Blindspot (Daydream, Colorado Book 1)

by A. M. Rose

  “Wh—what?” Mason asked, teeth rattling against each other as the adrenaline started wearing off, and his body recognized it hated the cold and fought against it.

  “I was in the woods just now, checking on some of the trees that have been feeling a bit poorly lately, poor little twigs. Mason… my woods talk to me. They’d warn me of something so horrible happening,” he said, taking his jacket off and wrapping it around Mason’s shoulders. It covered him down to his knees and spread toasty warmth all over his body.

  “But…” he tried again, that dreadful feeling refusing to leave.

  “I’ll keep a close eye and ear on the woods. I promise. Knowing how your glances work I’m fairly certain this will happen…”

  “Not now?” he asked, voice small and broken by his shivers.

  “No, Mason. Not now.” He wrapped his arm around his shoulder and steered him towards his house.

  “Sure?” he checked as they walked in, where it was warm and smelled of pine and lavender somehow.

  “Tell you what. I’ll call someone to come pick you up and do another walk around the woods. Ask some very specific questions to my more observant evergreens,” he offered.

  Mason mulled it over for a moment.

  “Will you call me?” he asked. “When you talk to them?”

  “I’ll text you in case you’re already asleep. You need rest after the shock you just had,” he said, typing away at his phone with one hand and directing Mason towards the gigantic yellow love-seat next to the fireplace.

  He planted him on the sofa, throwing a granny-square quilt on top of him, tucking the corners under his body.

  “You okay?” he asked, and Mason shrugged under the layers.

  “Been dreaming of him for almost a year now,” he said softly. “Don’t know who he is. Or where. Orson said his magic was reaching out because he needs help. I want to help!”

  He was so, so tired.

  “And you did. I know now to pay closer attention. As soon as he shows up, I’ll find him. He’ll be safe here.”

  “What if we’re late? What if they find him before we do?” he asked softly, tired beyond the point of denial.

  “I’ll ask the woods to keep him safe,” Darian said, reaching out to touch the backs of his fingers to Mason’s cheek. He felt himself relax slightly, his lungs aching a bit less. His lids grew heavy, and he could barely keep them up.

  “Will they?”

  Darian nodded with a gentle smile. “They wouldn’t let me down. Sleep now.”

  Mason glanced at Darian’s face illuminated by the dancing flames and he couldn’t do anything else but trust him. He leaned against the armrest, and within moments, his eyes were falling shut, and the energy drained away from his body.

  He drove like a madman, sliding on the iced roads and thanking whoever was listening that it was too late for anyone else to be driving. He was beginning to despise the trip towards Darian’s farm, as lovely as the man himself was.

  Darian’s text didn’t say too much. Just that Mason was distressed and needed him to take him home. It didn’t really matter what it was, honestly. Mason needed him, and Drew would walk over hot coals for him, no questions asked.

  Parking in front of the large farmhouse was almost second nature, and he tore out of the car before he even finished turning the key. He ran up the stairs and burst through the door, skidding to a stop when he saw the image in front of him. Darian was throwing another log on the fire, casting shadows onto the tiny bundle sleeping on his couch.

  Mason was wrapped in so many clothes, only his face poked through. Drew wanted to scoop him up and hold him tight, but things between them were left in a place where he didn’t really know if it would be welcome.

  Instead, he cleared his throat to get Darian’s attention.

  “You can talk normally. He won’t wake up,” Darian said, and Drew frowned feeling panic build in his chest.

  “What’s wrong with him?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry. I just gave him a little nudge to sleep. His dream left him drained a bit,” Darian explained and motioned for Drew to sit in a recliner next to the fireplace, opposite Mason.

  “Another nightmare?” Drew guessed.

  The healer nodded. “Looks like. I’m assuming it’s been happening for a while?”

  Drew nodded. “As far as he says, yes. Always of this one person who’s in danger.”

