The Price of Mason

by Linda Kage

  We successfully ignored her cousin until I tried to leave.

  That’s when Eva blocked the doorway with her body and started to bitch me out, telling me how I’d just shattered Reese’s reputation because Alec had seen my Jeep sitting outside Reese’s apartment.

  So, yep, everything I’d worried about happening to Reese by simply befriending her was coming true. Patricia was going after her, and people were talking shit about her. Why the hell hadn’t I just listened to myself and stayed away from the beginning? I’d known better. All along, I knew she’d be the one to pay for any kind of relationship we had, no matter how innocent or pure the relationship was. And I’d just… I had risked too much.

  As I stood there, feeling like shit with the guilt festering, Reese and Eva started to argue, Reese defending me, and Eva trying to get her to realize she’d be better off far away from me.

  Finally giving up on making Reese see sense, Eva whirled to me, snarling, “You. You stay away from Reese. She’s so far out of your league you aren’t fit to lick her shoes. In fact, if you go anywhere near her again, I’m heading straight to the police station and telling them what you are.”

  And then Reese’s name would get dragged through the mud, right along with my mom’s and Sarah’s. Paling, I stared at Eva, wondering how serious she was.

  “That’s enough,” Reese broke in, nudging Eva out of my way so I’d at least have a clear shot to the exit. Then she touched my arm. “Don’t listen to her. She will not be telling the police anything.”

  “I wasn’t—” I started, but she talked over me as she opened the door. “You and I are friends, and we’re going to stay friends.” Then she motioned for me to go, adding, “I’ll see you at two o’clock.”

  I stared back, wanting to hug her for sticking with me and believing in me, no matter how foolish it was. All the while, I wondered why she had so much faith in me to begin with. I could only bring her pain. So why did she always defend me? Why in the hell did she even like me?

  I wasn’t worthy of this girl.

  She devastated me even more by lifting up onto her tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. I turned my face in just enough to make our skin brush for a second longer than necessary, making my heart thump in triple time.

  As I left the apartment, I felt different, as if I wasn’t myself any longer but hers, and whatever I did from here on out would be for her.

  I was still dazed by that realization when I got home a few minutes later, entering through the back door, only to find my mother in a flurry of activity, already setting up for Sarah’s birthday party that wouldn’t even take place for another five hours.

  “I can’t find the paper plates and napkins we bought for today,” she said, sounding harassed. Mentioning nothing about the fact that I’d stayed out all night, she demanded, “Where are the plates and napkins?”

  “I put them up in this cabinet,” I answered, moving past her and opening a door to pull down the two grocery bags full of serving-ware we’d bought specifically for Sarah’s party.

  When I held them out to my mom, she sniffed at me as if she could smell Reese’s sweet pea scent but she said nothing, only took the bags and inventoried the contents.

  “Good, good,” she murmured, nodding and beginning to relax. “I think we have everything. Can you get the punch bowl down, too?”

  “Sure.”

  I found the bowl and was in the middle of reaching up for it in the highest cabinet when Mom distractedly added, “Oh, and I ran into Mrs. Garrison outside this morning, so I invited her to the party too.”

  Forgetting about the bowl, I whirled to my mom. “You did what?”

  At my tone, she glanced up, giving me half her attention as she huffed out an exasperated breath. “She’s the landlady, Mason. She caught me when I returned from picking up Sarah’s cake and commented on it, so I had to invite her. I couldn’t be rude.”

  “Yes, you could,” I shot back. “I hate that woman. I don’t want her at Sarah’s party. And I’m sure Sarah doesn’t either. She always calls her the cripple.”

  I didn’t want her near my sister at all. Or around my mom. Or Reese. Or—

  Oh… Shit.

  Reese.

  Patricia and Reese were going to meet. Today.

  Black spots dotted my vision, and a full-body cold panic stole up my legs as I tried to picture the horror of those two meeting, face-to-face. The juices in my gut stirred with unease, and my breathing went all wrong.

