Chapter 9
Mason
For as long as I’d lived on my own, I’d never once had so many women in my home at one time.
With Sutton recovering, I was focused on her and only her.
Over the first few days, we settled into a rhythm that felt so natural, it was as if we’d been living together for years.
Which surprised me. My personal space was also my sanctuary.
I didn’t share it well with anyone, not even family.
Especially my family. They had a tendency to invade and set fire to the quiet I craved.
With Sutton, however, it didn’t feel like an invasion.
Before she was even released from the hospital, I’d made arrangements so that she would be home with me, not Mom. Which amused my mother highly. She didn’t call me out on it, though. Just snorted and nodded while I shifted my schedule so that I was available for my girl over the next few weeks.
Sutton was healing, in more than just the physical sense. Her heart was still heavy after losing her mom. She hadn’t been able to fully grieve, not with how busy she was with school and trying to take care of her living situation. Not that she’d confided in me about her apartment issues.
That was the thing about my aunt Emmie. She didn’t leave anything to chance.
Before Sutton was out of surgery the night I met her, Emmie had a full dossier on her.
From date and place of birth to her vital statistics and every minuscule detail of her life up to and including the day of the talent competition.
Her sleazy landlord was only one of many assholes Mom and I had sorted out since we’d been lucky enough to find Sutton Russell. Her dad was another one who would find out soon enough that karma came in all shapes and sizes. It wouldn’t be long before Sutton wouldn’t have to worry about any of them.
For the moment, we were enjoying the downtime. Getting to know each other. Mostly, I was letting her see what life with me could—would—be like.
Which, of course, my sister took as code to invade my personal space and bring reinforcements. Shaw. Mia. Piper. Nevaeh. Bliss. Heavenleigh. Hayat. Gods above, they were practically spilling out of my small condo. This. Them. They were why I treasured my personal space.
One-on-one, I could handle them. In small doses. All of them at once, for more than five minutes? Not so much.
My head was thumping, their loud everything overwhelming me.
Despite how annoying my sister and the rest of our family were, they had been making Sutton laugh since they arrived. Almost all of them had shown up at the same time. Obviously, they had a group chat and had planned this shit.
Sutton was glowing, though, and my cock got hard every freaking time I heard her giggle.
I was in the kitchen making a charcuterie board, taking a second to breathe, when I heard her say she’d never done this before.
A girls’ night full of movies and self-care.
At least not with anyone other than her mom.
Which firmly ensured that I would be hosting girls’ night as often as she wanted. With every last loud, obnoxious, lovable one of them.
“You could have gone out,” Vi said as she added pepperoni roses to the board.
It was excessive. No one cared that the deli meat was shaped into floral art.
She was doing it to stay busy so she could talk to me alone, doing her job as a big sister and making sure I was okay.
“Luca and Jagger are with the kids, but Cannon went to First Bass. Hayat’s guys are supposedly joining them. ”
“I’m where I want to be.” After scattering nuts over the board, I picked it up and exhaled slowly. I loved my family, but they were a lot. Especially in large quantities. More especially, when it was the troublemakers, and the majority of those were crowded into my living room.
“Yay, snacks!” Piper cheered, snagging a cracker and smearing it with jam before adding a slice of apple and a cube of cheese.
Sutton sat on the floor between Mia’s legs, getting her hair braided. She wore the soft pajama set Mom had gifted her the day before and had on a sheet face mask. Shaw painted her fingernails while Bliss worked on her toes, giving her the full princess treatment.
Her smile came easier with each passing day. Bigger. Brighter. Every time I saw it, I fell a little more, and then I would let myself sink even deeper until all I saw was her. All I felt was my beautiful girl.
“Remember when I graduated?” Shaw dropped the brush into the polish and popped an almond into her mouth. “Who was the valedictorian that year? Oh yeah…”
She looked at Violet, and they both rolled their eyes. “Odette Washington.”
“Oh hell,” Heavenleigh snickered. “Arella hated her. No, that’s too mild. Loathed? Dreamed of her demise? Nope, I don’t think there is a strong enough word or phrase that could do her dislike of Odette justice.”
“You say that like it’s past tense.” Nevaeh adjusted her glasses.
“Arella can hold a grudge like it’s an Olympic sport and she wants to bring home the gold.
Odette moved to London just so she had a better chance of landing roles because Arie still throws shade at her if she tries to audition for anything she’s associated with. ”
“Allegedly throws shade,” Mia added with a half grin. “It’s more a Jordan thing than Arella. He knows they didn’t get along, and he…made some executive producer choices. Again, all alleged.”
“I stand by what I said,” Nevaeh laughed, munching on a cracker piled with deli meat and smeared with spicy mustard.
“Why did she hate her so much?” Sutton asked, her curiosity front and center.
“Odette said something really mean,” Heavenleigh answered, her lips pressing into a tight line as the memories hit her.
“It started long before Shaw’s graduation.
Daddy was…sick.” Her throat worked, emotions clouding her face, and we were transported back to a time we all wished could be erased from our memories.
“Odette said dirty drunks deserve pickled livers.”
We each sucked in a harsh breath. I was barely a teenager back then, so no one had actually told me why Arella was so against Odette. From the look on more than one face, this was news to several people.
“So, of course, Arella beat her ass,” Bliss said with a half grin, blinking back tears.
Sutton’s chin wobbled for a moment before she hardened her jaw. “Fuck Odette Washington.”