  “Well, tonight he saw him in my woods, so, hopefully, that means he’ll be here soon. I promised I’d keep an eye out and be ready to look for him,” Darian said, and Drew breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “So…”

  “I’m optimistic about being able to help whoever Mason had been dreaming about,” Darian said and stepped away from the fire, reaching for his coat. “Now, I have some evergreens to talk to and some shrubbery to bribe into cooperation. I believe you can carry him?”

  Drew looked towards Mason, wishing he could let him sleep… only, Mason didn’t sleep around him. Not voluntarily anyway. Drew didn’t want to take that choice away from him, as much as it hurt him.

  “Could you wake him?” he asked, and Darian spared him one questioning glance but nodded without a single word. He truly liked the man.

  The healer brushed a lock of hair from Mason’s forehead, whispering something to him gently, and those blue eyes pried open, looking around tiredly before landing on Drew.

  It was the first time they’d seen each other since the spell had been lifted off Drew and the radio silence that followed. Things were so tense and awkward, Drew didn’t know what to say.

  “I…” he started to explain that Darian called him, but before he could say anything, Mason rushed across the room, flinging himself into his arms and burying his head in Drew’s neck, body shivering almost violently.

  “Drew…” he whispered.

  Drew recovered quickly and held him tight, supporting his weight. “I got you… you’re okay.”

  “I saw him again.” Mason peeled his face away to look at him, and there was so much fear and hope in his eyes.

  “I know… Darian said he’ll be okay. That he’s coming here?”

  “Yeah, I think... I saw him in the woods here. He’s hurt and scared. But he’s coming here,” he said, and Drew nodded.

  “That’s good then. You did everything you could. Let’s get you home now, hm?” he asked, and at the mention of home, Mason seemed to come back to himself. The confusion on his face cleared, and he blushed as he looked down to where he was wrapped around Drew, legs around his waist and arms gripping his shoulders.

  “Um…” Mason tried but gave up on talking as he wiggled and twisted until Drew had no other choice but to set him back down. He hated the way his hands felt empty without him.

  “You two best be on your way before the snow starts falling again,” Darian said with a kind smile, his voice breaking the suffocating silence that stretched between them.

  Drew gave a small nod, extending a hand towards Mason. The smaller man looked at the offered hand for a long moment before wrapping his arms around his waist, shoulders hunched, and face completely closed off again.

  Determined not to let it get to him, Drew motioned for Mason to head out, following after his stiff form until they reached the car and piled in.

  “I kept the heating on for you,” Drew said, and Mason nodded, reaching to turn the heater towards himself.

  “Thanks,” he said quietly.

  “No problem,” Drew said, pulling out and reaching the main road in moments. The air around them was rigid with tension and as much as Drew tried to find something to say to break it, nothing came to mind.

  The short ride to Mason’s building seemed to last forever, and yet, Drew felt like there wasn’t enough time to figure out how to get them to where he wanted them to be.

  He parked and hopped out, opening the door for Mason and following him up to his apartment. He watched as Mason pulled his key from his jacket pocket and unlocked the door, sliding it o
pen just a fraction and slipping in, face poking through as he stared at Drew.

  “Um… thank you. You can head back home now. It’s late,” Mason said, doing that infuriating thing where he wouldn’t meet his eyes, and with that, the door was closed directly into his face.

  Drew was left standing in front of it, mind spinning and fury bubbling in his chest. His chest heaved, and he was close to seeing red. All of the years of not being allowed to say what he wanted piled up and made him flush with anger.

  Fuck this. Enough!

  “Mason! Open the door!” He pounded his fist against the sturdy surface. He heard a small shuffle coming from inside, but Mason remained steadfast in his mission to shut him out. Literally.

  “Are you really doing this again? One minute you’re hugging me, and then it’s just back to ignoring my existence?” he asked the wood, not caring how loud he was being.

  The people in the neighboring apartments were getting quite a show, but still Mason was unresponsive.

