When Its Least Expected

by Heather Van Fleet

  They jumped into their seats and frantically sped away, squealing their tires in wake.

  Mason edged his own car along, following them a good four car lengths behind. His heart

  thundered, knocking the breath from his lungs. Something had happened to her. He was sure of it.

  The sound of his suddenly reappearing cell phone rattled his ears. He picked it up and

  checked the ID. Maisy. He scoffed. It was funny how as soon as they left the party, the thing instantly showed up in Mason’s seat. It took him all of two minutes to put it together. Kylee had sabotaged him.

  “Yeah, mouse, what’s up?”

  “Oh God, Mase. I’m so glad you finally found your phone. It’s weird because mine just

  appeared in my purse. I know I looked there at least a hundred times and—”

  “What do you want, Maisy? I’m kind of busy right now.”

  “Where are you, Mason? Are you okay?” Rubbing his eyes with a fist, he only half

  listened to his sister. He was struggling to stay conscious while he kept up with Harley’s parents’

  car.

  “I’m fine. What’s up?”

  “Christ, I’m so glad. I’ve been a mess worrying about you. I told mom that you’re staying

  at a friend’s house tonight, so you don’t need to worry about her.” Mason cringed. He hadn’t even thought about his mom. Thank God he had Maisy in his corner.

  “Thanks, mouse. But hey, I’ve gotta go. I think something’s happened to Harley because

  I’m following her parents’ car somewhere. They’re in huge ass hurry.” Silence greeted him. Oh hell, she knew something. “What’s up, Maisy? What are you not telling me here?”

  “You’re right. Something’s happened, Mase. It’s … bad.”

  “Christ, I knew it. What the hell? Tell me!” His voice rose as he pounded against the

  steering wheel.

  God dammit! It was his fault! He was the one that hurt her. He changed lanes, not giving

  a shit about being seen by Harley’s parents anymore.

  “I just got a call from Abigail,” she paused, her quiet sigh made the hair on Mason’s neck

  rise.

  “What is it, Maisy? Jesus, just tell me.”

  “She went back to that party, Mason.” Shit, no …no, no, no. It was that Toby guy, he

  knew it. His insides curled as he cursed, pounding the wheel harder with his fist. If that asshole hurt her, then Mason would be spending the remainder of his life in jail … for murder. “And she had too much to drink, and she took these pills that interacted badly with the alcohol, and now

  …”

  Mason started laughing with no real humor in his body as he listened to his sister ramble

  on about Harley drinking too much beer and overdosing on pills. That was the most idiotic thing he’d ever heard. He pulled his car into park and headed as quickly towards the entrance as his crippled body would let him.

  “You’re an f’ed up moron, Mason. Why in the hell are you laughing? You’ve lost it …

  completely! I’m freaking dead-as-a-zombie, serious here. She’s in the hospital as we speak,”

  Mason’s heart stopped. This wasn’t happening, not to his strong-willed, braver than shit,

  raise you up when you’re down little beast! She couldn’t be, but as he pulled his hoodie over his head and sneakily watched her parents speak to a receptionist, the reality of the situation hit him full force. He fought the one sob he would allow. He had to get his shit together. He had to be strong for her.

  “Mase, talk to me here...”

  “I’m here,” he whispered, staying hidden in the door shadows. He couldn’t follow them.

  They might not let him go in if they found out what had happened. “How did this happen,

  Maisy? Where did she get the pills?” Better yet, why did she have them in the first place?

  “You honestly didn’t know she was on them?” Mason shook his head, even though he

  knew his sister couldn’t see him. She answered him anyways, “Well, you need to talk to her, Mason. Get your ass to that hospital, and talk to her. It’s not a simple explanation.”

  He shook his head. Nothing was ever simple. Maisy continued to call out his name, but

  he swiped the end key and tucked it back into his pocket.

  He was done talking.

