Mason Read online

  “I’m sorry, what?’’ I ask, feeling embarrassed.

  “It’s fine. I’m friends with your brother, we’re neighbours, and he came by yesterday to let me know he had to go out of town on a job, and asked me to give you the keys when you arrived. I’ve been waiting for you to get here for hours. I had started to think you weren’t coming until I heard a car pull up.’’

  “Thank you,’’ I smile, taking the keys from out of her hand. “I’m Denny by the way.’’

  “Yeah, he’s told me all about you. I’ve done your room and cleaned it up a bit. I knew he wouldn’t have touched the place and I was right. The only room I wouldn’t tackle was his bedroom,’’ she blushes, scrunching up her nose. It makes me giggle because I seriously don’t blame her. When my brother lived with us he would leave all his dirty washing around his bedroom floor, and have food shoved under his bed, it was gross. If he still lives like that then I feel deeply sorry for the woman standing in front of me.

  “That bad huh?’’

  “Something like that,’’ she laughs. “He didn’t know what you’d need, so I went round last night before he left and took a look. He left some money with me to get what you needed for the house, so I got you new bed sheets, towels, blankets and a new mattress. The change is on the kitchen counter. He thought you’d sleep in his bed,’’ she scrunches her nose up again and it makes her look adorable.

  “Sounds like him. Thank you for doing that, you didn’t need to.’’

  “Trust me, I did. I’ll leave you to get settled in, but if you need anything please let me know, I only live next door… I said that already didn’t I?’’

  I chuckle, rubbing my rounded belly, until my chuckle turns into a yawn. Mason chuckles and the woman smiles, waving goodbye to us.

  Turning around I open my mouth to say goodbye and thank Mason for dropping me off when he interrupts.

  “I don’t think you should stay here by yourself. It doesn’t feel right you bein’ in this place alone when you could stay at our place,’’ he says.

  “We’ve talked about this already, Mason. I’m not ready. You spent months pushing me away and then all of a sudden I’m back and you want me to move in, it’s all too soon.’’

  “I didn’t want to push you away, I thought I was… look, we can talk about this tomorrow. Let’s get you inside. Do you want me to stay the night until your brother gets back?’’

  “It’s fine. I’m a big girl, plus, I need some time to myself. I’ve had my Nan spoiling me rotten back home, so I need the space.’’

  “That’s not your home,’’ he growls, his shoulders tensing.

  “Huh?’’

  “Here is your home, well not here, here, but with me here.’’

  Another yawn leaves my mouth making him chuckle. I smile tiredly up at him, before locating the right key to the door.

  “Can I come see you tomorrow?’’ he asks as he places my luggage by one of the front room chairs.

  Unsure on what to do or say, I wait a couple of seconds before agreeing, “Just don’t expect too much from me.’’

  “The only thing I want to know before I leave is, are we having a boy or a girl?’’

  “It’s fifty, fifty at the moment.’’

  “What do you mean?’’ he asks scratching the back of his neck, his arm muscles tightening under his tight t-shirt.

  “I have an appointment Friday at the hospital. I missed the last two because it didn’t feel right going. I guess it felt wrong not sharing it with you or anyone,’’ I shrug, tears springing to my eyes again. Jeezus, if I cry one more time today, I’m going to eat a large chocolate cake. To myself.

  “Oh… can, um… can I come?’’ he asks nervously, his eyes on my rounded stomach.

  “I’d really like that,’’ I tell him honestly.

  “Okay. Good. Yeah,’’ he grins big, as he heads back to the front door. I follow behind him, standing in the open door as he leaves. He turns around looking at me, his eyes shinier than they were earlier. My stomach flips with how intense he is looking at me, like I’ve just given him the world, or a day pass at the playboy mansion.

  “See you tomorrow,’’ I smile, waving as he walks down the path to his car.

  “See you beautiful,’’ he winks, jumping back into the car.

  A shadow to the left catches my eye, making me jump. When Mason’s car pulls away from the curb, chills run up my arms and down my back. When I look back over to the shadowed figure it’s gone, and I quickly shut the door, double bolting it before checking the rest of the house.

