Page 5 of Unfold
CHAPTER FIVE
Remorse shone in those beautiful blue eyes as soon as he saw my reaction. I wasn’t scared of him; I could never be scared of Mason. I was just shocked because he seemed like a completely different person than I knew at that moment.
“Kat, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He looked so sad and guilty that I couldn’t fault him. I must have struck a nerve by talking about his parents.
I took the hand he offered. Since he couldn’t get up from the bed, I sat back next to him. It didn’t take long for him to pull me against him so that I was lying by his side with my head on his chest and his arms around me. I had never felt safer.
“I could never be scared of you, Mason. I love you.” It was as simple as that.
I felt his smile before he kissed my hair. “My parents are a sore spot for me, Kat. I don’t like to talk about them. They’ve never really been around for us; the only thing they care about is their political careers.”
“Us?” I asked, confused by the word he had used. “Who else?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “It’s been like this for as long as I can remember. Once, when I was ten, I jumped off the treehouse Aaron’s dad built for us back at their place hoping that would bring my parent’s home, but it didn’t. On the rare occasion that they were home, I stole my dad’s car and took it for a reckless spin when I overheard them talking about leaving the next day. I thought that if I got myself into an accident, they would stay, but they still didn’t. After that, I knew there was nothing I could do to stop them from being so indifferent.”
He stopped talking for a while before he continued.
“Aaron said you read to me all the time back at the hospital. Do you know why that’s my favorite book?”
I shook my head.
“It’s the only book my mom ever read to me when I was little. Deep down a part of me still yearns for the love and care I know they won’t give me.”
My heart broke for him as I wondered what kind of parents would do that to their son. “That’s awful… but you don’t seem…”
“Bothered? Depressed? Bitter?” He asked the questions I couldn’t, answering them himself. “It’s been years Kat, and I’m older now, smarter. Dwelling on it won’t change anything. That’s why I surround myself with people I love. When I’m with you guys I never think about my parents or how much they’ve hurt me.” He sighed, and I pulled myself up to stare at him. I could understand now why he dated so many girls, searching for affection in the wrong places, but I knew I was different. I could feel it whenever I was with him. “Besides, I’ve got this huge place all to myself to throw awesome parties and stuff.” He grinned widely, and I managed a smile.
“You’re one of the strongest people I know, Mason, and I’m never going to leave. You won’t lose me,” I promised fervently. It was the same thing I had said to Jake not so long ago and just as I meant it then, I meant it now.
Suddenly, he pulled me to him and sealed those words with a deep kiss that I couldn’t help but return. I felt my face flush, and my breasts heaved as my breathing changed. I moaned when the tips of our tongues met and it seemed to excite him more too. Filled with barely restrained passion, I let him roll me over, his naked upper body pressing me to the bed. I gasped as his kisses followed the trail of my throat to the back of my neck, tickling behind my ear.
“Choose me,” he whispered.
“What?”
I was so deep into how he was making me feel that his words confused me. I reached for the nape of his neck, trying to bring his lips to mine again, but he drew back from me.
“Choose me,” he said again, and this time, I understood what he meant.
I shook my head uncertainly. “Mason…” What he was asking for seemed too hard because as much as I wanted him, I couldn’t imagine not being with Jake and Aaron.
“What?” he pulled himself up with his elbow to stare down at me. “You know how much I love you, Kat. How much you mean to me. If you’re worried about the other girls I used to be with, I can assure you that they meant nothing to me. Not the way that you do.”
“I know Mason; I trust you, but I can’t…”
A scowl formed on his face “You don’t want me,” he grunted, trying to move away from me.
“No, you know that’s not true. I do want you, Mason, I do, it’s just… I want them too.” I felt so ashamed of saying the words, but he deserved to know the truth. “It is a hard decision for me to make.”
He finally managed to sit up with his back to me. “Well, you better make up your mind fast, Kat. I’m not going to wait forever,” he said before standing up with great difficulty and walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, shutting me out.
A tear fell on my cheek. I had never felt so lost and alone.
CHAPTER SIX
It would have been better if I hadn’t come to school,I thought as I walked toward the cafeteria, tray in hand. I hadn’t heard a word in all three classes we had earlier that day because I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss with Mason and the way we had left things. I had hurt him, and my mom was right, I would keep hurting them all if I didn’t make up my mind soon. I knew what I had to do.
With my tray now filled with food, I walked up to our table where Jake and Aaron already sat, only to stop at the sight of the familiar platinum blonde-haired girl that sat beside Jake. “Noelle, what are you doing here?” I asked, my voice dripping with anger.
