Fallen Crest Family (Fallen Crest High #2)(32)

"…911 now!..."

"Huh?" I looked at him through a fog now.

"911, Samantha!"

I frowned. 911? She was faking, didn't he know that? But I couldn't speak. The words never came as he rushed past me for the phone. It was attached to the wall behind me, and as he grabbed and lifted it to his ear, his accidentally pushed me backwards.

I reached out for something to hold onto, but there wasn't anything. It was just wall and then I fell to the floor. I scooted up against the wall and sat there as he spoke on the phone.

Everything happened in slow motion. It was surreal. I was watching a movie played out in front of me. The ambulance hadn't taken long. Two EMTs checked her vitals and interrogated James with questions. When they couldn't find anything wrong, they loaded her onto a stretcher and left.

James went with them. He glanced back at me once and asked me a question, but I couldn't make sense of it. I saw his mouth moving, but I couldn't hear him. There was a buzzing sound in my head, it drowned out everything else. When I only looked at him, he gave me a small frown, but grabbed a set of keys from a drawer. He left after that.

I was like that when I heard pounding on the door.

I couldn't move. I knew I should get up to see who that was, but I couldn't. But then—no. I had to get up. She'd been faking it. Why was I in shock about that? So, slowly, I pushed myself up and then went to the door.

I turned the lock the whole way and the door was shoved open. My hands braced against it, and I was thrown against the wall. Before I could fall or steady myself, Mason grabbed me. He hauled me close.

I gasped, everything came flooding back.

God, the buzzing sound was still there. It felt like someone was stomping their foot on my head.

"Where'd they go?"

Logan rushed past Mason into the kitchen. He came back a second later and lifted his hands. "They're gone." He looked at me. "Did they go to the hospital already?"

I shook my head. "She was faking it." She had to have been.

Mason clutched me tighter against him before he pressed a rough kiss against my forehead. "Are you okay?"

Logan stepped closer, concerned as well.

What were they so scared about? She was faking.

"Sam." Mason cupped both sides of my face. "Your mom collapsed. Dad called us. He said you were in shock. Are you okay?"

"She didn't," my voice cracked. I shook my head. Why did everyone believe her? "She's faking." I knew it, she had to have been. The convenient timing, how dramatic it had been. All of this was nuts. It was over the top, how Analise liked to live. I shook my head clear of the shock and my voice became clearer. "I told your dad what she was going to do, that she was going to press charges against you and then pretend she hadn't been thinking straight. She saw it, she saw his face." I hadn't. His back had been turned to me, but how he'd grown quiet, how he had left the room. I'd been so sure that it was done, that they were done. How could he have stayed with her after knowing that?

"Huh?" Logan scratched his head.

Mason cursed under his breath. "Nothing."

"Wait, that's not nothing." Logan stepped closer. "What aren't you telling me?"

Mason stiffened, but when I knew he was going to feed him another lie, I spilled the beans. "My mom was going to press charges of statutory rape against Mason. It's illegal to have sex with a minor. He's 18. It would've stuck."

Logan's eyes went wide. He sucked in his breath and gaped at us. Curses spewed from him as he shook his head. "And you weren't going to tell me? What the hell, Mason?! What the f**king hell?" He stopped abruptly, but then his gaze shot back to us. "Nate knew, didn't he? When did you know about this?"

Mason cursed under his breath.

My hand found his and I held tight to it. "She told me the same day you guys left. I was coming to see Mason and she was waiting for me. She knew I would." I swallowed over a knot. "That was the ace up her sleeve. It would've ruined his life."

"Fuck."

Mason let out a soft breath behind me. His hand wrapped around my waist, and he tugged me back against him. As he held me, I watched Logan from his shelter. I waited for his response, whatever it was going to be. It wouldn't be good. I knew that much. He'd been lied to.

"Fuck you!"

I closed my eyes. There it was.

"Fuck you! Seriously." He scooted away from us, all the way to the back wall.

I started for him, but Mason went instead. He stood close to him as he lifted his hands up, as if to his shoulder. Then he dropped them. "What would you have done?"

Logan glanced up, his gaze stormy. "I would've done something."

"Exactly." Mason sighed. His hands found his waist and his head hung down. His voice came out soft, "You would've come over here and threatened her, or you would've done something worse. You've been asking every day to tie her up and scare the crap out of her."

Logan gave a weak laugh. "I wouldn't have really done that."

"I don't care. This needed to be handled the right way and I had no idea what to do, not until last night…" He lifted his gaze to me.

I realized that he wanted me to confront her. He knew that I was the only one that could've. Shame flared through me. I should've done this sooner. Now it was all a mess.