“My mom and dad think that I’m not spending enough time on my studies,” I said with a sigh. “They know I’m working on a secret art project for school, but I haven’t told them it’s for the senior class present. I wanted to surprise them, but my mom wants me to drop it. She thinks it’s affecting my mental health.”
To be fair, I couldn’t be mad at my mom for suggesting I drop the sculpture. I had been feeling down the last few days, but it had nothing to do with my studies or art. Things had gotten out of control in that gymnasium with Mason. I’d allowed myself to feel things that I had no right to feel. He wasn’t mine and never would be. He had Polly, and I had a research project and art camp.
But as much as I reminded myself of that, I couldn’t seem to pull myself out of this funky mood. Gone was Perky Trina. In her place was emo Trina who pushed the snooze on her alarm five times and had the sudden desire to dress all in black. Smiling wasn’t as easy anymore. And it felt like the force of gravity had doubled.
Class with Mason had become ridiculously hard, although the only one I could blame for that was me. I was the one putting as much space as I could between us. Avoiding eye contact. Staying a million miles away from any physical contact that could set me off. All conversation either focused on welding or my research project.
Everything else was off limits.
And although I know he didn’t mean to, Mason was making everything worse. There were no more biting comments or grumpy comebacks. No more growling over my incessant need to smile. I could’ve handled that. I would’ve preferred that. But lately, it seemed like he’d gotten it into his head that he had to be nice to me. Sweet, even. And I just couldn’t take one more of his hopeful half-smiles from across our library table as he tried and failed to start up another conversation.
That boy was going to be the end of me.
“Well...you do seem a little off,” Charley said, bringing my thoughts back to the chemo ward. Her eyes darted across the room and back to me, as if she was afraid of anyone hearing us. “Honestly, I think you need a good show down between you and your folks. Seriously. You’re seventeen. It’s time they stopped controlling every little aspect of your life. You need to do what you want for a change.”
The passion in her voice made me smile. Charley could talk a big game, but I’d met her family. She was the youngest of five kids with two adoring parents who worked double shifts just to pay for her treatments. I was pretty sure she’d fly to the moon and back for them, if they asked.
“It’ll be fine. If I can just get back on the plan,” I said, gesturing with my hands, “then everything will work out.”
Charley rolled her eyes. “Ugh...the plan.”
I chuckled. “What’s wrong with having a plan?”
“You have plans for everything. Most people have a five-year plan, but I’m pretty sure you’ve got your next forty years figured out.”
I scrunched up my nose. “That’s not true. I don’t have plans for everything.”
“What’s on your wall at home?” She arched her eyebrows, a challenge reflecting in her eyes. “Something called a vision board? Yeah, still a plan. You know, not everything has to follow a plan. Sometimes, it’s nice to do a little off-roading.”
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I shook my head at Charley. Okay, so she was kind of right. A vision board was a plan for my year, and my parents already had half of my life planned out. But those goals and objectives were what kept me grounded. Kept me motivated and sane. This whole thing with Mason was affecting me because I’d gone rogue from Project Happiness. If I could just get back on track, everything would go back to normal.
“You know...” Charley walked her fingers across the armrest and flicked at a piece of fuzz. Her eyes darted up to my face and then back to the floor. “There’s a party going on tonight at Savannah Keys’ house. Might just be a perfect chance to go off-roading...”
I snorted. I’d heard about Savannah’s party. It happened every year around this time. All of the athletic teams would be there. It was their way of pumping up their excitement before our rival game this week. Audrey and Mandy had been talking about it for weeks.
“And just how do you know about that, young lady?”
“Rock Valley Biz posted it on their Instagram yesterday,” she said matter-of-factly and holding up her phone. “Everyone who’s anyone will be there.”
I crossed my arms. “I won’t.”
“You should!” She looked at me with wide eyes, as if I were throwing a million dollar lottery ticket away. “And then you can report back to me next week. You know that you’re my only source of entertainment. I can’t live without some gossip. You have to do my off-roading for me, Trina. You have to!”