  By the time I’m finished I’m completely exhausted. My legs and back ache so badly that I can’t think of doing anything but sleeping. I’m out before my head hits the pillow.

  Tomorrow I will worry about Mason, the baby, the court case and my friendship with Harlow. Tomorrow I will fully inspect my brothers little pad, but until then, I’m to the land of the fairies.

  Chapter Three

  Light streams through the window and I groan, rolling to my side, trying to block it out. When I hear banging on the door, I turn and scream into the pillow, muffling the sound.

  Urgh!

  One thing I dislike about being pregnant is not being able to lie down on my stomach. I won’t even attempt to do it, but the urge is never too far from my mind when I’m lying in bed. Especially when it’s the best position to be in when you want to block out unwanted noises, like someone knocking on your door at God knows what time in the morning.

  Sliding my legs off the side of the bed, I look down at my crinkled dress I didn’t bother to change out of last night and silently curse. When I look in the mirror at my wild blonde hair, I try to tame it down as much as I can before heading towards the door. On the way the knocking gets louder, so picking up my speed I end up stubbing my toe on the corner of the sofa.

  “Argh, fuck! Owe,’’ I cry out, really wanting to jump up and down in pain, but my large stomach prevents me from doing anything, so instead I have to grit my teeth and wait for it to subside. I try until the banging continues to become much louder.

  “Alright, alright,’’ I shout through the locked door.

  Opening the door, I’m surprised to find Harlow on my doorstep looking nervous.

  “Hey,’’ she waves, her bottom lip trembling.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?’’ I ask looking behind her for Malik. Since the attack a few months back Malik hasn’t left her side from what she’s said on the phone. When I went to live with my Nan we spoke a few times over email and text, but for the most part I distanced myself from her and everyone else linked to Mason, scared of how much harder it would be for me to hear that he had moved on.

  “We need to talk.’’

  “Okay, come in. I’m sorry it took me a while, I’ve only just got up.’’

  “I’m sorry, did I wake you?’’ she asks taking a seat on the sofa.

  “Nah,’’ I lie. “Would you like a cup of tea?’’

  “Sure.’’

  After making a cup of tea and a piece of toast for myself I head back into the front room and sit on the comfy, thick armchair, pulling my feet under me.

  “What’s wrong?’’ I ask after taking a bite of my toast.

  “Gram’s has been asking why the court case has been taking so long to go to trial. We found out today after the police finally released the information that the case is still ongoing.’’

  “What do you mean ongoing?’’ I ask her confused. The case should be straight forward. Davis drugged her, took her against her will and was going to rape her. Not to mention the physical scars she will carry for the rest of her life.

  “Can you remember the day you left?’’

  “Yeah.’’ Like I could forget the day I left. I never thought I’d be able to breathe again when Nan and I drove away.

  “Hannah left that night getting into a car…’’

  “Yeah, with some woman wearing scrubs,’’ I finish, wondering where this is going. I hate talking about t
hat bitch and what she originally planned to do to Harlow. I should have beaten her ass harder when I had the chance. Hannah has always been the school bitch, but what she was going to do to Harlow went far beyond ‘bitch.’

  “That’s it. I couldn’t remember…,’’ she says trailing off. The look on her face has me worrying. She’s paler than normal and is hesitant to talk to me about whatever is bothering her, which just makes me all the more curious.

  “Harlow, please just tell me what is wrong, you’re worrying me now.’’

  “She’s disappeared. Her mom said she got dropped off at home before she went to work and no one has seen her since. At first her mom thought she went to stay with her dad in London, she’s been known to do that during the Holidays, but when she called Hannah she never answered.’’

  “She’s probably hiding because she’s ashamed of what she did. She’s going to get in trouble and she knows it.’’

  “That’s what I said, but then… then the solicitor called this morning telling us why the trial has been postponed for so long and it’s because she was one of the main witnesses to the case. They found a bloody jacket, the same one she’d been wearing the night her mom dropped her off. So the investigation is now linked to the case,’’ she says, her eyes watering.

