Mason

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “I’ll see you out,’’ Gram’s tells him. I forgot she was there. She’s usually mouthing off and telling the lawyer where he can stick his degree. I guess the talk Mark promised Malik he would have with her worked.

  “You okay?’’ I ask Harlow.

  “I feel bad for feeling relieved that someone else will be standing up in court, but then I remember why they’re standing there and I feel sick. I’m sick of it all. I just want him to get sent down. How can the judges not see that he’s a criminal, that he shouldn’t be able to walk the streets for the rest of his miserable life? I just want this to be over,’’ she slumps back, using Malik for support.

  “He will never hurt you again, baby. There’s no way they’ll find him innocent. As for feeling guilty, don’t. You have nothing to feel guilty for. We’ll get through this, Harlow, together.’’

  I look at the two as Harlow turns in his arms and hugs him, her head thrown into the crease of his neck and shoulder. Her cries echo around the barely there kitchen and cause my own tears to fall.

  “Fuck,’’ Max and Maverick say before clearing out the room, taking the damn chips with them.

  “Don’t you dare,’’ I snap, shoving away from Mason and over to Max. “I’m hungry, if you want to starve your niece then I’ll happily remind her all the time when she’s older.’’

  “Jesus, that’s blackmail.’’

  “That’s life; now give me that,’’ I smile in triumph, grabbing the bag.

  Everyone else reluctantly follows, grabbing plates out the boxes before sitting down to eat.

  It’s getting late when Max walks downstairs into the front room where I’ve been lying down on the sofa catching up on some soaps. Coronation street just finished when he comes barrelling in looking sweaty in his ripped jeans and black tee.

  “Having fun just sitting there, you look far too comfy?’’ he sarcastically asks to which I return with a twisted smile when he wipes the sweat off his forehead.

  “Oh I most certainly am,’’ I grin, stretching out on the sofa.

  He grunts again before shaking his head in disgust at me. “You’re lucky I didn’t want to be a part time uncle, Denny, because otherwise I’d be making you carry those goddamn clothes up yourself,’’ he whines.

  “I’m pregnant you dipshit. We aren’t supposed to lift anything heavy,’’ I tell him laughing. “What crawled up your ass?’’

  He grunts again which he seems to be doing a lot around me today. I know his behaviour isn’t malicious towards me, that he’s treating me like he’d treat Harlow or one of his brothers.

  “If you didn’t have so many fucking clothes I wouldn’t be in this mood. Do you seriously need that many? There is seven days in a week Denny, you only need seven outfits, but with that many clothes I’m sure you could wear a new outfit every day for the next three years,’’ he growls sounding pissed.

  I just burst out laughing not able to hold it in. My laugh gets louder and harder when I hear Malik calling Max to come help with the boxes of shoes. Max’s face is priceless and just so I never forget his face like that again I snap a picture on my phone. I had just been playing Candy Crush when the commercials started when he walked in, so the phone was already in my hand.

  “I’ll make you pay for this one day, Denny. I really will,’’ he grunts before stomping his way out of the room.

  I’m doubled over laughing when Mason and Harlow walk in looking exhausted and half confused and concerned for me.

  “What’s got you so happy?’’ Mason questions.

  “Yeah, I’d be careful of that bladder of yours,’’ Harlow giggles which calms my giggling down somewhat.

  “Max. He came in moaning and when Malik shouted to help out with the boxes of shoes, his face was hilarious, look,’’ I tell them, showing them the photo on my phone.

  “Oh my God, send me that,’’ Harlow laughs. “Max’s and Myles’s birthdays are coming up soon so we can use this to our advantage. It’s so going in the paper.’’

  Mason and I chuckle and I’m glad I’ve managed to put a smile on Harlow’s face. She has been down since the lawyer came over this afternoon.

  “I’m hungry,’’ I murmur once we calm down.

  “Me too,’’ Harlow replies sitting down near my legs. I manage to lift them in time before she sat down, and I plop them back down on her lap once she’s seated.

  “Me three,’’ Mason grunts sitting down near the fireplace.

