Page 92 of Relapse
A part of me wanted to speak when he took a turn next to Cherry Lake – Mason’s house was the other way – but who was I to argue with Death? It was comfortable back here. The seat was kind of soft, and I liked the checkered pattern on the headrest in front of me.
There were twelve black squares and eleven grey ones. The fifth grey one had a slight deformation that led me to believe the stitching was off. I wonder who made them? They seemed out of character for someone with his social standing. Then again, so did that jean jacket. But that was something I could think about another time. Right now, I was going to stay where I was and study the headrest.
My game of red light green light came to an end when we pulled over next to an ice cream stand. He opened his door and I retained my silence, but when Preston looked in the rearview mirror and jarred back a touch, I damn near jumped out of my skin.
“Oh shit. I forgot you were there.” His brow arched. “Want some ice cream?”
“Sure,” I whispered while trying not to cry.
When he pranced over to the stand I was tempted to run, but my feet wouldn’t move. Aside from the wild fluttering in my chest, I had become one with the backseat. I could barely get my arm to lift and accept the cone he held out for me. My tears, however, were flowing freely.
“You seem like a vanilla kind of girl.”
I preferred strawberry, but I did what any rational person would and ate my treat. It was weird driving down the road to hell with the devil at the helm, while I cried like a baby and ate quite possibly the best vanilla ice cream I’d ever had. Thank god Mrs. Benson made me take my pills this morning, otherwise I’d be in pain for the rest of the day. Not that my lactose intolerance would’ve mattered either way.
My heart didn’t calm down until I saw the Oakleigh Manor sign, and when Mason’s house came into view I practically leapt out and scurried inside. I wasn’t even sure if the car had come to a complete stop. I did hear Preston yell a ‘you’re welcome’ before I closed the door though.
The raven sprawled across the Kessler’s floor used to creep me out. I hated being under the scrutiny of that big amber eye. It felt like that thing followed me everywhere. Today, however, that eerie orb was so much better than the dead glare I’d escaped. An object made out of tiles had more life in its face than Preston did.
The question I had now was, where did I go? Did I go to my room, or wait here? I sure as heck wasn’t going to Mason’s room. The one and only time I was there stuff happened. Don’t get me wrong, it felt good. At least it did at first. I spent the last seven years in the aching embrace of pain, but none of the injuries I’d endured came close to the fiery slice of pleasure overload.
Not to mention that I didn’t like being that close to Mason. It reminded me of a time when I believed in fairy tale endings. When I was happy. And that was dangerous. Twice now I’d let something slip. How much would he find out if I did it again? Would everything I’d worked so hard to protect come crashing down?
“Harper?”
“Riley?” My brows furrowed.
What was she doing here? Then again, why was I surprised? She was dating Micha, so it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility that she’d be here.
She rushed forward and grabbed my arm. “Thank god.”
“Um… okay?”
“I’m so happy you’re here.” She tugged on my arm, pulling me off to the right.
Okay, this was weird.
Other than Lana, no one was ever happy to see me. Yet the relief on her face was very evident. So much so that I began to wonder if this was some kind of trick. It was a crazy thought to have – Riley wasn’t that kind of person. Once upon a time she was in my shoes, except her bully was Mason’s brother, which in my opinion was worse.
Micha literally sought Riley out, whereas Mason only picked on me when I was around. Sure, some of those run-ins were strange. Like why would Mason be at the private beach behind my house. But that didn’t mean he looked for me. Right?
I twisted my neck and looked over at her dark blue eyes. Riley and Micha weren’t the gooshy couple that Logan and Shelby were, but I could see how much they loved each other. Even when they fought – which was a lot. How did they go from hate to that?
Mason didn’t look at me like he used to. There was something else behind the anger sparkling in his eyes. Was it pain, sorrow, or something else, like love? Could there be a part of him that still cared about me? Would I sense it if there was? Did Riley? Would she tell me if she did?
Should I ask? No, I shouldn’t be prying. It felt wrong. Riley’s personal life was her business. But what if she could help? What if Riley Adams held the key to saving that green eyed little boy? Micha Kessler was a monster and she softened him. Did that mean I could do the same with Mason? Did I want to?
“Is Micha ever nice to you?”
“Oh yeah, he’s a regular paragon of sweetness.” She snorted.
“But… he has to be… sometimes. Right?”
She stopped and eyed me, making nervousness dig my teeth into my lip. On a normal day, Riley Adams scared me. She was a tiny ball of force that knocked everyone out of her way.
“Alright,” she sighed and propped her hands on her hips. “What did he do?”
That was a weird thing to ask. “Who?”
