Fallen Crest Alternative Version (Fallen Crest High #2.1)(65)

His pool stick went to the floor in a slow motion. He seemed to choose his words with caution. “I didn’t say that.”

My eyes flashed and my jaw hardened. “You said she’s in a tizzy I’m back. I thought she wanted me back.”

“Come on, Sam.” Logan glanced around. “We’ll talk about this later.”

I heard Kate snort.

I whirled on her. “Do you mind? This is a family meeting.”

She stiffened, but she jerked to attention. She crossed her arms and stuck out her chin. “Then don’t have it in front of me.”

I knew her friends waited at the ready. My eyes flashed at her. “Go ahead and leave.”

Her eyes widened a bit.

I jerked a hand to the door. “It’s that way.”

Then they narrowed.

I felt the unrest in the air and knew I’d stepped down the wrong path, but I didn’t care. I was sick of Kate; sick of how she was always around Mason, how she’d had her hand plastered on his arm before I came through the door or how I knew she’d been the one that he used in bed on a regular basis before me.

“I don’t think you know—” she started to say.

I swung at her.

As soon as my arm let loose, Mason swung around my waist and lifted me in the air. He carried me backwards while Logan leapt forward. He caught Kate who realized what I’d done. Her eyes were wide, wild, and her breathing was fast and shallow. He held her in the air, but then Ethan ducked down and used his shoulders to push back the rest of the girls. They were lined up in a hallway while Mason took me to the stairs and started to carry me up.

“You bitch!” Kate seethed over Logan’s shoulder.

I flicked her off and cursed. “This is my home too. Get out!”

I heard her screaming the whole way until we reached the second floor. When we got to my room, he dropped me on the floor but urged me inside with his hips. I rolled my eyes and pushed off from him. I started to pace as he took position in front of the door. “I’m not leaving. I’m not stupid.”

“Those girls will rip you apart.”

I rolled my eyes at him and raked my hands through my hair. I knew that. I did. They were tough, but I wanted to fight them. I wanted to rip into them, do as much damage as I could, but he stopped me. If he hadn’t been there, I knew Logan would’ve stepped in. As well as Ethan and so on. If Nate had been around, he would’ve stepped forward.

I was tired of people stepping forward.

Then I took a book from my couch and hurled it at the wall.

“She’s in the city. My dad has some big meeting and they got a hotel room the night before.”

I cursed under my breath. “She doesn’t want me here?” My chest heaved up and down.

Mason held my gaze steady. He was always steady, too steady. I wanted to rattle him, but he folded his arms and sighed. “You threw her against a wall. She was pissed.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t throw her against a wall. She came at me and I pushed her back. It wasn’t how it seemed.” My chest kept heaving up and down. I clenched and unclenched my fists. I felt like a caged animal.

Mason murmured, “You need to calm down.”

I closed my eyes and forced myself to let out a deep breath. I did. I knew I did, but my mom—everything hit me and I sank down onto my couch. I caught my head in my hands. “Oh my god. I can’t believe I went after Kate.”

He snorted. “Don’t worry about it. She respects that stuff. Trust me.”

I still groaned. I didn’t respect that, no matter how thrilling it felt at times. I crumpled to the couch and raked my hands through my hair. “What is going on with me? I feel like I’m crazy and it hasn’t even been a day.”

Mason chuckled and sat beside me. He lifted me so I was turned towards him and straddled his waist. I let out a deep breath and rested my forehead against his. As his hands slid up my legs, he murmured, “It’s your mom. Makes sense. I’d go crazy too.”

A hard laugh ripped from me. “You’d handle her differently than me. You’d tell her to screw off or something.”

“Yeah, but it’d be hard.”

My eyes caught his and I read the sincerity behind his words. I pulled back an inch. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I love my mom and dad, but I can’t let them control my life. If they did, I’d be damned. My folks aren’t the most healthy, you know.”

Another shuddering breath left me. Oh, I knew. I knew too much. Then I closed my eyes as an image of David flashed in my mind. He had seemed so lost when we stood in the house, when he admitted that he hadn’t touched his living room in five and a half months.

It’d been almost six months. They had separated six months ago.

Pain flared inside of me and I choked back a lump. “Does it always happen this fast?”

“Does what?”

“Change.” The word tasted so odd on my tongue. “It wasn’t that long ago when we moved in and now the divorce is almost done, my mom’s planning her new wedding.” David has a girlfriend. He hadn’t changed anything in the house. What did that mean?

Then Logan poked his head around the door. He relaxed as he saw us and swung through the door with a cocky grin on his face. “I wasn’t sure if you two would be knocking boots.”