  He walked through the double glass doors of the hospital making his way towards the

  receptionist table. The grey-haired middle aged man directed him to the right area when Mason asked him to point him toward the emergency room.

  He stepped off the elevator and onto the second floor lobby. He paused, hoping he didn’t

  look too creepy with his beat-up looking face and his hooded head just as he made the final steps towards the hallway.

  The place was eerily quiet, nothing compared to the hospital ER back home. Nobody

  seemed to notice him as he made his way down the hall. Several times, he had to stretch a hand out against the wall, just to hold his crippled body into an upright. He was hurting. His ribs were on fire, and the dizziness in his head was almost consuming his vision. He had to get to Harley.

  Nothing could stop him from seeing her.

  Abigail was the first person he saw. She was leaning against a window, sipping on

  something from a Styrofoam cup, coffee maybe. He didn’t know, nor did he care. Her face,

  unlike his own, was emotionless when she caught sight of him. She sat her cup down on a table and looked around her before narrowing the distance between them.

  The closer he got, the more he could see the emotion there in her blue eyes – hatred. Shit, she was supposed to be the easiest of the five to face too. “Where is she? I need to see her,”

  Mason pleaded desperately as his voice carried throughout the lobby. The few people

  surrounding them glanced their way, but he didn’t give two shits anymore.

  “Mason, jeez. Be quiet. You can’t see her right now anyways, so just chillax.”

  “I don’t give a shit if the cops come to cart me away. I have to see her … NOW!”

  Abigail sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. She nodded her head backwards, and

  Mason’s eyes widened as he stared at the closed door. Her parents were leaving with the doctor.

  Her mom’s face was tear-filled. Her dad’s was just as anguished minus the tears.

  “She's sleeping, under a sedative actually. She’s kind of messed up right now, Mason,

  and I’m not sure it’s a good idea for her to see you.”

  She looked down at her hands, wringing them together against her waist. Mason tensed

  up, struggling to keep himself in check. He had to see her if only to say goodbye.

  Not listening to Abigail’s advice, Mason pushed around her, moving slowly but steadily

  towards her room.

  “They need this time together as a family, Mason!” Abigail shouted at his backside.

  “She’s my family too Abigail … I love her.”

  Abigail gasped but didn’t respond to his confession. He grinned around his torn lip. His

  own heart felt miraculously lighter after finally admitting the words out loud.

  Now, if only he could gain the courage to tell Harley, then he was sure everything would

  be okay.

  The beeping of the monitors was the first thing Mason heard as he snuck inside her room.

  He let the door click shut behind him as he slowly moved forward, his feet slow, his heart racing.

  He was a little shocked that there was nobody in the room with her. He’d seen her parents leave with the doctor, but he was sure David would be there at least.

  He tiptoed forward as his heart thrummed heavily in his ears, and with shaky hands, he

  pushed back the blue waffled curtain that separated him from her.

  His eyes widened. A low moan fell from his mouth. She wa
s the perfect sleeping Snow

  White, so pale and still as she slept in her bed, her black hair covered her pillow. He exhaled his ragged breath as he progressed forward. She was safe and peaceful looking. She was gorgeous, magnificent.

  Hundreds of tiny crickets had taken up shop in his stomach jumping like wild beasts,

  torturing and tickling him at the exact same time. God, there was no doubt in his mind at that point that he was madly and desperately in love with her.

  He moved even closer, just near enough to grab her cold hand. He brought it to his lips

  and kissed the hell out it, marveling in the softness of her fingers which were alarmingly cold.

  He had to keep looking over at the monitors to count her heartbeats, just to make sure she was still with him. Shit, he’d never been this paranoid before!

  He shook his head as he sat down next to her brushing a hand over her forehead, noting

  how her normally paled skin looked even whiter than before. Her tiny freckles were so adorably cute, standing out more than ever on her cheeks.