“No, thank you. I’ve done enough off-roading for the year,” I said, picking my magazine back up to flip through the pages.
I knew her tricks. She’d lay on the guilt until I gave in, just like the spin-the-bottle game that got us into this whole mess to begin with.
Charley pursed her lips and crossed her arms in the perfect example of a grumpy toddler. I held in my laughter, knowing that it would only fuel the flames. Besides, today was a happy day. She’d just finished her second-to-last dose of chemo. Pretty soon, she wouldn’t need me anymore and she really could do her own off-roading.
“You’re all good to go, sweetheart.” Charley’s nurse smiled down at her and patted her arm. “Time to call it a day. Your mom’s here to take you home.”
“And just in time.” I stood from my chair and stretched out my stiff legs. If I got out of here fast enough, Charley wouldn’t have time to try and guilt me into anything else I’d regret. “I’m starving and I’ve got a mountain of homework to get done before Monday. See you next time, Charley. I’ll bring the sparkling grape juice to celebrate. Say hi to your family from me.” I pulled her into a hug and headed toward the door.
“Hey you, don’t forget to forget the plan,” Charley called behind me.
I shook my head and smiled, refusing to look back at her as I exited the chemo ward. That girl was a troublemaker, in all the best sort of ways. Once she actually made it to Rock Valley High, they’d better watch out. There was no stopping Charley from hopping straight to the top of the high school pecking order.
As I made my way into the lobby of the hospital, someone familiar caught my eye, causing my pulse to quicken. It was Mason, heading toward a side hallway. He wore a hardened expression, his gaze glued to the floor in front of him. This was officially the third time I’d run into him at the hospital. If it wasn’t for his mom walking next to him in her blue nursing scrubs, I would’ve accused him of stalking me. They were probably on their way to get some food, just like me.
My feet froze and suddenly a thought occurred to me. Call it destiny or call it fate, but if there was one way to get back on track, it was to get on with the next step of Project Happiness. Step three in my notebook was addressing Mason’s hatred for all things social. Polly was a social girl. She was a cheerleader, for goodness’ sake. It was in her DNA. The one way to prove to Polly that Mason wanted her back was to put him out there.
And Charley had just given me the perfect opportunity.
“Mason! Wait!”
I ran after him and called his name again, but he didn’t hear me. Instead, he and his mom went through a doorway to the right. Without thinking, I hurried after them. I was so excited to be back on the plan that I couldn’t slow myself down. Not even when a nurse yelled at me to stop running. There was no time. It wasn’t until I turned into the doorway and landed smack dab into something tall and solid did everything come to a screeching halt.
“What the—?” Mason spun and looked down at me as I lay dizzy on the floor. The impact with his back had knocked the skittles right out of me. “Trina, what are you doing here?”
“Just finished another session with Charley,” I said, rubbing my throbbing head. A guilty smile pulled at my lips. “I yelled at you in the lobby, but I guess you d
idn’t hear me. Didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.”
He offered a hand and pulled me off the ground. For a second, we stood nearly eye to eye, my hand in his. Electricity coursed up my arm and down my back. Emotions whirled in his eyes as his jaw muscles worked. What had I come here to do? Oh yeah, get back on plan. I released his hand and took a step back, letting out a nervous laugh.
“I actually ran after you to invite you to a party tonight.”
He grimaced and wiped a hand over the back of his head. “A party?”
“Yeah, Savannah’s annual event. Her parents go to Mexico or something and she gets the run of the house.”
Mason stared at me hard as the blood began to pool in my cheeks. I cut my gaze away and watched the floor. For all this talk with Charley about not going off-roading, my heart sure was pulling me in a dangerous direction. It was begging to be set loose. To feel Mason’s touch again. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, drawing my attention back to him. He crossed his arms over his puffed up chest and narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t talk to me all week, won’t hardly look at me, and suddenly now you’re inviting me to a party?”
