All Time Love

by Beverley Hollowed

  “We are family,” Sadie said waving her hand at her son. “Families don’t have secrets.” She linked arms with Mason and led him towards the stools at the breakfast counter.

  “So tell me about this girl,” Sadie said as she climbed up onto the stool and patted the one next to her, for Mason to take a seat.

  “There is nothing to tell,” Mason sighed as he slipped onto the stool next to her. “Not a single thing.”

  “Are you okay, Mace?” Sadie said reaching out and taking his hand. “You seem, I don’t know…sad.”

  “I am okay,” Mason replied with a smile, as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Now if you can excuse me for a moment, I have a very pregnant lady to go say hi to.”

  Mason kissed her again before he stood up and went to look for Lori.

  It was almost six before Mason climbed into his car. Andrew wanted him to leave his car and stay for a few drinks but Mason had nursed one bottle of beer for the three hours he was at the party. He was still feeling rough from his recent drinking binge.

  He told Andrew he had paperwork that needed sorting before a meeting the next day, but the truth was he just wanted to be on his own.

  When he reached his apartment building, he parked his car, but instead of heading up to his apartment, he took the walkway up to the street.

  The streets were unusually quiet, even for a Sunday evening. Mason just walked, hoping to finally clear his head. After about fifteen minutes, he found himself standing in front of the bookstore Amelia worked in. It was closed, but he still stood there and stared at the window. He imagined her behind the counter, smiling at a customer.

  You need to get a grip! He scolded himself. And you need another drink.

  He turned and crossed the street, towards a bar that he had passed a million times, but had never been in. Once inside, he headed straight to the bar and slid onto a stool.

  “Scotch, neat,” he said to the barman when he caught his attention. Mason stared at the glass when the barman set it down in front of him. He knew this wasn’t the answer, but it seemed to be the easiest way to deal with things. He planned on getting so drunk, he wouldn’t remember Amelia. Well, at least for one night.

  He picked up the glass and lowered it back in one gulp, then nodded at the barman for another.

  “Hi there,” a voice chirped next to him as the barman poured his drink. Mason turned to see a pretty blonde girl that was vaguely familiar to him. “You are the guy from the coffee shop. You came in a couple of weeks ago. I’m Roxy. I work there.”

  “Oh yes,” Mason said with a half-smile. He vaguely remembered her. He picked up his drink and knocked it back, before he nodded at the barman once again for a refill. “Can I get you a drink, Roxy?”

  “Sure,” she said with a big grin as she slipped onto the stool next to him. She turned to the barman and asked for a martini, then turned her attention back to Mason. “So, I have never seen you in here before, umm…”

  “Mason,” he said knowing she was waiting for him to introduce himself. The barman set her drink down in front of her.

  “Cheers, Mason,” she said as she picked up her drink and held it up to Mason. He touched his glass to hers and they both lowered back their drinks. Roxy slammed her empty glass down on the bar and moved closer to Mason. “So, Mason. You wanna get outta here?”

  Mason looked at her for a moment and thought of Amelia. She was everything that this girl wasn’t. She was smart, classy, stunningly beautiful, and pure.

  And you fucked her then left her like she was nothing! Mason thought angrily. He looked at Roxy, who was looking at him expectantly and sighed. “Why the hell not.”

  He pulled money from his pocket and left it on the bar, then stood up and grabbed his jacket before heading for the exit with Roxy.

  This is what you need, he told himself as he made his way with Roxy back to her place. You need to fuck that girl out of your head.

  When they reached the apartment, they took the lift to the fourth floor.

  “Make yourself at home,” Roxy said as she led Mason into her apartment. “I have a bottle of bourbon in the kitchen, I will grab it and two glasses.”

  As Mason walked in, he found himself comparing her apartment to Amelia’s and it didn’t come close.

  You need to stop this, Mason thought as he watched Roxy move around her kitchen. He needed to get on with this, and finally let go of Amelia.

