Page 96 of Relapse
“I’m sorry Daddy.”Why was he hurting me? I didn’t mean to go in his office. I didn’t mean to interfere with him and Momma.
Momma…
She was right there but I couldn’t look at her. Her eyes were dull and empty… wrong. Like she wasn’t there anymore.
Daddy walked around me and kicked a lamp on the floor. “I love you, Harper, but you need to learn.”
I hid under my arms and waited for the next blow. Was he going to take me away like he did Momma? Everything was in pain. My arms were on fire, my legs were aching and my chest hurt when I breathed.
“You need to do what I say.”
“I will, Daddy.” I choked back a sob, “I promise.”
I’d do anything he said. I’d be the bestest daughter so he would love me again. Then maybe he’d bring Momma back…
I don’t knowwhen we got to the end of the hall, or how I wound up in Mason’s bedroom. But the second his grip loosened, I did what I should’ve seven years ago.
I ran.
Where was I going? I didn’t know. I just knew that I needed to listen to Momma this time and get away. I needed to find a place to hide. Somewhere where Daddy couldn’t find me. Except it wasn’t my father I was running from, it was the green eyed little boy. Because if I let him catch me, Mason might find out everything. And that was so much worse.
“What the fuck?” Mason bellowed. “Get back here!”
Every fiber of my being twitched to obey his command, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let him get close to me. I had to save what was left of the boy I loved. Even if it was just a spark.
I dove for the first place I could think of. Under the bed in the middle of the room. It was the one place he couldn’t follow. Squeezing in that small space was a tight fit for me. There was no way Mason would fit. No sooner had I escaped into those safe shadows than the most disturbing laugh I’d ever heard echoed through the room.
“You want to play hide ‘n’ seek, Freckles. Alright.”
I could barely twist my head enough to watch his feet. Those black boots mocked me as they moved, vibrating light thuds through the floor as they got closer. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone and go back to the semi-happy life he had before?
When the toes of those boots stopped at the edge of the bed, I wanted to reach out and touch them. I needed to feel him just one more time and see that spark I missed so much.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
“Please leave me alone,” I whispered, while tucking my face in the crook of my arm.
If I was quiet or pathetic enough, maybe he’d leave me alone. That hope was quashed when the bed was suddenly gone. A gush of air swept across me as my security was torn away. That was followed by a deafening crash and deep chuckle.
“Found you.”
I looked up at Mason.
He glared down at me.
This was not like the games we used to play as kids. There was no glimmer of innocence in his victorious expression, or excited crack in his voice as he ran off to find his own place to hide. And why should there be? Mason wasn’t that boy anymore. He was a man with broad shoulders and bulging muscles. So why couldn’t I look away from the playful smirk on his face?
Even when he was angry, he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. A monster in pretty wrapping. I rolled my eyes up his jean clad legs to the black t-shirt with a fist on it. The wrapped up fingers and tight knuckles sent a shiver down my spine. Mason humiliated me every chance he got, but he’d never hurt me. Right?
Are you crazy? Of course he would. Now stop gawking and run away!
All it took to snap me back into reality was a single twitch of his jaw. I was up on my feet in a flash, ready to run again. This time, though, I wasn’t fast enough.
Mason grabbed my hair, causing my body to twist and slam back into him. I toppled to the floor. My legs went one way and my arms another. The worst part was, I brought him down with me.
Kissing the hard marble didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. Part of me wondered if the grunt I heard Mason give meant that he took part of the force for me. But I didn’t have time to think about that. Bracing my palms on the ground, I attempted to wriggle my left leg out from under his weight. Thought I might make it, too. Until a large form crawled over me.
When the solid planes of Mason’s chest pressed down on my back, I tried to tell myself to stop. The fight was over, I couldn’t win. But panic had too much of a hold on me. It coursed through my veins making me flail and cry, while taking over my mind. My desperation caused me to say the stupidest thing I could’ve in that moment.
