The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  She nodded against me but then peered up at me, “But . . . with what Vickie said, she’ll just take over the running of the family business.”

  I smirked at her, “Not where she’s going.”

  She reeled back and stared at me, “What? Why, where’s she going?”

  I laughed at the image in my head, “Well let’s just say our friendly bondage expert is gonna keep her tied up for a while.”

  Her mouth dropped open as her eyes widened, “You’re sending her to live with Kade and Grace?”

  “Yep,” I grinned. “I doubt she’ll cause trouble for Grace and if she does, Kade will soon have her strapped up or Grace will drill some obedience into her.”

  I watched the many emotions cross her face but eventually understanding took over with a slight hint at humour. “Dear God” She chuckled as the same visions I was having assaulted her. “Yeah, I think that’ll work.”

  “Come on,” I tugged on her hand. “I’m hungry, feed me wench.”

  She snorted and gave me a disbelieving shake of her head. “There’s only you that can eat after watching someone’s brains splatter the wall.”

  “Hey!” I chastised, “You did well, baby. No mess this time. I’m proud of you.”

  She beamed up at me and gave a small proud shrug of her shoulders, “Yeah, I hoped you noticed.”

  “I did,” I confirmed with pride at my little warrior as I kissed the top of her head and led her to the house.

  Chapter 15

  Ava

  WE WERE BOTH laughing loudly as we fell through the front door of the house, Mason attempting to cheer me up with small tickles and prods on my backside. He slammed into my back when I came to an abrupt halt at the sight before me.

  Nate stood silently with a forlorn expression on his face, Liv beside him with her face downcast, staring at the pattern on the carpet but it wasn’t them I couldn’t tear my eyes from. It was the three suitcases planted on the floor beside George.

  I knew before he opened his mouth that he was leaving and I whimpered as my soul ripped from inside me in preparation to leave with him.

  He looked at me, a haunted appearance marring his handsome face. A tear slipped free and the sight of it finally broke me. “George, please . . .”

  He shook his head angrily, but I knew it was his way of coping. His father was the same. “I can’t do this anymore, Mom. He’s . . .” His voice broke as he pointed at Mason, “He’s dangerous. Everything within range of him shrivels and dies, you included.”

  “No, sweetheart,” I urged as I hurried towards him and took his hands, gripping onto them too tightly but unable to let go. “No.”

  “Yes,” he hissed as his fury surfaced. He grabbed at my arms and spun me around until I was facing the mirror, his dark eyes looking back at mine in the reflection. “Look at you. Look what he does.”

  I tried to close my eyes but he shook me, “Mom, look at yourself.”

  “This wasn’t him, George. This was . . .”

  “NO!” He bellowed in my ear, making me jump with the severity of it. “This is the carnage he leaves in his wake. It’s not even the first time; it’s not even the second or the third. It will never end and I can’t stand here and watch you be destroyed. I can’t and won’t wait in the background while he destroys you.”

  “But . . .” I stuttered as I turned to him. “I can’t do this without you George. You’re my son, my life and I’m nothing without you.”

  “Then come with me. Leave him.”

  “Wh . . . what?”

  Everything was going wrong. Everything I had built up since moving here was falling around me, the shelter and defence I had struggled to erect for my family was crumbling around me and burying me under its rubble.

  I turned to Mason, angry that he was just stood silent, angry that this was all his fault, angry that he was letting this happen and wasn’t doing anything to stop it. “Please, Mom. Come with me. Start again, a fresh life, free from his fucking dodgy shit and his extreme ability to ruin everything, you included.”

  Mason continued to stare at me, expressionless and stoic as my son begged me to leave his father and start a new life with him. Visions of the last fourteen years ripped me apart; Mason’s torturous drug habit, his addiction to whores and women, his dominant rule; Dane’s cruelty and persecution, the rapes and beatings, the slice of excruciating agony when the poker seared my back. Rebecca’s taunting smirks, ridiculed me, her evil face mocking me as she ran her hand across Mason’s arm, her sneer as she wrapped her arms around his neck and broke my heart. Then finally, Kade’s loving eyes, the warmth and adoration on his face and the way he would make love to me.