  “They think it’s because of the case? How? Davis is in custody until the hearing, so I don’t understand.’’

  “Me either, but what if he got someone else to do it, to hurt her like he was going to hurt me? Denny, I don’t think I could live with myself. I feel like this is all my fault,’’ she cries, and that’s when I realise why it’s eating up at her. Harlow has a heart of gold, and by God she’s the purist of them all. Only she could feel like this towards the person who had a hand in getting her nearly raped. Me… I’d most likely do a happy dance. Okay, I’m totally lying, but you get the gist.

  “Harlow, this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with those two. If something bad has happened to Hannah then that isn’t on you, that’s on her getting mixed up with Davis in the first place. Both of them need to take responsibility for their own actions. They only have themselves to blame, Hun.’’

  “I just feel so bad. Her mom came by to see us once the investigation went public. They wanted to keep it quiet so it didn’t scare whoever is involved with her disappearance off their tail. She’s so torn up. She said it was her and Hannah’s dad’s fault for the reason she was the way she was. Apparently they didn’t have a good marriage and Hannah got caught up in the middle of that. Even still, it doesn’t excuse what her daughter did, but seeing her like that really got to me. Then the fact I asked myself what would happen now she isn’t here to get up on that stand and give her statement makes me feel more quilt. Will Davis get to walk free?’’

  Her tears are streaming down her face and I go to stand up to comfort her, but my big belly keeps me glued to the sofa. The cushions are that soft that as soon as I sat down I felt lost in the armchair. Turning a little to my side, I use the arm of the chair as leverage to help me up, but it’s no use, my belly gets in the way and I become sweaty and tired.

  “Need some help?’’ Harlow giggles, wiping her eyes.

  “I’m supposed to be the one helping you out here, not the other way around,’’ I groan holding my hand out to her.

  “It’s the thought that counts,’’ she smiles, her smile not reaching her eyes.

  Once I’m up I bring her into a hug, okay I press my belly into her. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see. She’ll turn up in no time and everything will be okay.’’

  Pulling away she wipes at her eyes just as the front door knocks. I look over confused wondering who the hell it is. Did someone place an ad in the local paper about my arrival and where I’d be staying?

  “That should be Malik and Mason with food,’’ she grins.

  “Mason’s here? With Malik, and food?’’ I squeak, looking down at my wrinkled clothes.

  “Yeah, it’s midday, I thought you’d be up already.’’

  “Crap! I’m just going to have a quick shower and change clothes,’’ I rush out, walking at a fast pace out of the room. I’m scared to run in case I piss myself. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened to me.

  Half an hour later I’m walking back into the front room wearing another sundress. This was the first and only maternity item I was willing to buy. The coral sundress has crossover cleavage with silver embellishment stylish shoulder straps and a high back. And although it has elastic around the bust and back, the dress is perfect for my ever-growing baby bump. It fits comfortably and if I could wear this all the time I would.

  “Wow!’’ is what snaps my attention back to the present and my eyes collide with Mason’s. I suddenly feel self-conscious knowing what he’s seeing I twiddle with the end of the dress. My boobs are bigger and so is my stomach, and I’ve let my hair down to dry by itself. With the heat it shouldn’t take long.

  “Hey,’’ I wave dumbly.

  “We got you a burger and stuff. I didn’t know what you wanted so I got you a bit of everything. The woman at the counter said you’re not allowed to eat raw eggs and another bunch of stuff whilst pregnant and you can’t drink coffee. I found that out myself. I’d hate to be the woman who craved caffeine when they were pregnant,’’ he chuckles making me smile. I love it when he chuckles, especially when he’s unsure if what he’s laughing at is funny or not. It comes out husky and deep and guaranteed it always makes my belly do summersaults.

