“It’s really good,” I murmur out of the corner of my mouth.
Mason sneaks a look at me, then angrily stabs the waffle, taking a hesitant bite. Something hot and decidedly weird blooms in my belly while watching Mason make himself eat. The other boys are quiet during the majority of breakfast, save for a few delighted moans at how good Jacob’s food always is. Once done, I grab Mason’s mostly cleared plate and head over to the sink to help Reid with the dishes.
“No.” Reid shakes his head and looks sheepish, which is odd for him. “I, uh, I have dishes for the next week.”
“But we usually do them together…”
Reid clears his throat and grimaces. “Listen, just… I’m washing dishes for the week, okay?”
I shrug because I don’t really care to argue. When I turn back around, Dante’s got his eyes firmly on Reid, a look of fond pride in his eyes. Oh yuck. Mason’s staring down at his nails like they’re the most interesting thing in the world, probably to avoid watching his brother and Dante’s odd dynamic.
“I’ll pack a bag, then we can head over to your house, if you want?”
Mason looks up at me, unsure, but nods all the same. “Yeah, thank you. I like your house but…”
I smile down at him. “Nothing like your own house. I get it.”
Mason nods again, a flush working its way across his cheeks. Hayden snorts from across the table, and when I glance over, he rolls his eyes and makes ajerking offmotion. Narrowing my eyes at him, I make ashooting myself in the headmotion then point at him. Jacob snorts at us, then crumbles under the fury of Hayden’s gaze.
I leave them be and head up to my room to pack. I toss all the necessary daily stuff into a duffel bag, including my gun safe, then put a few mission-ready suits into a garment bag. Grabbing my rifle from the wall in my walk-in closet, I double-check the safety is on, put it into its soft case, and sling it over my shoulder.
“Ready to go?” I call out to Mason the moment my feet hit the first floor.
Mason turns to look at me, then back to Reid, who is still dutifully washing dishes. He nods hurriedly but pauses when he stands. Almost as if second-guessing himself, he heads over to Reid and whispers something to him. Reid turnstoward Mason with a soft smile and reaches up a bubble-covered hand to tap his own nose. Mason grins warmly before copying the movement with his own finger.
Once the car is packed and Mason is loaded into the passenger seat, I climb in and start it up. It’s so freaking cold out, I toggle with the heat to get it to blasting.
“What was the finger thing about?” I ask curiously.
Mason flushes. “It’s this thing we developed when we were little to say we love one another.”
That’s cute. “Can I ask you something?”
The bright light of a chilly morning assaults us when I back out of the garage. Mason twists his fingers in my too-large shirt, his lips twisting up as if he’s afraid I’m going to ask him a question he doesn’t have the answer to.
“Yeah, I guess…”
“It’s about your OCD.”
Mason looks relieved. “Yeah, that’s okay. It’s a part of me, so I don’t get embarrassed by it.”
“Did that start young?”
Mason nods and turns his head to look out the window, effectively hiding his gaze from me. Instead of staring at him, I decide to focus on the road, my hands reflexively tightening on the steering wheel.
“Yeah. I had acute lymphocytic leukemia, or what’s commonly referred to as ALL, as a kid. I was around eight when I was diagnosed. I guess I just got sick and didn’t get better, then I started having the telltale signs of leukemia, so it all snowballed. I had to get a bone marrow transplant, and because of some risk factors, I was, like, medium risk? I don’t know, I can’t remember everything.” Mason sounds resigned, face still turned away so I can’t see him. “My mother went a little over the top. After I was in remission, she still kept meout of school and kept me away fromrisky activities.My immune system took a while to rebound after all the treatments.”
“What are risky activities?”
Mason snorts and his face twists in anger when he glances back at me. “Anything that involved leaving the house basically. She just did too much. Looking back, I think she had OCD too, she just hyper-focused on me because she was so convinced any small childhood illness would now kill me. Going off to college was a hard-fought battle, but once I turned eighteen, she couldn’t really control me anymore. By then Reid was already acting out for our parents’ attention. I just wanted to get away for once.”
“I get it.”
Mason turns to look at me, his gaze steely. “Do you?”
I grip the steering wheel tighter, swallowing hard. “Yeah, it was just Jacob and me a lot. We had a single mom, and she worked nonstop. She cared about us, but she was never there, not like she needed to be. So it was Jacob and I against the world for a lot of things. Yeah, she fed us, kept us safe, put clothes on our backs, but we kind of raised each other.”
“Is that why you both act like feral alley cats sometimes?”
