31. Mason
Chapter 31
Mason
My shoulders sag when I see Knox standing near the clinic’s entrance. I grab my phone out of my Escalade’s console and stash it in my black-and-silver letterman’s jacket. Knox extinguishes his cigarette in a nearby public ashtray when he sees me approaching.
“Where’s Silas?” I ask.Fuck, my heart is already racing and I haven’t even gone through the front doors.
“He’s taking care of something for me.”
“Right now?” I rub a hand irritably through my stubble. I don’t bother shaving on weekends. By Monday I have a longer beard than some guys who’ve been at it for a week.
“Does it matter whose hand you hold?” he snarks, a rascally gleam in his eyes.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I tell him, tugging hard at the lapels of my jacket.
“More than you, obviously.” He gives me a curious once-over. “Still working up the courage to go inside? You know you don’t need an invite, right? You’re not a vampire.”
“Fuck you,” I mutter, glancing up at the Divine Radiance Health Center’s sign. Who puts a burning mountain on a medical clinic’s front door?A frosted version of that same disturbing logo splits in half when I finally get the guts to go inside.
Knox remains surprisingly silent as I head to the circular information desk in the foyer. As soon as Sister Tracy sees me, she pops up behind the counter like a prairie dog. “Mason! I was wondering where you were.”
“He was afraid to come inside,” Knox says cheerily.
“Only because I was worried he’d burst into flames,” I tell her, faking a grin as I point my thumb at Knox.
Sister Tracy titters at this, and grabs a file out of one of the trays behind the counter. “Let’s get you set up before all the good seats are taken. We have a full house today.”
Knox stares around as Tracy leads us through a labyrinth of hallways. “Glad to see you’re putting my money to good use,” he says.
Sister Tracy almost trips over her Crocs. She turns, giving Knox a wide-eyed stare that slowly resolves into bright-eyed wonder. “It’s you!” she whispers. “You’re...you’re his son, aren’t you?”
Knox gives her a frosty smile. “I’m afraid so,” he says. “So, does it hurt when you suck the marrow out of his bones?”
My sour laugh draws more than a few eyes. God, why did Knox have to send Silas back to the Academy? He doesn’t know the first thing about this shit. I’m going to be spending the next hour explaining everything to him, aren’t I?
“I’m not donating marrow,” I tell him. “Just blood.”
“Blood? Sissa does that all the time, and she’s thirteen. ”
Thank God a waiting room comes up ahead, because I might have punched him out if he’d said another word.
“You wait in there.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Sister Tracy says. “He’s more thanwelcome to sit with you like your other friend does.”
“Thank you, Sister,” Knox says. “I’d be devastated if I couldn’t hold Mason’s hand through this traumatic ordeal.”
“Dickwad,” I mutter, throwing Knox a hard stare.
“How many times have you done this?” he asks, without missing a beat. “A hundred? A thousand? Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”
“It’s called a phobia for a reason, you condescending?—”
“Here we are!” Tracy throws out her arms like she’s announcing the new wing that’s been added.“And it looks like your seat is still open.”
“Royalty around here, huh?” Knox says. I have no idea who he’s referring to. It could literally be either of us.
Surprisingly, my palms aren’t as sweaty as they normally are by this stage. Probably because I’ve been low-key dying of shame at Knox’s arrogance since we stepped inside the clinic. See, this never happens with Silas. He’s grim but supportive. I guess because he’s got his own reasons to dislike coming to this place so he knows the sooner I get done, the sooner we can leave.
That’s how the two of us met three years ago. His sister, Letty, was in the cancer ward when I was trying to give a bone marrow transplant.
Trying being the operative word. Because of course the only person in the whole fucking world who was a perfect HLA match for my brother Trevyn is deathly afraid of doctors, hospitals, and needles. Life is a dick like that.
I ran into Silas—literally—when I was trying to escape the male nurse they’d sent after me when I freaked out. See, thing is, I don’t pass out when I see needles…I fight . And then I run.
If Silas hadn’t stopped me, I’d have run out of there and never come back. Trevyn could have died. But Silas was so pissed off that I was causing a ruckus in the same ward where his sister was fighting for her life, he came after me.
I think the orderly was glad he didn’t try and tackle me. Because fuck, I hurt Silas that day. He gave as good as he got, though. By the time they dragged us apart, we both had bleeding noses and split lips.
We got to talking while the nurses patched us up. He told me about Letty and I told him about my brother, Trevyn. He called me a fucking pussy and said if he could chop off a limb to save his sister’s life, he would do it four times over. I told him I was scared of needles, and he said he’d try and find me a tampon. Then he grabbed my arm and walked me into the transfusion room, not letting go until the nurse said we were done.
There was a possibility Trevyn’s body would reject my bone marrow, or that he’d succumb to transfusion-related complications.
He didn’t.
My marrow saved his life. With his severe case of Thalassemia, he still needs regular blood transfusions though. I donate blood for him every two months, because I know it’s a perfect match.
I just wish it didn’t have to involve fucking needles.
As soon as the nurse is done setting me up, she leaves Knox and me alone. It’s sunny in this room, and quiet despite the nine other people here giving blood or receiving chemotherapy.
That’s what always gets me. The quiet . Silas and I discuss the latest playoffs, or I let him prattle on about whatever school assignment he’s fired up about at the time. He’s got so much schoolwork going on at any one time, I’m not surprised he’s a zombie the rest of the time.
But Knox is silent. He’s too busy scanning the room to talk. Probably calculating the cost per square inch of the equipment, furniture, and decor.
“What’s Silas doing?” I ask, desperate to take my racing mind off the fact that I have a needle jammed in my flesh.
“Visiting a friend of ours,” Knox says, giving me a mysterious smile I instantly want to punch off his smirking face.
“We don’t have friends.” Well, that’s not entirely true. But Knox wouldn’t call them friends, that’s for sure. He’d probably use a word like acquaintances or some shit.
Knox narrows his eyes at me, sitting closer so he doesn’t have to raise his voice. “Snitches get stitches.”
I stare at him, so shocked that for a moment I even forget there’s a fucking needle in my arm.
“She did it,” I murmur. “Even after we warned her…she still did it.”
“You just keep pumping that blood,” Knox says grimly. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Knox…” Fuck I don’t even know how to put this. Knox tends to obsess over things. Sometimes they work themselves out…but I have a feeling this won’t be the case with Nim. “I don’t want us doing something we’ll regret.”
“I know.” Knox glances down and grabs my hand, squeezing me hard enough to set my jaw. “That’s why I’m one the one holding your motherfucking hand, not Silas.”
Knox’s black eyes dart up, fixating on me.
Several times since Lorenzo’s death, I’ve wondered how we let things get so far. We made the decision one night after we’d all been drinking, that much I remember. But in the morning, once our hangovers had faded away, we still wanted Lorenzo dead. We tried to talk ourselves out of it, but Knox’s obsession had grown on us. We toyed with an idea, which quickly transformed into a solid plan that none of us could deny was fucking perfect.
Then Nim arrived.
Now we simply have to balance the scales. Like we did with Lorenzo…something no one in this godforsaken town was willing to do. Not to someone like him.
In Cinderhart, the rich get away with everything. Our motto is “We Light the Fire”.
What a load of bullshit.
It should be, “We Shelter the Guilty.”
“I mean, you say that,” I murmur, leaning in even closer. “But what’s Silas going to do?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Knox laughs, and it’s not a pleasant sound.