  “Yeah, raw fish is another too and other stuff. Kind of stupid,’’ I giggle nervously, not knowing what to say. “My Nan told me once her friend had a craving for sucking bath water out of a sponge. Do not ask how she started that craving. I asked myself what she was doing with the sponge in her mouth in the first place, but my Nan wouldn’t answer. I’m just glad I don’t have any,’’ I ramble feeling my face heat.

  “A sponge? Really?’’ he asks disbelieving.

  “She’s right. My mom told me she had a craving for my dad’s aftershave. She said when he wasn’t around for her to smell it, it would drive her crazy, but when he was around her and she could, she felt high as a kite,’’ Harlow butts in giving me a wink.

  “Why didn’t she just buy his aftershave?’’ Malik asks taking a bite from a burger. Even though I’ve not long had some toast my mouth waters from the smell, so I pick up the bag Mason pointed to earlier and grab the burger.

  “She said it was never the same. They tried it the once when he had to go to work and she ended up having a breakdown crying over the phone to my dad. Apparently it wasn’t just about the aftershave, but about his scent too. It’s kind of romantic when you think about it. I’d love it when they would talk about things like that,’’ she murmurs, her eyes distant and I know she’s thinking about them. She lost them a few months before she came to live with her Gram’s, so it’s all still so raw for her. Malik, bless his heart, grabs her waist and lifts her up into his lap. She tries to squirm away at first until she ends up giggling. I watch the two, envy of their close relationship.

  Feeling eyes on me, I turn my head to Mason to find him watching me with an intense expression. I’m about to open my mouth when Malik interrupts. “We thought we’d go out for the day. We need to meet Maverick and Max at the club.’’

  “The club?’’ I question shocked. It’s the one place Mason and Malik would never take me and Harlow. At first it didn’t bother me, but then I felt paranoid, like Mason was hiding something. “I thought we weren’t allowed in there?’’

  “You’re eighteen Angel, you can go in there whenever you like… but you’re not.’’

  “Says who? You just said I’m eighteen and can go when I like.’’ I send Mason a glare, taunting him to continue. How dare he tell me where I can and can’t go!

  “It gets packed in there on nights and weekends, there is no way I’m going to risk you getting bumped into by someone in there.’’

  I feel my face soften. He has a p
oint. One knock could do the world of damage and my baby’s life is something I’d rather not take a gamble with.

  “Okay, so what are we going to do?’’ I ask, ignoring Malik whispering what must be dirty words to Harlow, if her red face and giggles are anything to go by.

  “It’s a surprise, but we should get going,’’ Mason says smiling at me.

  I smile shyly back, loving this side of Mason, the side I had all the time before we slept together. Harlow’s phone ringing startles me and I look away from Mason.

  “Hello…Hi Max. Yeah we’re on our way. We had to stop off to get food… I’ll buy you something when we get there… Okay, see you in a bit,’’ she says before ending the call. “Max is getting impatient, grab your stuff,’’ she says to me.

  “I’ll just grab my phone and bag and I’ll be ready,’’ I tell her, then rush back into my bedroom. My bag is already on the bed where I left it last night before crashing and my phone is on the bedside table. Grabbing my suitcase, I open the compartment where I stuffed all my sandals and grab my coral ones with the coral flower on the top. They go perfectly with the sundress I’m wearing. Slipping them on, I notice my white cardigan on top of the pile of clothes in my case and grab it, tucking it over my arm before heading out.

  *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

  After picking up Max and Maverick we drove for thirty minutes before coming to a stop outside one of the biggest parks around our area. It’s beautiful. There’s a huge stage where live bands play and I guess today is one of those days. There is a mini fair towards the back of the park, where I can hear the screams of kids on rides. The arcades are not too far away from the rides and I smile widely when I see a candyfloss stand in the distance.

  “Can we go get some candyfloss please?’’ I squeal, delighted.

  “Why don’t you go find somewhere to sit, and make sure there is shade,’’ he says looking at Maverick before giving me a look. I don’t have time to figure out what the look meant because Mason grabs my hand. I try to pull away, but he just holds on tighter, sending delicious tingles up my arm.