for life, Logan. Drop it."
"But—"
"I mean it!" His voice raised an octave.
Then Logan threw his arms up. A litany of curses spewed from his mouth as he shook his head. "This is bullshit. We don't have to play by their rules. So what if it'll go on her record. She can fight it. She's not running away. This is such a load of crap—"
Then Nate spoke up, "It's not your call, Logan."
"What?" He swung around. A snarl was fixed on his features and his chest heaved up and down.
Nate faced him squarely. His gaze never faltered, he never blinked. "It's not your call. This has nothing to do with you."
"I got shipped off because of it. This is my brother. She's my—"
"It's their relationship. It's her life, it's her mother. They eliminated you from the equation because you support them, but right now you might be hurting them more than helping."
"But—"
"Stop!" A whisper escaped my lips. I couldn't hear any more of it. I couldn't bear it. I clapped my hands over my ears and turned away from everyone. "Stop, please."
I could only hear myself breathing. I was panting, not breathing. I couldn't get enough oxygen and everything suddenly hurt in my body. All my limbs, everything hurt and I collapsed onto the chair by the desk. I had no idea what was going on behind me. I couldn't hear it. I couldn't sense it, but it didn't matter.
I had torn them apart.
My mother had torn them apart, like she tore my own family apart.
I clasped my eyes closed and bent over. With my head buried in my lap, I hugged my arms around my legs and started to rock back and forth. I kept going. The movement kept me from breaking down.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
At some point, two strong arms slid underneath me and lifted me from the chair. I curled into Mason's shoulder. I didn't need to look; I would know those arms anywhere. He carried me to the bed and set me down gently. As he pulled away, I reached for his shoulder in protest. I didn't want him to go. I couldn't be without him anymore.
"Ssh." He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. "I'm just going to lock the door."
It wasn't long before he was back. The light was switched off and I heard him undressing before he lifted me back up and slid both of us under the sheets. Then I rolled over to him, my eyes were wide, and there was a gaping hole in my chest. Only he could fill it. It was cheesy, but it was true. As his eyes caught mine, he held still for a moment. His chest rose in the air and I pressed my palm over it. His heart picked up its pace at the touch as I kept my hand there, and Mason closed his eyes. Then he caught my hand with his, bent his head to kiss my palm, and gently placed his other at my hip. He moved me over some more before turning to tug me into his arms. Our legs intertwined together and I rested my head on his chest.
This was it, this was home.
Analise might try to take this away from me, but I knew that somehow we would stop her.
"What's wrong?" He felt my tension.
I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about it, but found myself mumbling, "My mom…"
He drew in another deep breath as he tightened his arms around me. I felt his head rest on top of mine; his breath tickled my hair. He brushed back some of my hair from my forehead and shifted so he could press a kiss to it. His cheek rested there again. "I called my uncle. He's a lawyer."
I sucked in my breath and pulled away to look up. When he didn't meet my gaze, I grabbed his chin and made him. I saw the torn look in his depths and I froze.
No, she couldn't win…
"Mason," I whispered.
He clasped his eyes closed, his mouth twisted, but then he opened them again. Pain flared in them, bright and clear, before he sighed. "Your mom's right. I could be charged with statutory rape. And if I was found guilty, I'd be labeled a sex offender all my life. He said there's a seven year limit on pressing charges from when the act was committed."
I felt punched in the gut. "Are you serious?"
He nodded before his head dropped to my shoulder.
My hand went to his shoulder, I don't know what for. To soothe him? Reassure him with a massage? My touch felt insignificant compared to the burden that'd been placed on him, but then I shook my head. My mom was not going to get away with this. I pushed him back. She would not do this to him.
"Sam?" He cupped the side of my face.
He looked so sad, and that broke my heart. But it made me even angrier. She had done this, and why? Why was she doing this to me? To him? Mason didn't fold to anyone—that was one of the reasons I had fallen in love with him. But my mom had gotten to him, and she held something over his head that he couldn't ignore, evade, or scare away from her.
I sat up and cupped both sides of his face.
"Sam?" he asked again.
I shook my head and ignored the tear that fell. "I won't let her do that. I will make this go away, I have to, Mason."
A myriad of emotions flashed over his face, wariness, sadness, anger, darkness. He sat up and scooted against the headboard, and then he took both my arms. He'd been scared before, but now he let me see his fury.
My stomach wrapped in knots. Oh yes. There was the guy that I'd fallen in love with. I saw the danger lurking in his gaze. I had a sudden thought to rush from the bed and hurry to my mom, to get to her before he did, because as I continued to hold his gaze I knew he was capable of things worse than what I was going to dish out.
"Your mom is becoming crazy—" He stopped suddenly and looked away. As his chest rose and fell at a rapid pace, he was trying to keep control. When he looked back, the fire had diminished, but only slightly. "Your mom's going nuts because she's lost you. She knows it and she's blaming me. What happens when you're eighteen, Sam?"
"I'm gone." The words ripped from me, from my vehemence. She couldn't do a thing to me then.
He nodded. "Exactly. You're gone." Then he waited for me to figure it out…
When I did, my eyes went wide and surged forward. "She doesn't want to lose me—" Like the last time she had lost something and the last time I saw that look of madness in her eyes. I shivered at the memory.
The blood was everywhere as I pushed open the door. My mother was slouched on the floor. She sat with her back to the tub and her nightgown was soaked in sweat and something red. As I pushed the door wider, the pool of blood sat beneath her. It grew slowly. The red on her gown was blood. She was covered in it.
"Mom," I whimpered. I was frozen in the doorway. My legs trembled, I couldn't move. Then something trickled down my leg. It was warm on my skin, but I barely felt it.
I no longer had to go to the bathroom.
"Mom…" I tried not to cry. Her eyes were closed and she was so white, as white as her nightgown—but no. It was red now. All of it was covered in blood.
My cheeks were wet and I raised a hand there. I couldn't have—oh—I was crying. Those were tears, I wiped them off roughly. She couldn't see me cry. She'd get mad.
Oh god.
"Mom." I couldn't leave her, but she wasn't answering. Then I looked back to the hallway. Was dad awake? I should go to him, but my knees were knocking against
each other. Because I couldn't stand, I fell to the ground. My knees touched the blood now… oh god…I couldn't stop crying. She wouldn't want me to make any sound. She never wanted me to make a sound, but this…I tried crawling to her.
"Mom…"
"Hey!"
Mason was crouched on top the bed, on top of me. His legs straddled me as his head was bent low, eye level to me. He'd grown