Page 89 of The Young & the Sinner

Mason

I ledher up the stairs, aware of her every movement. I shouldn’t be so attuned to her, but I was. Just like I shouldn’t be plagued with thoughts of her, but I was.

I was sure I seemed preoccupied since I’d come to stay with them. And Max took notice, too. I was sure that was why he was home so much. He didn’t want me to be alone with her. I turned on the light and we stood side-by-side in front of the mirror. She frowned at our reflections.

“What?” I asked.

“No wonder you call me little one. You’re huge!”

I smirked. She was an amusing little thing, that was for sure. I always found my smile whenever she was around.

“Are you just now noticing, little one?”

“Yeah, I mean, no. That’s not what I meant. I always knew you were huge. But compared to me…” She trailed off on a tiny shrug. She was tiny compared to most people. A little on the small side of average, and infinitely too precious for the likes of me. I kind of love the way she admired my size whenever I was nearby.

Her frown deepened, and I resisted the urge to smooth away the small wrinkle between her brows. “Look at this,” she said. “I barely reach your shoulders.”

Our eyes met in the reflection, and I couldn’t look away. My voice was a bit gruff when I said, “Yeah, I know.”

Then I grasped her shoulders and pulled her back so that I could rest my chin on the top of her head. “You looking like this just makes me want to do nothing but protect you from everything bad in the world.”

“Now you sound just like Max.”

I grunted, before tightening my hold on her just a fraction and letting go. I didn’t want her to see me like Max, though that was probably what I should hope for.

“Ready for your present?”

She lit up at the mention of gifts. Most girls would pretend not to care. Or feign humility. But not Olivia. She was practically brimming with excitement.

She held out her hands and made a grabbing motion. “Gimme, gimme.”

I laughed. “Like I said, so adorable.”

Her smile widened, and I realized how much I was willing to do just to keep that smile on her face. I pointed at something to my right, and for the first time, she noticed a small black box on the sink countertop.

“What is it?” she asked, though I thought she had probably guessed what it was. She didn’t seem excited anymore, and my heart clenched. I didn’t know if it was the right decision to buy her this, but I felt like I had to do something.

“Open it,” I said.

She slowly unlatched the box, and I noticed a slight tremor through her hands. “You got me a makeup box?”

“Yeah.”

I started to say more, to reassure her, but she spoke first. “I don’t want it.”

She made a move to leave, but I blocked the door. She crossed her arms and glared at me. “Move out of the way, Mason.”

“Just hear me out, Livie, before you say anything.”

“I don’t want to. I told you about not being able to wear makeup since… well, that, and now you’re giving me a makeup box full of makeup? For what? To shove it in my face?”

“Do you really think I would do that? Do you think I would want to hurt you like that?”

Tears pricked her eyes and it was like a punch to the gut. I didn’t want her to cry. I didn’t think I could handle it.

“Why else would you do it?”

“I don’t want that bastard to take away any more from you. If you let what you’ve experienced keep you from doing anything, even if it’s something as simple as putting on makeup, then he wins.”

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