  “Me four, for whatever it is,’’ Max snaps when he storms back in the room, his face red and sweaty.

  “It’s to clean up the garden so that Denny doesn’t trip. We needed another helping hand,’’ Harlow teases.

  “Fuck! I just remembered I can’t. It messes with my allergies. Sorry peeps.’’ Max sits back down in the armchair, not looking sorry at all and I want to laugh.

  “Well, thanks for your support, asshole,’’ Mason grunts at him, shaking his head.

  “You didn’t carry all those clothes, Mase, they were fucking heavy as shit and did you see how many runs I did to get them all up the stairs? How the hell are you supposed to get them in that wardrobe? I know it’s big, but bro… bloody hell man, those clothes need their own house.’’

  “That’s an over-exaggeration and you know it,’’ I snap outraged.

  “Babe… I’m the one that packed them into the van,’’ Mason laughs. “There’s tons.’’

  “Sorry for dressing nicely. You’ll probably have to get rid of most of them anyways. I probably won’t fit in them after the baby is born.’’

  “Don’t call me,’’ Max warns looking sternly at Mason.

  “What we having for dinner then? I’ll buy it this time,’’ I tell them.

  “I’m fucking starving,’’ Max groans.

  “When aren’t you?’’ Harlow teases.

  “When I watch those programs, ‘How clean is your house?’ they put me off food. Oh and at school. Whenever I think of the cafeteria, I lose my appetite.’’

  I playfully roll my eyes and open my mouth to ask where the rest are when Maverick and Myles walk in with bags of Chinese takeout.

  “We brought gifts,’’ Maverick grins. “Malik’s just gone to get some plates.’’

  “We were just about to order something too,’’ Mason grins.

  “We knew Denny and Max wouldn’t last another twenty minutes so we called them half an hour ago and went to pick it up on our way back. You finished with the boxes?’’

  “Yeah. Everything is mostly unpacked apart from Denny’s clothes and shoes,’’ he shrugs.

  “The place does look homey now that everything is moved in,’’ Maverick comments.

  “Just needs some pictures up and it will be a home,’’ I suggest, speaking out loud.

  “And a baby girl,’’ Mason says softly and my heart melts. I look over to him to see his warm eyes focused on mine and I smile.

  “Any chance you could scoot up, babe?’’

  “Oh yeah, sorry,’’ I grin sheepishly. I scoot up the sofa as Malik walks into the room. Mason takes a seat in between Harlow and I and Malik takes one in front of Harlow on the floor. We only bought a three seat sofa and an armchair, so Maverick, Myles and Malik will have to make do with the floor, but looking at them piling mountains of food on their plates, they don’t seem to care. I will have to buy some beanbags from a store that I saw in town, they would go perfect in this room.

  Myles helps himself going through the box of DVD’s we got from my parent’s house and picks one out with a grin.

  “Love this film, Nightmare on Elm Street,’’ He grins excitedly.

  “Can’t we watch something else?’’ Max whines like a two year old.

  “Nah, I want to see this. I didn’t pick you as a horror film chick,’’ Mason grins, his eyes sparkling.

  “They aren’t horror movies, Mason,’’ I tell him dryly.

  “Yeah it is. I fucking shit my pants and couldn’t sleep for a week because of Freddy. I was scared h
e’d come for me,’’ Mason tells me wide eyed.

  “Don’t even get me started on the freaky show. I watched Scream once with a girl at the cinema. I wasn’t paying attention to the movie at first, I was staring at the girl’s tits, but then everyone started gasping, so I started watching it. It was fucking horrible. Let’s just say the girl got freaked, practically jumped in my lap, but all I could do was shove her off screaming ‘I can’t watch this, I can’t’ like a little girl. Worst date ever. I didn’t even get to touch her up.’’

  We all look to Max who is also piling food onto his plate at the same time as talking and we all burst into laughter. He looks at us all offended before grabbing a tray of curry and sitting back in the chair.

  “Remember that time as a kid when we made him watch Hocus Pocus?’’ Maverick asks Mason chuckling.

  “Shut the fuck up,’’ Max warns making me grin, even though I don’t know what they’re going on about.

