trash. I don't know why I did that. I don't think I wanted anyone to know what she really did. I realized now maybe he knew, maybe they all knew, but I wanted to protect her. I don't know why anymore."
I was eleven. I shouldn't have had thoughts like that at that age.
"I didn't want David to find out because if he did, I was scared that he was going to leave again. I couldn't handle being alone with my mom. She would've gone nuts, but she did anyway. Later…"
"Sam?"
I shook my head. I couldn't tell him what happened later. It was too painful, too much. I whispered, "I can't."
"It's okay." He reached for my hand and squeezed it. He pressed a kiss to it before he rested our hands in his lap.
That was good. He was warm. He was safe. He was strong. I breathed a little easier. I needed his touch. I needed to remember that it was okay now. I was okay now.
Then I said something that I never remembered before. "Mason."
"Hmmm?"
I remembered their voices one night. My mom's and David's. I had crouched outside of their door and stuck my ear against it. I'd been so scared he was always going to leave, but he never did. This was another fight. I hoped he wouldn't go, but I heard her scream. And I heard his response.
"Sam?"
"I don't think they were David's."
"What?"
I opened my eyes and turned to him. Another repulsive feeling started to grow. "They had a fight that night; she wanted kids, but he couldn't give her any. He told her he couldn't have kids. I remember it now." I stopped as I realized the extent of what my mother had done. "She had cheated on him. She got pregnant. Then she killed the babies."
"Because they weren't his?" His voice broke at the end.
I nodded. "That fight was before." Then I sucked in my breath. "That fight was that night."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
We didn't talk about our families after that. The only thing that we discussed was what would happen, but Mason just shrugged. Things were left unsettled. I couldn't be around my mother. I knew that much. I also knew that Mason and Logan wouldn't be moving back without me. So all the questions and decisions regarding my mother and his father were left unsaid, Mason said things would get settled one day so I left it alone. When we got to that extravagant apartment, the normal doorman wasn't there. Mason said he didn't work nights, but a young college kid was instead. After a substantial amount of money, he agreed that if anyone called, we weren't there.
When we got upstairs, Mason texted Nate and Logan to let them know that we went away for a night. He didn't tell them where, but I knew how close all of them were. I'm sure the other two could figure it out. When I asked what they were doing, Mason gave me a crooked grin and picked me up. He didn't say anything more and neither did I. The rest of the night was spent with moans, kisses, caresses, and the need to get as close as our bodies would allow.
I started to fall asleep when the sun began to peek through the blinds. Mason rolled over and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. A jolt of pleasure coursed through me, and I grinned into the pillow. I snuggled deeper into the blankets and drifted off with his hand on my back.
When I woke, the room was masked in darkness. After a shower, I left the shelter of the bedroom, and the sunlight blinded me. I'd forgotten the apartment had windows for its walls. No one could see inside so I wasn't worried about that, but the light that shone through was staggering.
"You'll get used to it." Mason's voice trailed from the kitchen. He grinned as he stirred something in a pan on the stove. With only a pair of sweats that rested low on his hips, my mouth watered as I took in the sight of him shirtless. His oblique muscles curved underneath his pants' drawstring, but his stomach and back ones rippled as he continued to stir.
Everything about him was perfect.
"I bought juice." He gestured to their refrigerator.
"Coffee?"
Grinning, he nodded to a cup on the counter. Steam rose from the small opening in the lid. "Figured you'd want that too."
"Did you?" As I went to grab it, I trailed the tips of my fingers across the bottom of his back.
He whirled in a flash. Before my hands could touch the coffee cup, I was lifted onto the counter beside him. He was between my legs in the next heartbeat, and his mouth was slammed on top of mine before anything else registered with me.
Hunger, deep and primitive, rushed through me, and I gasped. I needed more. Wrapping my arms around him, I clamped my legs around his waist. I held him tightly against me, urging his hips closer and closer.
His tongue swept in before he gasped, "I never get enough, never enough."
My tongue swished against his and he groaned. His hands pushed underneath my hips and he pulled me out for better access. I was throbbing between my legs. I tried to get him even closer, but his hand slid between us.
A groan ripped from the bottom of my throat. I needed him. I was blind with desire for him. Then his finger stroked me at the top. I shuddered in his arms. Two of his fingers slipped inside. I couldn't help it. I fell back, but he caught and lowered me to the counter until I was stretched out before him. As he readjusted my hold around his waist, his fingers continued to slide in and out.
I groaned. Pleasure spiked through me. I needed him inside of me. That was all I needed.
