Fallen Crest Alternative Version

  Cass unlatched her arm from mine and looked down her nose at me. “You weren’t complaining when we’ve had your back. I know there’s been a few of those times.”

  I sent a withering glare at her. “If that’s the one benefit I get, then forget it. I’ll have my own back from now on.”

  “Yeah.” She laughed. “You and nerd girl. Quite an army.”

  Miranda stepped closer. It seemed to glide with that same gracious smile. Her tone was so warm it made me nauseous from how fake she sounded. “Oh, come now, Cass. You’re forgetting about Logan and Mason.”

  Cass went still at her words but then rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. What are those two going to do to me?”

  “That’s what I thought six months ago.” Miranda’s tone was quiet but effective. Her eyes held a warning in them.

  Cass sucked in her breath before pushing away with an irritated growl. Emily and Amelia followed behind her. Mark had already left, but Peter watched us. He made no move to follow his current girlfriend. He seemed transfixed by Miranda.

  She gazed after her friends and then sighed. “If only she were smart.”

  “Then what?”

  When Miranda looked back, I was struck by how focused she seemed. She’d been a shadow of her former glory after Logan had ground her heart into the ground. But now, with a shiver, I knew the former queen was back.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Miranda’s smile turned cold. She lowered her voice and moved even closer. “I know why Logan dated me. It took me awhile to figure it out, but I finally got it. When I figured it out, I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t, but then it made me evaluate Mason in a whole new way. I mean, really. I never knew the boy was capable of such cattiness, but he’s earned new respect from me.”

  Everything shattered inside of me, but I asked through clenched teeth, “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, you know.” She sounded so casual.

  I wanted to punch her.

  “How he manipulated Logan into dating me. I know now that Logan thought he was doing it to protect you. I would look the fool after publicly going against them both and calling my friends whores for sleeping with him. He made me look like a hypocritical bitch. Yes, he did. I lost my place with the Elite. I almost lost the entire group and you were swooped up. Adam got you in, he got his way, and you were protected while I was in the cold. It would’ve been a marvelous plan if that had been the real intent, right? But that wasn’t it. Logan didn’t really date me to protect you, did he?”

  I couldn’t look away, and I knew I should’ve ended the conversation then and there. I felt sick to my stomach again.

  She kept going. Her laugh grated against my ears. “That was the thing. I couldn’t figure out Logan. He liked to screw me, but he never really liked me. He never took me on dates. He never did anything that told people I was his girlfriend. I was the only one telling people, but then I almost missed it one night.”

  Dear Lord, help me now.

  Miranda lifted her head. Her eyes narrowed and the purpose that reflected in them had me looking as well. Logan was in the same room as us. He was in the corner with his arm around a girl. As she nuzzled her way up his jaw, he watched us. He reminded me of a hunter, with his gaze on the prey, biding his time.

  Miranda lifted a dainty hand and waved at him.

  His eyes narrowed to slits.

  I held my breath. This wasn’t going to be good.

  “He’s so delicious.” Miranda’s mouth twitched at the corners. She heaved a deep breath. “But he’s not mine. Oh no, dear Samantha. He’s yours, isn’t he?”

  My eyes went wide. An odd sound gurgled out of my throat.

  “And what’s worse is that you know it, he knows it, and the king himself knows it. Oh yes. That’s what I saw one night. You left a party one night with your pathetic friend and the way he looked at you, it made everything make sense.”

  “Stop the dramatics and spell it out.” My teeth ground against each other. “I’m getting tired of the game.”

  Her eyes went flat and she swung closer. She was in my face now. “Fine,” she breathed on me. “I know that Logan has feelings for you, and I know that he used to love another girl who wanted Mason. The rumor mill might not be current when it comes to Logan’s ex-girlfriend, but I heard all about her when I was dating him. I remembered every bit of it. By my calculation, that makes two girls who Mason got over Logan. Now tell me,” she inched closer. “What’s the one thing that could get in between two brothers as close as them?”

  My hand itched to slap the self-righteous look on her face.

  She sneered at me. “Only a girl can do that. Mason hated me that night at the hotel party. I pushed that button, and I didn’t even know it. What would happen if I continued to push that button? Mason wanted Logan to be distracted, didn’t he? He wanted him to feel that he was important and that he was helping you. That’s why Logan dated me, but the real reason was just to distract him from the realization that Mason got another girl Logan had feelings for.”

  She paused. The smug look that came over her made my stomach churn even more. The feeling of being ill was now violent inside of me. She murmured, “They ruined my life. Why shouldn’t I ruin theirs?”

