All Time Love

by Beverley Hollowed

  It was almost ten when Mason and Amelia said that they should be heading back to the hotel. Mason knew Charlie was sad that Amelia wasn’t going back to their home with them, but he settled for her and Mason agreeing to come by for breakfast the next day.

  Amelia hugged her mom and dad one more time before she climbed into Mason’s car and Mason couldn’t help but feel pleased about the broad smile that was now on Amelia’s face.

  They drove back towards the hotel in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Mason was the first to speak.

  “You seem a lot happier,” Mason finally said as he stole a glance at Amelia before he turned his eyes back to the road.

  “I feel a lot happier,” Amelia replied as she smiled over at him.

  “You don’t know how happy that makes me,” Mason said as the car came to a stop at a red light. He looked over at Amelia and took hold of her hand. “From now on, everything is going to be okay, I promise you.”

  He leaned across and softly kissed Amelia.

  Suddenly there was a loud bang and their car was jolted forward.

  “What the hell?” Mason exclaimed and looked over at Amelia. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah…” She began to say when the car was hit again from behind and was jolted forward once again. Amelia looked over at Mason, with sheer terror etched across her face. “MASON, WHAT’S HAPPENING?”

  “HOLD ON!” Mason yelled as he tried to put the car in gear, but before he could, the car was forced forward from behind once again, but this time it was pushed through the red light and out into the intersection. Then there was nothing.

  Amelia looked up at Mason and screamed as there was the sound of a loud horn, followed by a deafening noise. Mason tried to reach for Amelia, but it felt like they were flying through the air and he couldn’t get to her.

  For a moment, the only sound Mason could hear was his own breathing and Amelia’s scream, followed by another loud crash. Mason could feel his body strain against the seatbelt of his car then a sharp pain shot through his head, before everything went black.

  The sound of sirens in the distance, woke Mason. He felt disorientated and every part of his body seems to ache. He had no idea what had just happened.

  He tried to think, to remember. He was in the restaurant with Amelia, and they were going back to the hotel.

  AMELIA! He thought suddenly as panic washed over him.

  “AMELIA!” Mason called out as he turned and saw her slumped against the door. She didn’t move a muscle, nor did she make a sound. “AMELIA! TALK TO ME!”

  Still she didn’t move.

  “AMELIA!” Mason shouted out in desperation once again. “STAY WITH ME! PLEASE! HELP IS ON THE WAY!”

  He tried to reached out and touch her but his seat belt had him pinned. He needed to get to her.

  “AMELIA!!”

  Chapter 30

  Amelia slowly opened her eyes, and groaned. Her head felt like it was going to explode and her vision was blurry.

  “Ouch,” She moaned as she tried to move. Every inch of her body hurt.

  “Amelia,” her mother’s voice said from beside her. “Sweetheart, you’re okay. Everything is okay.”

  “Where am I?” Amelia croaked as her vision cleared a little. She could see her mother smiling at her, but there was worry in her eyes. Next to her mom was her dad, and he had a look of concern, mixed with relief on his face. “What happened?”

  “You’re in the hospital,” Shannon explained as she softly stroked her daughters face. “You were in a car accident. You have a concussion and a nasty cut on your head, but you are okay. Everything is okay.”

  “An accident?” Amelia repeated as she tried to remember what happened. She was with Mason in the car, there was a loud bang. “MASON! WHERE IS MASON? I NEED TO GET UP.”

  Amelia tried to sit up in the bed. She needed to get to Mason.

  “Mason is okay, Sweetheart,” Charlie said as he moved closer to the bed and stopped her from getting up. “They finally persuaded him to go to x-ray but it wasn’t easy. He has refused to leave your side since you both got here, but he needed to be checked over, too. They think he has a couple of cracked ribs and maybe a broken wrist, but other than a couple of stitches on the head, he is okay. He was lucky, you both were.”

  As if on cue, the door to the room burst open and Mason appeared in the doorway. He looked like hell, covered in bruises and dried blood. His wrist was in plaster, and he looked about as good as Amelia felt, but she was never happier to see him as she was right in that moment.

  “Hey,” he said with a smile when his eyes meet hers. He hurried to her bedside and softly pressed his lips to hers. “You’re awake and you’re okay. God I was so worried about you.”

  “Are you okay?” Amelia asked as she slowly tried to move herself up in the bed, but winced with the pain.

  “I will be now that I know you are,” Mason replied sadly. “I am so sorry, Amelia.”

  “Why are you sorry?” Amelia asked as she lifted up her hand and carefully touched his face. “It was an accident. This wasn’t your fault.”

  Mason looked into her eyes, but didn’t reply.

  “It…it wasn’t an accident, was it?” Amelia said feeling a sickening knot form in her stomach. “Someone did this to us?”

  “Amelia,” Shannon said as she reached for her daughter’s hand. Amelia turned to look at her mother. “You don’t need to be worrying about that now…”

  “YES I DO!” She cried as she pulled her hand free from her mother’s and turned back to Mason. “I want to know, did someone do this to us?”

