Chapter 29 Lee #2
“I think… I think it’s serious,” I said, trying to soften the blow for my parents. “He seems to still be having trouble forming new memories. We had to tell him about the accident four times.” I sighed, and Mason’s hand squeezed mine. I sent him an appreciative look.
“They will keep him in ICU to keep a close eye on him, to make sure the bleeding in his brain stops. From there, it’s kind of a waiting game.
We have to wait to see how well his body heals from the trauma of his at—” I paused and cleared my throat.
I’d been about to say “attack” but I had no real proof yet. “…his accident.” I finished.
Both parents nodded. Their hands were clinging tightly to each other, and I took my free hand and enveloped both of theirs with it and squeezed gently.
“He’s young. He’s strong. He’s adaptable. We will just have to wait this out,” I finished.
They both nodded. “Thank you, sweetie,” Mama D said. “It makes us feel better knowing that you can check on him.”
We settled back into the routine of waiting for more news, but only a few minutes had passed when I saw a police officer enter the lounge.
He was probably in his mid-to-late forties, about my height, but he was many pounds heavier.
I wasn’t even sure how someone his weight could pass the annual physicals to police department required.
His face was bruised, his eyes both sporting a raccoon mask of bruises indicating a broken nose.
He was an attractive man, I supposed, but something in his eyes just left me cold.
There was no emotion, no pity, no empathy, nothing.
It made me shudder to see them. I'd seen men like that in Afghanistan, and they had all been sick sons of bitches.
His eyes seemed to pause on Mason and my family, but then skimmed over the rest of us and the other families in the waiting room. He spoke with the volunteer for a moment, and she pointed over to where our family was sitting.
“Devereaux family?” He asked, walking up to us.
I felt Mason freeze next to me. I looked at him and saw his already white face go pale as a ghost. He had already looked worn out from lack of sleep and the panic attack from last night, but the terror in his face was plain to me. I just didn’t understand why.
Mama K and Mama D looked up and nodded.
“Yes, officer?” said Mama K.
“I’m Sergeant Dowling. John Dowling,” he said, his eyes again catching on Mason who still sat frozen in his chair. “I’m investigating the hit and run that involved your sons last night,” he said.
“Have you found anything yet?” Kaine demanded.
“Nothing yet, and probably won’t, to be honest. No security systems, nothing documenting the attack,” he responded, looking at a notebook he’d pulled from his pocket. “Fucking idiots if you ask me. That area of town and no security? They were practically begging for something to happen.”
That. Asshole! The twins hadn’t had time, or money, apparently, to install a security system, which had me gritting my teeth. If I’d known, I would have paid for it myself. I was on my feet and taking a step towards the man, but before I could say or do anything, Mama K was on her feet.
“You watch your tongue, young man!” She said, her eyes narrowing to slits, her voice low and deadly. “My sons are not idiots, and you will treat them, and us, with respect, or I will be having a conversation with your Lieutenant.”
Her verbal attack took him off guard and he backpedaled. Even though all she’d done was stand up, he seemed to sense the threat in her. Most people completely discounted Mama K because of her size, but there was no one I’d rather have at my back in a fight.
Dowling’s discomfiture didn’t last long.
Anger suffused his face as he realized he had just backed down from a woman who weighed one hundred pounds soaking wet.
He turned his gaze back to Mason and I saw something that could only be described as malevolent delight fill those empty eyes.
I wanted desperately to step in front of Mason to protect him from whatever this officer was about to say.
“Are you Cameron?” he asked. A short, jerky nod was all the response Mason made. “May I have a word with you, privately?” Despite the phrasing, it was more of a demand than a request.
Mason stood and followed him to a group of chairs by the door and I followed them. Dowling glared at me as he began to speak. Apparently, he hadn’t realized I was following.
“Your Uber is here, Mr. Malone,” Dowling said.
“I saw the driver waiting for you outside. How about I escort you down, sir?” He dragged the “sir” part out, turning it from a symbol of respect to something dirty and wrong.
I’d never wanted to punch a police officer before, but Dowling was pushing all of my buttons.
My gaze flipped back and forth between Dowling and Mason, his words suddenly registering. The cop’s name was familiar, but I couldn’t place from where. I was busy trying to remember where I knew it from when his words finally registered.
