Fallen Crest Family (28 page)

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 police 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 James. He shouldn't lose his last few months with Mason before he went to college. And Logan, what about him? Where would we live in the next year? Nate would be gone. I wouldn't be able to live in his home, and Helen wouldn't approve of Logan being my only roommate if we rented an apartment.

The more I considered it, the more I realized that she would demand that Logan move in with her. That meant that he'd go to Los Angeles, or she would move back. But again, where would I go? She wouldn't let me live with them.

I glanced at David, but I knew I couldn't live with him. Too much had happened. There was too much distance between us.

My heart sank with that thought.

I would never get back the father that I had before.

He let out a breath of relief. "Well, that's good then. That's really good, Samantha. Would you—I mean—would you consider—where are you—" He struggled for words, but settled on, "What are you doing for your birthday?"

I waited, but when he finished with that question, I was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Your birthday is next weekend. I can imagine that Mason and Logan have a big party planned, but would you consider having dinner with me? We could go out? Or stay in? You could come back to the house." He nodded, so eager now. "We could make a homemade pizza, or no. I could order in. Chinese. You used to like Chinese. We could go to that restaurant you always liked when you were little."

"I…" I closed my mouth. I never considered my birthday plans. I'd been too consumed with the thought of being free from her, but that was done. And I was free now. So maybe dinner with David sounded like a good thing. That's what I'd been wanting, wasn't it? "Sure…"

My phone buzzed at that moment. It was a text from Mason.
In the car.

"I'm, um, I'm going to go."

He nodded, a bright smile on his face. "Okay. That sounds good. I'm excited for your birthday, Samantha. I really am. I'm glad that there are boundaries with your relationship with Analise too. I've worried about you so much. You have no idea."

"I…" Again, I closed my mouth. I didn't know what to say to him anymore. Too much had happened. He wasn't my father anymore. Pain seared inside me. And what about Garrett? He was gone too. Both of them had abandoned me, maybe for good reasons, maybe not, but they were gone. I had survived my mother without them.

As I left, I didn't hear what else he said. I didn't care anymore. When I got into the car and shut the door, the shock was reeling inside of me. I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about David or Garrett. I had always cared, but not anymore.

"What's wrong?"

"I saw my dad."

"Garrett?" His eyebrows shot up.

"No." I shook my head. I was in a daze. "David. I saw him and…I don't care anymore."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

I swallowed over a ball in my throat and turned to him. Everything seemed clearer now. "I thought that all I cared about was why he left me, why he wasn't trying to see me, and now I know that he was waiting. He was scared of what my mom would do."

He snorted. "Bat shit crazy."

"He wants to have dinner with me next weekend for my birthday."

"He does?"

I nodded, tearing up. Why was I crying now? "I can see my dad again, but I don't want to anymore."

Mason sighed and reached for my hand. He enveloped it in his strong hold and squeezed. "Things have changed, Sam. You're not living under your mom's thumb anymore. You don't have to be so scared anymore. You might care tomorrow."

"If I don't?"

He shrugged. "Then you don't. It's your life. You live it how you want. No matter the reasons, your dad screwed up. He stayed away. He shouldn't have. He didn't protect you."

"He didn't, did he?"

"No." His voice had a rough edge.

"Thank you."

"For what?" He narrowed his eyes as he frowned.

"For protecting me."

Mason smirked. "I didn't protect you."

"You didn't?"

He shook his head and leaned close. Then he whispered, his breath caressing my skin, "You protected me."

"I did, didn't I? I'm always protecting you." A smile came over me. As I looked up into his eyes, my heart constricted with love.

His grin widened. "Yeah, you do. That's what family does." Then his lips were on mine and nothing mattered besides that.

It was the last Friday before school started again. When Mason and I got to the mansion, Logan and Nate were there with a few of their friends. I relaxed when I saw it was the guys from their school. I had only ever really interacted with Ethan before, but I was starting to recognize a few of the others. Strauss was one of them. He wore tight cowboy jeans with a big belt buckle and cowboy boots. I wasn't sure if his name was a nickname or his real name. I never asked.

They all gave us friendly nods, but Logan was the first one to reach us. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground. "I did you a favor. Ask me what the favor was. Ask me! Come on!"

