by Tijan
"Oh."
"Was that it?" He frowned at me.
I couldn't get over how stupid I'd been.
"Sam."
"What?"
He narrowed his eyes and studied me again. One of his fingers tipped my chin up so I was looking him straight into the eyes. I couldn't look away. While his eyes held mine captive, he asked further, "What else happened before? Your dad being a neglectful asshole didn't push you over the edge. You had a flashback again?"
I nodded. My throat was full as I remembered it all again. I couldn't explain how the reminder of David took me back to the night he had left me again—no, when he left me the first time. I shook my head as tears leaked out. I didn't want to tell him that I called for an ambulance, all on my own, or how I sat beside my mother. I sat in her blood.
He should've been there.
That thought raced through me, along with a bolt of anger. My jaw hardened. He should've been there. I shouldn't have had to do that on my own. I'd only been eleven. A goddamn eleven-year-old and I had to call 911 for my mother.
"What are you thinking right now?"
The words slipped from me, "It was the first time he left, Mason." My chest lifted. A dull ache started in my gut. "She tried to kill the baby on her own and I found her. I went and looked for him, but he wasn't there. I think," I drew in a deep breath. "I think they had a fight or something. His suitcase was on the floor and his clothes were everywhere. I don't know what happened, but I remembered hearing them before. They'd been fighting. He was going to leave her…" I couldn't finish. I didn't want to remember anymore.
"You okay?"
I couldn't tell him anymore. It was too painful. But then I didn't have to. Mason slid an arm underneath my legs and he lifted me again. He folded me onto his lap, and I curled into him. His hand smoothed up and down my back. It was a comforting motion, one that I needed so much, but after we sat in silence for awhile, I needed to pull away. I had to work soon and he couldn't keep holding my hand every time I felt like I was going to break.
My eyes shot to his, bleak and exhausted. He mirrored what I was feeling. "What was going on downstairs? That guy thought you were here with Heather?'
He jerked his head in a nod. His body stiffened underneath me.
"Mason."
With gentle hands, he deposited me back onto the bed but didn't move away. I was relieved. Instead, he held my hand and rested his arms on his legs. "Heather brought the food over. She'd been here two seconds before he showed up. He went berserk when he saw her and me together. We weren't even on the same couch or anything. She was in the kitchen and I was in the living room, but he saw me in her home and connected the wrong dots together."
"She told me that he goes to Roussou. It's because of that, isn't it? I know you guys hate that school."
"There's more to it than that, but yeah, he's from Roussou. He doesn't run with the same crew as the Broudou brothers, but he knows my history with them. I'm sure that's part of it."
"The Broudou brothers?"
Mason nodded. His shoulders had filled again with tension. "Yeah, there are three of them. Two are seniors this year, twins, and they have a third little brother in your grade. But all of them hate me."
"Why you?" Other than the normal high school football rivalry, I meant. I remembered the first night I saw them and knew I'd be moving in with them. Two cars had pulled up and an instant fight exploded, then they lit their cars on fire.
"Those three hate me because of their sister."
Blank.
Uh, what?
"Huh?"
He chuckled at my reaction. "Don't worry. Nothing happened with me and her, but that's not what she's told them."
"So what do they think?"
"That I met her at a party, slept with her, and never called her back. They think I treated her like trash."
I blinked again, startled. Mason wasn't always the nicest to girls, but he wasn't known to sleep around. But I knew he hadn't been a monk. "Did you?"
"No!"
I held up my hands in surrender at his glare. "I'm sorry. I had to know for sure."
His eyes narrowed. Instead of the tension leaving him, it increased. "I would never touch a girl like that. She tried to seduce Nate first, but he threw her aside. Then she tried Logan. Even he didn't want anything to do with her. We all knew who she was."
"When did this happen?"