  “This I have to hear. I love that movie and I’m still shocked over you crying over Scream, because that has to be one of the funniest horror movies made,’’ I grin.

  “Well our dad had left us for the night this once and said we could watch the tele. The choices of films that night were Hocus Pocus, and a few other boring films, so we made him sit and watch Hocus Pocus. We weren’t even halfway through the movie before he started screaming and crying. You know the zombie, Billy? Well when he rose out of the grave Max nearly wet himself,’’ Maverick laughs and we all laugh with him apart from a scolding Max.

  “Hey, Mason, I don’t know why you’re laughing, I can remember you nearly pissing yourself crying over the Wrong turn,’’ Max taunts looking smug.

  “I was laughing that hard my eyes started to water,’’ he replies dryly and I grin looking at him. He must sense my stare because he turns to look at me and the look he gives me sends shivers up my spine.

  “You okay?’’

  “I laughed at that movie too. You’d run the way you came wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t run in the forest?’’

  “Oh God,’’ Mason groans. “And when they run into the abandoned shed looking for a phone,’’ he says rolling his eyes. “Why would they even think there would be a phone in there, the place had campfires outside for heaven sakes.’’

  “Don’t get me started, it’s just as bad when they hide under the bed or they walk to find out what the noise is. Me… I’d lock myself up in my room until I heard something else then call the police.’’ Which I did, I want to add, but I don’t, I don’t want to put a downer on the day. I’ve managed, even between them all moving boxes to get to know the rest of the Carter brothers more and I’m so thankful to be a part of this family. I just hope they will still have me once Mason realises he’s making a mistake being with me. And a huge part of me has a sinking feeling he will. No matter how many times he’s tried to reassure me he’s here to stay, or how strong my feelings are growing towards him again, I know in the end he will break my heart when he realises he wants to be single and ready to mingle.

  “Okay you two love birds, break it up. It’s like watching some kind of freaky foreplay with the way you two are getting excited over a horror movie,’’ Max frowns disgusted.

  We both laugh, but I can’t help the faint blush to my cheeks at the word foreplay, knowing for a fact what I’d rather our foreplay to be like. After all, I know what his fingers can do and how they feel.

  “Fuck off,’’ Mason grins putting his arm around me as Maverick takes our plates to the kitchen and Harlow packs the leftovers up. Not that there’s much left over.

  After everyone leaves, Mason and I straighten out the sofa, clean the drinks up and lock up. By the time we’ve entered the bedroom there’s an awkward silence that is starting to make me more nervous. I know we’re sharing a bed. I’m going to have to be close to him, close enough to smell his spicy aftershave, his body scent and everything. It’s going to kill me.

  “So… how do you want to do this?’’

  I want to say ‘on my back’ and he must see it written on my face because the devil smirks.

  “What do you mean?’’

  “The bed, which side do you sleep on?’’ he asks as we both stare from opposite sides of the bed.

  “Oh, on this side.’’ I point to the side I’m standing by, not really wanting to tell him I sleep in the middle, that this girl doesn’t do sides.

  “I’ll go wash up,’’ he says walking back out of the room to the bathroom. I pull back the blankets, then walk over to the curtains and shut them while I wait for him to finish.

  Out of all the rooms in the house the bedroom is my favourite. It’s a deep purple, with black empty frames, and a few 3D butterflies lining the walls with a black fan centred in the middle of the ceiling. Even the doors to the walk-in-wardrobe are black along with the bedroom furniture.

  The best feature in the room is the window. It’s lower to the floor than the other windows in the house and Mason has installed a mini cushioned sofa for a reading area. I know for a fact Harlow had something to do with this room because it’s nearly the exact replica of my dream bedroom. The only thing missing is the four poster bed with the white canopy that falls above and down the sides of the bed.

  “Bathroom’s free,’’ Mason calls walking into the room making me jump.

  I make quick work of grabbing my night shirt and running quickly through my night time ritual before slowly making my way back into the bedroom.

