Page 42 of Obsessed

He couldn’t wait to get home, shower, and then flop into bed with Rain and Mouse. Hopefully, Rain would be in a better mood. Mason didn’t know what had happened last night but somewhere between the reception and the ride home Rain’s energy had changed and he’d gone quiet, anxiety lining his pinched lips. Not knowing what to do, Mason had given him space, intending to ask about things if Rain still seemed upset in the morning.

But Mason woke to an empty bed and even though Rain’s texts said that he was out running errands and would be back tonight, apprehension wound through Mason’s mind.

While he didn’t knowwhathad happened, he was pretty sure Rain’s family had been behind it. While Rain seldom talked about his parents; he’d insinuated that his mother was flaky, his tone telling Mason that they were strained, and he hoped that Rain hadn’t gone to see her tonight. Over time, that stormy gaze had been screaming less and less, which showed in Rain’s pictures, especially the candid ones Mason took throughout their daily lives. But if Rain visited his mother and returned with that haunted look?

Mason’s core rumbled in anger.

Pulling up to the house, he gathered his gear and went inside. His apartment now had three locks and he needed to fiddle with all of them to get in, and once he did he dumped everything on the couch.

“Rain.” He looked around, his eyes resting on the closed bedroom door. Even though nothing else was out of place, his apprehension grew, swirling in his gut as he walked over to it and heard a distant pleading meow.

Something was wrong.

“Rain?” The doorknob didn’t move when he tried to turn it. Scowling, he pulled out his keys, trying a few before he got it right. Unlocked, the doorknob turned but the door only shifted. A stronger push told him that something was blocking it, and fear streaked through Mason’s system, his brain racing.

Why was Rain barricaded inside the bedroom? Was there another break-in? Was Rain even in there?

Mason couldn’t explain it, but he could tell from Mouse’s cries that Rain was in the bedroom and he needed help.

“Rain!” He shouted, edging along panic as he put his shoulder against the door, leaning in with more force, and it opened several inches. Recognizing Mason’s voice, Mouse’s pleas became louder and more insistent, which spurred Mason on. Digging in, he put all his strength behind the next push, groaning as the blockage shifted back, giving him enough room to slide in.

“Rain!”

Stumbling to a lamp in the pitch-black darkness, Mason flicked the switch, blinking at the flood of light while hurrying around the bed toward Mouse’s cries, and as soon as he saw Rain, he stilled in shock.

Huddled against the nightstand, Rain shook like a leaf, his wide, gray eyes focused on nothing, his arm extended, holding the pink pepper spray that Mason had seen before. Frightened and agitated, Mouse ran back and forth between them, her scared cries forcing Mason into motion, and he slowly kneeled in front of Rain, trying to breathe as a wave of concern washed through him so strong that it almost swept him away.

“What happened? Did my brother break in again? Are you hurt?” In that moment he had no trouble emoting; his sentences were sharp and lifted with worry at the end. Going quiet, Mouse sat next to him, watching. He wanted to ask a final question -did you visit your family tonight?But he held back because if he was wrong, then he’d be making things worse.

Hand shaking, Rain flicked the cap, still stuck inside his fear, and Mason understood. Rain had been pushed hard enough to lose touch with reality. Mason had not only experienced that at the hands of his family but also under the whims of a sadistic upperclassman, so he knew that he needed to bring Rain back gently.

Hoping that he didn’t get sprayed in the face, Mason reached up, placing his hand over Rain’s. After a few seconds, Rain gasped in reply, blinking a few times before finally focusing on Mason, that gaze clinging to him and warming Mason’s heart.

“Can you put this down?” Mason asked as softly as he could, although it still came out robotic to his ears. While he was probably the worst choice to comfort someone, a part of him found it easy to soothe Rain. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

It was the truth. Mason didn’t have the ability to hurt Rain and he tried to emote that, but it was like speaking a foreign language. Even so, Rain seemed to believe him, dropping his arm limply to his side, and the canister tumbled onto the carpet. Picking it up, Mason placed it within reach, somehow knowing that Rain needed it nearby to feel safe.

“Was there another break-in?” He had to be sure, even if he already knew that the answer would be no. If his brother had unlocked either of the inside doors, then Mason would’ve noticed it. Besides, hurting others wasn’t his family’s style; they reserved that for their own blood.

Opening his mouth, Rain tried to form words but ended up shaking his head, confirming that this had nothing to do with the will or the house, but he didn’t offer anything more so Mason carefully crawled around to his side. Sitting close enough to support yet far enough away to keep Rain comfortable, Mason placed his hand a little farther out than he normally would, spreading his pinky until it was an inch from Rain’s, not expecting anything. So, when Rain’s finger brushed against his and stayed there, he felt honored.

They sat in silence for several minutes, and Rain seemed to slowly unwind. Shifting, he took a deep breath and Mason tilted his head toward him.

“I’m…I just…” Biting his lip, Rain considered and then sighed. “My mother’s boyfriend keeps trying to fuck me. I had to go over there tonight for her birthday and…it wasn’t good.”

Up until that moment, Mason thought he knew rage, especially with his family’s recent antics, but that sentence had red creeping into the edge of his vision and it took everything he had not to clench his fists.

“Did he touch you?” It came out as a growl.

“No, but he tried to and he threatened me.” Rain closed his eyes and his fingers twitched, causing a cascade in which both their hands turned and their fingers entwined. Mason hadn’t held hands with anyone since his grandmother passed, and Rain’s smaller palm slid perfectly against his own, not banking his anger but helping him compartmentalize.

“And your mom did nothing, right?” Mason supplied.

“Yeah…” Rain’s eyes opened in surprise. “How did you know?”

Mason sneered. “Because my mother is a doormat.”

Rain jolted a few times as if he was trying to laugh but couldn’t.

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