Chapter 17
Mason
I insisted on making a quick breakfast for Elijah because he insisted on going to work despite being arrested there the previous day.
His boss had called and told Elijah he was sorry he hadn’t been able to stop it.
He’d had a talk with Chris, and he told Elijah he could take the day off if he needed it, but he was welcome to come in if he wanted to.
Elijah, ever the responsible adult that he had been since he was eight, was in the bathroom getting ready for work, while I started some eggs in the kitchen and his cat followed me around watching me.
Something felt different this morning. It had nothing to do with the fact I was freaked the hell out, even though I’d never admit it, that Elijah said something had been in the living room in the middle of the night.
What felt different was Elijah. The way he smiled at me as he just looked at me in the early-morning light.
The way he was no longer avoiding me when he woke up, and wasn’t even being sarcastic.
I was sure the sarcasm would return no matter what had changed, but it almost felt like .
. . well, like we were an actual couple.
Like I was his boyfriend instead of the guy who’d royally fucked up our relationship in the past and who he now let fuck him sometimes.
I glanced back as he came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and headed for his bedroom.
He glanced at me, and there was that smile again, and then I was just grinning like a damn fool while I made eggs and bacon.
The cat, Enyo, just stared at me, unimpressed.
I earned some more of her favor by slipping her a little piece of bacon.
I’d just placed the food on the table when he called for me.
There was something odd in his voice. It wasn’t fear, exactly, but something close to it.
I ran into his bedroom. He had scrub pants on but no shirt, and he was standing in front of the window where he’d opened the shades for light.
He didn’t look at me when I entered, his eyes trained on the view outside. “Can you see him?” he asked me.
I hated that he did this shit. I walked over to stand beside him, adamantly refusing to admit to myself that I was trembling.
I looked out the window, over his back yard and garden and through the tree line of the woods.
Everything looked normal. There were some birds, a squirrel.
Just nature. “Who?” I asked, even though I didn’t really want to know the answer.
“By that rock,” he said. “About ten feet into the trees.”
I looked harder. I moved over to look from his angle. “I don’t see it,” I said. “What are you seeing? Can you actually make out a person?”
“He’s blond,” Elijah said. “But his back is to me. He’s not looking at me, but I had a feeling it wasn’t a real person out there.” He proceeded to turn away like it was no big deal and grab his shirt out of the closet. Like he dealt with that shit all the time.
I, on the other hand, was shaken completely, and had to turn away in hopes he wouldn’t see the horror on my face. “Breakfast is done,” I squeaked out, then cursed under my breath and left the room.
While we were eating, I looked at him and said, “Does that happen a lot out here?’ I could not fathom living out in the middle of nowhere alone if I constantly saw dead people. “Do you see a lot of ghosts?”
He shook his head. “No. Not really. Not here. Things have been weird lately, though.” He didn’t offer any further explanation. I went back to my food and tried not to think about it.
We left together, and he gave me a kiss goodbye at his car.
The reminder of that difference in him, in us this morning, let some of my uneasiness dissipate.
“I’ll see you after work, okay?” I asked him.
I hoped he was aware I wouldn’t be letting him out of my sight a second longer than I had to until all this was over and the killer was caught.
He smiled. “See you.”
I followed him into town, separating only when he turned onto the street the vet clinic was on, and I headed on to my parents’ house.
◆◆◆
My mom was waiting for me when I walked through the door. “Were you at Elijah’s all night?” She had such a knowing look on her face that I almost laughed.
I huffed out a little sigh instead, and started, “Mom, there’s something I think you already know about me that I’ve never actually said out loud.”
Before I could say more, she clapped her hands together and a huge grin spread across her face. “You are dating him. You’re dating Elijah, aren’t you? Finally!”
I couldn’t cover up the laugh this time. I went on with the statement she’d interrupted. “Mom, I’m gay.”
She rushed over and hugged me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your big announcement, I just .
. . you’re right, it’s something we already knew, and your father and I have been waiting for this announcement since you two were kids.