  “So what? You went through all that trouble to help give me my ability to speak, but you don’t want to listen to a word I say!?” he accused, face red with all the brimming, bubbling emotions he had been pushing down and repressing. “I may have been the coward before, but you’re acting like one now.”

  Heavy steps thundered from the inside, and then the door whipped open, a furious face staring up at him. “Say that again, I dare you,” Mason growled, teeth bared like a cornered animal.

  Drew pushed past him.

  “Who the fuck said you could come inside, get out!” Mason shouted at his back.

  “I’ll leave after this conversation,” Drew declared, planting himself in the middle of the room.

  He saw Mason contemplate using magic, fingertips rubbing together before they simply clenched into fists. Drew knew in that moment. He knew. The reason he would never use his magic on him was the same reason he wouldn’t talk to him. He cared. And it scared him shitless.

  Mason slammed the door and marched up to him, his small frame still intimidating. Drew held his ground.

  “I don’t want you here,” he pushed through his teeth, and Drew shrugged.

  “If you would answer your phone, I wouldn’t have to do this,” he said.

  “So it’s my fault?” Mason asked dangerously. “I’m a coward and this is all my fault.?”

  Drew sighed. “I didn’t mean it that way… Mason, we need to talk about this.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about!” He threw his hands in the air, but the argument sounded weaker and weaker every time he used it.

  “That’s bullshit!” Drew grasped one flailing arm by the wrist. “Mason, I know you’re scared—”

  “Now who’s talking bullshit,” Mason cut off, yanking his arm out of Drew’s grip and crossing both over his chest protectively. How he could look so big and small at the same time was baffling to Drew. “What we had was temporary. We agreed… no, you agreed to it. We don’t need to do a postmortem before you leave again.”

  “And what if I don’t leave?” Drew barked out, desperate to just tell him.

  Mason froze. Drew saw his pulse jump in his neck. He saw his fingers clench and his eyelashes flutter. “What?”

  “What if I want to move back to Daydream… what if I want to try a real relationship with you that doesn’t have rules and restrictions?” he asked, laying his heart on the line like Mason had done all those years ago.

  He understood now how scary it was, out on the ledge, hoping to be caught but reminding himself there was a chance he could be left to fall.

  “You can’t…” Mason said, but it trailed off and sank under his uncertainty.

  “Why not?”

  “Because… because you have a life!” Mason stated, his fire igniting once more, propelling him to start pacing. “You can’t just drop everything!”

  Drew laughed. “Yes, I have a life. A steady job, a nice apartment… but it’s empty,” he revealed, and Mason stopped in his tracks, allowing Drew to walk up to him until the tips of their toes touched. “It’s so empty, Mason, I didn’t even realize how empty it was until I came here, to the one place I felt outcasted the most. The place that should have shown me how good I had it… only it didn’t… and you’re the reason why. You make everything better, Mason, you did back then, and you do now.”

  “But you left then,” Mason countered, eyes carrying an angry wet sheen. He shoved at Drew’s chest. “You left, just like…”

  “I never left you,” Drew said, catching Mason’s palms and keeping them flat against his heart.

  “You did…” Mason said, but Drew shook his head.

  “I left to get away from feeling broken, but you… Mason, I took you with me. I thought of you every single day. Had your photo in my wallet and I'd take it out whenever I felt like I needed you. Every big decision I made, I’d ask myself what you’d think of me if you could see me. I missed you…” he said, anger seeping out and despair replacing it as he poured his heart out, begging for Mason to finally hear what he had to say.

  “Drew…”

  “I choose you. Out of all the people and all the places in the world. I want to be where you are.”

  “I…” Mason tried, eyes filling with tears, hands shaking and resolve breaking right before Drew’s eyes. The walls around him were crumbling down, and Drew knew he must have felt terrified as he watched them fall. He brought him closer, one arm wrapping around his waist and the other cradling his head to his chest.

