by Summer Rose
“Kat,” he stretched out a hand toward me, causing me to flinch. “Forgive me.”
Suddenly, the images swirled, and I was back in my bed, jolting up from the weird dream drenched in sweat before coming to a conclusion.
I needed to see Liam Eddison again.
CHAPTER FIVE
T aking a deep breath, I walked into the building with as much strength and confidence I could muster. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone.
To visit Liam in jail, I needed an adult with me, so my mom came along even though she still struggled to understand my reason for doing this. When the boys heard what I was about to do, they had insisted on coming with me so I wouldn’t face the boy in my nightmares alone.
“You have just ten minutes, Miss Dawson,” the cop standing guard said as he led me toward the room that held Liam.
Mason pulled me to a stop, worry in his eyes.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said, but I only smiled, telling him I’ll be fine.
I stepped in, knowing they all stood outside, ready to come for me if something went wrong. Then I came face to face with Liam, the boy who murdered my father.
Even though I had no expectations about what I would find, Liam looked no different from the boy I once knew. His kind eyes lit up when they met mine. His curly red hair was well-groomed, and he gave me a warm smile that almost made me forget what he had done.
“Kat,” he stood, and I came to a halt, afraid that he was coming at me even though his hands and legs were cuffed. He stopped, looking dejected at my reaction for a moment before putting on a smile and taking his seat. “I’m so glad you came,” he said.
Tentatively, I took my seat before him with folded hands. “Why?” I asked, baffled at his words.
“Because I’ve missed you,” he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I swallowed, my reason for coming here suddenly eluding me.
“Did you miss me?”
I shook my head, refusing to meet his gaze.
“Then, why are you here?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, and I honestly didn’t. It hadn’t been the first time I had dreamed of Liam since he was arrested and sentenced, yet something had been different about the last dream. The urge to see him, if only for the last time, had been so great the past few days that I could no longer resist it.
“Are you still mad at me?” he asked, twisting his fingers together. I made no sound of reply for lack of knowing what to say. “Look at me, Kat,” he urged, but I kept my head lowered. “Look at me,” the yell came so suddenly that I gasped in shock, and my eyes snapped up to meet his. “I only did it for you, to protect you,” he said and grabbed my hand as I shivered in fear. “Your father’s death was a mistake, and you know it. But those girls, they hurt you, and I punished them. It was what they deserved,” he watched me with eyes that genuinely believed he had done the right thing. Just like that, I knew why I was there.
I yanked my hand from him. “You know, ever since you killed those girls, I’ve held the guilt because you claimed to have done it for me, but you killed those girls because you wanted to, not for me. I’m done blaming myself for your crimes.” I stood up and leaned against the table to stare into his eyes. “I know why I came here now, Liam, and I forgive you.”
He chuckled like he couldn’t believe what I was saying. “I don’t need you to forgive me. I did nothing wrong,” he insisted with a steely gaze.
“Tough luck, I forgive you anyway, and I’m putting all of this behind me. Have a nice life, Liam,” I said and turned around to leave, his maniac laughter trailing behind me as I walked out the door.
I sat in the back seat of my mom’s car in between Mason and Jake while Aaron drove and my mom took shotgun, looking out the window in silence. The thought of what I had just done felt freeing like I had let go of a burden that threatened to ruin me.
“Hey, are you okay? You haven’t said a word since you left that room,” Mason said as he took my hand in his with his other arm wrapped around my shoulder.
Leaning into him, I smiled. “I’m more than okay,” I answered, my eyes meeting my mom’s in the rearview mirror as we exchanged smiles.
“Good,” he grinned.
“So, what should we do? Dinner at my house?” I asked cheerfully, wanting to spend more time with the people I loved the most.
“I’m sorry, Katrina. I won’t be able to make it. I’m taking Noelle out on a date,” Jake said, all smiles.
