Fallen Crest Public(104)

23






When morning came, I was pissed. No. I was livid.
Mason hadn’t come over, and he hadn’t called. He hadn’t texted, and a few hours later, there was still no alerts on my phone. It was nearing nine in the morning and I knew he was awake. He didn’t sleep late. He wouldn’t forget his phone anywhere, so he was avoiding me. That could only mean one thing—it happened last night. Whatever he had planned for Kate had happened and I hadn’t known. I’d been left out.
I called Logan. Nothing.
I called Heather. Nothing.
Two hours later. Still nothing. From anyone
I sighed, and changed into real clothes. My face resembled a mix between a panda and raccoon. The little make-up I had on was enough to cover some of the bruising. When I was done, the panda had vanished, but the raccoon remained. I couldn’t perform miracles. It would have to be enough.
I wasn’t going to get sad. I wasn’t going to crumble and ask the ‘why me?’ questions. Last night had been emotional enough for me, so I skipped over all those crappy emotions and went straight to furious. That felt better. It slipped over me like a second coat. It was keeping me warm and sheltered. That’s when I found David.
There was breakfast still on the counter from earlier, but he moved it aside. He was taking out vegetables, dressings, and chicken.
“Let’s go to Malinda’s for lunch.”
His hand jerked and he cursed, whirling around to me. “Samantha!” He pounded on his chest. “You scared five years off my life.”
I didn’t care. “Let’s go to Malinda’s.”
“What?” He heard me this time. “Why? I thought this was father/daughter time, though I have no doubt Mason snuck in your room last night. He left already?”
“Let’s go to Malinda’s.”
He paused and then caught on. “Oh.”
Exactly.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Nope. I want to go to Malinda’s.”
“All right … Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Nope. Malin—”
He finished for me, “Malinda’s. Got it. You ready to go?”
I was more than ready. As soon as we got there, I said hello to Malinda and bypassed her for Mark’s room. It was now nearing noon, but as soon as I pushed open his door, he flew off his bed. “Mom!” He stopped, with one leg already in his jeans and frowned. “Sam?”
“Sam?” a feminine voice squeaked from under his covers. Then a blonde head popped out, and she didn’t look too pleased. “What are you doing here?”
“Cassandra?” She’d been obsessed with Adam. I snorted. “Did you give up on Adam finally? Mark told me about the new girl in his life. Must suck. You got booted. Again.”
The puzzled look on her face turned to a glare, and she threw the covers back. Wearing only a thin top, half was moved to the side so one breast was exposed. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Mark had been getting a handful before my interruption. She snapped back now, “Did you and Mason break up? Are you moving onto your next stepbrother? I’m sorry. Logan must’ve turned you down. That must suck, too.”
A growl came from the back of my throat. I looked like shit. I felt like shit. I wasn’t ready to deal with her shit. Turning to Mark, I gestured out the doors. “We need to talk.”
He nodded, casting a wary glance over his shoulder.
“Are you kidding me?” she seethed at him.
As she sat there with the blankets drowning her thin frame, Cassandra straightened her shirt with one jerk and glowered at me. “Why’d you have to come back? Things were perfect with you gone.”