A different headache was coming on. It was low and probing. I shook my head. I didn't want to discuss either of them. "I understand why you want me to transfer. I get it. I do. But I don't know if it'll be worth it. I haven't even heard back from Coach Grath. I might not make the team, so why would I transfer schools?"

"Besides not going to school with Douchebag and all his little followers?" He grumbled, "You have no friends over there. They're weak as hell."

"Maybe." They were. "But it's a good school. I've always gone there and my dad—"

I looked away, but his fingers were quick as lightning. He grabbed my chin and kept me from turning away. I started to struggle, but his hold tightened. It was useless. He'd already heard.

His eyes narrowed to slits. "That's why you don't want to transfer, isn't it? Because of your dad. You think it's one way to still see him, don't you?"

I fell quiet. It wasn't because I didn't want to talk about that. It was because I couldn't. My throat swelled and it felt like an elephant was on my chest. It hurt to push past both of those emotions, or ignore how my heart rate skyrocketed.

"Sam."

I shook my head. I tried to look away, but a tear slipped out.

He cursed under his breath and then bundled me in his arms once more. I curled up in his lap as he folded me against his chest so we were both settled against the bed's headboard. Then he brushed some of my hair away from my forehead. His fingers slid down and brushed away more of my tears. I couldn't stop them. I never could when I really thought about my dad. So instead, I tried to never think about him.

Another soft curse slipped past his lips. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I'm sorry. I am."

My hands curled into his shirt. I held on with a desperation I never would've shown four months ago. Now I couldn't help myself with him. I needed him. Hell, I starved for him at times.

He continued to brush more of my hair from my eyes. "How long has it been?"

I shook my head. It still hurt to talk.

"If they won't reach out to you, you should reach out to them."

I looked up now. Panic coursed through me. He couldn't be suggesting…

He nodded. "You heard me. You go to them and find out what the hell is going on."

A ragged chuckle ripped from me. It was so easy for him. If people stood in his way, Mason went through them. It wasn't a question if they would stop him. It was a question of how he would go through them, if he would stomp them down, barrel through them, or just throw them out of his way.

Things were different with me.

"Why are you laughing?" He tilted my head back again.

I shook my head. God, it hurt sometimes.

"Talk to me, Sam," he groaned.

I closed my eyes. "It's not why we're here."

"What?"

"We're here to get away from all that stuff. I don't want to talk about them right now. We're here to spend time together, just you and me."

His hand fell away from my hip. "Are you serious?"

I lifted a shoulder, but I looked away. Then I bit my lip. My heart started to pound again. And I waited…

There was a heavy silence between us.

I continued to wait.

"Fine."

Relief flared through me. My shoulders relaxed as the sudden tension lifted from them. I didn't realize how important it was for him not to press the point. I would handle my fathers, the biological one and the one that raised me, one day. I just couldn't handle them this day, but one day… I would have to one day.

CHAPTER FIVE

It was the early when his phone lit up. Logan was the first to call at six in the morning. When Mason checked the time, he cursed and sat upright as he took the call. I listened from beside him, even though I turned my own phone on and saw twelve voice messages from my mother.

"Wait, slow down."

I could hear Logan's excited voice still going strong on the other side. After another minute, a savage curse came from Mason. His shoulders tightened and his jaw clenched.

My heart sank. It wasn't good.

Then I sighed and got up from the bed. It was time for me to handle my mother. Mason and Logan were great buffers, but I was the only one who had the voice to quiet her. As I dressed, I felt his eyes on me. After I emerged from the bathroom, showered and fully dressed, he stood and held his hand over the phone. "What are you doing?"

"We're going back."

His eyebrows went high. "We just got here."

"I know." My heart was in the pit of my stomach. I was tired of feeling it there. I needed to stop hiding from my mother and from the situation. I'd been hiding since our parents found out about us. This had to stop.

"You're sure?"

I nodded. I knew I had the resolved face on and Mason removed his hand from the phone. "Hang on, Logan. We're coming back."

It didn't take long to pack our stuff. We hadn't packed anything to begin with. As for the break from reality, this one had been a short one. A part of me was pissed that we had even come. Enough was enough. I wasn't going to be harassed through phone calls by my mother. And I wasn't going to hear her threats through other people anymore.

Stuart held the door for us as we left. The Escalade had been pulled up, waiting for us. The smile on Stuart's face slipped a bit when he caught my eye, but he gave Mason a hug before he drove off. After a quick stop for breakfast and coffee, we were on our way back. The ride was passed in silence, tense silence for me. I glanced at Mason, but he seemed relaxed. Then again, this was his lifestyle. He didn't relish confrontations, but he didn't fear them either.

I wished I had that same quality. Sparring off against a catty girl was different from going against my mother, a mother that I knew I should've respected. I should've followed her rules from day one, but to be truthful, if my relationship with her had been better than my relationship with Mason, things might've been different. I bit my lip as I admitted to myself that I might not have slept with him. I loved him. I needed him, but I had been alone. I had been hurting. And I had been wasting away. He came at the perfect time, but things changed because of him. I was stronger now.

I had to be.

It was a few hours later when Mason took my hand in his. "You ready for this?"

The words couldn't come. I watched as he turned into the driveway. My mom's car was there. Logan's Escalade was beside hers and there was an SUV that I didn't recognize.