  Tubes hung precariously from her nose and chest. They rose and fell in tune with her

  breaths. Uncharacteristic tears fell from Mason’s eyes he leaned forward to kiss the enormous welt that covered her forehead. So much for fighting his sobs. He counted fifteen stiches total across her head, and he traced the edges with his fingertips before pulling back.

  “What are you doing here, Mason?” He jumped, cringing in pain as he moved towards

  the head of her bed. He lowered his hand on the table to stay balanced. Slowly, he turned around to face Mrs. Anderson, fearful of her reaction to his battered face.

  Like expected, she squeaked, throwing her hand over her mouth. “Oh, my God. What

  happened to your face, Mason? Do you need a doctor? I’m going to go get one right now! You wait here, young man.” Before Mason had a chance to stop her, she was out the door, and papers from the bedside table fell in her wake.

  In her place sat Harley’s brother, his eyes narrowed, his chin tucked into his chest. Mad

  rage was evident on his face the longer he stared up at him, but Mason shook it off. He didn’t blame David for feeling that way. Shit, he was actually kind of glad that the dude beat the crap out of him. It was a good wakeup call. It showed Mason just how much of a worthless piece of crap he’d most definitely become.

  “I’m sorry, Mason, about what happened, but you shouldn’t be here. You’re the reason

  she wound up here in the first place.” His words were true, but they hurt. His throat was terribly close to shutting down from his choking tears.

  “There’s nothing going on between me and that Kylee girl. You need to know that, and

  Harley does too when she wakes up and stuff, alright? Please?” David’s eyes narrowed even

  more as Mason gestured towards Harley’s form.

  David didn’t answer, but he did nod once.

  Good. Maybe he’d pass along the message after all.

  He limped carefully back towards the head of her bed, thankful that David had chosen not

  to go all postal on his ass again. Carefully and painfully, he leaned over to kiss her forehead once more, smiling as the warmth of her head heated his chilled lips. He closed his eyes as he inhaled her strawberry scent once more. His lips tingled as he held them there, taking in this one last moment for his own selfish purposes

  It could have been minutes or hours that passed. Hell, he didn’t know, nor did he even

  care that her brother hovered angrily nearby growling at him under his breath. Walking away from Harley was going to be an impossible feat, so he had to take what little he could with him.

  How was he going to be able to stay away from the one thing that made sense in his now

  senseless life?

  With his balled up hand carefully tucked at his side, he finally found the strength to pull his lips away from her face although his heart protested immediately. David be damned, he was going to get in his goodbye though. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispered to her, his tears fell at an alarming rate against his cheeks. “I love you so, so much.” When the words came out, choking him, scaring him, he literally lost every tear he’d been holding onto for six months.

  Why hadn’t he said those words to her sooner? Oh yeah, that’s right. He didn’t deserve to

  hear them back.

  Reluctantly Mason examined the steady rise and fall of her chest once more, just to be

  sure that she was going to be okay. He turned, completely terrified at the prospect of what was to come next just as David reached for the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

  Mason looked down at his hand, but not his face. “Mason, I’ll take care of her, but you have to stay away. Forever. You’re no good for her.” Mason swallowed hard and nodded. Yeah, he knew this, even if it killed him.

  “Just tell her…” That I love her. That I will always be with her. No matter what. “Tell her to get better.” Mason nodded. He knew what she needed. Mason didn’t.

  She was in that bed because of him. He’d never get beyond the guilt of that. It was just

  like the guilt that he harbored over his father’s death, so he didn’t need a lecture to know the truth. Everyone who loved Mason always ended up leaving him or getting hurt by him, and if he wanted Harley to have a chance at living her life normally without any more heartbreak and pain, then he had to walk away and never look back.

  Shit. It was going to hurt like a son of a bitch.

  ***

  Tears glistened in his eyes like tiny little icicles that were melting away from his lids.