When he set me back down, I grinned. "What favor did you do for me?"

"I got your shift covered at Manny's!" He was so pleased with himself.

"What?"

"Yeah." He gestured to Nate, who came over and clapped a hand on Mason's shoulder in greeting. "We went to Manny's and asked who could cover for you tonight."

"Why?" My heart skipped a few beats. What had Heather said?

"Because we're having a huge party tonight. And I want you to be a part of it." He threw an arm around my shoulder and pressed me to his side. He bent close; the booze on his breath was strong. "So that Rosa chick said she'd fill in. And I invited all your friends to the party. They're coming after their shifts."

"Heather's coming?" She was the only one I wanted, but I doubted she would. She was too close to the Roussou side—and I remembered my brush with the Broudou siblings. I still hadn't told Mason about it. That was a conversation I wasn't eager to start. I didn't know how he would react, him or Logan.

Logan's grin slipped a bit. "Not sure about Jax. You know she runs with Channing."

Oh yeah. He knew.

Mason touched my hand and gestured upstairs. "I'm going to go shower." His eyes held the rest of his question if I was coming.

I nodded and followed.

It was after we had showered and were getting dressed that he brought Heather back up. He was in the closet with only a pair of jeans on, and as he was choosing which shirt he wanted, he said over his shoulder, "You like that girl, huh?"

I paused in my own dressing. I was wearing skintight black jeans that looked more like leggings and had finished pulling a sleeveless black shirt on. I tugged it around my waist and drew a deep breath. Here it was, the moment. "Yeah. I do."

He turned with a shirt in hand, but he made no move to put it on. He stared at me, long and hard. "She's Roussou territory, Sam. She's with Channing. He's a big player over there."

"But he's not the only one."

He narrowed his eyes. "No, he's not, but Jax has always been friends with that group. She's not going to change."

I sighed, "I like her." I needed a friend when I went to their school. Mason and Logan could only help me so far.

"She likes you. I know that. I've seen it, but I'm just preparing you. She's not going to start coming to our parties. Jax is fine by herself, but not the group she runs with."

What was this? A Jax intervention? I grumbled, "Why's she friends with them anyway? Why isn't she friends with you guys like all the normal girls at your school?"

"Do you know Jax? She's not a normal girl." Mason snorted before he pulled his shirt on in two movements. It fit perfectly over his chest, highlighting his muscular shoulders and trim waist. I couldn't stop myself from watching how his stomach muscles rippled and clenched. Even now, after we'd been together a record number of times over the last 24 hours, I still wanted him. The throbbing started between my legs again.

His eyes darkened, I knew he had caught my reaction. He stalked towards me, his desire strong. He bent and lifted me with one arm so I entwined my legs around his waist. His other hand rubbed up my back, holding me in place while his eyes held my gaze. Intense. Then he leaned forward, ever so slowly. His lips touched mine, gently at first.

I groaned. I'd never get enough of him.

That was all he needed. His mouth opened over mine commandingly. He wanted inside. I gasped against him, and his tongue swept in, claiming me.

"You guys are too horny. I don't think it's normal." Logan was propped against the doorway. He rolled his eyes and came inside as Mason shot him a dark look, helping me back down to the floor. "I feel like I should give you two the birds and the bees speech. You know, before she gets pregnant or something."

I laughed, but Mason froze beside me so I wacked him on the chest. "You know I'm covered."

He gave me a pointed look, reminding both of us about the apartment. It had been the first time he hadn't used a condom, but I was on birth control. We were both clean. I hoped the one time wouldn't produce a baby. I was sure it wouldn't, but he stopped for more condoms anyways. Mason liked to make sure everything was covered.

"We're celebrating, Sam."

"We are?"

"Yep." Logan nodded his head with a look of intent on his face. "Come on. You signed up for our school. It's all official and shit. I've got shots ready downstairs." Then he caught a look from his brother and held up his hands. "Just in all good fun, Mase. She'll be fine. Promise."

Mason rolled his eyes. His hand touched the small of my back as we followed Logan downstairs. "She'll be fine because I'm here, not because of you. You'll be hooking up with someone before the night is half over."