“Yeah, fuck that bitch!” Nevaeh yelled, lifting her glass. Everyone cheered, taking a drink of their Diet Cokes in solidarity. “Arella, we miss you. Ugh, I hate it when she has to shoot on location. It makes Daddy so anxious.”
“So everyone graduated from the same high school?” Sutton asked, steering the conversation back to something lighter.
We were all remembering the darker days when every second felt precious.
She gave the others a chance to reroute their thoughts, chewing on the grape Piper helpfully fed her so her nails could dry.
“I lived in Malibu,” Mia said, shaking her head.
“Me too,” Piper seconded.
“Me three,” Hayat commented, lifting her attention from her phone.
Of course she was texting Abi. But from the glance I got, I saw they had a group chat going with Sammy and Jamie.
I was friends with Jamie and the other two Autumn’s Slumber members.
We hung out a lot when they recorded with Dad.
Sometimes I stepped in and mixed a few tracks.
It was more a hobby than a career choice for me.
A lot like the photography for my mom. I went where I was needed, when I was needed.
“Malibu’s private academy focuses more on sports.
Basketball now more than football. I think Luca was the last big name to graduate from there.
They have some prominent players in the NBA as alumni.
Whereas here in Santa Monica, they focus more on fine arts.
They tend to have more A-list musicians, actors, writers.
But you already know that, Miss Cello Queen. ”
Pink filled Sutton’s cheeks at the praise. “I’m an amateur at best.”
“An amateur who plays like a fucking goddess,” Piper amended, eyeing my girl like she was a tasty snack.
“I watch that video from the academy’s streaming account on repeat every night.
Danica has started requesting it before bed.
My mom is almost as in love with your talent as I am.
Which is saying a lot because I would consider leaving my husband for you.
Kidding… Maybe. Depends on the time of day and how many times Cannon has pissed me off. ”
“Fair,” Shaw chimed in. “He pisses her off just by breathing too loud and waking her up in the morning.”
“Right? It’s not snoring. I could handle snores.
He sometimes breathes to the beat of whatever song he’s working on.
It’s weirdly melodic, and it drives me crazy because then I have that beat in my head all day.
” She huffed, then focused back on Sutton.
“You still haven’t given me an answer about working with me. We could make magic together.”
I bit my tongue, knowing she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Piper was married, and she wasn’t trying to move in on my girl, no matter what she said about Cannon. That didn’t preclude the need to mark my territory.
Bending, I kissed Sutton’s forehead, warmth exploding in my chest when she leaned into it, the softest hum leaving her. “Do you need anything, beautiful girl?”
“Mason, you don’t have to wait on me like this. You’ve already done so much.” Her troubled caramel eyes met mine. Something in my chest tried to stretch forward, wanting to touch her, pull her in close, absorb her into me so I could shield her from the world.
In our living room with this group of women, however, I had nothing to protect her from.
She was safe in all ways with my family.
None of them would have been there, pampering her, drowning her in friendship and sisterly love, if they didn’t already accept her.
In my gut, I knew that. There wasn’t a single woman in the condo I didn’t trust with my girl’s well-being.
They were the best. They just annoyed the fuck out of me ninety-eight percent of the time.
“It’s never enough,” I told her, only to groan when everyone around us simultaneously started singing “Never Enough” purposely off-key.
“Never enough!” Hayat bounced to her knees, wild curls flying in every direction, hitting Heavenleigh in the face and causing her to bat it away like she was being attacked.
Hayat lifted her hand toward Bliss, who clutched at her chest like her heart was on the line, her blue-gray eyes brimming on cue.
Mia and Neveah harmonized next line, even with food in their mouths, accepting the risk of potentially choking to death for the perfect opportunity to push me closer to the edge of insanity.
“Never enough!” Shaw and Vi joined in, my sister hugging her bestie, who laid her head on Vi’s shoulder.
Heavenleigh took her turn, always ready for the spotlight and the next “for me,” even though she’d nearly been taken out by Hayat’s hair.
My ears rang as they all joined in.
And of course Piper had to end on a high-pitched, scratchy, needle-on-a-record note. “Foooooor meeeeeeeeh!”
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply. And then Sutton’s giggle hit my ears. I took a moment, savoring that sound, even as I imagined everyone else being dropped on the moon. With plenty of oxygen and an unending supply of food and water. Because I wasn’t a totally heartless asshole.
“Now we have to watch The Greatest Showman,” Heavenleigh cried, reaching for the remote. “Mason, my man, my cuz, my dude. You’re in luck. We’re going to give you your own private concert.”
Squeezing the bridge of my nose, I walked away before they could push me closer to the brink.
Honestly, it was a better suggestion than what I had feared.
All of them jumping up and singing “It’s Gonna Be Me,” complete with choreography, just because of how Piper had turned “me” into something closer to “May.”
Behind me, the movie was already starting, and everyone was already singing. I smiled when I heard Sutton’s voice join in, the majority of my annoyance fading as her laughter lifted over the volume of the movie and my family’s ridiculous overembellishment of the high notes.
We all had parents who were rock stars, except Hayat.
Hell, she and Piper were rock stars. Not one person in my living room sounded like they had ever seen a sheet of music in their lives.
And as annoying as it was, as much as I wanted to scoop them all up and shove them into their cars, I wouldn’t have traded this moment for anything.
Because of that beautiful laugh I couldn’t get enough of.