"Two years ago. Logan had broken up with Tate, and because that had just happened, I swore off girls. I didn't have a great view of her gender already and then Broudou started saying that I slept with her and dropped her. Her brothers demanded that I do right and date her, but like hell I was going to do that. I wasn't going to do a goddamn thing anyone told me to do. I was sick and tired of people trying to manipulate me."
Oh god. My forehead fell against his arm. I already knew how he must've handled that. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
He chuckled. The sound of it sounded foreign from the tension in his body. "No, but I wanted to. I wanted to kill her. I'll be honest. After Tate, then her, I had a piss poor opinion of girls."
I sighed. "What happened after that?"
"Nothing. She still claims the same story. Her brothers hate me, have hated me ever since. And you know the rest. Things aren't exactly friendly whenever we have any interaction with someone from Roussou."
And that was the reason for Channing's reaction downstairs.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" He looked down at me. The anger was still brimming within him, but it had softened. "You had nothing to do with that."
"Yeah, but I always thought you guys were jerks before. I didn't know the history with Roussou, but I judged you before I even knew you."
A grin curved up from the corners of his mouth. Then he shifted so he could pull me back into his lap. He smiled at me. "Well, you said it before. I am an asshole."
"But not that time, not with her."
He shrugged. "I'm not going to let some shady bitch affect me."
I could've pointed out that she had, but I held my tongue. Mason didn't think of it that way, and I knew if he did, I would have reason to fear what he would do because that girl, whatever her name was, had changed things for him and Logan. I didn't know all of the ramifications, but I had a feeling they went deeper than even he realized.
"What's her name?"
"Why?" He shot me a look.
I smiled at him, to show that I didn't have an agenda. "No reason, but if I run into her, I'll know to go the other way."
"Oh." He frowned, but then replied, "Shannon Broudou."
I didn't need to commit that name to memory. It was already seared in, permanently, but I had lied to him. I very much had an agenda, and if I ever met her, there was no way I was going to go the other way. For the first time in a long time, I knew that was a confrontation that I didn't want to avoid. That was one that I wanted. She had hurt my family.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
That night set a pattern for the rest of my break. I ran in the mornings for Coach Grath and worked at Manny's in the evenings. I didn't run as much as I had that first time, but when I reported my time and distance the next day, he blinked. It wasn't much of a reaction, but as I started to get to know my coach over the next week, I realized that had been a huge reaction for him. He pushed me to beat my times each day until I told him that I was on my feet the rest of the day at my job. So, then he told me to beat my times on the days I didn't work, which I planned to do anyways. I was already salivating for my next day off.
"Hey, baby girl."
Heather broke my reverie, and I jerked the dishwasher head so it sprayed all over me. "Ah!" I dropped it and jumped back. As it twisted from the cord, it sprayed her in the window and she yelped. "Turn it off, turn it off!"
I scrambled for the faucet and rotated it to the side. The water stopped, but the damage was done. Both of us were wet from head to toe. Great. I had to work in these clothes for the rest of the night, seven hour
s left to go.
Laughing, Heather jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "I'll grab you some clothes. This will suck when the rush comes."
"Thanks."
Lily glanced in, and she grinned from ear to ear. "It's a good look. Those Roussou guys will enjoy it."
My eyes went wide. Roussou?
Heather froze for a moment. "Oh, uh…" Then she turned to me. There was a warning there.
Oh no. A deep knot formed in my gut. This couldn't be good.
Lily cocked her head to the side. Her long black hair had been pulled high into a ponytail, and she caught the end over one shoulder. She twirled it in one hand as her smile dimmed an inch. "Joke, guys. That was a joke."
Heather twisted around. Her shoulders stiffened before she whipped back to me and her wet hair slapped Lily in the face. With white knuckles, she gripped the window's edge and leaned close. "Brett and Budd are here. You don't leave this room, not one foot out there, you hear?"
Everything had gone numb at her reaction. If Heather was this scared…I gulped. I didn't want to finish that thought.
"Text your boy. Make up some lie. He cannot come here tonight."