  Today meant a lot to Sarah. We’d actually invited girls from her class, and she’d been looking forward to it for weeks. Nothing could ruin her special day. But I swear to God, if Patricia Garrison did one thing to hurt Reese or even make her feel remotely uncomfortable, I’d cause a scene in a heartbeat.

  Across the table, Mom was going on about how we had to be nice to her because she practically owned us, and we owed a lot to her for letting us stay here a couple years back when we’d been so far behind on our rent.

  I just stared at her stonily before finally breaking in with, “Well, she doesn’t own me, and I owe her nothing. I don’t want her here and I guarantee you that Sarah would be perfectly happy, too, if she didn’t show up, so don’t expect me to be hospitable if she actually comes.”

  “Mason,” Mom gasped in a horrified, I-can’t-believe-my-kid-is-misbehaving-in-public kind of voice. “That is not the way to—”

  “You don’t know her like I do, Mom,” I cut in harshly. “So just trust me when I say we don’t owe her any kindness.”

  Whatever she had been planning to tell me froze on her tongue. The look she sent me seemed almost guilty for a second before she cleared her throat and glanced away. That’s when I realized she knew about me and Patricia. A regretful ache tore through me, making me wish I could go back in time and undo so many things I’d done so my own mother wouldn’t have to look away from me in shame. But there was no going back now; my bed was made. I had to figure out a way to get comfortable in it, snuggling with all my demons and regrets.

  Lifting her hands, Mom backed away from the table and said, “Okay, fine. Maybe I misspoke, but I can’t retract the invitation now. We’ll just have to figure out how to get through this the best we can.” And she walked out of the room, abandoning me there, just as it felt she’d done for the past two years.

  Confession #22: My biggest nightmare was for Reese to meet Patricia.

  I think I grew an ulcer in the hours that followed.

  I had ignored Patricia’s threat, calling her bluff, and now she was going to be in the same house as Reese. If she really had anything to hurt my girl with, today would be a prime opportunity for her to unleash it. I wanted to warn Reese but I wasn’t sure how. And I didn’t have much time to do it, anyway.

  As soon as the birthday girl realized I was home, I became her personal source of entertainment. First, she wanted to watch Hawaii Five-O with me, then read a chapter of the current Harry Potter book we were on, and I couldn’t tell her no; it was her birthday.

  After that, it was time to set out last-minute preparations for the party.

  Half an hour before go-time, Sarah sat in her chair by the door, eagerly awaiting her first guest. When twenty-five minutes passed with no one ringing the doorbell, her hopeful expression slipped with each click of the minute hand of the clock on the wall, and my helpless frustration morphed more fervently into self-righteous anger.

  And then, finally, the first guest arrived at four minutes before two. The next two after that showed up together another minute later, and that was it. Three classmates were all that showed. And they looked like reluctant shows because not a single one of them even bothered to speak to Sarah as their mothers ushered them forcefully through the doorway. One even asked her mom aloud how long they had to wait before they could go.

  The good news was that Patricia didn’t show, but then… She was never on time for anything so she probably still had her grand entrance coming.

  The bad news was that
Reese was absent too. That’s what worried me most. The last thing I thought she’d ever do was let Sarah down on her big day. But when ten minutes after two passed and she still wasn’t here, I started to grow downright pissed at the entire world. Sure, I hadn’t wanted her to meet my landlady but I didn’t want Sarah to suffer either. And not having her favorite babysitter here on her special day would sting…big-time.

  Where the hell was she?

  Was she okay?

  Fuck, was she okay? Had Patricia finally struck? Or did her absence revolve around me? She had seemed sincere when she told me that we were still friends before I’d left her apartment this morning, but what if that had just been a ruse to get me out of there without a fight?

  Oh, God, what if I’d done something last night that I couldn’t remember that had actually hurt her?

