“I’m leaving.” I put up my hand to stop him from another of his growls. “Mason. I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this anymore. This shit, this isn’t my life. I’m going down to the bus station, getting on the first one that’s leaving town and going.”
“Lucy, you can’t.” Massy stepped up to me, her hand tugging on my arm. “You can’t just go off on your own. Jayson is still looking for you.”
“Yeah. And he keeps finding me, so being here isn’t helping, and going up to yet another cabin won’t work either. Fuck, look at your cheek, Massy. He’s hurt you, turned me in a killer—and fuck, I killed his brother! You think he’s going to stop now? I have to get out of this town. If not for myself then for you. I won’t be the reason you get hurt again, or Tick or Mason.”
“I don't need your protection.” Mason didn’t step toward me. His eyes fixated on me, as though he could glue me to the spot with his glare. “If you go, I can’t protect you.”
“I don't need your protection either. If you stay and I go, you can deal with all the shit going on with a clear head. Get it straightened out. If you’re here, Jayson will think I’m still in town, or nearby.”
“How long do you think you can hide?” His voice hardened, the dark emptiness of his eyes sent a shiver through me.
“Forever.” I shrugged, fighting like hell to pretend it didn’t hurt so fucking much to say the words. “I’m not coming back.” He let a harsh breath and shook his head. “I still have the money Jessica gave me to get out of town, it should get me a few states over at least.” I wanted to reach out to him, to touch his cheek, feel the warmth of his skin beneath my hand, but he shut down. The cold stare he gave me warned me off.
I turned to Massy, hugging her quickly and forcing a smile. “Thanks for the ride back.”
“You’re an idiot, you know that,” Massy whispered.
“I was, yeah. This is the right thing to do. I promise.” I didn’t look back at Mason, I could feel the tension in his body. He wouldn’t accept that I was right, not yet anyway. But once I was gone, once his life returned to normal, he’d see. My leaving was best for both of us. Even if it made me feel like I was being gutted to walk away from him.
“You know, you talk big, Lucy.” The words were spoken low and soft. Dangerous. “You say you didn’t have choice in all this. Jayson made decisions for you, I made decisions for you, but you’re doing the same damn thing right now. I’m telling you to stay. Let me get through this one patch and I’m out. A clean break. Of my choosing.”
“And I’m telling you how I’m handling this,” I shot back at him. “We never laid a claim on each other.” I said the words, but knew they were a lie. He marked me the first time he put his hands on me, the first kiss sealed us together. I could still feel his lips against my mouth.
“You’re handling it,” he sneered. “You’re doing what you do when you get scared, you run. You ran after your mom died and you didn’t know what to do with yourself, and you’re running now.”
“Mason!” Massy stepped toward him, but Tick pulled her back, telling her stay out of it.
My breath hitched, and I felt the blood damn near boiling in my veins. Scared. Fuck that, I was terrified. And I was running. I wouldn’t argue that point, but it was to benefit us both. I didn’t respond, didn’t even look at him, I just turned and started to walk toward the street.
I heard Massy argue with Tick, then the rumbling of an engine starting up. Tick rolled up next to me. “Get on.” He jerked his head. “I’m not fuckin around. I’ll get you to the bus station, get on.”
Seeing as Massy pushed him into it, and Jayson could be riding toward us at any second, I slid onto the bike behind him, tossing the strap from my bag around me. The bike lurched forward and I held on as Tick drove away. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. Even if I did, the tears welling up in my eyes wouldn’t have given me a clear view of Mason anyway.
But worse, what if I looked back and he wasn’t there? What if my leaving had been easier for him than it had been for me? What if he really didn’t care at all?
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MASON
Blood spurt out of my knuckles when I hit the bag, but I didn’t feel the pain. Nothing could compare to the moment I watched that pixie drive out of my life.
I didn’t stop my workout to clean up, I needed the release first. Once all the pent up energy burning me inside came out, then I’d wipe down the bag and the mats, and go for a long run. Tick stood in the corner of the weight room, watching me with a grim expression. He’d been glaring at me for most of the morning.