As I closed my eyes, he smoothed his hand from my shoulder to my neck. He lingered on my breast and ran a thumb over the tip before he cupped it. Then he leaned down and I gasped as his mouth replaced his hand. He sucked on the nipple and ran his tongue around the edge. My hands slid through his hair to anchor him to me. He knew exactly what I liked. Teasing my nipple with his teeth, he murmured, "Open your eyes."
I did.
His fingers kept going in and out. I started to feel it building.
"Mason," I gasped. I couldn't close my mouth. He grinned at me while his tongue swirled around my breast again. His fingers picked up their pace. He pushed them deeper and deeper. Then his eyes changed color. They darkened as he watched me getting closer and closer. When I exploded on his hand, he withdrew, tugged me down even farther, and slid inside of me before I could catch my breath. I gasped as I fell back again.
He was hard and thick as he filled me. With the first thrust, he went all the way into me before he paused and slid back out, only to repeat the same motion. My hips moved in rhythm and a curse fell from his lips. He braced himself slightly over me while his other hand moved to my hip to hold me stationery. He continued to thrust into me, but his eyes never left mine. I closed my eyes once, but his hand left my hip to cup the back of my head.
"Hey," he murmured. His voice was low and hoarse.
My eyelids flew up. I gulped at the naked need in his depths. He didn't bank the emotion. Instead, it intensified as our eyes held and he continued thrusting into me.
I couldn't look away.
His hand fell back to my hip, and he thrust harder into me. My legs wound tighter around him, my ankles locking together as I urged him to keep going. When my climax started to build, I started to tremble. As it grew and grew, I could barely hold on. Then his thumb touched me again and I went over the edge. My body convulsed around him and he soon joined me as I felt him shoot inside o of me before collapsing on top.
Our heartbeats raced and then settled into the same beat together.
When we were able to catch our breath, I swept a hand down his sweat-soaked back. He groaned against my skin. His lips reached out and brushed a kiss to the side of my breast before he lifted his hand and cupped it again.
I closed my eyes as he started to kiss me all over.
We didn't talk for the rest of the day or that night except for when I left Coach Grath a message. He sent me a text later and reminded me that I needed to register for classes before Monday. After another night in the apartment, our sanctuary, Mason and I headed back the following morning. It was the Friday before classes started again. I had three days until I would be in a new school.
&nbs
p; When we drove back, I couldn't shake thoughts about David. I wouldn't see him again. He didn't coach at the public school, and I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed. He'd been paid to stay away from me. What father would do that? But that was the problem.
He wasn't my father.
Pain sliced through me at the reminder.
"You okay?" Mason squeezed my hand.
I looked down at our joined hands. We hadn't stopped touching since we arrived at the apartment. There was always some contact between us. Even when I used the bathroom, he stood next to me brushing his teeth with our feet touching.
"Yeah," I sighed. I would be, because of him.
He wheeled into a gas station and turned off the engine. "You want food? We can get some here or stop somewhere. We'll be back in time to get to the school."
"We can stop somewhere." My voice was hoarse.
He grinned at me, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and hopped out. I stared at my hand. It felt so natural to always hold onto his. It wasn't long before he got back inside and turned the car onto the highway. Without a word, he reached for my hand again.
I closed my eyes at the natural fit and rested my head against my seat. I felt at peace.
When we got to the school, Mason went in search for his basketball coach. He left me alone in the office with the beady-eyed secretary. Her hair was swept into a salt and pepper bun with a pink cardigan tied over her shoulders like she was an Ivy Leaguer. The lady must've been 86, but she was thorough. It took me an hour to fill out all the papers. I didn't even know there were that many papers needed to switch schools, but when I told her that Coach Grath was the one mentoring me, everything got a lot simpler. The papers disappeared after that, and when she found out that I'd be 18 in a week, she waved me off and told me that I was done. I was registered for all my classes.
When I went back to the hallway, I had no idea where to go.
The school was huge, like a cathedral, and it was a foreign land to me. The only times I had been at their school were for football games. Those occurred outside, not inside. Fallen Crest Academy didn't play Fallen Crest Public in any other sports. FCP was in a higher competitive league and only played the football teams because of some local agreement. I knew their football coach respected my da—David a lot. They were all good friends, but I wasn't sure about the basketball coaches or the rest of the sports. I think it had more to do with David than anything else. He tended to have friendships with a lot of schools. I knew he was friendly with the Roussou coach as well.
I waited for Mason in the athletic hallway. Glass cases were mounted on the wall with trophies and team pictures inside.
"Samantha?"
Everything stopped.
