Only For You

Ch. 11

Somehow, on the drive home, Mason makes me feel better by sharing his favorite moments and even telling a couple of jokes that make me laugh. On the long journey home from the racetrack, I felt like Mason knew I was down.

When we get inside the house, I'm surprised to see a light still on. Alex texted me somewhere through the night saying that Carson is sleeping over his house and he will make sure nothing bad happens to him. Mason and I chill on the couch for a moment before I suddenly throw myself at him. Mason doesn't realize what is happening, but I give him a patented Morgan hug while digging my head into his chest. Mason does not react at first but then surrounds me in a hug bigger than Morgans. All around my body, I'm warm. I don't know if its because my stepbrother is giving me a huge hug, or its Mason hugging me. Nonetheless, it lasts longer than it really should and I barely want to let go when Mason starts to pull away. I still hold him loosely around the waist and look up at him, placing my chin on his chest daringly.

"Thank you for tonight, Mason."

"It's no biggie," he starts to say, but I cut him off by squeezing him.

"No. Really...Mason, I had a ton of fun tonight." I almost start to say thanks for letting me see another side of you. But he did let me see another side. Instead of holding up his happiness, he opened up to me with a new side which is literally just being a boy. He is no longer the leather-jacket-wearing-cliche-bad-boy-who-really- is-not-bad. I saw a side of him that may have been there before his mother died.

Mason stares down at me with very warm eyes. Something slips into them as he looks at me. I stare into his eyes, just like he does with me. Our staring goes on for a little while until Mason scans my face one more time before unlocking my hands behind his back and nodding.

I write myself in front of him and go to speak, but a door clicking open stops me from speaking. When I look up, I notice David and my mom standing on the top of the staircase. When they see us looking, David speaks up.

"Hey, guys! Where were you guys?"

I look at Mason, for him to say since he obviously had a ton of fun tonight. But he just shrugs and looks away. So I tell David, a little more enthusiastic than needed. "We went to see some dirt bikes race! It was super cool."

My mom peeks out around Davids back, grinning like a fairy. "You guys went somewhere together?" She looks right at me. I nod at her, sporting a grin of my own.

"We did," I steal a glance at Mason, but he looks down at his socked feet since we took our shoes off outside. When Mason feels me looking, he looks over at me and sends me a look. My stomach drops out for a short moment. I wonder if I did something wrong? I almost ask him that, but Mason is going up the stairs in a flurry as David and mom step down. They watch him go up and send me a questioning look. I shrug and cover for him even though I have no idea what is going on.

"Bathroom," I answer.

David and my mom reveal that they are awake because they were binge-watching a comedy show that they got addicted to. I tell them I've done that multiple times. I tell them about the night, remembering it all. I leave out the part about the guy that spilled all four of my drinks and how I have some bruises probably forming on my shoulder. They listen, and my mom eventually decides to go to bed with David. He glances at the clock and says he will be up in a moment. I start to move too, but David motions for me to sit down without my mom seeing.

My mom kisses me goodnight on the cheek and says she loves me then returns to the room. When she gets up the stairs, I lean forward, over the breakfast bar, where David admires a fork.

"So, you and Mason are...close," he says. He looks me in the eye, being tall intimidating. My stomach drops once more and I lower my eyebrows into a confused face.

"Yeah. I would say we actually started bonding," I tell him. David nods and glances at the fork. In this lighting, I can see where Mason gets his dark hair and eyes. David stares at me with his usual warm brown eyes, but are now a dark black. His hair is darker too, obviously from the darkness of outside. David's face is warm and yet defined. I see exactly why my mom grew an obsession with him the day she saw him in the train station when her car broke down. Mom went to the train station where David sat next to her. He asks what train she is talking, about to ask for help. My mom says she has absolutely no idea because of it's her first time riding. David admits it's his too. Then they talked. And talked. And talked.Eventually, some lady offered them help (a lady who worked there). David and my mom left after sharing numbers. I remember mom coming home with a smile. Then she was glued to her phone. I had to yell at her at dinner to put it down. When mom finally told me about David, they were already on their second date.

"I see that. He seems happier than when we first showed up," David concludes. I nod as well, agreeing.

"Yeah. About that..." I trail off, not really knowing why I am asking this. "Is Mason at all bipolar?"

"If he is, this is the first I'm hearing about it. Why?"

"No reason exactly. Just wondering," I tell him and pull back from the table. "Well, I'm going to get some shut-eye. I'm making eggs tomorrow for breakfast so make sure you're up earlier to have some."

"Okay, I will try." David sends me a warm grin. I send him one back and retreat up the stairs. When I get up the stairs, I walk right past my dark room and toward the end of the hallway. When the floor turns to hardwood, my feet instantly tingle in chills.

I hover for a moment, but then knock on a white door. Like the night before, I don't care if Mason is awake or asleep, I speak through the door. I'm guessing he is awake because a light is flooding through his doorway. Nonetheless, I talk.

"Night, Mason."

When he doesn't reply, I fully retreat and get into my bed. I pick off a rather large piece of mud on my jeans. I pluck it into my trash bin and strip my jeans. I throw them in the dirty clothes, along with my shirt. I grab a random shirt from my closet, slipping it on and put my hair up in a messy bun. I slide into bed after flipping on my TV for just some background noise.

Within seconds, I fall asleep in a heap of total exhaustion.

~*~

A/N

I know its short but just wait. It will get better. I promise!

Don't be a silent reader. COMMENT! Literally, I love reading all the comments soooo much.