  “Sam?”

  The sounds of the party had faded. I was in a vacuum, and I could only hear my heart pounding. It grew and grew. The sound overtook everything else. As I heard my name, I swung my head. Laura waved at me. She looked so far away. She looked confused, why did she look confused? Then Miranda’s words sounded again in my head.

  They ruined my life. Why shouldn’t I ruin theirs?

  I snapped. My arm lifted back. My hand clenched into a fist, and I let it loose. Miranda’s eyes went wide, but then my hand made contact. I heard the sickening sound as I punched her and something turned off inside of me. I was only aware that I needed to keep hitting her. I had to. So I raised my arm again, and again.

  Everything else went away.

  “Stop!” Mason’s voice yanked me out of my fury, and I gasped. He had red welts over his arms and face. My arm was lifted, but I dropped it immediately. I’d been hitting him, not Miranda. He had gotten in the way. She stood to the side, shocked and pale. Logan was in front of her. He acted as a barrier, but I wasn’t sure if it was to keep me or her away. She had a hand on his arm, and I felt the need to growl once more.

  I launched myself in the air, but Mason caught me. He held me back as I lashed out, “Get out of this house!”

  Miranda jerked back a step. Her whole body jumped from the movement, but she didn’t respond.

  A wall slammed over Logan, and he turned to her. Then he lifted his hand in the air. “Get her out!”

  Two guys lifted Miranda from underneath her arms and carried her away.

  Mason had a hand under my arm and lifted me in the same manner, but we went up the stairs. As soon as the door was closed, he continued to the next level. I assumed he would take me to my room, but he bypassed it for his. The door was shut and locked before he stared at me. His eyes pierced mine, and I felt myself wanting to shrivel away from it. It was too intense at times.

  Then he ground out, “What did she say to you?”

  I shrugged. It was meant to look casual. It came out awkward.

  “Sam.”

  I shook my head.

  “Sam.” He touched my should this time and turned me to face him.

  I hadn’t realized that I had moved away, but I swallowed a knot in my throat and met his gaze. He looked inside of me. I didn’t know how he could do it, but it gave me the chills. Every time. Then I grimaced and sat on his bed. “It was nothing.”

  “Why aren’t you telling me?”

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I didn’t know why, but I knew I couldn’t say a word. There was no way that Mason could know what Miranda knew. If he did, another shiver went down my spine. I didn’t know what he would do. As I looked up, I swallowed some of the pain away. It was there
, brimming on my surface. Longing, love, sadness, concern. I felt it all for him and he’d been through too much already. So I lied and my voice was hoarse from the emotion. “It was nothing. Really.”

  He sighed.

  “She called me a slut. She hates that you and I are still together when Logan dumped her. She’s just jealous.”

  The words slipped out. The lie was too smooth, and I fought against the urge to hang my head in shame.

  He didn’t answer, not for a long time. “I know you better than you know yourself.” He turned for the door. “And I know that was the biggest bullshit you’ve ever told me.”

  The door slammed behind him.

  I jumped from the force of it, and then vomit spewed up from my throat. I kept my mouth closed and ran for the bathroom. As soon as I got to the toilet, it went everywhere. I couldn’t believe it. I was puking my guts out. Flashes of light started to circle around me as I grew weak from the vomiting. My hand trembled cleaning a side of the toilet lid so I could rest my head. As I did, I turned to the side, and more puke came up. It didn’t stop for a while.

  I didn’t know what it was from. I only had a glass of rum and Coke. Mason’s infuriated eyes flashed in my head, and more vomit came up. My stomach rolled over on itself. It growled a deep rumbling sound, and I prayed there was nothing more to come out.

  “Sam?”

  I groaned and ground my forehead into the toilet seat. Why now? Why him? But I choked out, “Here.”

  Logan came to the doorway and stood there with a frown. He crossed his arms. “You’re sick? You didn’t drink anything.”

  I managed one finger in the air.

  “You didn’t finish that drink.”

  I wiggled it at him. “Why are you quizzing me right now?”

  He chuckled and ran hot water on some washcloths. After one was warm enough, he bent near me and pressed it to my forehead.

  Oh, this was so not good. I tried to shake my head and push him away.

  “Shut up. You stink and you’re a mess right now. What’s with Mason? He came downstairs and looked ready to rip someone’s head off.” The side of his mouth curved up. “I wanted to see the other guy.”

  “So you came up here?”