"I—"
"They'll jump him, Sam," she hissed. "They'll do worse to you if they find out who you are." The warning heated up in her eyes. "I won't let them hurt you, but they must know you're here. They wouldn't have come if they didn't."
"Okay." Lily forced out a laugh. "You guys are making me nervous. I was just joking before. I know you didn't get wet on purpose. What's going on?"
Heather's hand shot to her arm. She latched on with a death grip. "You stay with those guys all night. You smile, you serve, you make them happy, but you don't say a word to them about Sam, the Kades, or anything that has anything to do with them."
Lily's eyes went wide and she took a step back. "You guys are really starting to freak me out. Wait; is this because of the school pranks and stuff? I didn't think it was that bad.
"Just do what I say." Then she paused, frowning. "Where'd they sit?"
"In the back section. Anne already got their drinks."
"Take over her section."
"What about Gia? She's supposed to come in at 5:00 today."
A spew of curses came from Heather as she glared out at the diner. "I'll call her. I know she'll say something. I'll have Rosa come in for her instead." She turned and fixed us with a steely gaze. She meant business. "We good on the plan?"
Both of us nodded. My hand itched to salute her.
"Good. I'm going to run home quick. Be back in five."
When she dashed out, Lily looked back at me. "Is it really that bad?"
I took a deep breath as I gripped the rinse head in my hands. "Let's just say those guys hate Mason and if they hate him…" My eyebrows went up as she finished the sentence in her head.
She gasped. "You think they'd hurt you?"
I deadpanned, "Heather doesn't freak out for no reason."
She paled. "Oh, dear."
Oh dear, indeed.
I grimaced. Tonight was not going to be fun.
And it wasn't.
I had my suspicions, but I found out for sure that Brett and Budd's last name was Broudou. I figured, judging from Heather's reaction, but I wanted to know for certain. One time, I snuck a peek and saw two mammoth size linebackers at a back table. There were other guys with them and a few girls too. A short stocky girl with blonde hair had a similar face as theirs, square and tough, had me wondering if that was their sister. She glanced at me and I stepped back inside, but a part of me didn't want to.
I didn't want to hide from this girl, not when I knew how she had lied and caused so many problems for Mason and Logan. It wasn't the right time, though the need to say something to her was burning the back of my heels.
More and more customers poured into the diner and I eventually forgot about the Broudou siblings. I rushed to catch up with the dishes and even stepped out to load the glassware behind the bar. When my bladder was screaming for release, I shot past the table and hurried into the bathroom. It wasn't until I was returning that I remembered Heather's warning. Too late. I tried to slip past their table, but a muscular guy stumbled backwards, straight into my pathway. He would've knocked me over if I hadn't sidestepped him.
"Hey, whoa." Two meaty hands wrapped around my arms from behind. "Steady there, girl."
I wrenched my arms away and shot the guy a dark glare.
"Whoa," he said again as his eyes went wide. He stepped back.
It was one of the brothers.
A shrill feminine laugh peeled out, "She don't want your help, Brett. You're not good enough for her."
His eyes had seemed startled before, but now they darkened. A tinge of anger seeped in, and his jaw locked in place. Another chair scraped against the floor and the other mammoth stepped next to him. His eyes were already filled with dark intent. A cruel smile spread over his face before he cleared his throat. "Is that true, girly? My brother's not good enough for you?"
"Hey!"
Heather's shout jolted us. She stood behind their friend, the one who had stumbled in front of me, and wielded a long towel in one hand. A butcher knife was in the other. Her legs were planted apart. She looked ready to fight. My eyes trailed past her shoulder. Brandon was behind her. He folded his arms over his chest. Even Gus was watching the exchange with a somber expression.
Both of the brothers' heads shot up, but it was Budd who gave her a fierce frown. "What do you want, Jax?"
"Get away from her!" She pointed at me.
His eyes narrowed, and he sent me a long sidelong look before his chest puffed up. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Budd." She growled in warning.