  He followed Roxy into the kitchen and grabbed her from behind. Taking hold of her breasts, he pressed his groin against her ass and kissed her neck.

  “Forget the drink,” he said against her skin. “Let’s take this party to your bedroom.”

  Roxy turned in Mason’s arms and smiled at him, as she pressed her body up against his.

  He claimed her mouth with his, as he reached down and grabbed her ass, pulling her closer to him. He ground himself against her, but he knew this was never going to work, all he could think about was Amelia. She was all he wanted.

  “Ughh,” Mason sighed as he broke his lips from hers. “I’m sorry, but this is just…this isn’t gonna happen.”

  “Oh, are you having a little trouble,” she smiled as she pressed against him tighter. She kissed him on the cheek and smiled again. “Let me see what I can do.”

  She dropped to her knees in front of Mason, and reached for his zipper, but he quickly grabbed her hands and stopped her.

  “No, it’s not that I don’t want sex,” Mason said, looking down at the girl kneeling before him. “I just don’t want sex with you. I’m sorry.”

  “YOU’RE SORRY!” she screamed. “JUST GET THE HELL OUT, ASSHOLE.”

  Mason didn’t waste any more time trying to explain, as there was nothing he could really say.

  He turned and hurried out of her apartment and down the four flights of stairs. When he reached the side-walk, there was only one place he wanted to go.

  He hurried as fast as he could, and didn’t stop until he reached the front steps of Amelia’s apartment building. He ran up the steps and pressed the intercom for her apartment.

  He waited but there was no reply. He pressed it once again. Still there was nothing.

  He walked down the steps and looked up at the windows. He knew which ones were Amelia’s and sighed when he saw they were in darkness. He looked at his watch to check the time. It was only a little after nine, she could still be out with friends.

  With the coffee boy, Mason thought and a stab of jealousy coursed through him.

  He sat there for about ten minutes then decided to try the intercom again. Once again there was no reply.

  Suddenly the door opened and a middle aged man stepped out and held the door open for Mason.

  “Thank you,” Mason said as he rushed past him and hurried up the stairs.

  “Amelia,” he said as he knocked on the door. “If you’re in there, please open the door.”

  Still there was nothing.

  “Are you looking for Amelia?” An elderly woman asked from the doorway across the hall. Mason turned to her and smiled hopefully.

  “Yes,” he replied. “Do you know where she is?”

  “I’m afraid she is gone,” the old woman replied.

  “Gone?” Mason asked feeling a little sick.

  “Yes,” the woman explained. “It was late on Friday night when her father arrived. They loaded up the car with her stuff. She stopped by to say goodbye. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, okay,” Mason said feeling his heart ache. He knew he had hurt her, but for her to leave. What the hell had he done to her? “Thanks.”

  With a heavy heart he walked back down the stairs and out onto the steps of the building. He sat down on the steps trying to decide what he should do, but he knew he had blown it. She was gone. It was over.

  Chapter 10

  “Hey sleepy-head,” Shannon said as she gently shook Amelia. “It’s time to get up.”

  “Ughhh,” Amelia groaned as she rolled over in the bed. She slowly opened her ey
es, looked up at her mother and forced a smile.

  “Did you get much sleep?” Shannon asked her daughter as she brushed her hair back from her face. Amelia had barely slept a wink since she arrived home and her mother was worried about her.

  “Some,” Amelia replied with another smile.

  “Are you ready to talk about it?” Shannon asked hopefully.

  Amelia just shook her head. She had been home a week, but she still hadn’t talked to her parents about what had happened. Every time they broached the subject, Amelia just insisted she was fine and refused to talk about it.

  When Mason walked out of her apartment that night, Amelia just sat on her bed for the longest time and tried to comprehend what had just happened. At first she tried to put it down to experience, it was nothing more than a one-night stand kind of thing. However, the more she went over it in her head, the more upset she became.

