Hey guys, so I know it's been a long time since I posted and I should tell you that it'll probably be a while before I post again but hopefully not as long... on that note, enjoy this chapter as much as you can, I personally did.
xx
"Look, I think you're freaking out over nothing." I threw my hands in the air and thought if my eyebrows grew any taller they'd creep off my face and stick to the ceiling.
"I have every reason to be paranoid, Ashley." His hands were in his hair and tugging forcefully at the roots.
There was no way that Lucas would be able to find me up here in the mountains. I'd never told him where my dad lived and the road to get here is impossible - hence the reason I didn't want to drive.
Shortly after dinner that night, Lucas had left a voice message on my phone saying something I could hardly understand. There was loud music in the background but I swore I could make out 'coming to find you' in amidst the noise. I also made the mistake of telling Mason this..
"There's security cameras here Mason, we'll know." I rested my hands on his chest and tried to catch his sight but he wouldn't look at me.
He shrugged me off and paced around the room.
"Mason, if anything, I should be the one panicking. And I'm not." I lied. Truthfully, I was terrified. There was once a time when I thought that he wouldn't hurt me, and if I'd said that now it would be empty words.
I wasn't about to let Mason see that either.
He continued pacing back and forth while I sat cross legged on the bed and watched his dizzying movements.
"Mason why are you so worried about this?"
"Because after everything he's done to you and my sister, if he comes here I will actually kill him." His fist balled at his sides and I ran through his words again.
"What did he do to your sister?" I asked softly, my eyes finding their way to his. He was... shocked. At himself I think.
"Nothing. Nothing, he didn't nothing to her." He mumbled, finally stilling and sitting beside me with his head in his hands on elbows on his knees.
Why would he say that? Unless... unless that was why he didn't want me to go out with him, because he'd been with Claire and she was hurt by him.
He said he was dangerous. Oh my god.
"He did this to Claire didn't he?" I whispered more to myself than him. He peered over at me.
"Oh my god. That's why you didn't want me to go out with him! Because he was the dick who crashed the car and wrecked Claire legs!" Everything pieced together in a dizzy and confusing puzzle and I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I was sad, shocked, confused. I was furious.
Mason twisted so he was facing me, his eyes pained but his face blank.
"When you said he was dangerous I didn't listen." I sobbed and he held my arms, gently rubbing soothing circles on my skin.
He simply nodded.
How could Lucas do that to Claire? How could he do that to me?
How could he do it twice? That's why Mason was so against me seeing him.
How could Mel know this and not tell me?
"Mason I'm so sorry."
"No Ashley, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let this happen again, and to you. You're the most special thing in my life and I let someone nearly kill you." I could see the veins in his neck as he strained against doing the most Mason thing he could do - explode.
We sat in silence, simply digesting everything and I could feel Mason itching for me to speak but I just couldn't get the words out.
What was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to react?
I knew, deep down, that Lucas wouldn't find me here but it still taunted me. It wouldn't be hard, that annoying voice said. It would be so easy to just go through your old facebook or talk to an old friend. Shut up.
The lights flickered and came back on, illuminating the room and making me need to squint.
When my eyes readjusted Mason was staring at me.
"Mason-" I began, wanting to tell him that he didn't need to worry.
"I can't lose you." The way he said those words, with such desperation and need, it made me remember the way he'd said them the first time. Every time he has said them slike the first time. It made my heart swell and burst with love and pain.
"I have no idea what I'm doing but I cannot lose you. You are my everything." He cupped my cheek and poured the fire in his eyes into mine.
"You aren't going to lose me." I whispered, resting my forehead against his. "Nothing's going to happen. Dad's got this place wired so tightly that even a bug can't get through. But we're going to visit Claire as soon as we get home."
Dinner came by quickly once the lights were back on and Mason was obviously quiet while we ate.
Dad gave me the 'is-he-okay?' look and I just nodded.
"Are you still feeling unwell?" I asked Mason, and when he looked up at me in confusion I flared my nostrils trying to signal to him to play along.
"Uh, yeah."
"Do you want to go lie down? I'll come with you." I stood from my seat and so did Mason, giving a polite nod to dad.