  “Let me stay, Mason. Let me keep you,” he pleaded.

  “You’re staying?” Mason whispered into his chest, breath hot on Drew’s neck and body shivering in his arms.

  “I am. No matter what you decide tonight, I’m staying in Daydream. I’m staying here, where you are. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

  “You’re… I…” Mason stuttered until the tears finally fell, and he let it trail, unable to articulate what he was thinking. Drew knew the feeling well. Far too well. So, instead, he ducked down and caught Mason’s surprised mouth with his own, speaking through touch like he had been this whole time.

  I love you. I adore you. I won’t leave.

  He hoped Mason took comfort from it. That he understood, even if he wasn’t ready to talk about it. And he felt Mason respond, from the clench of fingers in his jacket, to the way he kissed him back and coiled around his body. Attached at the lips, Drew picked him up and carried him to his bedroom. Darkness clung to their skin as he hurriedly stripped Mason of the rest of his clothes and laid him on his bed.

  He covered his small body with his, tasting the tears on his face and kissing them away. He swallowed his gasps. He touched him as if he were made of glass before remembering that Mason was sturdier than that and tightened his grip, leaving pink marks on his skin.

  His lips branded adoration onto his neck, his chest, his stomach, splayed thighs. His hands stroked and his fingers found entrance into his body.

  They spoke that night without the need for words. They wrapped themselves around one another pleading for more, for faster. When Drew finally entered him, he felt his own eyes water, but it was happiness this time. It was coming home. It was finally finding where he belonged. And it wasn’t a place. It wasn’t magic.

  It was this one, magical person that allowed him to be just who he was.

  Mason woke up from his slumber, groaning as the blinding light of morning drifted through the open curtains on his window. He cursed last-night-Mason’s laziness and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could manage.

  He rolled around to bury his head in Drew’s neck and catch a few more hours of sleep. Throwing his hand across the bed, he was met with ice cold sheets and an empty pillow. Jumping up, instantly awake, he felt his stomach turn and everything in him freeze. He sat in his bed, naked, tired and completely petrified, eyes squeezed shut to avoid looking at his empty bed.

  Drew was gone.

  Again.

  Numbly, he forced himself to pry his
lids open. He glanced around the room, noticing that Drew’s clothes were gone from where he’d scattered them on the floor last night. He strained his ears, but all that greeted him was silence crawling along the walls of his apartment. Running a hand over his face, he forced a deep breath into his lungs, doing his best to remain calm. He reached his shaking hand to grab for his phone.

  No missed calls. No texts.

  He hated being proven right. He hated knowing things would happen even without his glances. Drew had wiggled his way into more than friends with benefits. He’d chipped away at his walls until suddenly they were holding hands, kissing in front of others, and now staying the night, and Mason had allowed himself to relax. He’d allowed himself to lower the guards and get comfortable. He shouldn’t have done it. He should have listened to the demons whispering in his ear that it wouldn’t end well for him.

  On autopilot, he turned to his bedside table to get up and get dressed when a slip of paper caught his eye. He picked it up and unfolded it.

  A photo flitted down to the bed, and he lifted it up. It was their treehouse, lit up with all the mismatched lights they turned on whenever they went there. Looking beautifully disastrous. Just like it always did. The bottom of the photo held words that said: read the note.

  He dropped the photo and lifted the paper again. Trembling fingers covered his lips as he read the words.

  Dear Mason,

  Stop freaking out, stop being angry with me (I know you are, don’t even try me), and meet me at the treehouse.

  Drew

  Well, that did it. He’d kill Drew as soon as he got to him.

  Heart slowly settling into a more manageable pattern, he put the photo and the note back on the bedside table and got up. He got dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. He doubled up on socks and threw the hoody he’d stolen from Drew over his shirt. He made quick work of brushing his teeth and getting his hair to look less like a crime scene and more like a style choice. Layering his jacket on top of everything he was wearing, he was out of the apartment.