"Brett was only talking to her. That's it. What's all the fuss about?" But his narrowed eyes wouldn't stop flitting back to me. I could see the wheels turning. It was then that I knew he didn't know who I was. Relief washed over me. My knees almost buckled, but I caught myself and folded my arms over my own chest. I tried to quench the sudden trembling.
"I mean it, Budd. Let her pass."
His hand started to lift. I sucked in my breath. I knew he was reaching for me…
At the same time, he asked, "Why? What's she to you?"
In slow motion, I watched as Heather's stormy eyes filled with even more anger. She opened her mouth. I knew she was going to let it slip, she thought they already knew, but I had to stop her.
I grabbed Budd's hand and twisted it. In a flash, I wrapped his arm behind his back and yanked at his wrist.
A scream came from him. He buckled under the force I was putting on his wrist. I was a tenth of his weight, but in that moment I could've snapped his wrist in two. A strangled cry came from him as he cursed, but then I was pulled away from him. When I expected rough hands, I was surprised to feel a gentle touch as Brett lifted me in the air and took three steps from his brother and around their friend. He placed me on my feet in front of Heather. As he frowned at me, he said to her, "We didn't mean any harm, Heather."
Her glower slipped a notch, but she still glared. "She's my friend." She stressed the last word.
His frown deepened. "We figured. We didn't mean any harm."
A sudden light clicked on in her depths, and I stepped in front of her. I said to the hulk, "We're friends and she's protective because I work here too."
He nodded, his eyebrows bunched together. "I figured that too. Look, we didn't come to hurt no girl."
"Then why are you here?" Heather scoffed behind me. She was more composed now. "This diner's in Fallen Crest. This ain't your town, and it ain't your crowd. What are you doing here?"
"Truth?" He scratched the back of his head.
Her eyes narrowed to slits. "You'd lie to me now?"
"No, no. I didn't mean that. But," he twisted around and took in the varying emotions from his family and friends. "We came for a brawl. We heard the Kades hang here a bunch. We were hoping to see them."
Heather nudged me with her elbow. I g
ulped—I hadn't had time to text Mason yet. He didn't know to not come tonight. Again, oh dear.
Brandon stepped closer to our group. "Hey, uh, Brett, I think maybe it's best if you guys take off."
"Why?"
Heather snorted. Her hand found her hip and her chin jutted out. "Are you serious? You admitted that you came here for a fight? At my establishment."
Brandon coughed.
She amended, "At my family's establishment."
"That's better."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not as nice as my brother. Get out. I want your whole brood out. No one's fighting here. You're not going to destroy my family's livelihood, and you're definitely not going to scare away our regular customers."
"Oh, um." He turned back to his group. "They want us to go."
The blonde gasped. She shot forward from the table and was in Heather's face within two steps. "Are you effing kidding me?"
"Hey, whoa, Shannon. She's—"
"Back off, Shannon!"
Heather sucked in her breath, but tattooed-model Channing stepped around Brandon and got in the Broudou's little sister's face.
It was confirmed.
This was Shannon. This was the girl that had caused so many problems for Mason and Logan. My eyes narrowed to slits and my head went low. I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to hurt her like she hurt Mason. The need for violence was starting to sizzle deep inside of me. It was on a low burn, but the notch was turning up. It was going to be going full blast in a minute.
I was distantly aware that one of the mammoth brothers said something to Heather's model, w who said something back. The Shannon bitch had melted once she realized who snapped at her. A seductive smile was on her face now. I felt Heather's tension beside me and touched her arm. When she looked at me, she gasped and then shuffled so she blocked me from their view. Her hands went to my shoulders and she whispered to Brandon, "Get her out of here. Now."
His hand grasped the top of my arm, and he dragged me out the side door. As soon as the screen door slammed shut, he closed the second door as well. Then he started towards the house and I went. Wait, no. What was I doing? I dug my heels in and pulled away.