  I was tugging my phone from my pocket to call her when the front door swept open, and there she was. My relief was so visceral that I swear I could suddenly breathe easier.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” she gushed, hurrying inside. “I lost track of time while I was writing a paper for school. I know”—she gave a dramatic bow—“I’m a total geek that way.”

  Noticing Sarah’s three classmates who’d been forced to come, she hurried to them, introducing herself. “Hi, I’m Reese. I’m Sarah’s evening sitter.”

  And just like that, my relief clicked back into anger. All that worry and fear I’d felt for her, and she’d merely lost track of time? My irritation mounted, and this time it lashed out at her. I knew it was misplaced even as I scowled, watching her make friends with the little brats ignoring my sister, but I couldn’t help it. I just felt helpless and pissed and I needed to direct it somewhere.

  She must’ve realized it, though, because as soon as she finally greeted Sarah, she thought up a smooth way to escort me from the room, announcing that we should help my mom set up food in the kitchen before she hooked her arm through mine and physically dragged me up off the loveseat I’d been sitting on.

  As soon as we were alone in the hallway, she hissed, “What the hell did I miss?”

  “Brilliant idea to invite the classmates,” I growled at her since she’d been the one to suggest it. “They’ve been ignoring her the whole time and won’t even stand on the same side of the room as her.”

  Reese merely rolled her eyes. “Well, what did you expect, with you hovering over her like a pissed-off guard dog? I swear, you were foaming at the mouth as you stared at those poor little girls. I’m surprised they haven’t run screaming from the house yet.”

  “Poor little girls, my ass,” I snapped. “We invited every brat in her class, and only three of them showed up, the three who openly confessed they were only here because their parents forced them to come. Sarah is crushed.”

  Reese opened her mouth to respond, but we’d just reached the kitchen where my mom was rushing around like a frantic, blind chicken. And once again, Reese worked her smooth-magic and got rid of Mom, shooing her from the room with the promise that she and I would finish getting everything ready.

  And what did my mother do in reply? She actually thanked her.

  “Oh, Reese, you’re a saint. Thank you.”

  I rolled my eyes and muttered as soon as she was gone, “Thanks for volunteering me.”

  “What?” she gasped before demanding, “What did I do?”

  “Where were you?” I finally asked, unable to hold the question in a second longer.

  “I told you,” she bit out. “I was at home, writing a paper.” Opening the refrigerator, she found the punch mix and brought it out so she could fill the bowl. “It’s actually a pretty interesting subject for my Brit Lit class. We had to read Chaucer in Middle English, which totally sucked monkey butt, and then translate it into today’s English. But let me tell you, The Canterbury Tales is not just some sweet, innocent fairy tale. I mean, I’m still pissed the rapist ended up in a happily ever after romance, but—”

  “I don’t care about your paper, okay,” I exploded. “My sister is about to cry in there. I wanted this to be the best birthday ever, but she hates it.” Plus, Patricia was probably going to burst through the door any moment now.

  Reese blinked at me dumbly. “Oh my God, Mason. Breathe. It will be the best birthday party ever. I swear. We just need to get past that first stage of awkwardness and everything will be fine. Trust me.”

  I gripped my hair, actually feeling myself lose my cool as she calmly moved from the punch to the cake, cutting it in choppy, uneven rows.

  For some reason, watching her horrid cutting skills centered me. It showed me her flaws, her truth. So if she also said to trust her and things would be okay, then that had to be the truth too.

  Right?

  It was all kinds of wonky reasoning but it worked for me. Letting go of my hair, I clutched the back of a chair, bending slightly at the waist to blow out a long breath. And I relaxed.

  “I’m sorry,” I told her. “It’s just… After that thing with Eva this morning, I wasn’t sure if you were going to come at all. Then you were late, and I thought—”

  “Hey.” She immediately stopped what she was doing and took my hand, causing me to lift my face and meet her blue, blue eyes. “Don’t worry about Eva, okay? We talked. She isn’t going to go to the police. I swear to you, you don’t have to worry about her.”