  She had no idea what had happened. Clearly something had upset Mason, but she had no clue what is was. Was it something she had done?

  She believed him when he said she could trust him. She let her guard down and allowed him in. She had dropped the wall she had built to keep her heart safe after the episode back in her senior year.

  She thought back to that night. She had been so excited about her date with Chase. She couldn’t believe he had actually asked her out. He was the captain of the football team and one of the most popular boys in school.

  Amelia, on the other hand, was a quiet, shy girl, who spent most of her time in the library studying or reading. Her only friend was Jeremy. When she wasn’t in school, she hung out with him or helped out at her parent’s restaurant.

  Jeremy had tried to talk her out of going through with the date, saying he had a bad feeling about it but she refused to listen.

  Amelia was hurt, she thought Jeremy believed she wasn’t pretty enough or good enough for Chase. She wondered what Jeremy would say if he knew she had made the same mistake twice.

  She began to sob uncontrollably. How had she been so stupid? She felt hurt and used. She trusted Mason and he turned out to be just another liar. As she lay on the bed crying, the only thought she had was that she wanted her mom and dad.

  She had thought of telling Jeremy she was going home, but she couldn’t face talking to him. When her dad packed her belongings into the car, her heart was so sad. Not only was she walking out on her life, she was walking out on her best friend, too.

  When he called her parents on Saturday, Amelia refused to talk to him. How could she tell him she had blown him off for someone who had treated her liked a cheap whore, yet again?

  “Amelia, Sweetheart,” Shannon said looking at her daughter. “Your dad and I are worried about you. Please talk to me.”

  “I’ll be okay, Mom,” Amelia said with a smile, even though inside she was hurting more than she thought she ever could. “I just needed some time out. I swear, nothing is wrong.”

  “Okay, Sweetie,” Shannon said with a smile, but Amelia knew Shannon was not convinced. “I will be leaving for the restaurant in about thirty minutes. Are you sure you want to come in and work today? You really don’t have to.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Amelia said as she sat up in bed. “It’s Friday night. I know how crazy it gets down there.”

  “Well, we are always happy to have you, Milly,” Shannon smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “And not just because we get busy. We miss you, Sweetheart.”

  “I miss you both too, so much” Amelia said, as she hugged her mom tightly, holding her a little too long. When she released her, her mom stared at her for a moment before she stood up and walked to the door. She opened it, but stopped and looked back at Amelia.

  “You know,” Shannon said looking at her daughter with a sad smile. “There is nothing you can’t talk to me or your dad about. We love you no matter what. We just want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy, Mom,” Amelia lied. She loved her parents, but she really didn’t want them worrying about her. Shannon smiled again then turned and walked out the door.

  After the incident with Chase, her parents became super protective. When she told them she was going to NYU to study English and Literature, she thought her dad’s head was going to explode. It was only a few weeks after the night with Chase and her dad was not happy.

  However, when the police dropped the charges against Chase two week later, her father had a change of heart. Suddenly moving Amelia as far away from Hartford as possible became a great idea. Amelia felt relieved. Well, that was until her father told her he was going to sell Shenanigans so he and her mother could move to New York with her.

  Amelia freaked out. She knew the restaurant was their life, it was their dream come true. Them selling it, was simply not an option. Amelia said that if that was what it took for her to go to NYU, then she wouldn’t go, it was that simple.

  It nearly broke her father’s heart, but eventually he backed down. The day she left for New York, her mom had agreed to stay behind to take care of the restaurant, while her dad drove her to the dorms. They barely said two words during the whole journey. She watched him from the corner of her eye, and her heart broke to see the tears dancing in his eyes.

  Once they had unloaded the car and moved everything into her room, Charlie asked Amelia to go for a walk with him.

  “So,” he said, as they walked side by side in the late afternoon sun. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “I’m sure, Dad,” Amelia said with a sigh.

  “I just don’t want you to think that you need to run away from…” He hesitated. “Well you know what from.”