We could see as you grew it was heading in that direction, but then we thought you blew it in high school. ”
I chuckled into her hair as I hugged her back. “Well, here’s the announcement, then. Yes, we’re seeing each other. It’s a little weird and there are a lot of things happening, but yeah, we’re kind of dating. This morning seemed a little less weird and a little more normal between us.”
I was still a little surprised that it had seemed better at that particular time. As soon as he’d had to use his safe word, I thought I’d blown it yet again. My first instinct had been to make sure he was okay. My second was to kick my own ass. Elijah hadn’t felt the same, obviously.
“Look, though,” I told my mom after we separated.
“There’s some shady shit going on in this town.
” She nodded, everyone knew that. “He’s out there in the woods all alone, no protection of any kind besides a cat with one eye, some kitchen knives, and a can of bug spray.
I’m going to stay with him out there until it’s all settled.
I’ll keep Dad’s gun with me. I can’t leave him alone. ”
She looked worried, because she was a mom, and she was a good one.
“Mason, I don’t want you to get hurt either.
Maybe he should come here, and you should both stay with us.
That way there are more people and more weapons too.
Plus, the neighborhood is safe, and the neighbors all watch out for each other. ”
I looked at her incredulously. “Seriously, Mom? You think I want to put you and Dad at risk? That just gives me more targets to watch. I can handle myself, you know I can. I’m trained for this.
I’ll do better just watching my own back and Elijah’s, and Chris is a phone call away if I need him. We’re good. I swear.”
She hugged me again. “I understand that you need to protect him. Just protect yourself too.”
“I will. I promise.”
I headed upstairs to start packing my stuff to stay at Elijah’s for a while. He wasn’t going to be out of my sight unless he was somewhere like work. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. I fucked up royally in Chicago, and it wasn’t going to happen again.
Chris texted me as I was packing. Hey, do you want to go out on the boat today? I’m off work and so is Derrick. We were thinking it’d be nice to hang out again.
I glanced at the clock. Elijah was in public and surrounded by people he knew. I had plenty of time to go fishing, so I let Chris know I’d meet them at the boat ramp. I took my stuff with me so I could meet Elijah after work and follow him home.
◆◆◆
We’d been out on the lake about an hour, fishing, shooting the shit about nothing important, and just hanging out like old times.
If it wasn’t for the pain that still slipped in even when I was having a good time, it would have felt like I’d never left.
I tried to push it away and hold onto the happiness as I headed to the cooler to get a bottle of water.
They hadn’t brought any alcohol since I’d come along.
It’d been a long time since my body had seen the sunlight, and the heat was getting oppressive, so I took my shirt off as I reached the cooler.
Almost as soon as I’d grabbed a water, Derrick called out, “Whoa, Mason! What the hell, man, you just got back! You’re already getting laid?
I guess you always were the ladies’ man. ” He laughed.
I paused with the water in my hand before slowly turning to face them.
I’d felt the sting of the claw marks when Elijah had put them there, and I’d noticed again in the shower this morning, but I hadn’t really thought to look in the mirror, and had completely forgotten about them.
Since my back wasn’t completely covered in tattoos, and judging by the burn of the hot water, I’d wager there were a few decent scratch marks in fairly large streaks visible on my upper back.
Chris was looking at me from his seat slightly behind Derrick’s line of vision, a little smirk planted on his face.
He took a sip of his fucking apple juice, and I wanted to hit the bottom of it so it spilled all over him.
Even with the smugness, though, I knew he’d never say a word if I didn’t say it.
“Who was it?” Derrick went on, scrunching up his face as he tried to figure out who from high school I could be hooking up with.
“Audry? I know she got divorced. Or Mara? She’s been single a while.
They were all over you.” I hadn’t told him when we went fishing together because I hadn’t been sure how he’d take it, and I’d been more focused on what he was going through.
After the scene in the police station, though, and with me staying with Elijah for a while, word was going to get around town.
Elijah was a hot topic of conversation at the moment, and people were going to notice how much time we were spending together.
My time in the closet in Brooks Glen had come to an end.