Page 59 of Obsessed

Alarm bells went off in Rain’s head as his eyes rested on a picture of his face in the middle of ecstasy, which wasn’t unusual. Mason had taken many close-ups of Rain during sex but the bit of background to the left of Rain’s head told him that this particular photo had been taken in the storage room.

There was just one problem with that. He and Mason had never fucked at The Pointe; however, Rain had participated in a storage-room threesome, and he remembered the eerie feeling of being watched. Because Mason had been there, hiding behind the stacked chairs, taking photos of Rain as he’d gotten railed. Photos that he’d developed here and put on this wall.

Rain jolted, his stomach twisting with nausea.

No…Mason was safe. He wasn’t a creep. He wasn’t like the rest of the men in Rain’s life. He was different…right?

The icy hand of realization squeezed Rain’s heart and cold began to spread throughout his body. How long had Mason been taking secret photos of him? Had he been stalking Rain? Was this all a manipulation, a plan? Did the exhibition even exist?

Was everything between them a lie?

Tears streamed down Rain’s face, and he didn’t notice that Mason had come downstairs until he heard an intake of breath and a thump. Looking up, he found Mason in the doorway, an ancient frame on the floor by his feet, and those wide sea-green eyes announced every shred of his guilt.

“Rain.” He took a step in and Rain scrambled back.

“No. Just…justno.” He pointed a finger at Mason and then moved it to the collage. “What the fuck is this?” He didn’t yell but his confused fury gave the words a hissing sound, and his hand shook as he ripped the threesome photo from the wall, pulling several others with it. “And what the fuck isthis? Were you following me? Is this all a game to you?”

“No,” Mason insisted, genuine panic on his face, his gaze shifting between the photos and Rain. “It’s not…”

“It’s notwhat, Mason? I need you to elaborate.” Dropping the photos to the floor, Rain tried to stop crying but the tears seemed endless. He’d given so much to this man, trusted him more than anything, and he’d been ready to take another chance, to put himself out there even though it might hurt.

But this was worse than rejection and the pain was overwhelming.

“I’m sorry,” Mason blurted as if he’d forced it out, and his fists clenched and unclenched. “I don’t play games. I wasn’t following you. I came back to The Pointe to pick up my reflector and I heard you.”

The memory of stepping on a small gold circle and then putting it on the banister at the bottom of the stairs flashed through Rain’s mind. So, that wasMason’s. “And you decided to sneak in and take pictures? That’s not normal, Mason.”

Eyes on the floor, Mason’s entire being seemed to droop. “I only took pictures of your face.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Rain wiped more tears away. “It’s still a violation.”

Mason snapped his gaze back to Rain, his mouth falling open. “I-”

“And so is this! How long has this been up? Since before I moved in?” Rain interrupted, gesturing at the wall as all the warmth he’d felt between them slowly froze over. Falling for Mason had been a mistake and Rain felt like a foolish hypocrite. He’d proudly spurned love because relationships never lasted and now he had the life experience to back that up.

“I’m sorry.” Mason bit his lip, telling Rain everything he needed to know.

“You already said that!” He raised his voice and Mason cringed. “You won’t tell me how you feel but you’ll build an altar to me?”

He’d been duped. Mason was the same as all the others and using Rain for inspiration was still using him; it was still seeing him as an object, and Rain hated the fact that everything he’d done here, everything he’d worked through and felt, all of the happy moments, were tainted. That collage now stood at the forefront of Rain’s mind, showing him the truth behind it all.

“I can tell you…” Mason’s voice was choppy and he shook, fear in his eyes. “How I feel.”

This was exactly what Rain had wanted from Mason but all of a sudden it didn’t matter.

“You know what, Mason? It’s too late” A distorted peace came over Rain as he detached, understanding that if he wanted safety, then he had to rely on himself. “I’m so tired of everyone being obsessed. You take pictures of me and use me as your muse, Bryce keeps trying to get back into my pants, Gage won’t leave me alone, and my mother wants me to be her puppet. And I can’t change. I can’t get away from it no matter how hard I try, and it’s exhausting. I want someone to like me formeand to see me as a person, not a thing to be fucked or manipulated.”

“I don’t see you that way.” Tone strong, Mason’s eyes flashed but it still had no effect.

“Right.” Rain pointedly stared at the wall and then let out a sigh, snapping into motion.

This conversation was over.

Sliding past Mason into the bedroom, Rain went on autopilot, grabbing his backpack and gathering his things.

“What are you doing?” Fear laced Mason’s words.

“I don’t feel safe here. I’m leaving,” Rain stated simply. He couldn’t stay, not after seeing the altar. If it didn’t have stalker photos and was just a fun collage from the time they met until now, this wouldn’t be a problem. But Mason had hidden the entire thing, which meant he knew it was wrong, and he’d had the absolute gall or stupidity to leave it up while Rain had lived here, not caring enough about him to dismantle it.

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