  “The police pulled the traffic cameras from the area,” Mason explained and Amelia knew it was killing him to admit this to her. “It showed a black truck, with no plate driving up behind us and smashing right into us. It backed up and hit us again, then it pushed our car out into the intersection, into oncoming traffic, before it finally sped off.”

  “Oh my God!” Amelia cried as she tried take in what he had just said. She closed her eyes and she remembered the sound of the horn and the head lights of the car that struck them while they were in the centre of the intersection.

  “The police found the truck burnt out about thirty minutes after the accident,” Mason continued. “The police have begun a murder investigation. The driver of the second car that hit us died at the scene.”

  “Why would someone do this? Why would they do that to us?” Amelia said as she closed to eyes and tried to fight back the tears. Then the thought occurred to her. The baby.

  She opened her eyes and instinctively her hand went to her stomach. She looked up at Mason and she couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.

  “The baby is okay,” Mason said with a smile as he placed his hand over hers.

  “You know about the baby?” Amelia asked as the tears trickled down her face.

  “The doctor told me,” Mason replied as he reached up and brushed the tears from her face. “She assumed I already knew. Why didn’t you tell me Amelia?”

  “I… I didn’t know how,” Amelia whispered. “I just found out. I’m sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for?” he said as he smiled and softly brushed her hair back from her face. “I already told you, how long we are together shouldn’t matter. All that matters is that we love each other Amelia, and I do love you.”

  “I love you too,” she replied with a smile, through her tears.

  “We are going to have a baby,” Mason said with a smile before he tenderly kissed Amelia on the lips.

  Amelia turned and looked over at her mom and dad. She knew her mom would support her, no matter what, but she was nervous about her how her father would take the news. He was still trying to get his head around her and Mason. She was sure he would freak out.

  The moment her eyes met his, he smiled and Amelia felt the relief wash over her.

  “So I am going to be a grandpa,” he said as he leaned forward and took her hand. Suddenly his smile faded. “Amelia,
I am so sorry for how I behaved the past few weeks.”

  “I know you are, Dad,” Amelia quickly replied. “We have put it behind us now.”

  “No, it’s just…” he paused as he searched for the right words. “What if we hadn’t cleared the air today? What if you had have been killed in that car?”

  “But I wasn’t,” Amelia replied, as she gave his hand a squeeze. “Everything is okay.”

  “Okay,” he said as he gave her a look and a smile that told her everything really was okay between them again.

  A while later, Shannon and Charlie said they were going to get a coffee and left Mason and Amelia alone in the room.

  “Finally,” Mason said with a laugh. “I got you to myself.”

  He climbed up on the bed next to Amelia and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

  “Are you sure you are okay about the baby?” She asked, nervous without opening her eyes.

  “I won’t lie,” Mason replied. “When the doctor said the baby was okay, I was more than a little shocked. But then I thought, that baby is a part of me and a part of you. Plus, it survived tonight. We all did, and so I think that proves it is meant to be. So yes, I am very okay with the baby.”

  Amelia lifted up her head and looked at Mason.

  “Every time I think I couldn’t possibly love you more,” she said with a bright smile. “You prove me wrong.”

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door and before either Mason or Amelia could reply, the door opened and a very concerned looking Sadie, followed closely by Andrew came rushing into the room.

  “Sadie,” Mason said as he got up from the bed. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Of course I was going to come,” she said as she hurried up to Mason and kissed him on the head, and then she turned and kissed Amelia. “When Andrew called and said he was coming up; I knew I needed to come too.”

  “But I am fine,” Mason laughed. “We are both fine. There was no need to come.”

  “You are my boy,” Sadie said as she took his face in her hands and gave him a warm smile. “It’s my job to be here. Besides, I wanted to see for myself that you were both okay.”

  “Well I am glad you are here,” Mason smiled and kissed her cheek.

  “Hey,” Andrew said as he too hugged Mason and Amelia smiled. She was happy Mason had a family that loved him as much as her parents loved her. She thought about how Mason had once told her that everyone he loved, left, but they hadn’t. Those who truly loved him were right here in front of him, and they were going nowhere. She just wished he could see that the way she did.

  “Glad to see you awake and okay,” Andrew said as he turned to Amelia. “When Mason called and said you were unconscious, it had us all so worried.”

  “I’m fine, thank you, Andrew,” Amelia said as he kissed her on the cheek. Then she whispered. “But I am glad you came. He needs you.”

  “Well, I am here now,” Andrew replied before he stood up and smiled at Amelia. Then he turned to Mason and gave him a strange look.

  “Can we talk for a moment?” Andrew said then added. “Outside.”

  “Sure,” Mason said giving Amelia an equally strange look and a nervous smile as he leaned down to kiss her. “I will just be outside the door, I will be right back, I promise.”

  “I will be here,” she replied with a smile and watched as Mason walked towards the door, followed closely by Andrew. Something about the expression on Andrew’s face troubled Amelia. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew that whatever it was he had to tell Mason, it wasn’t going to be good news.

  “Try not to worry,” Sadie said, when she saw the look on Amelia’s face. “I know it’s hard with everything that has happened, but worrying is not good for you or for the little one.”

  Amelia turned to Sadie, and looked at her in surprise, she hadn’t expected Mason to have told anyone yet.