I winced. I’d been hoping that Mason hadn’t noticed the change between us. That he would be oblivious like most teen boys, but I guess that had been naive of me. I should’ve known better. Mason wasn’t that kind of guy.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling sweetly at him. Catch a fly with honey, that’s what my dad would always say. “You never know, it might actually be fun.”
His eyebrows arched and he stared at me for a full ten seconds as if I were a puzzle to be solved. I withered under the attention, my heart beating faster until it felt like a herd of thundering horses. If Mason said no, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. I might have to give up this whole dream of summer art camp.
“Trina?” Mason’s mom appeared at his elbow, her eyes wide with shock. She blinked a few times, then broke out into a smile that stretched clear across her face. “It’s so good of you to come and support Mason for his scan today. We really appreciate it.”
“Mom...” Mason’s hardened expression had dissolved into horror. His dark eyes darted between his mom and me, his mouth opening and shutting. “Don’t.”
Confusion filled my head. What scan was she talking about? I glanced around to see that we were in a small waiting room, with about a dozen arm chairs and a receptionist sitting behind a counter. This wasn’t the cafeteria. Mason wasn’t taking his mom to lunch.
“You know, it can be so scary waiting to hear back from these kinds of things,” his mom continued, running a hand across Mason’s back. She seemed deaf to her son’s grumblings.
“What kind of things?” I asked in a low voice. I was getting a bad feeling. It was like someone had replaced the lining of my stomach with lead.
“His CT scan,” she answered with a sad smile. “It may be nothing, but when you’ve already fought off cancer once as a kid, every little thing has to be checked up on.”
My world tilted on its axis.
Mason had cancer?
Mason tough-as-nails Finnick?
All this time, I’d assumed he’d lost his dad to cancer. But I’d been wrong. Dead wrong. It was no wonder he’d spent a lot of time in hospitals as a kid. Never had I imagined that this six-foot-tall boy with iron abs, killer moves on the court, and the best laugh I’ve ever heard had been so near death’s door. How could I have missed that?
“Oh dear, I’m guessing she didn’t know.” His mother’s voice sounded a mile off, along with Mason’s grunted confirmation. “I think I’ve frightened her. Maybe you should help her into a seat. I’ll go grab her some cold water.”
The room spun and black dots appeared in the corners of my vision. Mason grabbed my arm as I began to lean to one side. His concerned expression was all I could see as his mom’s words began to sink in.
“You have cancer?”
“Had cancer.” He led me to a chair and I fell into its cushy seat. “Are you feeling okay?”
I waved him away. It didn’t matter how I felt. How I felt was insignificant.
“When you talked about cancer camp, I’d assumed you’d lost your dad or something. Just like Polly.”
“My dad walked out on us when I was a baby,” he said with a shrug. “It’s always been just me and my mom. I was the one who got cancer. My mom thought camp would be good for me. Get me out of my funk. As you can probably tell, the funk is kind of permanent.”
I knew he was trying to be light and funny, but nothing he said was going to erase this feeling like the world was falling down around me. How could I have gotten this so wrong?
“How old were you when you got sick? What kind of cancer did you have? Can it really come back?”
He knelt in front of me, a bemused smile on his face. “I was seven and it was an osteosarcoma in my left arm. Luckily, they caught the cancer early enough that they were able to save it.”
I grabbed his arm and started feeling it for any bumps, any signs that something was wrong. How could I have been so blind? All along, I was worried about my own projects, my own problems, and Mason had been living with a terrible secret. I was so ashamed.
“Trina, stop.” He grabbed my hand and held it tight, forcing me to look him in the face. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Then why are you here, getting a CT?” I bit my lower lip, feeling a stinging sensation in my eyes. These emotions were hitting me so hard and fast I hardly knew whether to cry, faint, or break out into nervous giggles.
