I softly squeeze his shoulder. ‘It’s okay, big bro. You can’t protect me from everything.’
‘I can still rearrange his face.’ He scowls.
‘I’ll hold him down,’ Mason interjects from somewhere behind me.
‘It’s settled, then,’ my brother replies, turning to look at Mason.
Rolling my eyes, I step back, folding my arms. ‘That’s enough about all of that. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I just want to move on from it.’
‘We’ll see about that,’ Zayden mutters under his breath, and I choose to ignore the comment. ‘So, what happened with the share house?’
Exhaling noisily, I backtrack to the kitchen and drop into the bench seat as I give a quick recap. My brother’s brows draw together as he listens. He lowers his sports bag to the ground; his white shirt is stained with dirt and mud – he must have been out playing football. That is the only reason my brother would get out of bed before nine.
Both Mason and my brother have always played. My brother is madly obsessed with it. He spends every spare moment he has practising, whereas Mason only goes to the scheduled trainings, unless my brother convinces him to do extra with him. Or at least, that’s how it used to be. They’re both exceptional players, but Mason is a bit more of a natural, which I think is why Zayden tries extra hard to keep up, to prove he is just as good.
‘Again,’ I repeat, eyeing my brother, whose expression is now looking particularly murderous. ‘It’s done now, I just need to move on.’ He doesn’t even know half of what Dylan has done to me recently. He would be out the door in the next second if he did. Especially about the money Dylan stole, but I’m going to try my best not to let that one slip.
A muscle jumps in Zayden’s cheek, but he nods. ‘It won’t be done until my fist is in his face.’
Again, I ignore the comment. ‘Would you mind if I crash here until I can find another place? I’ll get out as quickly as I can. I just need ... money. And a job. And some friends who don’t sneak around behind my back with my boyfriend.’ I let out a hysterical laugh and then groan, rubbing my face roughly, pressing my fingers into my eyes, as if pressing hard enough will force the tears escaping to go back in. ‘My life is a disaster.’
‘Stay as long as you need,’ Zayden replies. I peer through the gaps in my fingers and he offers me a lazy, one-shoulder shrug. ‘Or stay permanently. There’s plenty of space and the rent would be even cheaper divided by three. Same with the utilities.’
I raise an eyebrow and glance at Mason, studying his reaction. He’s staring at my brother with a serious expression, like he’s thinking hard about something. I can’t tell if he loves the idea or hates it. Possibly a mixture of both, considering that’s exactly how I’m feeling.
‘You don’t mind, right?’ Zayden asks, turning back to Mason. I’m not sure how he misses the tension between the two of us, but I suppose it’s always been there. He is either totally oblivious or refuses to acknowledge it, since he assumes neither of us would ever act on our feelings. And we certainly shouldn’t have ...
‘Not at all,’ Mason replies smoothly, his voice deep and still a little raspy, which I have always loved. The best part of my day used to be his hoarse ‘good morning, Blush’ when I ran into him in the hallway. I remember how I sometimes dared to wear a skimpy night dress – I loved the way his eyes travelled over every inch of me whenever he saw me in it.
The tension between Mason and me is suffocating, and my stomach is in total knots. I twist the ring on my finger, trying to keep my breathing even. Mason’s eyes track the movement, and my skin prickles with awareness. He was the one who bought it for me. I wanted to take it off, throw it out and pretend it meant nothing. But I couldn’t. I could never let it go.
‘I don’t have a job I can offer you, but I can help in the friends department. Let’s go to the university bar. We can meet and mingle with people. It’ll be a good distraction,’ Zayden says.
I refocus on what he is saying, since as usual, my mind has wandered off down Mason-lane. My brother and Mason have always been big on the party life, but they used to keep that side of themselves separate from me – I was always the ‘younger sister’. Things have changed now, though, and it’s nice to be included.
Perking up, I smile at them both. Going out and distracting myself seems like the perfect thing right now.
‘Count me in!’
5
MASON
FLICKING ON MY LIGHTas the sky darkens, I run my hand through my hair, making it a little messy, but not too unkempt. I’m dressed in all black, with the sleeves of my shirt rolled up to my elbows. Finishing the drink I poured earlier, I make my way down to the kitchen for another. The price of a drink at a club is through the roof now, and the more we can pre-drink at home, the better.
I’ve lined up two rows of shots when Zayden trots into the kitchen. Dressed in a light-blue shirt – which I actually think is mine, as Zayden has taken all my coloured shirts, claiming I never wear anything but black – and with his hair combed back, he looks neat for once. His hair is a dirty blond, almost brown now, and so long he has to sweep it off his forehead all the time.
‘Is that hair gel?’ I raise an eyebrow.
‘Mmhmm.’ He nods, striking a pose. ‘You like?’
‘Sure.’ I shrug, grinning at my best friend. ‘Looks good.’
‘You too, brother.’ Glancing down at his watch, he sighs, calling up the stairs to Anya, telling her to hurry up.
I tap my fingers against the kitchen bench. I shouldn’t be nervous. This is what Zayden and I always do – drink, party, go out. It just feels different with Anya here. After everything that happened when I was overseas, I want nothing more than to focus on school and get my head straight. The last thing I need is a distraction, and she is one gigantic distraction.
A few minutes later, I hear the distinct click of her heels descending the stairs before she saunters into the kitchen. My heart drops to my feet as I pause, my drink stopping midway from the bench to my mouth as I gape at her.
