Becky added, "Oh gawd, I'm so sorry. My mom doesn't want me to be friends with you anymore. I guess she called a bunch of other moms and they were told by their kids that you're tight with the Kade brothers. My mom's scared of them, everyone's moms are. My dad was ecstatic. He wants to meet them; he wants to talk football with Mason. Yeah right, like that's going to happen."

I drew my knees against my chest and hugged them tight. "So we can't talk at school?"

She snorted. "Forget that. I'm still going to be friends with you. My mom can't tell me what to do with that, but she won't let me go to Gino's tonight. I'm sorry, Sam. I know you wanted to go so you didn't have to go to that Elite dinner thing."

"You knew about that?" I grinned into the phone. Of course, she knew

"Of course I knew. Who do you think I am? It's not my first day on the gossip pages. Everyone knows that Miranda invited you to the Elite dinner tonight. Only I knew that you weren't going to go." She paused for a beat. "Are you going to go now?"

"Uh…"

I was about to say that I wasn't sure, but Mason threw open my door. "Logan's going crazy on your mom." And he was gone in a flash.

I said in a rush, "I have to go."

"What? What's going on—"

I pressed the disconnect button and threw it on the bed as I hurried down to the kitchen.

"Are you kidding me?!" Logan cursed as he stood in the foyer. His chest was rising up and down at a rapid pace and his hands were balled into fists, pressed tight against his legs. His eyes were wild in anger and his jaw kept clenching and unclenching.

Analise looked annoyed dressed in a white lace dress. She still held onto her white clutch. A string of white pearls were nestled between in her cle**age. James stood between them, dressed in a black formal suit. Whatever Bangor was, it must've been for the formal and expensive.

I snorted to myself. Of course it would've been.

Mason stopped in the doorframe and held onto the post above his head. He was quiet and my mother glanced back at him every now and then.

Logan spat out, "Are you seriously trying to tell me what I can't do?" His eyes were narrowed at an alarming level.

My mom patted her chest in a dainty fashion. "I am voicing my opinion. It's eight at night. I don't think it's appropriate for you to go out this late. You should be studying, staying in."

Logan snorted out a laugh as he shook his head. His hands were still in fists. He opened them and closed them back up. He kept doing it. "I can't believe you. Who the hell are you, woman?"

Analise glanced back at Mason and then she saw me behind him. Her shoulders lifted a bit and she stood a tiny bit straighter on her feet. "Since everyone is here, I'd like to make an announcement."

"Not another one," Logan muttered under his breath, still glaring at my mother.

She cleared her throat and took James' hand in hers. "I have gone room to room and emptied out all of the liquor that was in this household."

Mason didn't react, but a nerve in his shoulder jumped. Other than that, not a muscle moved. Logan shook his head and cursed some more. Both of his hands rose in the air like he wanted to put them around her neck. "Dad, control your whore."

James was in his face in the next second. "You will watch your mouth, son."

Logan's mouth clamped shut, but he heaved a deep breath and continued to shake his head. "I can't believe you. You're going to let her tell us what we can drink or not drink?"

His father's voice was quiet. "All three children in this home are underage. And since all three of you claimed Analise was in a drunken fit the other night, both of us deemed it a responsible choice to be rid of all alcohol."

Logan's smile was dangerous. "You think we're the problem?"

His father stepped back once. "No, I don't. I saw her that evening as well. She had been drinking too much." He glanced at me. "She was under a lot of emotional anxiety that night, but this is an answer that can help multiple levels for a problem I'm sure that's yet to be unearthed."

Mason bit out a laugh. His hands clenched around the post above and his muscles grew tighter at the movement.

Everyone looked at him and quieted.

"She doesn't want you to go out?" he spoke to Logan.

He gave a short nod. "She thinks I'm being irresponsible."

Mason turned his gaze towards his father, but spoke to Analise, "You might be her mother." He gestured towards me, over his shoulder. "But you're not ours. We have a mother." Then his eyes met his father's again for a brief second. It was a meaningful one.

James turned on his heel and left the room.

My mother's mouth dropped open and her hand jerked after him. "Wha—uh? What are you doing? James!"

Logan grinned in victory and shared a meaningful look with his brother.

Mason dropped his arms abruptly. "Our mom's got custody of us. We can go back to her anytime we want. You might want to remember that."

Tight fists flung against her legs and she stomped her feet. "I cannot believe you two! You are the two most horrible children I have ever met—"

"We're not children." Logan got in her face. "And we're not yours. If you dare try to tell us what to do, you'll regret it. I promise that."

She looked around and I saw how frantic she was. When she found me in the corner, she spewed out, "I don't know what you have done to her, but I will make it my mission to destroy you two."

I jerked forward in surprise.

Logan's hyena laugh sounded out, but Mason tilted his head to the side, just a slight movement.

Analise sputtered to a halt. Her hands were forcibly pressed against her as her knees trembled.

"You really need to stop threatening us. It makes it worse." Mason turned with a hard smirk on his face. He touched my shoulder and glanced back at her. "You should think about that."

She gasped and choked on it. Her cheeks filled up and her hands fluttered around her in a helpless pace. Tears filled her face and she brushed furiously at them. "You don't—you don't—you don't threaten me, boy!"

His chuckle was a soft one, but it hit her hard. My mother started waving her fists around in the air.