  Fear was a bitch, and Harley was filled with it as he leaned over her and kissed her head. This felt too much like a goodbye. Why was he telling her goodbye? He just told her he loved her, hadn’t he? She loved him too. She needed him to know that, but her throat was closed. No words could leak out.

  She knew he didn’t cheat on her. She had always known. She only wished she could have

  said something sooner. Then this mess wouldn’t be happening.

  With one last sad glance, Mason turned on his heels and slowly made his way to the

  door. Dread washed over her, and she clung to the edges of her sheets. Still, no words left her mouth. She was frozen, as if her body had become paralyzed and stuck in an alternate universe where moving and talking wasn’t possible.

  Mason looked back over his shoulder once more and was gone as she blinked away her

  final lingering tears.

  Why was he leaving? He couldn’t leave. If he walked out that door, she knew without a

  doubt that he wouldn’t be back.

  “Shh, sweetheart, you’re okay. Please don’t cry. Your daddy and I are here.” Harley

  opened her eyes taking in the hovering, tear-filled face of her mother. Her hands shook as she brought them to Harley’s face, rubbing away the wetness that had found a home upon her

  cheeks. Good, it was just a nightmare.

  “Mom?” Harley replied, pushing up on the bed to sit up straighter. Dizziness

  consumed her vision forcing her to lower her head back down onto the pillow.

  Her eyes were scratchy like sandpaper. How long had she been asleep? She forced them

  open completely, cringing as the fluorescent hospital lights beamed menacingly down at her.

  With her head pounding and her throat feeling as if it had been lit with straight up fire,

  Harley slowly raised her hand to feel the itching, pulling sensation against her forehead. Stitches.

  Nice. That’s also when the memories struck.

  Not everything was a cut and dry, but the basics were. That was enough to know that

  Harley had, once again, screwed up.

  The pills and downing drink after drink until everything around her ceased to exist.

  Mason, that girl, crap. Her insides twitched with anxiety. Her heart continued to ache.

  Jesus, what had sh
e done?

  “We were so worried about you. God. Please, Harley Ann, don’t ever do anything like

  that again!” Her dad reached down, clutching one of her hands between both of his.

  “Daddy, where’s David and Abigail?” she croaked, ignoring his obvious disappointment.

  Her voice was barely even a whisper. She lifted her free hand, rubbing the front of her neck in an attempt to soothe the scratchy ache inside.

  “They’re out in the lobby with a couple of your other friends, sweetie,” her dad sighed.

  His voice was gentle and soft compared to his normal gruff.

  Her mom reached over and spooned out a few ice chips from a nearby cup, bringing them

  to Harley’s mouth. Harley accepted them, mouth open wide, as she marveled in the coolness that dripped down her throat.

  “ What about Mason? Is he here?” Her heartbeat tripled. Her dream, was it real? Had he really left her for good?

  “No, sweetheart. He’s not…” The corners of her mother’s mouth turned down. Her entire

  face whispered secrets that apparently her mouth didn’t seem to want to share.

  “Well, was he here earlier, at least? Something happened last night between us, and I

  kind of overreacted about it,” she swallowed, messing with a loose thread at the neck of her hospital gown. “We had had a fight, kind of, and I have to let him know that everything’s okay now. It’s important that he knows that I’m not mad at him. Can I just, like, call him? Please?”

  Harley’s pleading voice turned frantic as she gaped between her parents’ stoic faces.

  Her mom cleared her throat. Her eyes were hooded, dark, and fearful. What was she

  scared of, Harley cracking? Falling apart? Hell, if they didn’t tell her soon, then she’d do just that!

  “He was here, honey, right after you arrived but then had to leave again. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, I’ve got to call him. Did he go home? Where’s my cell?” Harley looked towards

  her dad, bypassing her mom altogether. He’d be the first to give in.

  “No. It’s not possible. You need to sleep. I’ll have Abigail … phone him to let him know

  you’re awake,” her dad’s voice turned short and angry, not the dad reaction she’d expected.