True Colors (The Masks #1)(50)

Dale’s scar throbbed red. He wanted to shake his head vehemently, but couldn’t quite do it. He scratched his curls and frowned. “Look, I haven’t seen Mason since I was fifteen. When I knew him, he was the kind of guy that just wanted to party and have fun all the time. I can’t imagine him being capable of murder, but he was a reckless guy.”

“What was Liam like?”

Dale shrugged. “He just wanted to be like Mason. Everything Mason did was for Liam and everything Liam did was to please Mason. Their dad was a total loser; they only really had each other and it made them pretty tight.”

I nibbled my lip, thinking about Liam's phone call and what he'd said to my attacker.

“What is it?” Dale’s eyes searched my face.

“Tell him, Caity, it’s okay.” Eric ran his hand down my arm, threading his fingers through mine.

“I overhead Liam talking on the phone, and in retrospect, I think they were talking about me. I’m getting too close to something and they wanted to scare me away. Liam said not to kill me; he didn’t want whoever he was talking to, to have any more blood on his hands.”

Dale hissed and sat back in his seat. “That sounds pretty dark to me.” He shook his head. “But I don’t think it’s Mason.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “Then who's controlling Liam?”

Dale pursed his lips and shrugged. “Not sure, but I’d be really careful if I were you. Liam’s had a troubled past and it sounds like he’s in a pretty bad place right now.” Dale shook his head. “My memory of him was that he could be pulled into anything. Whoever he’s working for could probably get him to do whatever they wanted.”

“I just wish I knew what they were up to.” I bit the inside of my cheek. "I have a few theories, but—"

“I guess you’ll just have to live without knowing.” Eric squeezed my hand.

I turned to him with a frown. “But what about Indie? She’s in trouble. She’s scared. How can I just turn my back on her?”

“You don’t.” Nicole’s voice was adamant as she placed her coffee cup down.

“Nicky.” Dale placed his hand on his girlfriend’s leg and warned her with a gentle squeeze.

She turned a pointed look on him. “If you’d turned your back on me, I’d be dead right now. You put yourself in harm’s way for me and you saved my life.”

His expression softened and they were briefly caught in a moment that told me everything. These two were in love, and not just the “let’s see where this takes us” kinda love, but the “we’ve been through big shit together and survived it” kinda love.

My curiosity was piqued, but I was too shy to ask. It wasn’t really any of my business what they’d been through. I could just tell it was big.

Suddenly interested, Nicole turned her sharp gaze back to me. “So how do you know all this stuff? You overheard the phone call, but what else?”

“Well, I’ve just noticed around school that people are kind of scared of him, but the problem is, everyone loves him.”

“Okay.” Nicole’s head tipped in confusion. “So this guy is scary, but people like him?”

“They don’t know he’s scary. I mean all the people with the power to actually do something about it think he’s charming.”

Nicole sat back, her eyes piercing me. “So how do you know it then? You a mind reader or something?”

I looked down with a blush, surprised by an intense urge to just tell her. “Something like that,” I murmured.

“Caitlyn’s powers of observation are... pretty good.” My eyes shot to Eric and he winked at me.

My lips jumped into a grin.

“So you’re like a mentalist then.” Nicole nodded as her lips quirked into a grin.

I blushed. “Kind of weird, I guess.”

She shrugged, looking completely unfazed. “I’ve heard weirder.” She shot Dale a wink and he grinned at her.

“Look, Caitlyn, if I were you, I wouldn’t be able to walk away either.” Nicole’s expression turned serious. “Just be careful and don’t try to save the day on your own. You’ve got a boyfriend who obviously cares about you and people in your life who can help you. I know your type.” She raised her eyebrow and flicked her head towards Dale. “You don’t like to bother people with your problems. You like to figure stuff out on your own, but don’t be an idiot. People want to help you, so let them.”

Her speech was good and I knew she was right. I acknowledged her words with a smile and a nod before glancing at Eric. He wasn’t totally pleased by what Nicole had said, but his reticent demeanor had changed. He looked slightly more at ease and I wondered if maybe I could still pursue this without pissing him off.

*****

The night had set in and we lay in bed in the darkness. Eric had popped home during the day and grabbed a few things. His mom hadn’t even flinched when he’d told her he was staying with me. She’d just blushed and wiggled her eyebrows. Eric rolled his eyes when he told me.

We’d spent the rest of the day hanging out. We walked away from our session with Nicole and Dale, strolling down to the beach both thinking about it, but not saying anything. I knew we had to. I wanted his blessing before I hit school on Monday, but he wasn’t quite ready to give it to me. The rest of the day was quiet. We watched a movie. I did some homework while Eric studied for an upcoming test. We were like an old married couple. The comfortable silence stretching out before us, not bothering either one of us.