A surreal emotion came over me and I looked up. Then my eyes bugged out. I clamped onto my other arm with a death grip and I stopped breathing. I saw his reflection in the trophy glass first before I turned. It was a struggle. My knees locked, and I almost fell into the glass.
David caught my other arm and pulled me upright.
"Thanks." A weak squeak came from me.
He was dressed in a tracksuit with the letters FCA above the Academy's emblem. A whistle hung from his neck, and he held a bunch of papers in his hand.
"What are you doing here?" My voice sounded strangled.
"Oh. Uh." He gave me a tired look and rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Coaches meeting. It was held here today instead of the normal place."
"Normal place?"
"Yeah, we usually grab lunch somewhere. Lenny asked if he could cater in for us. He had something else going on and needed to be back right away." Then he frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm…" Could I tell him? Then I remembered that he'd been paid off. Did he deserve to know? I hadn't processed anything from that night. I didn't know if I wanted to process anything, but I heard myself saying, "I'm going to school here next semester."
"Oh." He took a step back, blinking in surprise. "O—you are?"
I nodded.
He glanced up and down the hallway as he took a deep breath. His shoulders lifted up and descended. It wasn't meant to be dramatic, but it seemed like it. David was 45. He looked in his fifties at that moment. There was no graying in his hair. It was the same dark brown, combed to the side like always, but he looked old. He looked defeated.
Then he sighed, "I see."
"What do you see?"
There was disappointment in his depths as he gave me a sad look. "Does your mother know about your plans?"
I didn't hold back the bitterness. "I don't think my mother has any say in my life. She's made it clear to me that she only cares about herself, and maybe James. She needs to keep one guy in her life. He has to bankroll her whenever she needs it." I scanned him up and down. "But then again, she might not even have him anymore."
He narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Samantha?"
My chest tightened and I jerked a shoulder up. "What do you care? You got paid to not care."
He took another step back, as if blown back by a sudden gust of wind. He blinked rapidly as he rubbed his jaw again. "I'm not following you. Wha—what are you talking about?"
"She. Paid. You. To. Stay. Away. From. Me."
"Honey—"
He reached for my arm, but I yanked it away. "Don't call me that," I seethed. My teeth were clenched together. "Don't ever call me that again."
"Samantha." His arm fell, as did his voice.
"Did she pay you to stay away?"
I needed to know this answer; I needed to know it so much. If she had, I didn't know how I would handle it.
"No."
I jerked back.
His eyes were steady on me. He was imploring me to hear him. "I was not paid to stay away from you. I stayed away from you because I feared for you. Your mother's not healthy. She's not been in a right frame of mind lately. She paid me to sign the divorce papers and not fight anything. I didn't fight any of it. I didn't even read them because I don't want anything from your mother. The only thing I ever cared about was you, but I worried what she would do." If she would harm you.
I stumbled as I heard those unspoken words. They flashed in my mind. I saw the same stricken look on him. He thought the same thing. A memory flared through me.
I was in the hospital room, in a nightgown. Analise had left, and I was crying. It hurt so much. Everything hurt. I couldn't breathe, but then David came in. He brushed my hair back and whispered as he kissed my forehead, "I will never leave you. I promise."
"You did leave me," I whispered.
He winced as if he'd been slapped. He nodded. Then he choked on a breath. "I'm sorry, Samantha. I really am. Your mother left me, and she took you with. I had no legal leg to stand on. I consulted with a lawyer, but I never adopted you. She was your mother, you were her daughter. I couldn't fight her, and then Garrett came into the picture. I didn't know what to think of him, if he was going to fight for you too. But you're seventeen."
"So?" I hissed at him.
"So." His shoulders drooped. "Any legal fight for you would've lasted a long time, possibly years. I didn't have years to fight. I didn't want to anger your mother. I didn't know what she would've done. I had no way of knowing what she could've said to you. She might've brainwashed you against me. I had no idea. All I could do was wait and hope that she wouldn't take you away from here."
"And if she had?"
His head jerked up. A fierce determination came over him. "Then I would've searched for you, and I would've fought for you. I wouldn't have given a damn what she had done or said, or how far she would've gone. I would've fought. But you are still here. You're still in town. You were still going to my school—not anymore, but you're here in town. You're still here. I can still see you, and you'll be 18 in a week."
"I moved out."
Surprise flared in his eyes. "You did?"
I nodded. "She threatened to leave James if Mason didn't stop seeing me; then she threatened to report him to the po
lice because I'm still a minor. It was too much, all of it. And…" I shrugged and looked away. "It doesn't matter now. I moved out. I'm not moving back in." But even as I said it, I thought about Mason and Logan. They should live with their father. I was even thinking about