  I turned back to George and smiled, “No.”

  He swallowed and the sight of devastation on his face tore my heart into pieces. “Whatever you think of your father, I love him and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he would use his last breath to protect me. Life is life, George and one day I hope you’ll understand why I’m doing this but I love your father with everything I am. He is me . . . and I am him. We’re one, we share the same breath, the same air and the same soul. You will never know the extent of what he has done for me, and I never want you to know, there are some things that shouldn’t be shared with your children.”

  “Oh, believe me, I know.”

  I palmed his cheek softly and shook my head, “No George, you don’t. You have no idea what he pulled me through. He forced me through the gates of hell and taught me to keep fighting until I reached the other end, and until you have experienced life, I don’t expect you to understand. But I need you to know, although I’m not coming with you, I love you so much it hurts. You gave life to me as I gave it to you, you gave me hope and happiness and for that, you will forever be in my heart. But I can’t and won’t leave your father, I will never leave him until the heavens decide it’s our time and even then I know he’ll be behind me, holding my hand and following me through.”

  The tears he shed shredded any strength I had left but I locked my knees and stood firm, not allowing him to see how much more painful this was than anything Mason had ever done before. My husband could be cruel and merciless but I knew with my very soul that he would never abandon me.

  But now George had to experience life to understand it and I wouldn’t be the one to hold him back. I couldn’t force him to stay and I wouldn’t. I knew he needed to this as much as I needed to breathe to live.

  He nodded then bent to pick up his case, “I’ll be with uncle Nate and Aunt Liv if you need to get hold of me.”

  I returned his nod, holding his gaze determinedly but he finally broke and dropped his case, his arms curling around me as he press me so tight I was scared for my ribs. “Christ Mom, I . . .” his sobs swallowed his words but I held onto him with as much strength as I could find. “I love you,” he whispered as he pulled away and walked form the room, the sound of the front door closing too loud for the delicate air around me.

  I stood silent, my knees trembling and threatening to admit defeat as my soul shrank and wept.

  “Baby,” Mason whispered behind me.

  I hadn’t realised we were alone and wondered how long I had been stood there. I turned to him, the pain on his face as agonising as the shredding of my heart. “I’m so sorry, Ava. I . . .”

  He dropped to his knees before me and sobbed, his wretched cries tearing at the final strands of my heart as I fell before him and wrapped him up, “Ssshhh, baby.”

  “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry . . .” he repeated over and over until his throat became too dry and he began to rasp. Both the men in my life had finally and ultimately destroyed me, shattered my soul and defeated my endurance.

  Vickie said my family was my strength but I begged to differ. Nobody, not even Vickie, could estimate how much my family broke me, how much they took from me and how much they crushed me.

  But, as my soul splintered, my spirit kicked in and fought back. My heart punched me in the guts and declared it
s vitality with another beat and my armour strengthened yet again and demanded that I get to my feet and live another day.

  “He’ll be okay, Mason. I promise.”

  He nodded eagerly against me, his tears drenching me and his pain engulfing me as I pulled him closer and devoured it all from him.

  Once again, my glorious bastard fed the warrior in me and I knew we would make it through.

  Endurance was underestimated.

  The End

  Chapter 0ne

  Ava

  THE BITTER WIND bit at my nose and I sighed heavily as I stepped onto the tarmac. Mason wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, his lips softly brushing my temple in an effort to console me.

  I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to face the English winter once again. I didn’t want to face this. I longed for the heat of home, the roar of the waves as they crashed against the rocks under my kitchen window. I missed it with an ache already.

  The sky matched my sombre mood, the clouds thick and grey as they hung heavy in the air, causing the atmosphere around us to press against my soul. There was a trace of snow lingering even though March was almost over, thin borders of it gathered along the low edge of the airport terminus building—the simplicity of the white lines mocking me.