  “That wasn’t the part I was worried about.” I squeezed her fingers and wished she could just see everything inside me so I wouldn’t have to explain.

  She seemed confused a moment before she let out a harassed breath. Rolling her eyes, she promptly smacked me in the side of the arm. “Oh, whatever,” she muttered. “You know you can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m going to be that annoying friend who never leaves you alone.”

  “Promise?” I asked, watching her closely.

  She winked. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

  I sniffed out my amusement, and the tension in me drained some more. Until I remembered the last reason I was so disjointed. “That’s not all,” I added on a wince. “Mom went and invited our landlady to the party. And she said yes.”

  Reese immediately smiled. “Oh, that’s nice,” she started, flopping the first piece of cake ungracefully onto a plate and getting frosting all over her index finger in the process. But a second later, she froze, then looked up at me. “Wait. Is this the same landlady who was your first—?”

  Christ, why had I ever told her about that?

  Because I was an idiot, that’s why.

  When my silent gaze answered her, she winced. “Right.” She drew out the word miserably before lifting her eyebrows. “Well… This should be fun.”

  Fun.

  Like a proctologist exam, maybe.

  “I hate it when she comes over,” I muttered, beginning to pace the kitchen. “She always manages to find a way to corner me somewhere and talk. It makes my skin crawl.”

  Reese grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. When I looked into her face though, she was busy frowning at my hair. Reaching up, she smoothed out a piece that must’ve gone wild while I was losing it.

  Liking her hands on me, I stood there, letting her do whatever she wanted.

  When she was finished, she finally met my gaze. “Do you want me to protect you from the mean old cougar?” she asked a little too seriously.

  With a grin, I lowered my face and rested my forehead on her shoulder. “Yes.”

  “Done.”

  I looked up, only to smile when I caught her licking frosting off the knife. She smiled at me, accidentally smearing a little at the corner of her lip. I couldn’t resist. I reached out, murmuring, “You got a little something.”

  I took my time brushing the frosting away and watching her gaze go unfocused before I pulled back and popped the dab of pink buttercream into my mouth. Then she focused on my lips, her attention growing so intense I found myself leaning in until we were only inches apart.

  Her eyes lifted to mine, and her throat w
orked as she swallowed. The temptation was clear on her face, and it ran so thick through my blood, I was a little surprised we weren’t attacking each other already.

  Suddenly, she turned away to open the can of mixed nuts. “You know, I might’ve been saving that frosting for later.”

  I tried to laugh at her joke, but it didn’t flow out so well. “But you know me,” I retorted. “If you have food on you, I’m bound to steal it.”

  “True.” With that, she held out the can, letting me steal my fill.

  “See, you do know me.”

  “Don’t take them all,” she scolded when my handful grew heaping. “The guests might want some.”

  Remembering there were other people in the house—people who were upsetting Sarah, I said, “Those guests better start treating my sister right or they can kiss my ass.”

  “Don’t worry,” she assured me once more. “I have a plan for the little children. They’ll be eating out of Sarah’s hand before the end of the day.”

  I lifted a suspicious eyebrow. “You’re smiling a bit too evilly right now. I don’t know whether to be awed or scared.”

  “Awed,” she said, quickly running her fingers across the stubble of hair on my jaw. “Always be awed by me.”

  “I usually am,” I admitted.

  My answer seemed to please her; she beamed out a grin that lit up the entire room. Then she sprinkled nuts onto plates with cake on them and added ice cream before piling them in my arms until I held more than I thought I could possibly handle in one trip. But she loaded just as many plates into her own arms, and then sent me a wink. “Let’s go save this birthday party, shall we?”

  For the next twenty minutes, that’s exactly what Reese did. She pretty much single-handedly saved Sarah’s party.