by Andrea Joy
His dark, beady eyes flare in anger when he realizes that he’s not getting anywhere with the two of us. Eventually he turns away but not before warning us that he’ll be in touch. Sofia and I watch him walk to his dark Buick and get in, the two uniforms climb into a patrol car and the three of them pull out of the driveway one behind the other.
“So,” Sofia says when I’ve closed the front door. “What happens now?”
Pulling her into a hug, I press a kiss to the top of her head and hold her close. “Now we figure out how to get Lily to them and then I need to find a way to end this.”
“Do you really think they have enough evidence to put him behind bars?”
I blow out a harsh breath, contemplating lying to her but not wanting to start this on a bad foot. “I don’t know what evidence he has, but if he was able to get a warrant then he would’ve had to convince a judge…”
“So, whatever he has could send Braxton to prison.”
I don’t answer her, instead letting my silence speak for itself. Technically, Mickelson could’ve paid a judge outside of the GTA to grant the warrant or find one that wants to see the De Luca name burn to the ground just as much as he does. But until I get my hands on that warrant, I won’t know for sure.
Sofia squeezes me briefly before letting go and stepping away, wiping away a stray tear before plastering a smile on her face. “So, I distinctly remember you promising me a dinner I’ll never forget.”
I follow her into the kitchen, snagging her around the waist again and pulling her to me before she can take a seat on the barstool. “I really am sorry about this weekend,” I say, curling a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was an asshole and I should’ve listened to you when you told me to drop the pet name.”
Sofia’s fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt. “I’m sorry too. I should’ve talked to you about it without blowing up. I thought I had put all that behind me, but…” she trails off, her gaze wandering to the dining room table behind me, but I have a feeling she’s not actually seeing it.
Gripping her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I turn her head back to me. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad the fucker is dead, or I would’ve had to take care of him myself.”
Sofia’s eyes grow wide before a slow smile stretches her lips. “Dinner?” She asks, her tongue peeking out to lick along her bottom lip.
I track its movement, not realizing I’m leaning forward until I feel them under mine. Sofia sighs, her lips parting to let me in. She tastes like chocolate and the red wine she was drinking before the doorbell rang. I pull her closer, sliding my leg between hers. My jeans tightening when she begins rocking her hips back and forth.
“Upstairs,” I groan, halting her movements with my hands on her hips, fingers pressing into the skin just above the waistband of her shorts.
“Upstairs sounds good.”
Neither one of us makes a move toward the stairs, our lips back on each other, exploring hands roaming under clothes.
“Mason,” she says on a breathless whisper.
Her hands slide up my chest, pushing my shirt up along with it and over my head. Hers is the next to follow. My hands roam down her back and over the curve of her ass to hook around the back of her thighs so I can lift her. Sofia squeals, folding her arms around my neck to hold on until I set her down on the counter. She giggles, burying her face in the curve of my neck, the heels of her feet digging into my ass cheeks.
“God, you’re so sexy,” I say, kissing along her shoulder.
Her fingers fumble with the button of my pants and then the zipper until she has my jeans undone and then her palm is being pressed against my hard length. I groan, nipping at her jaw and pressing harder against her palm. Dinner gets forgotten for several hours while we get lost in each other on my kitchen counter.
Chapter Seventeen
SOFIA
“Where are we going?” Mason asks as he follows me down the stairs of his place.
I pause at the front door to slip my shoes on and step outside onto the wrap around porch. It’s hot out today. The expected high being around 29 Celsius. Stepping up to the railing, I curl my fingers around the painted wood and tilt my face up to the sun and wait for him to join me outside.
“Saturdays are usually the days I volunteer at one of the group homes in town,” I say, answering his question once we’re sitting in his car and Mason has the engine purring. “Since I haven’t been able to volunteer as much with being away at school and all, I started again a couple weeks ago on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings.”
When we haven’t moved, I turn in my seat to see Mason staring at me. His eyes slightly narrowed like he’s trying to figure out a hidden puzzle or something.
“What?”
He shakes himself out of whatever stupor he was in and shifts the car into drive. “Nothing. So, where am I going?”
I give him directions to the group home and then lean over to plug my phone into the Apple CarPlay feature. I was bummed this morning when Mason said we couldn’t take the Audi today since it’s in the shop. I stopped paying attention when he was telling me exactly what was being done to it. Yes, I like cars. Sexy as fuck cars like the Audi, but I start going cross eyed when it comes to the technicalities of vehicles. I just want to look at them and drive them on occasion. Not know what the difference between rim packages mean. I could care less except for; does it go fast? That’s all I want to know.
We ride in silence for several minutes. I think this is the longest we’ve been in each other’s company where we weren’t having sex or fighting. As much as our fight the other day hurt, it felt good to get that weight off my chest. For years I’ve been holding in what living with Dante was truly like. Afraid that nobody would believe me if I did speak up. It was his word against mine after all. Truth be told, I probably could’ve gone several more years without telling anyone either, but then Mason kept calling me that pet name and every time he would, the nightmares would get worse until I just couldn’t take it anymore. Que my freak out that day. Our conversation comes back to me in burst.
“Why? Why do you hate those words so much?”
“Because! Because... it was his favorite nickname for me when he would repeatedly sneak into my room and rape me. Keep quiet, little girl. Be a good little girl.”
My throat begins to burn with the effort of holding back tears, but I refuse to give Dante any more power over me. It’s true that he raped me when I was girl so technically, I wasn’t a virgin the night I slept with Mason, but to me… in my mind I was. The night I crawled into Mason’s bed, it was my choice, my decision to give my body to someone else. So yeah, physically I may not have been a virgin, but mentally I was.
“You okay?”
The concern in his voice makes me look up and I realize that we’ve parked in front of the group home already. There’s an ache in my fingers, telling me that I’ve been clutching my hands tightly together for the majority of the drive over. With a deep breath, I force myself to relax my grip and remind myself that Dante isn’t here anymore. Braxton made sure of it.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Mason’s lips pull into a thin line at my lie, but he doesn’t call me on it as we get out of the car and move up the three stairs of the front porch. Having already been here so many times and knowing that the house mom is expecting me, I don’t knock and push open the front door.
Volunteering here started out as just fulfilling a requirement for the ninety hours of volunteering that’s required of every graduating high school student before they can get their diplomas and turned into something that allows me to switch off for a couple hours a week. Plus, I fell in love with the kids here and couldn’t force myself to leave them behind once my ninety hours were completed.
I was shocked the first time I stepped inside of the home so many years ago. I half expected it to look like the group homes I’ve seen on TV, where they’re half falling apart because nobody gives a shit about the appearance. Kids spilling out o
f every nook and cranny. Jayden’s House is nothing like that. The house is spotless, but not in an OCD kind of way. It still looks lived in, but there are no paint chips peeling from doors and walls, no questionable stains on the carpets, no rancid smells. It’s just a… home.
We’re instantly hit with the smell of grilling meat as soon as we step foot inside the house and my stomach lets out a loud growl. Mason chuckles when I try to cover it up by clearing my throat.
“Shut up,” I say, playfully backhanding him in the chest.
I kick off my shoes by the growing pile in the entry way and then go in search of Linda, the house mom. The living room is devoid of kids which is weird since I can usually find one or two of them on the couch with a console in their hands. The kitchen is the same, and the backdoor leading out to the yard is open which would explain the delicious smell wafting through the house. Mason follows me outside, and I find Linda sitting on a bench swing, knitting needles in hand as she watches the younger kids play around her.
“Smells good out here,” I say, making my way toward her.
“Sofia!” A wide smile lights up her face when she gets a look at me. Linda places her knitting stuff on the bench beside her and pushes herself up to give me a welcoming hug. “The older kids wanted to BBQ, and I couldn’t find it in me to tell them no.” Her eyes dart behind me and grow wide, no doubt taking in Mason in his light wash jeans and white collared t-shirt. His hair styled perfectly back out of his eyes.
“Linda, this is Mason. Mason, Linda,” I introduce them and giggle when Mason reaches out a hand for Linda to shake but she swats it away like it offends her and pulls him into a hug instead.
Linda is another thing that’s different from every group home I’ve seen on TV and Jayden’s House. She’s warm, inviting, and easy to talk to. She’s a bit older, but that hasn’t stopped her from keeping up with the younger kids. She’s quick as a whip too. Nothing gets passed her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am,” Mason says when Linda finally lets him go.
She waves him off. “Please, call me Linda.”
“Where’s Max?” I ask, after taking a quick look around the yard and not seeing him with the other kids.
“He’s up in his room. Poor kid hasn’t been feeling the greatest today, so I told him to stay in bed. A couple of the older boys moved a TV in there so he can still watch his cartoons.”
That immediately has me standing up straighter and my protective mode wanting to come out. Max is still fairly new to the group home. He’s four, but his parents died in a car accident a couple months ago. He has no other family since both his parents were only children and his grandparents have been long gone too. It took a while for him to open up to anyone preferring to sit or stand on the sidelines and watch the other kids play a game or throw the ball around. My heart broke for the little boy who was still so young to understand something so tragic but was clinging to every last piece of his parents he could. It took a couple visits before Max started warming up to me, but when he did, he was like a different kid. Especially when there was music playing. It was like he forgot about losing his parents and his little face would relax into a smile before he would quietly start singing along with the song. I often wish that I could pull him into a hug and not let him go and take him home with me. Unfortunately, with me living in California still, that isn’t an option right now, but maybe once I’m done with school and can find an apartment here. I’m sure my cousin would help me out with all the legal stuff, I could even ask Mason…
No. I shake the thought off before it has time to take root, and turn to the man in question, hooking a thumb over my shoulder. “I’m going to go check on him.”
Curling an arm around my shoulders he pulls me into his chest and places a soft kiss on my forehead. “Take your time. I’ll be down here.”
Ignoring the curious twinkle in Linda’s eyes, I smile gratefully up at Mason and then peel myself away from his body and out from under his arm to go in search of my second favourite little man.
The upstairs bedrooms are bright with the sun shining through all the open windows. The second floor of the home houses all the younger kids and Linda, the third floor all the older ones. There’s also a basement that the older kids have turned into their own version of a movie theatre. The younger ones are allowed down there too, but I think they mostly prefer to hang out in the living room, playing the gaming consoles and watching their cartoon TV shows and movies.
Max’s door is the last door on the left at the top of the stairs on the second-floor handing. It’s slightly ajar so I don’t have to push it open very much further before stepping inside. Max is laying in the middle of his single bed with the covers pulled up to under his arms. His eyes are glued on something on the TV screen across from the foot of his bed, so he doesn’t immediately notice me.
“Hey buddy, heard you weren’t feeling good,” I say, taking a seat on the bed by his feet.
“Sofia!” His grin is wide, showing off the gap between his teeth where he lost a tooth last week. Throwing back the covers, he scrambles up and launches himself into my arms so hard and fast, the momentum almost knocks me back.
“Woah! Hey, easy there.” Guiding him to sit in my lap, I press the back of my hand to his forehead to check if he’s hot. “What’s up, bud? You feeling sick today?”
He nods against my hand before I manage to pull it away. “A little. Linda made me have chicken soup so that I wouldn’t throw up again.” He scrunches his nose as he tells me about the soup, and I have to agree with him. Chicken noddle soup is not my favourite either.
“How’s your tummy feeling now?”
He shrugs, leaning his head into my shoulder for a cuddle, and that’s answer enough.
“What are you watching?”
“Big Hero 6.”
“Mind if I watch with you?” I ask, not wanting him to be out of bed as much as possible.
He nods excitedly and climbs back under the covers but scoots over to the far side giving me room to lay down beside him. I stay on top of the bright blue duvet and lay my head down beside his as we both turn our attention back to the movie playing out on the screen.
God, for a kid’s movie this one gutted me the first time I watched it when it came out. I’m not sure how much time passes but after a while Max’s breathing begins evening out and when I glance over at him, he’s asleep, his hand curled into mine between us. I’m just contemplating how to move off the bed without waking him when I hear the creak of a floorboard by his door and look over to find Mason watching us, a smile on his face and a look I don’t recognize in his eyes.
“Sorry,” I whisper, realizing that I must have been up here for a lot longer than expected.
He shakes his head, moving further into the room. “Don’t worry about it. He okay?” He asks, lifting his chin to indicate a sleeping Max.
“Yeah, I think so. Just a tummy bug. He should be back to normal tomorrow.”
Slowly and with the precision of a freaking ninja, I extract my hand from Max’s grip and slide off the bed, pausing when he stirs but he doesn’t wake up. When I’m all clear of the bed, I take Mason’s hand and lead him from the room, closing the door slightly behind us after one last look back at Max. I, again, wish I could take him home with me so that he doesn’t have to wake up alone. I mean, I know he won’t be alone because there’s always someone in the house, but still. My heart aches every time I have to leave the sweet boy behind.
Mason and I stay for a quick lunch with everyone and before we leave, I head upstairs again to check on Max. I find him in the same position I left him in and still fast sleep. I silently creep into his room and turn off the TV with the remote on his nightstand, then kiss him on his head before leaving to meet Mason at the foot of the stairs.
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I say, giving Linda one last hug and promising to be back on Wednesday morning.
The familiar weight I feel every time I walk away from the group ho
me and Max begins to settle itself around me the further, we get from the house and closer to Mason’s car.
“I was thinking we could go for a hike this afternoon before meeting everyone at Braxton’s for dinner,” Mason says when we get back into the car and strap our seatbelts on.
“Yeah, sounds good.” The answer is automatic, but I can’t bring myself to care as I watch the group home get further and further away in the side view mirror of the passenger side.
Dinner is amazing as always. Klara has definitely improved as a cook over the years, which might have something to do with Braxton’s Ma taking her under her wing and teaching her a few things. The awkward part was wanting to touch Mason and cuddle on the couch after dinner but not being able to. We agreed that we wanted to keep this between us for now before telling anyone. Plus, things are complicated since Mason works for Braxton. And not to mention, I have to go back to school for my senior year in a couple weeks. Seeing Braxton and Klara, and Alessandro and Jessika together, though, makes me want to say fuck it and just claim Mason here and now in front of everyone. But that wouldn’t be fair to him and the years he’s put into earning their trust, so I hold off for now.
Chapter Eighteen
SOFIA
“How did you get started volunteering at the group home?” Mason asks when we get back to his place after a hike around Hilton Falls.
The question takes me by surprise because it’s been several days since we went to see Max and the other kids at Jayden’s House so it takes me awhile before I can form a reply. I shrug, toeing off the running shoes I wore for our hike. “I needed somewhere to do my ninety hours of community service before I graduated high school. I was always good with kids and remembered seeing an article or something about Jayden’s House previously, so I took a chance and called them. But after my hours were completed, I just couldn’t bring myself to stay away so I kept going back. Linda didn’t mind either since she needed the help.”