I nodded with a smile of my own, happy that he and Noelle were back together. “What about you, Aaron?” I asked, and even from where I sat, I could see the tips of his ears turn red, causing me to raise a curious eyebrow. “Aaron?” I asked again when he remained mute.
“Aaron has a date with his girlfriend,” Mason snickered.
With my eyes rounded in shock, I asked a little too loudly, “What? Girlfriend?”
I watched as Aaron scratched the back of his neck nervously before answering me. “I asked Carrie out as you suggested, and we’re… um… kinda dating now.”
“Already? It’s only being what, four days?” I asked, not because I was jealous but because it seemed like things between them were going too fast.
“What’s wrong, babe? You’re the one who wanted him to date her,” Mason said with an edge in his voice, so I squeezed his hand to reassure him. As much as things were going well between us, I knew a bit of insecurity still lingered due to my kiss with Aaron.
“You’re right, as long as you’re happy, Aaron,” I said and returned the grateful smile he sent my way.
“I guess it’s just us three then,” my mom said to Mason and I. “Mason, oh, I can’t wait to show you all of Katrina’s baby pictures.”
“Mom,” I whined, and laughter filled the car as we drove off.
CHAPTER SIX
B eing eighteen felt no different than being seventeen. I was still a shy and awkward teenager who had zero sense of fashion – a fact that was quite glaring with the sea of clothes on my bed and a frustrated Noelle drowning in it all.
To say I was shocked when Noelle offered her assistance to dress me up for my birthday party was an understatement. Still, I had accepted anyway since I had no female friends and didn’t want my mom dressing me up again. Thankfully, she was out with a friend for a girls’ night out.
Even though her offering help was out of guilt and her own way of apologizing for the things she said to me, I still took what I could get. “How can you have nothing appropriate in your closet?” she asked in utter dismay. “We should have gone shopping.” She fell on top of the clothes, and I chuckled.
“Come on! You promised to help.”
“Fine.” she pulled herself up and ventured back toward my closet.
“You know, if you didn’t try to steal my boyfriend, you and I would totally be BFFs,” she said with her voice muffled from dipping her head in my closet.
I rolled my eyes, watching her from where I sat at the dressing table. “I didn’t try to steal your boyfriend, Noelle. Whatever was between Jake and I probably ended the moment he set his eyes on you. He loves you,” I said softly, hoping she believed my words.
“He does, doesn’t he?” she asked and stood with a wide smile on her face and a large box in her hand. I knew that box.
“Put that back. I’m not wearing it,” I flushed.
“Why not?” she whined and pulled out the dress in the box. “It’s absolutely gorgeous,” she said, and indeed it was.
It was the silver gown my mom had gotten me last Christmas. I had flat out refused to wear it because it drew too much attention. It has a silky material that shimmers under the lights. Long-sleeved with a slit that ran up my thighs and ended a few inches below, the dress was a vision, even with it being backless.
“It’s too much for a high school party, don’t you think? I mean, most of our classmates will probably be dressed in t-shirts and jeans.”
Noelle’s eyes widened like I had said the most horrific thing e
ver. She scoffed, “Not everyone is like you, Katrina Dawson. Besides, you might find yourself quite surprised by tonight’s theme,” she said.
It was my turn to be surprised, “Why is there something happening that I don’t know about?”
“Let’s just say you are one lucky birthday girl,” she said cryptically before handing me the dress with a determined look on her face. “Now, get dressed before I force you into it myself.”
With no further arguments, I did as I was told. Noelle’s expression was quite clear: she planned to make good on her threat if I didn’t cooperate. It was a good thing I did because I had some difficulty recognizing myself when she was finished.
I had gone from an antisocial teenager to a confident woman within seconds. Far from what I had expected, the makeup she applied to my face was simple yet elegant. My hair had been styled into a complicated updo with tiny flowery pins at the front. I looked nothing short of beautiful. A chain with a ruby pendant, similar to the color of my shoes and purse, sat around my neck, finishing off the look.