  Although my heart hurt, the sight of the man waiting for me made my soul sing. His expression mirrored my own, a large smile curving his lips but his eyes screamed with sadness.

  He opened his arms. Mason removed his from me as I fell into Nate’s embrace. His fingers grabbed almost painfully at me as his lips rested against my forehead. A small choked sob caught in his throat as his devastation flooded me, making it almost difficult to draw breath against the solidity of it.

  “Ava. I’m so sorry, so sorry sweetheart . . .”

  I reared back and shook my head at him whilst sealing his lips with a finger. “Hey, none of this is your fault.”

  He rolled his lips and squeezed his eyes shut as he desperately tried to bring his emotions into check. “I had no idea. He just . . .”

  “He would have made sure that you had no idea, Nate.” Mason cut in, “That’s how it works. Neither me or Ava blame you in the slightest.”

  “But he was in my care,” Nate sighed heavily and rubbed at his temples. He was exhausted, his eyes almost black with fatigue in addition to the surplus crinkles marring his handsome face.

  “Please, Nate. I just need to go to him.”

  He nodded and took my hand, leading me from his private jet into the building. He was hesitant, his eyes flitting around the building. I had known this man, my best friend, for twenty years and I knew when something was troubling him. I was too afraid to ask him, knowing that on top of everything I couldn’t take any more bad news. However, at the same time, I knew it was something I needed to know.

  “Just tell me.”

  Mason narrowed his eyes on Nate as he closed his eyes momentarily and drew in a deep breath. He blew out the same breath then turned to me, “Yeah, there’s more . . .”

  * * *

  I scoffed as I took in the dark haired beauty sat beside my son. Her hand was tightly gripping his, her long nails curled like talons around his pale skin. Her eyes were roaming George’s face as though searching for answers from him, her teeth ravaging at her bottom lip as she worked her tongue oddly over each tiny bite.

  “Get out!”

  Her head snapped up and she stared at me. Her forehead creased as she frowned but her eyes were knowledgeable, like she had been expecting me. “Mrs Fox.” She stood up straight, her body in battle mode as she prepared to defend herself.

  I smirked at her as she pulled her shoulders tight and took a step forward to oppose me. “You wanna take me on, hun? You think you can?”

  She shook her head rapidly, “No. I . . . just please, listen . . .”

  “Get—out.”

  “But . . .”

  I took three steps towards her until our faces were mere inches apart, the stench of her expensive floral perfume curling my stomach, “I won’t tell you again. I don’t want you here; I won’t ever want you near George. I will make sure you are never near him again and you even attempt to come anywhere near him, I will hurt you.”

  “But . . .”

  Courtney appeared from nowhere and took hold of her arm, “Debora, come on. Now is not the time.”

  I narrowed my eyes on Courtney, the gentleness in her voice directed against my nemesis’s daughter hurting me more than I cared to admit. “Never will be the right time.”

  “Ava, we’ll talk about this.”

  “Like fuck we will, Courtney. You seem to have forgotten who her mother is.”

  “No, Ava” she snapped. “I haven’t forgotten and neither will Debora if no one will let her. George is happy; let him make his own decisions in life.”

  I snorted and shook my head, “Happy? He’s that happy he had to take drugs.”

  Courtney quirked an eyebrow at me, her expression full of disbelief with my double standards. “And how long did it take Mase to come off the drugs? I mean, if that’s the case and men only take drugs cos’ their relationships make them unhappy. He did take the white stuff regularly whilst he was with you, so he must’ve been really miserable.”

  I stared at her. Where was my friend, my best friend who had supported me through everything life had thrown at me? Were we now so apart that she would push me out for someone who resembled Rebecca so much it hurt my heart as well as my eyes to look at her?