“Because I’ve had a little bit of shoulder pain recently and my mom freaks out about these kinds of things.” The left side of his mouth curled into a half smile. “The blood tests were inconclusive, but she won’t let me rest until she knows for sure. Even when I tell her that it’s from shooting too many free throws. Trust me, Trina, I’m fine.”
Blood tests? Suddenly, the Band-aid on his arm two weeks ago made sense. He’d been here to have his blood drawn for a lab test — not to donate blood. It had been a sign and I’d missed it. Totally and completely missed it.
Still, his words seemed to calm my racing heart. I nodded and swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat. All the while, his eyes searched my face. A conversation that we’d had outside the school gym returned to the forefront of my brain. It made sense now why Mason said his mom was afraid he’d break. That she’d lose him. She nearly had.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
I huffed. Again, he was all concerned about me when I should’ve been the one kneeling at his feet, offering to hold his hand through this trauma. “I’m fine.”
A teasing glint entered his eyes. “I refuse to believe it until I see that ridiculous Trina Frye smile back on your face. If I say yes to that party tonight, will it come back?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I might be a bit ridiculous, but he was the one holding my hand and bribing me with a party that had been my idea in the first place.
“See, there’s the smile.” He grinned up at me, his eyes sparkling. “I knew that would do it.”
He might have gotten me smiling again, but there were still so many questions bouncing around inside my skull.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had cancer?”
He shrugged and his fingers wrapped tighter around my hand. “It’s not something I like to spread around. People go all weird on me when they know I’ve been sick. I like it better when the only thing people talk about are my basketball skills.”
I nodded. It was no wonder he kept this secret under wraps. I could barely take it all in and here I was, sitting with him at the hospital. I’d never seen Mason as anything but an incredibly strong and healthy teenage boy, but now I knew there was another part to him. A part that was fragile and mortal. A part that could rear its ugly head at any minute.
“Mason Finnick,” a nurse called, standing near a side door with a chart in her
hands. Mason released my hand and jumped to his feet, his frown firmly back in place on his sculpted lips.
“I guess that’s us.” His mom appeared at my elbow and put a cup of water in my hands. She looked at me with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry that took so long; I couldn’t find a cup anywhere. Are you going to be okay, dear?”
Of course I was going to be okay. It was her son I was worried about. He was the only one that mattered.
“Yes, thank you.” I took a sip of water and then stood. This lobby was suddenly feeling cramped. I needed to get out. I needed to breathe.
“See you tonight?” Mason ran a hand over his head, ruffling his perfectly mussed hair, as he pinned me with his blue eyes.
Oh right, the party. In the midst of everything, I’d nearly forgotten. It seemed so trivial now. But it was a part of the plan and the plan would make everything right again in this world. Even when I couldn’t.
“Yes, right, see you tonight.” I backed up toward the exit, my feet itching to run. “See you at the party.”
The last thing I saw before I turned to flee was Mason’s face. He wore a wary expression, one that seemed full of regret. I wasn’t sure if he regretted telling me his secret or if it was the idea of a party that caused him pain, but in that moment I couldn’t stick around to ask.
My stomach still felt like it was going to dislodge from my torso and roll down the hallway of the hospital like a ten-pound bowling ball. If I didn’t hop in my car soon, they’d be wheeling me up to the surgical floor for an emergency stomach reattachment.
The plan. If we stuck to the plan, Mason would be fine and everyone would be happy.
I repeated that over and over to myself, determined to engrain it in my brain.
After what had happened today, Project Happiness was more important than ever.
Chapter Sixteen
The party at Savannah’s massive three-story house was so jammed pack, it was impossible to find anyone. Baseball players crowded in the kitchen, picking over the food and tossing cheese balls into each other’s mouths. The football players were having arm wrestling contests on the dining table. And most of the cheerleaders were dancing in their socks on the living room couches. Throw in the basketball players, the track athletes, the volleyball players, and a few dozen random kids from our school, and the party was out of control.
Dare You to Date the Point Guard (Rock Valley High Book 2) Page 11