  “Dad, this is what I want,” Amelia said with a smile. “This is all I have ever wanted. It’s NYU, Dad. It’s my dream.”

  “As long as you are happy,” Charlie said as he wrapped his arms around his daughter’s shoulder. “Just promise, if you ever need me, no matter what time of the day or night, you will call me.”

  “I promise, Dad,” Amelia replied.

  As she got dressed, she smiled thinking about her parents. All they ever wanted was for her to be happy. She needed to put Mason James out of her head and find a way to be happy again.

  When she walked down the stairs, her mom greeted her with a travel mug of coffee and a chocolate croissant to go.

  “You need to eat,” she said, giving Amelia a knowing look. “Your dad left instructions that I was to make sure you ate something, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

  “Where is Dad?” Amelia asked as she grabbed her jacket and bag before following her mother out to the car.

  “He went in to get things started,” Shannon replied. “He thought maybe you might wanna talk to me. That if he wasn’t hovering around, you might feel more comfortable.”

  Amelia didn’t say anything in return. Instead she just scolded herself again. She needed to snap out of it and stop worrying her parents.

  It was almost two before they reached the restaurant. Shannon had a couple of errands to run before they headed to Shenanigans. When they got there, the lunch time rush was almost over. Amelia wasted no time, she grabbed an apron and got stuck into beginning the clean-up from the lunch crowd.

  “So Amelia,” Shay said as Amelia carried the last load of dishes into the kitchen. “How long do we get you for this time?”

  “I haven’t really decided yet,” she replied as she packed the dirty dishes into the large dish washer. “I spoke to Annie the other day and she said she would hold my job for me. Well for a while anyway.”

  “Then you’re going back,” Shay replied giving Amelia a sideways glance.

  “I haven’t decided yet,” Amelia said as she stood back up and smiled at Shay. She knew her parents, most likely her dad had put him up to giving her the first degree. “And you can tell my dad, when you report back to him, that when I do decide, he will be the first to know.”

  “He is just worried about you,” Shay replied, blushing a little that Amelia had seen straight through his questions.


  “I know,” she said as she walked over to Shay and kissed him on the cheek. “But you can tell him, there is nothing for him to worry about. I’m okay.”

  “Okay,” he replied, giving her a big bear hug. “We just don’t like seeing our girl sad. And I may be old and stupid, but I know when my ray of sunshine is sad.”

  “I’m okay, honestly,” Amelia said with a smile. “So stop worrying.”

  The afternoon flew by, and gave way to a busy evening. Amelia enjoyed the distraction. She barely thought of Mason all afternoon. For the first time in a week, she felt happy. She liked to keep busy, even though she was tired, she felt good. Better than she had all week.

  “My feet hurt,” Amelia said to Jilly, as the two of them slipped into a booth at the back for a short ten-minute break. “We are certainly busy this evening.”

  “It’s because we are coming into the summer season,” Jilly replied. “It always gets busy at this time of the year. You’ve just been away too long.”

  “Well I’m home now,” Amelia said and she took a long sip of her coffee. “And I am happy to help out any time.”

  “And are you staying for good?” Jilly asked watching Amelia closely as she dropped her eyes down to her coffee. “Amelia, you forget I have known you all your life. And you can tell everyone that you are okay until you are blue in the face, but you aren’t fooling me. I know something happened. I also know you don’t want your mom and dad fussing over you, suffocating you like when…well you know when. I just want you to know, if you want to talk, I won’t repeat a word.”

  “Thanks Jilly,” Amelia said with a grateful smile.

  “I know something has happened,” she continued. “And I know you. You will bottle it up, thinking that’s the best way to deal with it. I just want you to promise me that when you are ready to talk, you will come find me.”

  “I promise,” Amelia said as she reached over and took Jilly’s hand.

  “When you two ladies of leisure are ready,” Charlie said with a grin. “There is a customer in booth three waiting to place his order.”