Chapter 23
Make it Right
(Mason)
Panic. It screams through my veins as I stare at Olivia. Anger and disbelief chase it down as my body goes white hot with rage. What happened to her? My first instinct is to throw my arms around her and never let go. I only get one step into that plan before the crowd of random bodies in front of me ruins it.
I want to scream at them to get out of my way! It infuriates me that none of them can hear me. All I want is to get to Olivia! I stare at the faces of the people standing in my way in confusion. Who are they? What are they doing in our house?
Blonde, middle-aged, I nearly push them out of my way until I hear the name Hayden slip tearfully past the woman’s lips. Hayden? What does he have to do with anything? I look toward Olivia for answers, for help, and am stunned when I realize she’s not sitting there alone. What in the hell is Hayden doing with his arm around her!
Absolutely desperate, I start to push my way through. Evie is the first to get knocked into. Her eyes spring open in recognition even though she can’t see me and her hands grope for my arm. She isn’t strong enough to stop me, but her nails dig into my skin painfully enough that I stop and look down at her.
She shakes her head violently and starts pushing me away, out of the living room and into the hallway. She doesn’t let go of my arm, though, and listens carefully.
“What is going on?” I demand angrily.
“I don’t know,” Evie snaps. “All I know is that Olivia got attacked at some park across town.”
“What? By who?”
Evie glares at me. “How am I supposed to know? They didn’t catch the guy!”
“Why is Hayden Benton here? And why does he have his arm around Olivia?” I shriek.
Throwing up the hand that isn’t latched onto me, Evie growls in frustration. “She was with him, I guess. I. Don’t. Know! And as for why he’s getting all cozy with her, I suspect you know more about that than I do.” The glare she fixes on me is deadly.
“What? Why would I know?”
“All I can tell you is that when Aaron dropped me off, I saw Olivia come tearing out of the house looking like someone just stomped all over her heart and drive off nearly in tears. You were already gone. Mom was calling Dad with her voice sounding all weird and worried and she spent the next hour on the phone with him talking about you and Olivia.”
Evie puts her free hand on her hip and stares me down. “Care to explain?”
“This is none of your business, Evie,” I snap.
The look on her face turns absolutely murderous. “My sister just got attacked! She could have been killed or kidnapped. It is my business! And it’s your fault she was out there!”
Evie whirls around on her heel and stomps away from me. I try to call after her, but she can’t hear me, of course. I don’t think she would have stopped even if she could.
My feet feel like lead as I trudge back to the living room. Everyone is sitting down now. Evie is parked right next to Olivia, holding her hand and leaning on her shoulder. Hayden no longer has his arm around Olivia’s shoulders, but nausea sweeps over at me as I see his hand curled around hers protectively.
My whole body feels numb as I listen to the pair of them explain what happened. When Olivia describes “running into” Hayden at the basketball park, a look passes between them that says there was much more to it than that. Right then, I realize that Evie is right and it buckles my knees.
Olivia glances over at me as I slump to the ground, but she tears her eyes away right after. I look away, ashamed and furious at myself for putting her in this situation. If I hadn’t ditched her to hang out with Robin… if I hadn’t been so stupid to think backing off would protect her from pain, I would have been with her this afternoon like always. She wouldn’t have run from the house, scared and broken. She never would have set foot in that park.
I am sure I can’t feel any more agony than I do already, but when Olivia talks about walking back to her Jeep in the dark and having a man jump out at her, my head falls into my hands. Images from my nightmare flash into my mind like gunshots, each one piercing and wounding me.
I knew this was going to happen. I was warned that I needed to protect Olivia, to keep her by me so she was never alone to be attacked. I could have kept her from this pain, yet I wasn’t there. I walked away and let her be attacked and hurt.
The sudden, seemingly orchestrated movement of everyone in the room startles me. I cringe back against the wall as everyone stands before I realize they’re just ready to call it a night. Hayden’s parents shake hands with Olivia’s parents as they are thanked again for their son’s help. He deserves every word of their praise, but my stomach sours listening to it.
My ears tune them out as I focus on Hayden standing up stiffly and gently pulling Olivia up after him. She hesitates a moment before wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his chest. My heart shatters as he strokes her hair softly. He whispers something in her ear and kisses her cheek so lightly I don’t know if she even feels it.
They walk past me to the front door, Olivia’s hand still in his. They hug again. It’s feels like someone is stabbing me repeatedly as I watch them. I expect relief when the door finally closes on Hayden and his parents, but the misery only deepens when Olivia walks past me without a word.
She probably would have continued up the stairs if her dad’s voice hadn’t stopped her. “Olivia, is Mason here?”
“I thought he’d be home by now,” Mom says worriedly.
Olivia’s feet drag tiredly as she walks back toward the living room. She stops in the doorway and points at me sitting on the floor. “He’s right there.”
That’s it. She doesn’t even look at me. Her mom and dad look at each other worriedly when Olivia simply turns and heads for the stairs again. Olivia’s mom is the first to approach me. Her hand reaches out, questioning. I touch her fingers so she knows where I’m at, but don’t say anything.
“Mason,” she says as she kneels down next to me, “are you okay?”
No. And I don’t know if I ever will be again, but I know that’s not what she’s asking. I can see the fear in her eyes that what happened to Olivia wasn’t an isolated incident.
“I’m fine,” I choke out.
“Are you sure? You sound like you’re hurt. Did anyone try to come after you?”
I shake my head slowly. “No. Robin and I were fine.”
Olivia’s dad crouches down next to me and lays a hand on my shoulder. “Mason, what’s going on?”
“I had a nightmare about Olivia getting attacked last night.”
“What?” they both ask.
“I should have protected her. It wasn’t a mugger. It was a Sentinel. I should have been there.”
Olivia’s parents look at each other. I can tell they aren’t sure whether to believe me or not. They’re fools if they don’t.
“Mason,” Olivia’s mom asks gently, “what happened between you and Olivia?”
Standing up suddenly and knocking them back a step, but not so far that they let go of me, I say, “I ruined everything, that’s what happened.”
Neither one of them tries to stop me as I march out of the room and up the stairs. I intend to head straight for my bedroom, but stumble when Olivia steps out of the bathroom and right into my path. Her hands grip the bathroom door frame. For a moment I think she is scared of me for some reason. When I see her knees shaking and the pain in her eyes, I realize she’s trying to keep herself from falling. It kills me to see her in so much pain. I can’t stop myself from crossing the distance between us and reaching for her.
“Don’t touch me!” she snaps.
Shocked, hurt, I stumble to a stop inches away from her.
“Get away from me,” she says with tears in her eyes.
I take a step back. My breathing escalates as I look into her angry eyes. I have never seen her so hurt and afr
aid before. Every cell in my body screams at me to make it right, hold her, fix this between us. Thinking I could step back after what happened this morning and not hurt her was the stupidest thing I could have done. I want to tell her I’m sorry, beg for her forgiveness.
Olivia pushes away from the door frame and marches to her room. The door slams and I sink to my knees in agony.
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