Chapter 6 ~
Mason ~
An odd noise has me putting down my sketchpad.
It’s not uncommon for Luc to have nightmares but it doesn’t sound like him. I look over and Maverick is sound asleep, snoring quietly.
I ease myself off the bed—Mav can wake up at the slightest of movements. Grabbing my phone from my bedside table, I check the time. It’s almost one in the morning.
I hear it again as I’m silently opening my bedroom door. I peek my head in on Luc but he’s out, the covers just covering his waist. He doesn’t move so I silently close the door.
I walk down the hall to Rory’s room and crack her door open an inch.
I almost shut it but as I'm about to, I hear it again—like a faint whimpering sound.
Pushing the door open, I blink my eyes to accommodate for the lack of light.
Stumbling over in the darkness of the room, I hear Rory cry out again.
Fuck, she’s dreaming. I sit on the edge of the bed and gently touch her shoulder.
“Rory,” I say quietly, “wake up, darling.”
It takes a few tries. Her eyes fly open and she gasps for air like she hasn’t been breathing. She sits up and blinks a few times. Her cheeks are wet with tears.
“Mason?” She says in a small voice. She reaches out and I move closer.
“Yeah, hey sweetie,” I murmur. Rory trembles like a leaf and I carefully put my arms around her. She buries into my chest and half sobs. Her hands are shaking.
“He didn’t answer,” she whispers and I frown.
“Who didn’t answer, Rory?” I ask her. She starts to lean further into me until I’m holding her up.
“I needed him. He wasn’t there, Mase. He wasn’t there,” she mumbles those three words over and over again.
“Rory, lay back down, sweetie,” I tell her when I realise she’s not quite awake. Luc does this occasionally so at least Rory didn’t pull a gun on me.
“Okay,” she yawns. She lays back down and I pull the blankets up for her. She snuggles into her doona and sighs.
“Mase?” She whispers, opening her eyes.
I brush her hair from her face. “Yeah?”
“Will you stay?” She asks timidly.
I pull the blankets down and slide under them. She moves closer until her head's leaning against my shoulder. I shift so her head's on my chest, my arm curled around her shoulders. She sighs contently and I grin in the darkness.
She hasn’t known us long but she’s already so comfortable with us. She’s going to fit in our group so perfectly—she doesn’t even know it.
Just when I think Rory’s asleep, she asks me, “Why didn’t he answer me, Mase?”
Hating the sad tone in her voice and being unable to fix it, I simply respond with, “I don’t know, Rory. I don’t know.”
. . .
Rory ~
“This is where you got to, brother.” A voice wakes me.
The bed dips and I open one eye, seeing Maverick’s grinning face and close my eyes again.
“Morning, Rory. How come I didn’t get an invite?” Maverick smirks. I groan and my eyes involuntarily open to a half lit room. Maverick’s got a stupidly big grin on his face where he’s laying beside me, propped up by one arm.
“What?” I say, lost.
That’s when I feel the hard body against me. My head moves left and up. Mason’s half-lidded eyes connect with mine.
“Shut up, brother.” Mason groans, playing with my hair. He twirls a strand of my hair around his fingers and gives me a sleepy smile.
I look past Maverick’s smug face and realise I’m still in my room at Hannah’s place but I know for sure I didn’t have a bed companion when I went to sleep.
I mentally shrug and close my eyes. Twins chuckle but I ignore it, happy to doze off again.
“Rory,” Mason teases. I grumble and ignore him. He uses my hair to tickle my face and I smack his hand away.
“You better tell the guys we’re taking a mental health day,” Mason laughs, talking to Maverick.
“No one’s taking a mental health day. We’re all going to school.” I hear Alec scold the twins and my eyes pop open.
He’s leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed. His hazel eyes are framed by a pair of black glasses.
I tilt my head. “You weren’t wearing those yesterday,” I observe.
Alec gives me a faint smile. “I don’t need them all the time. What’s going on here?” He looks between me and the twins.
“No idea,” I tell him and he frowns deeply, concerned.
Mason fills us in. “You were dreaming last night. I could hear you from my room—whimpering and shit so I came in.” I look up when he abruptly stops speaking. I can sense he’s holding something back.
“How does that lead to this?" Maverick waves a hand between us.
Mason’s arm tightens almost subconsciously. “She was scared and asked me to stay,” he says defensively.
“It’s okay, Mase,” I murmur. I look up at him and despite his tone, he doesn’t look too worried except for the nervous glint in his eyes. I give him a reassuring smile that he returns.
