My Broken YOU

12 Hours

It's been less than twelve hours, and I haven't been able to sleep. Mason has been on my mind the entire night and a part of me wishes he was here with me right now. After everything Lyle admitted to last night, I feel like I am forced to pry that information out of Mason without him realizing I already know.

How can I prepare myself to convince Mason to tell me? How do I respond if he does tell me? I'm horrible at acting and I want to make sure I can convince him I didn't know. Maybe I can somehow bring it up in a conversation. Maybe I can say I was in therapy and then he will admit he's in it right now, because of me. No! He's not going to admit that!

Maybe I could tell him I knew the truth and his dad told me. We did say we'd be honest with each other, but then it might cause conflict between Mason and Lyle. I don't want to start any type of issues between them.

"When do you leave for Crescent City?" Ava asks as she walks into the room freshly showered and still in her towel.

"How in the hell are you comfortable with walking down the hallway in just a towel?" I scolded her like a mother. "You give me grief for certain situations, but you're literally naked under that towel. Tell me how you feel comfortable doing it?"

She smiles while she strokes the hairbrush through her hair. "Well, mother! I know I'm hot and people want me. I also know my boyfriend is the love of my life and I'm not worried about it."
"I think that's a double standard?" I argue, unsure if I am saying my argument correctly.

"I don't care!" She argues and slides the towel off her. I drop my head onto my pillow and stare up at my ceiling. "What time are we leaving for Crescent City?" She asks again.

"I think Mason is getting here at ten and..." I pause, realizing what she just said, and sit straight up in my bed. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"Did you think I wasn't coming to finally meet your parents?" Her tone sounds ecstatic while she slides her pants on. "Babe! Mason might be the love of your life. But I am the love of your life as in family. You might have parents, but I'm your only sister...in a sense! You can bet I'm coming with."

A whole lot of radiating excitement rushes through me. I want to throw myself at her and hug her, but I'll wait until she's fully dressed. "Are you kidding me!" I say, my tone filled with excitement. "You just made my entire year! Not only am I bringing my boyfriend home to my parents but my best friend too! This is amazing!"

"Yes, it is!" She agrees and slides her shirt on. "Now, if you look at your clock, we have ten minutes until Mason gets here. Please tell me you didn't nap again and you're not ready yet."

My heart drops as I look at my phone screen. She's right. I did nap, and I am not ready. "Holy shit!" I yell and quickly get out of bed, rushing to finish packing the clothes I started to pack last night. "I knew I napped but damn it!"

A knock on the door turns my attention to it. "Ladies!" Mason announces as he walks in. "Someone napped again, didn't they?" His eyes dart to my mostly empty suitcase as he sits on my bed and watches as I rush.

"Aren't you going to help me?" I question in a rushed tone while fumbling to pack the rest of my stuff. "You're an ass!"

He laughs as he lays back on my bed and kicks his feet up. His eyes stay on me while he slides his hands behind his head and leans against my wall, crossing his legs. "I'm enjoying this. You have five minutes until we leave, beautiful."

"And something tells me you're not going to help me at all, are you?" I questioned while shoving the clothes into the suitcase.

"You've got this!" He smiles and looks around the room. "Are you all packed up, Ava?"

She nods while tossing her hairbrush into her suitcase. "It's not even my parents and I was prepared well before Maddy was."

"Hey!" I argue and scoff playfully. "I thought I prepared everything last night. I swear I was all set to go! I was wrong."

"And then you proceeded to nap!" Mason jokes playfully, his smile warming me as I pause and look at him. "Now get your things together. We need to get there."

"Yes, sir!" I joke and salute him like the dumb ass I can be on occasion. "Right on it sir! Anything else I need to know about?"

"Nope!" He smiles. "Just waiting on you two. Dad will meet us there. We all will have first-class tickets."

"I didn't buy a first-class ticket," Ava admits and freezes in place. "I'm not going to sit by you guys. Man! That sucks!"
"What do you mean, you don't have a first-class ticket, Ava?" Mason questions and slides his hand from his pocket, revealing a ticket. "Without your permission, I refunded your garbage ticket and fully paid for your first-class round-trip ticket, and do not thank me. My father and I agreed since you are Madison's closest friend and almost sister-like, you are a big part of her life. Just enjoy the ride and we all can enjoy ourselves."

"Seriously?" She happily questions as her face lights up with excitement. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Yeah, we did!" He smiles and looks at me with that devious look he's given me in the past. "We only did that for you though. Maddy will have to sit in the cheapest seat possible."

"Ass!" I yell playfully with my excited eyes and held back a laugh while rushing toward him. "You are an ass, babe!"

"There it is!" He smiles as I wrap my arms around him and drop my body onto his. "I haven't heard you call me babe yet, but there it finally is!"

"Does it excite you, when I call you, babe?" I softly question and steal a quick kiss from him. Our warm lips connecting sends a wildfire blazing inside of me. Just the slightest touch created a craving. "Nope!" I say and quickly slide off him.

He tilts his head with curiosity growing in his expression. He flashes a quick smile. "What's wrong?"

I swallow the large knot building in my throat. Every part of me wants to throw myself at him and oddly enough it's been a few days, so I can see why. "I can't touch your lips without wanting."

"Oh, Jesus!" Ava yells playfully. "You don't have time to have sex with your boyfriend. We are about to get on a plane and fly to your parent's house, who! By the way! Still, think their baby girl is a virgin! Let's not forget that part you horn dogs!"

"In our defense, we haven't done anything in a few days." I pick up my bag and argue. "So, there's that! We both have been patient with each other."

"Well, plane!" She argues and flips the bathroom light off. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, yeah! Mom!" I argue like a child. Mason gets off the bed and reaches for his keys. I chew on my bottom lip while the nerves inside of me are trying to reveal themselves. I'm terrified to have my parents meet Mason. He's different than anyone they've ever known. I don't know what they are going to think about him, but I'm very nervous.

"Babe?" His calm and soothing deep voice brings me back to reality. "Are you ready?"

I nod while just him saying that makes me feel even more nervous. I inhale a deep breath and release it, my chest rising and falling with it. "I'm going to be honest!" I say and look down.

"About what?" He softly says, sliding his hands up my arms and wrapping them around me. "What could you need to be honest about?"

"I'm hoping I am truly wrong," I say, the words are fighting to come out of my mouth. "But you're nothing like my parents would ever expect and I don't know how they are going to react."

"Do you love me?" He asks.

I scoff and smile. "Of course, I do! Why would you even ask that?"

"Then it doesn't matter what your parents think of me. If they know you love me, that is all that I care about. If they hate me, then they hate me. But we aren't even there yet and you're already making assumptions. Let's wait until we meet them."

I relax my shoulders and take a deep breath. He's right. We aren't even there yet and I'm overthinking things. "You're right." I smile. "Let's go meet my parents."