“Wow,” Noelle exclaimed with an open mouth as she took a final look at me. “You look incredible,” she said, pulling out her phone and taking a few photos. “Your boyfriend agrees,” she finished with a sly grin, indicating that she had sent the pictures to Mason.
I let my gaze take her in too, and I’m speechless by what I see.
“Wow yourself, you look like a goddess,” I said to her, gesturing at the adoring red dress she had on, paired with silver heels and a choker. Her platinum blonde hair fell freely across her shoulders like a cascading waterfall.
She placed her hand on her chest as her eyes twinkled in delight from the compliment.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Now, come on. I know I said we should be fashionably late, but anything more than that is just distasteful, especially since you’re the birthday girl.”
We hurried downstairs and into her car before I remembered something. “Hey, I got you this.” I pulled out a tube of lipstick and handed it to her
“Oh my god, this is…”
“Yes,” I chuckled lightly at her surprise over the designer lipstick I had my mom help me buy from the fashion industry where she works. “Just a little something, as a thank you for helping me,” I continued with a smile.
Suddenly, she threw her arms around me. “Thank you,” she whispered into my ear.
Patting her back, still shocked by her outburst, I replied, “You’re welcome.”
“You know, you’re not so bad, Katrina Dawson,” she said as she pulled back to stare at me.
“You are not so bad either, Noelle,” I answered with a smile.
Laughing, she said, “Okay, we really should go now.”
And off we went to celebrate life and the opportunities that lay ahead with the people we loved.
CHAPTER SEVEN
J ust like Noelle had said, I was shocked when we arrived at Mason’s house. Instead of the usual high school party I expected, this was a black-tie event, strictly by invitation only.
As always, whenever Mason organized a party of any kind, it was impeccable. From the lighting, food, decorations, and music to the people, I felt like a queen arriving at her coronation, mostly when Mason met up with us at the entrance and escorted me inside.
However, two hours into the party, it had slowly turned into one of those usual high school parties where virtually everyone was drunk. And people were busy groping each other on the dance floor.
“Hey, Kat, you look so hot,” I felt someone’s hot breath on my neck and turned to see Glenn, a member of the school football team. “I’ve always known you were hiding a banging body under all those jeans and t-shirts you wore,” he continued with a sloppy smile, his hand reaching to grab my waist, but I quickly evaded it.
With a scrunched-up nose, I said to the already wavering boy, “You’re drunk, Glenn.”
“I’m fine,” he scoffed. “Now come on, baby girl,” he said after a beat and grabbed my waist.
With his built appearance, it was a real bother to get him off me. Thankfully, Mason arrived just in time, twisting Glenn’s hand to his back, which elicited a loud scream and a tap of surrender from the drunken boy.
“I’m sorry, Kat, I really tried to make this as classy and elegant as possible,” Mason said, taking a quick look around as soon as he scared Glenn off.
Amused at his frustration, I stood on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips.
“That’s exactly what you did, Mason,” I said after taking a step back.
“All of this is more than what I dreamed. You truly are the best boyfriend.” I watched as his sad face morphed into a proud grin with raised shoulders.
“I try,” he said so pompously that I rolled my eyes with a knowing smile. “Meet me in the pool. I want to show you something,” he asked more than said because despite retaking swimming lessons, he knew how hard it still was for me. He wanted to make sure I was okay with being in the water.
Without hesitation, I nodded but stopped to think. “I don’t have a bathing suit, though,” I said with a tilt of my head in his direction.
“I had Noelle pack one for you,” he answered with a sheepish smile while I raised my brows at him. “What? I had hoped,” he shrugged, his grin still in place. “Now go,” he shooed me away.
It didn’t take long for me to find Noelle but the position I saw her in had me blushing. She was seated on a tiny couch where she and Jake were sharing loud, passionate kisses. After finding out where my swimsuit was, I walked away so fast. It was like wasps were chasing me.
