“Wha—” I looked up to see why he’d stopped.
Sam and Taylor stared back at us.
SAMANTHA
Logan leaped from Nate’s car and hurried over to ours.
He flung my door open. “Let’s switch. I’ll go back with Taylor.”
I was slow to release my seatbelt. “What did you guys do?” I asked as I stood.
“Nothing really.” He cast a worried glance over my shoulder, to the road. “But we gotta go in case any alarms were tripped. It’s not good if we’re seen here.”
He took my seat, and I jumped in next to Mason, who moved over behind Nate. Taylor reversed her car, and we pulled out after them.
I waited a few minutes before asking, “Do I want to know what happened?”
Nate’s eyes flicked up and met Mason’s in the rearview mirror. Mason’s jaw clenched, but he handed over a camera from on the floor by his seat. “You can see for yourself.”
The first video disgusted me.
The second had my stomach churning, but the third actually made me retch. I grabbed for the door handle, but Mason was there. He caught my hands and pulled me back to his chest.
“Hey, hey,” he soothed. “It’s okay.”
The vomit was still coming. I shook my head. I couldn’t say anything to alert him.
He stuck a bag in front of me, and I let loose.
I saw enough to know there were more girls on the camera, but it was the video of Becky that sent me over the edge.
As I threw up more, Mason ran a comforting hand down my back. He’d picked up the camera and was clicking through the ones I’d looked at when I heard him say, “Oh, man.”
“What?” Nate asked.
I looked up, feeling all sorts of disgusting.
Mason looked at me first, his eyes clouded. “I didn’t know. I didn’t see that one.”
I closed my eyes and leaned back against him. His hand curved around me as he spoke over my shoulder. “I didn’t look through all of the videos. There was one . . .” I felt him turn to me, though I still didn’t look. “It was Becky.”
“Oh.” Nate quieted. “Shit.”
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Mason added.
I shook my head, but my stomach was better. It was empty now, and I tied the ends of the bag together. “We should drop this off somewhere.”
Nate nodded, and he pulled into a gas station not long after that. I went inside to clean up a little, buying some toothpaste and a toothbrush. Taylor came in as I was finishing in the bathroom.
She ran a hand through her hair, looking harried. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t want to tell her about Becky.
I didn’t even want to tell her about the videos.
She knew Becky and Adam from the summer, though not like I did. Maybe it was ridiculous, but I wanted to protect her a little bit.
I just nodded, rasping out, “I got carsick.”
“You get carsick a lot?”
“No. Hopefully it was just a one-time deal.” I tried to smile, but I knew it didn’t meet my eyes, and Taylor didn’t look convinced.
She bit her lip and followed me back outside. Logan was jumping around Nate, while Mason lounged against Nate’s vehicle. All turned toward us as we crossed the gas station to them.
Logan stopped jumping, a shadow coming to his face. “You okay, Sam?” He glanced to Mason, the unspoken question there of what happened.
Mason nodded.
Logan’s whole demeanor shifted to pity. “Ah. I’m sorry, Sam.”
I pressed a hand to my stomach. “Me too. Getting carsick sucks.” I held his gaze, wondering if he’d get my unspoken message.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Carsickness sucks ass.”
Mason smiled. “Let’s get back. I think I went right from being sober to being hung over. I need to sleep a little.”
It was nearing six in the morning when we staggered inside. No one spoke as we ventured to our own rooms, but the sleep would be short-lived. Tomorrow/this morning was our first day of classes. Worst timing ever.
Once we were in our bedroom, I gazed up, my hands resting against Mason’s chest. “I’m tired.”
“I know.” His hand cupped the side of my face, and he leaned down. “Are you mad at me?”
I knew what he was asking. My hand covered his. “I was mad that you left. I was mad when I realized where you were going, but I’m not mad at you in a way too. I’m furious with Adam. I’m livid at what he did to Becky, and I didn’t ask what you guys did to him, because I don’t know if I’m going to be mad about that or not. And I know none of that makes sense.” My hand slid around his shoulders and my other arm wrapped around his neck. I pulled his mouth down to mine. “But I also don’t want to talk about Adam right now because I really, really just want you.”