"I hope you don't mind, dad?" We'd finished our meals and we're just scraping around our deserts, we'd effectively finished and exhausted all conversation.
"Of course not, darl." Just then his phone buzzed on the table and he pressed his finger to a button by his ear on the Bluetooth phone.
I held Masons hand as we slowly made our way up the stairs and into my room, taking each step carefully and watching our shoes. I scratched at the top of my cast.
"Do you think I'll be able to get this off soon?" I asked, as he opened the door for me and followed me through. I sat on my bed while he sat on my desk chair, too far away for my liking.
"I don't know." He mumbled, bringing his fingered to his lips as his eyes drifted away.
Getting annoyed with amount of silence we've had since we got here, I groaned and got off my toosh, and climbed onto Masons lap.
He was startled and I reached over him until I pressed the play button on my laptops Spotify.
Kamikaze by MØ began to play and I pressed the sound up button until it was full.
Masons eyes were wide with confusion and he looked at me as though I'd grown another head.
I pulled him to his feet and began to pull his arms with mine so we was kind of dancing.
He groaned and watched me like I was nuts. I ruffled my hair with my hands and danced around him to the beat and made motion for him to join me, curling my fingers and throwing a 'rope' over his head.
He crossed his arms and watched held his lips tightly but I could see from the crinkles by his eyes, that his stoic mood was breaking quickly.
"This is a lot easier with two people so I don't feel like an ass!" I shouted over the music and he laughed, throwing his head back.
He continued to watch me with his arms crossed pushing out his delicious muscles, only now he had a grin on his beautiful face. The next song came on and I recognised it as Shut Out of Paradise by Slo.
I used to have this song on repeat I love it so much.
As I stopped to catch my breath, Mason pulled me close to him, holding my hands and putting them around his neck as he snaked his down to my waist where he pulled me impossibly closer to his sculpted body.
He moved us slowly and I remembered how he'd danced at the ball.
"How did you learn to dance like this?" Asked, smiling up at him as he pushed my hair behind my ear.
"I was born with it." He smirked and I giggled, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Seriously, where?"
He sighed, looking back over some memories I assumed as his eyes became distant.
"Before everything went... you know... my parents used to be really happy. I remember sneaking out of bed late at night to watch them dance around the living room. That's my happiest memory." I sad smile worked its way onto his face and I brought my eyebrows together with a frown.
"Do you have any other happy memories like that?" I asked, we seemed to forget the music, just moving side to side to our own tune.
He laughed softly once, a lopsided smile showing his teeth.
"The day I walked into our apartment to see a total babe sitting on the couch. She didn't know she was beautiful but I knew from the very moment I laid my eyes on her and the moment she told me off, that I was crazy for her. That she was going to be mine."
I let out a shaky breath as he pulled cupped my jaw sending a shiver down my spine and leaned in. We were a breath away when my phone vibrated next to my leg.
He sighed as I reached for it and swiped the screen.
*Call me. Now!* was a text from Mel. Scrunching my brows together I tapped the call button and put it on speaker so Mason could listen as well.
"Ashley, don't come home." She was panicked which forced me to worry.
"Why? What's going on?"
"Lucas was just here at my apartment and he was asking all kinds of questions about you. He got angry pretty quickly."
"What do you mean? What was he asking?" Great. Perfect timing really, I'd just bloody calmed Mason down about all this shit.
"Like where you are, when you're getting back, he even asked if I had a spare key!" Okay, now this Lucas situation was getting worse, I might even need to get a restraining order if he continued like this.
"You didn't give it to him did you?" I asked cautiously, eyes Mason whose nostrils were flared and I swore I could see a tiny vein throbbing above his eyebrow.
"Of course not! But I think I might get Cam to stay with me from now on." We continued to discuss plans and ideas. It was mainly Mason telling Mel what to do and when to get Cam over. I just zoned out until he'd hung up and thrown my phone at me.
"So what are we doing?" I asked, sitting up on my elbows.
"We're gonna enjoy the rest of our weekend together and when we get home we'll figure what to do from then on." He pecked me on the lips, standing up to go over to his gym bag where he got dressed for bed.