The swimsuit was a very sexy, very revealing piece, the white piece of material clinging desperately to the curves that I shyly wrapped a towel around before heading toward the suspiciously empty swimming pool.
“This is surprising,” I said when I reached the edge of the pool and saw Mason floating in the middle of the water, his gaze holding mine intensely. “How come you’re the only one in there?” I asked, knowing full well that none of the Redwood High students ever passed up the opportunity to swim in Mason’s vast pool.
He shrugged, water sloshing around him. “I ordered everyone to get out.”
My lips tilted up in a smile, cheeks hurting from smiling a lot these days courtesy of the man before me. “In that case, I don’t think I need this anymore.”
I pulled off the towel, revealing the two-piece swimsuit that had Mason taking in a harsh breath before tossing it to the floor.
Gingerly, I made my way into the water, welcoming the feel of it against my body, and soon found myself wrapped in Mason’s arms, his way of protecting me if I needed it. The thought made me smile again, my gratitude for Mason’s presence in my life quite overwhelming.
“You look breathtaking,” his hand came to rest on my face, stroking it gently before touching his lips to mine, a gesture that never failed to make my heart flutter. “Here, this is for you.” He pulled out a long box that I was sure contained jewelry and when he opened it, what laid inside took my breath away.
“Mason…” I whispered, not knowing the exact words to say to thank him.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he said, already reading my mind. “Here, let me put it on you.” He pulled out the locket that had a picture of my dad holding me as a baby. In the photo, he had raised me up with a smile while I giggled happily.
“How did you…?”
“I got it from your mom the night we spent looking at baby pictures of you,” he said as I recalled how embarrassed I had been that day. “I know how much he meant to you and how much you miss him, so…”
I didn’t let him finish talking before I threw my arms around him in a tight hug and then proceeded to show him how truly grateful I was by letting my lips do the talking.
How long we spent in the pool, reveling in the warmth of each other’s loving arms, eluded me. Still, it soon became too chilly, and I told Mason I was going to get dressed upstairs and be back to have a final dance with him before he
ading home.
However, when I arrived at Mason’s room, a very drunk Glenn was who I met. “What are you doing in here, Glenn? This is Mason’s room, and I don’t think he would appreciate your presence here,” I warned, stepping back as he made his way toward me.
“Waiting for you, of course,” he answered with a leering smile and a gaze that spoke of determination. I knew precisely just what he was determined to do.
Quickly, I turned around and ran toward the open door but stopped when I saw Carrie, Aaron’s new girlfriend, just outside of it. “Carrie…” I began, but she simply smiled.
“Enjoy,” she said with a wink and slammed the door shut in my face.
Horrified, I jiggled the door handle desperately to no avail, only to realize she had locked me in with Glenn.
“Please, no…” I let out a painful scream when I felt his hand yank my hair and yelled out what I seemed to be saying a lot these days. “Help!”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“L et go of me!” I screamed, but he still wouldn’t let go of my hair, twisting it painfully as he dragged me onto the bed with it.
“You want this, too; I can feel it. Why struggle?”
He crawled up the bed, pinning me down with his giant body. I could smell the strong scent of alcohol on his breath as my eyes frantically searched for anything that could help me escape him.
When I fell short, unable to reach the vase by Mason’s bedside, I turned my gaze to Glenn and began to speak, hoping to convince him not to go through with what he had in mind. “Glenn, come on. I know you don’t want this; you’re just too drunk to realize what you’re doing. If you let me go now, I promise not to tell anyone.”
“Stop talking,” he suddenly screamed in my face, and I whimpered in fear. “Do you know how much I’ve missed you, Hannah? Hm?”
“What?” I asked in confusion at the mention of his girlfriend’s name, or ex-girlfriend according to the rumors going around in school. Apparently, Hannah, who was also the school’s top cheerleader, had dumped Glenn for someone else. In his drunken state of mind, he probably thought I was her and was taking out his anger on me.