  “Yeah, well, not many can get Mason that pissed so quickly.”

  “I’m talented.”

  “Or he loves you.” His tone was casual, joking even, as he lifted my head from the seat. With two sure movements, he washed the rest of my face and then nodded to himself. He leaned back on his haunches. “You look better.”

  Then he gave my shoulder a swift pat and stood up. “Brush your teeth. Your breath reeks.”

  I shoved him away, grinning at the same time. “Shut up.”

  “You shut up.”

  When he stood, I asked, “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to go kick some ass.” He flashed me a smile. “Don’t you know that’s what I do?”

  Shit. He couldn’t. Miranda needed to be quieted and Mason had to do that. Logan would find too much. “Stay.”

  He grin softened, but he sighed. “I can’t, Sam. That bitch went after you because of me. I’ll handle her. Don’t worry.”

  “But—” I reached out for him, but he left. When I heard the bedroom door close behind him, I wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear. Everything was coming out now.

  “Sam?”

  “Mason!” I didn’t care if he was angry or that I lied to him. Logan was going to find out. It was time to come clean about everything.

  He came to the bathroom and stopped in the door. His eyes narrowed, and he grimaced before he came further in and knelt beside me. “Shit. You’re sick?”

  His hand tucked some of my hair back and lingered there, his thumb rubbing over my cheek. He murmured, softly, “What’s really going on?” He was tense. The anger lingered, but it was dampened for now.

  I was going to make it worse again. “You came back.”

  “Your friends are gone. I kicked them all out.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to think about that. “What about Logan?”

  “What about him?”

  “Where’d he go? He said he was going to kick some ass.”

  He shrugged, stroking his hand down my back, and then lifted me to his lap. “I know you lied before. Will you tell me what’s really going on?”

  I took a breath. It was going to get messy. Then I spilled, “She knows.” I felt him hold his breath underneath me. He tensed, but I said more, “She knows everything, Mason. She knows Logan didn’t date her to protect me from her. She figured it out that he was set up by you. That you did it because Logan has feelings for me and you didn’t want another girl to get in between you guys. She knows.” My heart was pounding, and pain sliced through me. It was out now between us.

  Everything would change. Mason. Logan. Me.

  “You know?”

  My heart broke. He said it so softly. I nodded.

  “When?”

  It was my turn to shrug now.

  “Sam.”

  I let out my breath. “A while.” Probably from the beginning, but I didn’t tell him that part. “I don’t really know when I knew. I just did.”

  He cursed under his breath. His hand fell from my back. I was sitting on his lap, but he was no longer holding me there. He cursed again, his voice rising. “She figured it all out?”

  I nodded.

  “He went after her.”

  I nodded again. My whole world was crumbling down. “She’ll tell him. He’ll put two and two together.”

  “SHIT!”

  I flinched but closed my eyes. I wanted to burrow back in his chest. I couldn’t. That would’ve been pointless.

  “I have to tell Nate. Maybe he can head Logan off. I can figure something out.”

  “What good would that do?”

  “I don’t know,” he bit out. His eyes raked me over, frustrated and helpless at the same time. “I have to try something. I set him up. That’s what she’s going to twist it as. He’ll know that I manipulated him and Nate did too. We do this to others to protect ourselves, but not to each other and now,” he fell silent. His jaw hardened. “Shit. Now he knows.”

  “Mason,” I started. Logan had feelings for me. It had been said. I couldn’t undo that.

  “No.” He shook his head, holding a hand up. “I can’t deal with that right now. I have to deal with what I might be able to control.” He lifted me back to my feet and got up, pulling his phone out as he went into the bedroom.

  My knees shook so I sat on the toilet, but I could hear him through the opened door, “Nate? You know where Logan is?” A pause. “Find him.” A second pause. “He knows, Nate, or he will. She figured it out. She’s going to tell him.” He sighed, “Yeah, I’ll figure something out.”

  I couldn’t move. It felt like an eternity before Mason came back. His eyes were bleak and he rested his head against the doorframe, holding my gaze.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Wait.” He looked down, but I saw the pain. It flashed in his eyes. His shoulders were slumped down. His entire demeanor was defeated. Then he murmured, “I can’t do anything else right now.”

  We stayed there like that. It seemed like an entire night passed us by, but then he came over and carried me to his bed. We didn’t bother with the blankets. He laid me down and then got beside me. We didn’t cuddle. We didn’t even hold hands. We just stayed there and waited.

  That was the longest night of my life.

  Logan never came back.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT