The Valentine's Dare (The Sycamore Serial Book 1)

by Owens, Nicolette

  The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.

  Terror in her heart, Kierra turned and ran.

  “Hey - Kierra! Wait!” Mason’s voice called to her as she careened down the hallway to the emergency exit, her heels flying off with the force of her strides, her dress tugging at her knees. With a great heave, she pushed open the doors and shot out into the night, unable - and afraid - to look back.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Just like the First Time

  This time, he would go after her; this time, he wouldn’t lose her like he had before.

  Mason didn’t know why Kierra ran away from him like a bat out of hell, but he knew that he couldn’t do nothing to get her back. If she was afraid, it was because this thing between them was bigger than the both of them; and if she didn’t want to do anything about it, he understood, but he had to try.

  Besides, she left her shoes behind. He had to at least bring her those.

  She was a figured in the distance, haloed by the halogen light of the parking lot lamps. The red-and-black dress she wore cut her figure in an alluring way, but when she stopped to get her breath - eyes wide as she glanced over her shoulder - there was nothing sensual in her gaze.

  For some reason, she was terrified.

  Mason stopped, brows furrowed, realizing that going after her might not have been the right idea. This isn’t the game of cat and mouse I thought it was. This was no go-away-no-chase-me routine; Kierra was truly frightened of something.

  “Mason!” She reached towards him, eyes wide, hands trembling; he couldn’t tell from this distance, but it was like she was looking - somewhere -

  Turning, he saw him.

  A pale figure in the dark, face twisted in fury and violence, ghost blue eyes chilling even from a distance. He stormed out of the emergency exit door, hands balled up into fists at his sides. Suddenly Mason understood why Kierra was so afraid.

  But the guy wasn’t coming for her.

  He ran at Mason, roaring as he brought his fist up to punch him in the face. Mason blocked - barely - and went down, surprise registering as he fell to the pavement on his back.

  “Brooks, no!” Kierra screamed, running towards him on bare feet. Mason realized, as if distantly, that he’d dropped her shoes. Her feet will get all cut up on the pavement, he thought, even as the fists rained down.

  It was all Mason could do to shield himself with his arms, unprepared as he was. The guy held him down with his knees and pummeled him again and again, blows falling wildly, hitting his face, chest, arms, stomach. Mason yelled, barely understanding why they were even fighting, trying - and failing - to get his own blows in.

  “Stop it, stop it Brooks!” Kierra grabbed the guy’s shoulders and pulled him back, giving Mason a few seconds of sweet relief. He staggered up, swaying on his feet, angry at himself and his foe for not even getting the chance to fight back.

  “What the fuck is your problem?” he spit out, breathless and in pain, his ribs screaming at him.

  “You’re my fucking problem, hitting on my girlfriend like that.”

  Girlfriend? Mason stared at Kierra in shock, surprised at how much that hurt - on top of all the physical injuries. She shook her head, so pale and small with her hands barely holding Brooks back.

  “I didn’t know she was your girlfriend,” Mason ventured, deciding to play nice and see if it got him out alive. “I’ll just-“ he coughed, chest straining, barely able to spit out the words. “I’ll just leave, man.”

  For a moment, it almost seemed like that would work. Then this look sparked in Brooks’ eyes, and he roared like a man possessed.

  “You think I don’t know what’s going on here? You’re going to meet up with him later, aren’t you.” This he shot at Kierra, his figure towering over her as he took her by the shoulders and shook her. “All I want to do is love you, but everywhere I turn you take what I’ve given you and turned to ashes and dust.”

  “I’m sorry,” she ventured, eyes meeting Mason’s gaze and then darting back up to Brooks in fear. Mason gathered himself together, trying to figure out if he had enough unbroken bones to take this guy down - at least for long enough that they could run back inside to safety.

  “I’m glad you realize your mistake.” Mason watched with wide eyes as Brooks melted under Kierra’s sympathy, turning from a crazed lunatic into a sappy lover. He caressed her cheek, drawing her close. With his eyes on her like that, Brooks didn’t even notice Mason shuffling towards him.

  But Kierra did, and she shook her head, mouthing “no.” Mason stopped, second guessing himself. Was he the savior, or the interloper?

  Brooks saw her mouth moved and turned, seeing Mason standing right behind him with his fists raised, ready to punch him in the back of the head.

  “Someone doesn’t learn his lesson easy,” Brooks snarled, his hand disappearing inside his tuxedo jacket.

  Mason saw his opening. He punched him right in the jaw, fist smashing with a satisfying crack, knuckles buckling in pain. Gritting his teeth, he stumbled back and cradled his fist.

  “Get out of my sight, now.”

  In answer, Brooks pulled his hand out of his jacket.

  A knife flashed in the darkness.

  Kierra screamed.

  She watched him fall, time moving impossibly slowly - but not so slowly that she could stop it.

  Suddenly she was back in time, trying to pull Brooks off Evan and barely even managing to budge him; only this time the object of his ire was someone she’d come to care about - even as she pushed him away.

  The knife, so small, so innocent a tool, darted in and out of Mason’s body. He fell, eyes wide in disbelief. Kierra could feel more than hear her own screaming; if someone told her she’d gone deaf, she would have to believe.

  In an instant, like chess pieces moved by a careless hand, they had fallen to another position.

  Kierra knelt by a bleeding Mason, hands darting towards his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “No no no nono nono,” she muttered like a prayer. “Please, stay with me.”

  “It’s not that much blood,” he said, chest rattling with the effort. “You really like your parties dramatic, huh?”

  A sound; she turned and saw the emergency exit doors standing wide open, people milling about in the open air, and realized they’d set off the alarm. It all happened so fast. Someone spotted them and started running; she recognized Lacy’s cotton candy pink hair, but she was so far away.

  “Kiki, I-“ Brooks sobbed, hand dropping the shiny wet knife as he backed away. “I just love you so much.”

  She stared up at him, fear and rage twisted in the hollows of her heart. “Get the fuck away from me.” For the first time in her life, she felt nothing when he looked into her eyes. “Don’t you ever come near me again.”

  Kierra raised her hands to ward him off, and realized by the way he looked at her that they were bright red with blood, as garish as the decorations inside. With a start, he seemed to come awake, turned, and ran away, the darkness swallowing him up.

  There’s not a lawyer in the world that can protect him now, she thought; I’ll make sure of that.

  “Hey, so, think I could get that dance?” Mason coughed, that smirk on his face even as he grew paler by the second.

  “Sure, just let me make this phone call.” Kierra’s fingers slipped on the touchscreen of her phone. The numbers were all blurry - she could barely tell the 0 from the 9. “I got it, just one sec.”

  “Don’t worry, babe.” Lacy reached down and pulled the bloody phone from her hands. “I got it.”

  With a start, Kierra realized they were surrounded by students, all of whom seemed reluctant to step too close to Mason, like his stab wounds were somehow contagious.

  He wasn’t talking anymore.

  “Mason!” Kierra tried to shake him awake, leaving bloody fingerprints on his dress shirt. “Please, don’t go.”

  “Shhhhhh.” Lacy pulled her hands away with effort, suddenly joined by Leil
a and her inhuman strength.

  “Chica, let me.”

  Without ceremony, Leila pushed Kierra away, bent over Mason, and pressed her ear against his chest. Then she put her mouth on his for a few beats, breathing out air like a bellows. Finally, she pressed her hands together and pushed down on his chest, in time to a heartbeat that was fading away.

  It was then Kierra realized he was dying.

  And she hadn’t even gotten to love him.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Every Little Beat

  She could barely breathe in the space between each beep of the monitor.

  Kierra’s visit was limited to five minutes; she’d been told this by the severe orderly who waited in the hallway for her to finish up. There wasn’t really a point to the limit; it’s not like she could upset Mason. She couldn’t even look him in the eye.

  Instead, she took pen to paper, and with shaky hands she wrote him a note.

  It took four and a half of her allotted five minutes. She knew, because she counted each and every one of them, her eyes on the clock just as much as her letter. In it, she told him everything; about Brooks, about her feelings, about how much he meant to her. Last of all, she told him why she had to leave - and where she was going.

  Then she folded up the piece of paper and set it at his bedside table.

  That left just 25 seconds, which was somehow too much and too little at the same time.

  “It goes without saying that I’m sorry.” Her voice sounded small and awkward in the empty room. How many people had sat where she was now, talking to someone who couldn’t talk back? The walls had seen more apologies than daytime TV. “I wonder if it matters that I’m sorry.”

  Leaning over him, she stared at his closed eyes, the shadowed lashes, the too-pale cheeks.

  “It would be a little premature to say ‘I love you,’ wouldn’t it?” She stroked her fingers across his forehead and pushed his hair back. “The problem is the present tense. There should be a word in the English language, like l’espirit d’escalier in French, but this isn’t about leaving a room knowing that something has gone unsaid.

  “What I need is a word to tell you that I’m going to-“ Her breath caught. “I was supposed to love you. Future tense, broken. Because something got in the way.”

  Leaning down, she kissed him gently on the forehead, savoring the warmth of him against her lips. If only for a moment, he was hers. “I owe you a dance.”

  The door opened, and the orderly came in. “Time’s up.”

  With great effort, Kierra pulled herself away, knowing that she’d never be back again.

  Two Days Later

  He woke up and saw nothing but white.

  It took several moments for Mason to realize he was staring at stucco ceiling and not, in fact, the vast white expense of heaven - or hell. The smell of astringent cleaners and the feel of a hospital gown against his skin should’ve been the first clue.

  “You’re awake.” The voice, so soft, so feminine, roused him. Turning his head, Mason blinked through the haze across his eyes to focus on the figured sitting next to his hospital bed. “I thought you’d never wake up. I was so, so worried, baby.”

  “Anna.” His voice came out rough and unused. “What are you doing here?”

  “Your dad called me. I guess he wanted you to wake up to a familiar face.”

  “Where is he?”

  Anna shrugged, pulling a chapstick out of her purse and lining her lips. “Some business trip, I think. The details are a little foggy. I should’ve wrote it down, but I thought you’d wake up, like, right away.”

  “You just said you thought I’d never wake up,” Mason groused, already irritated by her presence.

  Anna cocked her head, confused. “What was that?”

  “Nothing.” There was something about her complicated manicures that changed every day, her over processed blonde hair, and her sugary sweet voice that drove Mason crazy. He didn’t understand how he’d ever dated her in the first place.

  Then again, he’d never had someone like Kierra to compare her to before.

  For a moment he considered asking Anna where she was, but then he reconsidered. No reason to start trouble. Wherever Kierra was, she’d be back soon. He could almost feel her in the room, as if she’d just been there and had stepped out to get something from the vending machine, but would be right back.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Two days.” Mason frowned, shocked by how long it’d been, but Anna just looked around the room in disappointment. “Really, you’d think everyone would’ve left you more gifts. They’ve had plenty of time to go shopping.”

  Mason thought there were plenty of flowers, cards, stuffed animals, and chocolates in the room; then again, he had a feeling nothing could ever satisfy Anna. Certainly I couldn’t.

  “What’s that?” Mason stared at the folded up note on his bedside table, drawing Anna’s attention to it. “Did my dad leave that?”

  “He hasn’t been here,” Anna said, not even noticing the look that flashed across Mason’s face. “I think that’s just trash.”

  Anna snatched the note up before Mason could grab it, then stood and strode across the room. He watched as she unfolded it, a frown passing over her face.

  “What is it?” he asked, but in response she tore the paper in half, folding them over and tearing the halves into tinier pieces until she’d made confetti that she dropped into the trash can.

  “Like I said, it’s trash.” Anna spun on her heel and flashed him a smile. “Now that you’re awake, I’m gonna go get us some real food, okay babe?”

  “Sure, whatever.” Mason didn’t even correct her pet names for him; he just didn’t have the energy.

  A few minutes after Anna had left, he grew bored and reached for the TV remote, feeling around on the bedside table until his fingers hit hard plastic. Instead of the remote, he pulled back his phone, which was lit up with missed calls and messages. Scrolling through them, Mason was overwhelmed by the support he’d gotten from his friends, his family, and even his distant acquaintances.

  None of the messages were from Kierra.

  That’s just because she was here, he thought, pushing away his panic. She didn’t have to message me because she was right here the whole time. Until now.

  A niggling feeling wouldn’t leave him. Something was wrong, and he had to know what is was. After all, for all Mason knew she’d gotten hurt just like him. So he scrolled through his contacts until he found her name, saddened to realize how little he’d used her phone number after he got it at Sycamore orientation.

  First he messaged. Then, realizing she might not have seen it, he called her; and when his call went straight to voicemail, he called again, certain something was wrong.

  After a few calls and messages, he realized she might not have her phone because she was too busy spending time at his bedside.

  When enough time had passed that Anna returned, ate with him, and left again, he realized Kierra hadn’t been by in a while.

  It wasn’t until the next day that Mason began to realize she hadn’t picked him after all.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Goodbye

  There were a lot of things water could do. Chief amongst those was its ability to create life; plants and animals depended on it.

  As Kierra tossed her phone into the Pacific Ocean, she found herself thinking that it could start life over again, too.

  She’d been on the road for three days before she’d looked over her shoulder and realized what was happening when she saw Brooks standing outside in the gas station parking lot, his back turned to her, trying to hide. Somehow, he’d been tracking her, even after days of driving. But Brooks wasn’t the only one who watched too much CSI, and his money couldn’t fix everything. So she’d turned off her phone, taken as many random ocean roads as she could, and walked down to the first beach she found.

  Now, standing in salt water up to her knees, she watched the waves carry away the pho
ne that he’d somehow used to track her, and knew she’d never be able to go back to her old life again.

  Maybe it’s for the best, she thought, closing her eyes and letting the sun’s rays bathe her face. The future doesn’t start until you’ve let go of the past.

  All she could see in her head was two pairs of hazel eyes ringed with green. It was going to take a lot of driving down a lot of roads before she forgot about those eyes.

  So Kierra turned, slogged her way out of the cold ocean water, and forced herself to keep leaving things behind.

  The Sycamore Serial will continue!

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