Mason immediately puts my feet on the ground and backs away in horror.
I put an arm around my ribs, keeling over and breathing heavily. Luc puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing softly.
"Just gimme a sec," I manage to get out.
I wait a few minutes for the pain to fade before straightening out. I wrap an arm around myself. It turns back into a heightened ache that has me blinking back tears.
Mason's breathing heavily, something dark in his eyes. I slowly walk towards him, a hand holding my ribs.
Luc reaches out like he wants to stop me but his hand falls halfway.
Mason takes a step back and I instantly stop moving.
"Mason," I call out.
He shakes his head, not looking up.
"Mase," I say softly, not wanting him to be swallowed by pain filling his features. I don’t know why the nickname but it just slips out.
"I hurt you," Mason’s voice shudders and he squeezes his hands into balls to keep from reaching for me. I look back at Maverick who's watching his brother sadly.
I focus back on Mason. "No, Mason. I was already hurt," I explain.
He doesn't look up when I take a few more steps.
"Look at me, Mase." His eyes flick up hesitantly and I slowly lift my shirt so he can see my bandage.
"You're hurt." He stares at it.
"Yes," I tell him, trying to fight off my own demons. "Not from you, from someone else." I take another hesitant step.
This puts me right in front of him. He slowly looks up and I see the unresolved pain in his warm blue eyes.
I swallow deeply before pulling on my big girl pants. I can do this.
"You didn't hurt me, Mason." I hesitate for a moment. "I didn't tell you guys yesterday who was hurting me because I needed to protect myself. But if I didn't tell you now…that would just be stupid." I take a shaky breath. "When I got home last night, my dad wasn't happy I was late and he got angry."
Someone growls in the background but I keep my eyes on Mason.
"I've got at least one broken rib and a couple of them are bruised." Someone coughs like a warning and I don't go any further into details.
I put a hand on his cheek and a bit more of the pain leaves his eyes.
"It might have hurt when you picked me up but the pain was already there," I murmur.
I slowly move my arms around him and hug his waist. They’re all so tall.
I count to five before he even moves.
Mason shudders and leans down. He slowly, carefully puts his arms around me and drops his head to my shoulder. He breathes heavily into my neck.
"I'm sorry," he croaks and I shake my head, gripping his shirt when he tries to pull away.
"It's not your fault, Mase," I tell him. I worry that I’ve pushed him too far but he relaxes into me. He nods into my neck and I pull back to make him look at me.
"Okay?" I smile softly, leaning up to stroke his cheek. He nods again and I see the pain slowly leave his eyes.
Maverick comes up behind me and puts a hand on Mason's shoulder. "You good, brother?"