“Uber? What Uber?” I began, confusion washing through me. “Are you going somewhere?” Mason looked up at me and hesitated, I knew then that I wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.
“I… I have to go, Lee,” he said, eyes darting from Dowling to me.
“What do you mean, go? Go where?” I demanded. What the hell was he talking about?
“Home. Seattle.” There was something in his eyes, something he was trying to communicate without speaking, but I was too befuddled to understand it.
“What? Why?” I demanded, my brain racing as he answered me.
“Um, I had an, uh, emergency come up, and I—” it was so obvious he was lying that I couldn’t even let him finish it.
“Seriously?” I demanded, my raised voice drawing attention from other people in the waiting room. Fuck, I didn’t need this right now. “You’re going to lie to my face? I have one brother in surgery, the other in the ICU. My parents’ hearts are breaking, and you’re going to fucking lie to me?”
I saw my moms glance over at us as they talked to a baby-faced looking kid in a lab coat who had come in as we followed the police officer. I was too distracted by what was happening right in front of me to be concerned about their conversation.
“Would you give us a minute, please?” Mason asked the officer through gritted teeth.
Dowling’s grin looked like a shark’s, but he replied, “Sure thing, Mr. Cameron,” placing strange emphasis on Mason’s last name.
“I’ll just step right over here. But you don’t have too long,” he said, tapping his watch, an edge of threat in his voice that made me bristle.
Mason hustled us into one of the waiting areas where doctors came to tell families bad news.
It wasn’t exactly private. There were windows on two sides that looked out across the waiting areas.
I could see the officer’s bulk leaning by the door, his body casting a dark shadow as he watched us through the door.
The officer moved to the doorway of the room, his eyes still focused on Mason and me.
Mason’s gaze jumped back and forth between us, then he walked over and firmly shut the door to the room, blocking out Dowling.
His gaze finally rested on me and I could see the pain and anguish hiding there. I just didn’t know what was causing it.
“I’m sorry, Lee, but I have to leave. I can’t… I can’t handle all of this,” Mason said.
“What? That’s bullshit,” I said. “What’s going on, Mason? You’ve been acting strange since yesterday.” Yesterday. When he was alone with strangers for several hours. And when he came home, he was in pain, limping, hardly able to walk… Fuck. How did he get hurt? What did they do to him?!
“Mason,” I hissed, anger starting to build as I finally started to give voice to my fear.
“Baby, did something else happen last night? Did they… Did they do something you didn’t tell me about last night?
Did they hurt you? Is that why the cop is here?
We can file a police report, get them arrested… ”
“No, Lee.” He said, as if reading the train of thoughts going through my brain. “No. This is my issue. Mine. I need to solve it.”
“No, it’s not!” I said angrily. “You are not alone anymore, Mason. You have friends who care about you. I care about you. I…” I took a deep breath, then spoke. “I love you.”
Mason froze in shock as I said the words that had been percolating in my brain for the last few days, and at first, I thought maybe I’d gotten through to him as I saw a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Then we heard the shifting of the officer who appeared to be leaning against the room door and I saw Mason glance at it then back to me, and he shook his head.
“I… No, you don’t love me, Lee,” he said tiredly. “You love being the hero and riding to everyone’s rescue. The thing in your life that almost broke you wasn’t the loss of Mack, it was the fact that you couldn’t save him. You weren’t able to be his hero.”
“No, that’s not true,” I growled, struggling to control myself as I tried to understand why he would leave.
God damn it. His comment was so off base, I didn’t even know how to respond to it.
My heart was racing as I gathered the shreds of my temper.
I saw a tremor pass through Mason as his gaze shot behind me to the door where the cop stood.
Something wasn’t right here, but I couldn’t get the pieces to fall into place…
“I know what you’re doing Mason, and it won’t work,” I said, leaning forward and gripping the table in front of me.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, his voice a monotone.
“You damn well know do know what I mean,” I said, slamming my fist on the table.
His voice was neutral, and his face was blank as he stared straight ahead from where he sat in one of the chairs. His hair curled softly around his face as he avoided my gaze. His hands were gripping his knees, etching wrinkles into his jeans.