My gaze goes back to Alec who is still leaning against the door. He comes over and sits beside Mav on the bed.
Maverick still looks concerned. I pull my arms out and rest them on my doona. “I don’t normally remember stuff when I dream,” I tell Mav, “but it makes sense that I asked Mason to stay.”
Maverick slowly nods.
"Okay," Alec announces and we all look at him. "Mase and Mav, you're on breakfast duty so go get ready. We need to leave in half an hour because some of us slept in." He points his comment at Mase and I, a playful tone in his voice.
Alec turns to me, pushing his glasses up. "Do you want to wake Luc?"
I nod and slowly start getting out of bed. I hold a hand against my ribs, wincing as I get up.
The twins reluctantly get up, although Mason complains doing so. They walk out but Alec stays behind.
"How's it feeling?" He asks, his eyes flicking down to my ribs so I know what he's talking about.
"Sore," I tell him. Alec nods like he expected this. He taps a fast-paced rhythm onto his leg like he's got more to say.
"What's up?" I half-smile, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.
"I'm worried you're going to overdo it," he says almost timidly. "There's nothing wrong with taking a few days off."
I see the concerned look in his eyes and realise there might be a bit more to this than meets the eye.
"Is this about my injuries or about what happened in Art?" I give him a faint smile.
Alec opens his mouth to speak before he thinks on it.
"Both," he finally says.
My gaze flicks down to the floor. "I'm not taking time off because…
I never have. Maybe when I was younger but even with my injuries, I've been going to school.
I guess it's just stubborn pride but I don't want to let him control me more than he already has," I say quietly.
I take a deep breath. "As for Art…they've been trying to run me out since I got there.
I'm not giving them the satisfaction of thinking it worked. "
Alec nods, his fingers halting their rapid movement. "I understand. Just tell us if your ribs are too much and we can come home. Okay?"
"Okay," I tell him, honestly. He gives me a proper smile this time and it stuns me momentarily.
Alec walks out and I quickly get dressed, then run a brush through my hair. I head for Luc's room once I'm ready. I lightly knock on the door before turning the handle, giving him a chance to object.
"Go away, Alec!" Luc grumbles, throwing a pillow in my general direction but misses.
The top half of his body is bare, revealing his golden skin. My eyes roam over the tanned muscles of his body, freezing on the jagged scars revealing themselves as he moves. That brief glimpse tells me Luc understands my situation more than I think.
His bottom half is covered by a thin sheet—the doona having been kicked to the foot of the bed. He's facing the wall, away from the door with a pillow over his face, his arm keeping it there.
I silently laugh and climb into his bed.
"I'm getting up," he mumbles into the pillow over his face.
I poke his arm and he quickly sits up, the pillow falling off his face. He sees it's me and relaxes, flopping onto his back.
"You scared me, Butterfly." He rolls over to face me. He rubs a hand over his face, yawning. He looks adorably half asleep.
I smile and lean back against the bedhead. "The twins are making breakfast," I tell him.
"Mmm-hmm." Luc moves closer and puts his face in my lap, silently begging me to play with his hair. It's a wavy mess from sleep, almost calling to me.
His eyes grow half-lidded as I run my fingers through his hair. He lets out a content sigh.
"Why do you guys like your hair being played with so much?" I ask.
Luc's green eyes grow sad. "The twins' mum," he says softly.
"Mason, Maverick and I grew up in the same area.
It wasn't until later that Alec and then Dominic joined us.
J didn't come into the picture until a few years ago.
Anyway," Luc gets back on track, "Elodie was the sweetest. She never had a girl so she said as young men it was our duty to fulfil her wishes in letting her brush and play with our hair.
You knew you were in trouble when a visit passed and she hadn't run her fingers through your hair at least once. " He smiles in remembrance.
I hesitate for a moment. "You say that like she's not here anymore."
Luc's face tells me everything. "She passed away almost a year ago." Something tells me he's not telling me the full story but I don't push it.
"That's terrible," I murmur. I continue playing with his hair until Mason yells out, telling us to come for breakfast.
I get up and wait patiently for Luc who sighs and drags himself out of bed.
My mouth dries when I see the half-undressed state he's in.
He's just in his boxers. Luc lifts his arms above his head and stretches.
A devious smirk crosses his lips when he catches me looking.
My eyes drift down his chisled abs and the subtle v that points south before I realise I'm staring and quickly flee the room.
I almost slam the door behind me and Luc's chuckling follows me down the hall.