  The room is dimly lit, the soft glow surrounding the room making it look warm and inviting. I smile shyly at Mason and walk around to what now is my side of the bed and get in. Mason doesn’t move until I’m lying down, he switches the lamp off and I feel him get back under the covers, and I swear he’s facing me.

  My body is rigid and I lay there straight as a plank looking up at the ceiling until Mason’s voice startles me.

  “Relax, I can feel how rigid you are from here.’’

  “I can’t help it,’’ I whisper, following his lead by turning to face him.

  “Everything will be okay, I promise.’’

  “That’s not why I’m nervous,’’ I tell him honestly. “I’m scared that you’re going to hurt me again.’’ I leave out the part where I want to jump his bones, that with him just lying this close to me is pure torture for me.

  “I didn’t want to hurt you the first time, Angel, I just wanted to protect you. I promised you I would show you how much you mean to me and I will. I don’t know where we’ll be in five years or if we’ll last, but I do know I like who I am when I’m with you. I can finally be myself without having to put on this easy, uncaring, joker personal in front of everyone. I’m just the real me when I’m around you and I like it,’’ he whispers before his hands touch my hip and sparks light between us. “Now get some sleep.’’

  I nod my head then let out a startled whimper when he brings me flush against him, and instead of pulling away I lay my head down on his chest loving how warm he is under my touch. My eyes close instantly and for the first time since the breakin I fall asleep peacefully lying in his arms.

  Chapter Ten

  A week of living alone with Mason, sleeping in the same bed and walking around in confined spaces with him has been total and utter chaos on my mind. Everything he does drives me wild, the way his lips close around a spoon, or the way he looks when he walks out of the shower wearing only a towel around his hips, showing his well-defined body. Oh my God, that ‘V’. I’m literally losing my mind. I’ve even resorted to being a bubbling mess when I’m around him, always stuttering on my words. The once sassy, take no prisoners woman is long forgotten. It’s like he’s put me under some sort of spell, one where I can’t make one lucid thought for myself.

  He doesn’t seem to be affected like I am; but then again, he has changed since I got back from Wales. The playboy I once knew has long gone, and in his place is a grown man, making a living, and acting sensible. The old Mason would have had me stripped down, naked, and th
oroughly fucked me by now. Don’t get me wrong, he can still flirt outrageously and leave me feeling dizzy. He even still asks like a two year old. He even leaves the toilet seat up, even after I stuck a post-it note above the flusher to warn him to put the seat back down after he’s used it, but he’s still grown up a hell of a lot since the day we became more than just friends.

  Just the other day Harlow was saying how the brothers have noticed the change in him, and I began to worry they thought it was my doing. She must have read my thoughts because she assured me they are thankful for whatever had gotten him to grow up, to see that there is a future for him. They said they were afraid the road he was travelling down was on he’d never come back from. His life before me and the baby consisted of girls, sex and beer. In whatever order you wish to categorise them in.

  I’m just glad I have him. The other day I had another bad case of Braxton Hicks and bless his soul, Mason stayed with me, rubbing my back until early hours of the morning.

  He also makes me breakfast every morning, and if I’m not awake he will bring it up to me, depending on whether he has to go into work to let in the cleaners or not.

  “Are you sure you have to go?’’ He asks pouting, a gleam shining in his eyes.

  I do need to go. As much as he has been attentive all week, I need my space. I still don’t know what we are, but a few times this week I swear I felt him lying to me, like he was deliberately hiding something from me. It ended up consuming my every thought, so the other day when he came back soaking wet from the rain, I asked him where he’d been and what he was hiding. He said at work, but no way would he have gotten that wet walking to and from his car. He had to have been out in the weather longer to get that soaked. Then I heard him on the phone, and when I walked into the kitchen to try eavesdropping on his conversation, he finished the call so quickly it made me even more suspicious.

  Honestly though, I just want him to want me the way I want him. I’ve always wanted him. I’ve always felt that deep rooted connection between us and the chemistry between us has always been off the charts explosive. But since I got back from my Nan’s I feel like he’s not being himself and that it’s stopping us from finding out where we are heading. We don’t act like a couple, we don’t seem like a couple, and we’re certainly not intimate like a couple.