  “Baby,” Mason spoke quietly beside me as he took hold of my arm. He knew I was ready to pounce, my nerves already on edge as I desperately tried not to look at my son laid in a hospital bed with so many tubes and monitors attached to him I didn’t recognise him. The pain in my chest was unbearable, the pressure it was crushing me with making it difficult to breathe.

  I blinked back the tears and forced myself not to react, burying the need to hurt something—someone. “I suggest you go now, Courtney, before we both say something we regret and I do something I won’t regret.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “I get you’re angry, Ava, believe me I would be too. But you’re taking it out on people who aren’t to blame. Debora has done nothing but fall in love with your son. Don’t condemn someone for loving your own son, be proud that you made such a remarkable man that anyone would fall for him.”

  “It’s not the fact that anyone has fallen for him, Courtney. It’s like . . .” I rolled my lips as the tears started to squeeze from my eyes, all the past twelve hours since Nate had rung me forcing the heartache I had been trying to contain to flow free. “It’s fucking history repeating itself. It’s a Delaney and a bloody heroin addicted Fox. I don’t want that for him, for George. I don’t want him to go through what Mason and I went through. I can’t do that again, I won’t do that again.”

  “Mrs Fox . . .” Debora stepped forward then halted when I turned my head slowly to her. My lip curled as my gaze roamed over her with contempt. She was so much like her mother, her beauty available to her like a weapon and if I was honest, that’s what frightened me. Rebecca had cursed my life, she had once had Mason in the palm of her hand, and to watch that happen again was like physical torture. It restricted my throat; it clamped each vein in my body and gripped my heart so tightly that my body felt electrified and oversensitive.

  “Don’t come any nearer. Or I won’t be responsible for what I do to you.”

  She paused and held her hands up before her. “I just want to say, that George is . . . he’s my life. I just want him to be happy; I want to make him happy . . .”

  “Shut up!”

  She gulped when I took a step towards her but Courtney stepped in front of me, blocking the one person that I could so easily take out my frustration on. Mason moved in behind me and took my arm again, stopping me from letting my rage loose. “Let go of me Mason or you’re going with her.”

  He leaned in beside me until his mouth rested beside my ear, “I’l
l pretend you didn’t just say that to me, Ava. Calm the fuck down—now.” I bit my tongue, holding back the words I so desperately wanted to say. “Just let the girl say what she has to say.”

  I scoffed and glowered at the floor, “Of course you would say that.”

  “What?” he asked as his brow furrowed with his confusion.

  “Nothing.” I shook him off and stood aside as I turned back to Debora. “Just go please. I’ll give you chance to say your piece when I have spent some time with my son. Right now, I don’t think I can give you my full attention.”

  I laid the olive branch before her even though every word had nearly choked me. She nodded once, “Thank you.”

  Mason moved away from me but I caught the angry blaze in his eyes. He had heard my words but I didn’t care, fuck him. Fuck them all. My son needed me, not their fucking egos, my son!

  “Debora,” Mason cut in as she walked through the door. “I want the name of George’s dealer.”

  She shook her head and sighed, “I don’t know, Mr Fox. I don’t use, and I had no idea he had got this bad. I thought he just used occasionally, just coke. I’m as shocked as you to . . .”

  Mason nodded to her as her eyes filled with tears. Christ, she was such a manipulator. Rather like her mother after all.

  Courtney glanced at me before she led Debora from the room as Greg came in. His wide smile was marred by sadness but he rushed over to Mason and pulled him into a hug. It made me smile to think how strong and supportive our friends were, even after so many years.

  “Hey you,” he whispered as he pulled me into an embrace. “How are you holding up?”

  I shrugged as I took the chair beside George and gripped onto his hand much too tightly. My heart roared inside me just to touch him again. It had been two years. He had refused any contact after I had refused to come back to England with him and his distance had mentally and physically broken me.

  Greg gave me a sad smile before he gestured to the door with his chin at Mason. I frowned when his throat twitched as though he was worrying about something. “Is everything okay, Greg?” I asked as they both approached the door.