  “You know about the baby?” Amelia asked, trying to hide the surprise from her voice.

  “I most certainly do,” she said with a smile. “When Mason called to tell us what happened, he told me. He was so upset and worried about you.”

  “He thinks this is his fault,” Amelia sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to change how he felt.

  “That’s because he loves you,” Sadie replied as she took the seat next to the bed and took Amelia’s hand. “You have become his whole world, and now you are having his baby, you are his family. His real family.”

  “So are you,” Amelia replied.

  “Oh, I know Mason loves me,” Sadie smiled but still she seemed a little sad. “He loves us all, but to him there is something missing. I think that his mother and his father each took a little piece of him when they left.”

  Amelia just sat and listened to the woman sitting in front of her, talking about the man she loved more than anything else in this whole world.

  “I think Mason doesn’t believe he deserves to be loved,” Sadie explained. “He doesn’t believe he is worthy.”

  “That is so stupid,” Amelia said as she brushed the tears from her eyes.

  “You having this baby,” Sadie said with a smile. “This has made Mason’s dream come true, and if I am honest, I think it was a dream he was afraid to want, because he thought he would never be worthy of having it.”

  “He is so worthy,” Amelia said with a gentle sob, as her heart broke for the man she loved. “He has become my world too.”

  “Good,” Sadie said with a smile. “I just ask you bear with him. He is going to make mistakes and he is going to get it wrong, but everything he will do, is because he loves you more than life itself.”

  “I will,” Amelia said with a smile. “I promise.”

  Chapter 31

  When Mason stepped outside of Amelia’s room, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for what Andrew was about to tell him. He knew Andrew well enough to know the expression on his face was not a good sign.

  “It’s not good Mason,” Andrew said. “I talked to one of my CIs and word on the street is, Simone was behind the crash tonight.”

  “So you have picked her up,” Mason said like it was an open and shut case. “You have her in custody.”

  “It’s not that simple, Mason, you know that,” Andrew sighed with frustration. “We can’t arrest her for just rumours, we need proper evidence if we are going to lock her away for good. We need to do this by the book. There is no room for any mistakes.”

  “Andrew, she tried to have us killed!” Mason hissed back, angrily. “She tried to kill Amelia. What if I had lost her? What if she had lost the baby? This isn’t about doing things by the book, this is personal.”

  “Don’t you think I know that, Mace?” Andrew exclaimed. “Don’t you think I wouldn’t have loved to go to her home and drag her out in cuffs, but we need to do this right.”

  “So what I am supposed to do in the mean time?” Mason asked, feeling the desperation taking hold of him. “Sit around and wait for her to kill me? Or worse still, kill Amelia?”

  “Mason,” Andrew said and Mason could see the fear in his eyes. “Promise me you will do nothing stupid.”

  “I can’t make that promise, Drew,” Mason said honestly, looking his best friend in the eye. “Because I can’t sit by and wait for one of her goons to destroy my life. You’re asking too much.”

  “And you getting locked up, will destroy it too,” Andrew argued.

  “DON’T YOU GET IT?” Mason shouted angrily, before he stopped and took a deep breath. “I would rather be locked up, than lose Amelia. If she were to die, I would be better off dead too.”

  “Mason,” Andrew said as he reached out and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I understand, I swear to God, I do. All I am asking is for you to give me a little time. We will figure this out together.”

  “She isn’t going to stop until I am dead,” Mason sighed sadly giving his friend a pleading look. “And I am afraid,
Amelia will get caught up in this mess again, and the next time, I will lose her.”

  When Mason went back into the Amelia’s room a short while later, he tried his hardest to act like everything was okay, but inside he knew he wasn’t pulling it off. She was watching him closely and he could see the worry written all over her face.

  It was almost four in the morning, when Amelia’s parents said they were going to head home and sort things for her, for when she was released later that day. Mason insisted Andrew took Sadie to his and Amelia’s hotel room for her to get some rest, too.

  Sadie had wanted him to go to the hotel with them, but he refused to leave Amelia’s side. There was no way he was leaving her alone here in the hospital. He needed to know she was safe.

  When they were finally alone, Mason climbed back up onto Amelia’s bed next to her, and pulled her into his arms. He held her close to him, despite the fact that it was hurting his cracked ribs. Mason didn’t care, he just wanted to hold her, and know she was safe.

  “Are you okay?” She asked as she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. He thought about what he should tell her. He knew that he needed to be honest with her, however he couldn’t seem to find the words.

  Part of him wondered for the briefest of moments, would she be better off if he just walked away. If he just let her go. At least then she would be safe, and so would the baby. But even as the thought went through his mind, he knew he loved her too much to stay away.

  “Things are bad,” Amelia continued and Mason could feel his heart drop when he saw the fear in her face. “Aren’t they? This isn’t over yet.”

  “There is nothing for you to worry about,” Mason replied and forced a smile. He needed to protect her and that meant not worrying her as well. “I am taking care of everything, I promise.”

  “Why do you do that?” Amelia sighed impatiently as she sat up. “Why do you feel like you need to wrap me in cotton wool?”