Chapter 9
(Olivia)
“I’m starting to regret telling Dad about the creepy guy in the car,” Evie moans as she folds a pair of jeans. “It’s like being in prison, only worse.”
Rolling my eyes, I toss a pair of balled up socks at her. “And you would know what prison is like how?”
“I watch TV.”
The socks come flying back at my head. It’s not too hard to bat down her weak throw. “You’re not even supposed to be dating Aaron, and you still get to see him at school all day. What exactly are you missing out on?”
“Hello …” Evie says, “getting a ride home from Aaron. It’s like the only time we actually get to be alone. Now I have to ride home with you every day. This sucks.”
“Being kidnapped or dead sucks even more.”
Evie sticks her tongue out at me and sloppily folds another pair of jeans.
It’s only been three days since the weird guy in the car parked his suspicious self in front of our house. Nobody has seen him since, but I’m still on edge. Evie acts like it’s been years since she’s seen Aaron. It’s not like he’s that amazing of a catch anyway. He has a super annoying laugh and the only thing he seems capable of having a conversation about is video games. Personally, I think Dad did Evie a favor.
Myself, I’m feeling rather grateful for the lack of freedom. It gave me a good reason to get out of going to the movies with Hayden when he asked yesterday. I was a little offended that he laughed when I told him I was grounded—which is basically true. He didn’t believe it for a second and I was forced to explain that some creepy guy had been hanging around the neighborhood and my dad was being overly cautious for the foreseeable future.
That he believed.
He also promised to check back with me next week and see if the ban on outings had been lifted.
I don’t know why his invitation to see a movie with him causes me so much turmoil. He’s a nice guy, pretty hot, and seems genuinely interested in me. So why not go out with him?
Why not?
Because every time I think of going out with Hayden, my conversation with Dad that night creeps back into my head and starts taking me down strange paths. It’s really starting to get on my nerves. Eyeing Evie, I wonder if her talent for chatter can talk me out of my funk.
“Dad asked me about college a while ago… about what Mason plans to do after graduation, too,” I say.
Evie glances over at me with a crooked eyebrow. My tone has definitely alerted her that I don’t want to talk about majors. “Mason? What does he want to do?”
“Come to college with me,” I mumble as I straighten the collar of the shirt I just hung up.
Going from bent over the dryer to standing hipshot with her eyebrow climbing even higher, Evie watches me. “What do you mean with you? Like go to the same college, or live with you? ‘Cause that’s not gonna be the easiest thing to explain to a roommate.”
“That’s what Dad said… among other things.”
The clothes are abandoned as Evie jumps up to sit on the dryer. His eyes are fastened on me. “So he does want to live with you?”
“Well, where else is he supposed to live?” I snap, suddenly defensive. I ditch the waiting clothes as well and lean against the washer.
Evie laughs, one of those high, quick laughs that is clearly meant to mock. “And you thought Dad was going to go for that?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it before then. I just assumed Mason would come with me. I wasn’t thinking about roommates and all that,” I say. “Besides, what’s so weird about living with Mason. Siblings share apartments.”
The glare Evie sends my way is scathing. “Are you really that oblivious, or are you just trying to be dense?”
“What?”
“Mason is not your brother,” Evie says, emphasizing each word. “Of course Dad is going to freak if you tell him you and Mason want to move in together. It’s not too hard to figure out where that might lead, and Dad is not ready to think about that. Geez, Olivia, he just about died when Mom was out of town last month and my period started! You expect him to think about you and Mason shacking up and not have a problem with that?”
My whole body flames red with embarrassment. “Shacking up? Who said anything about that? I’m talking about living with Mason, like we do now!”
Evie snorts. Prissy, prim Evie actually snorts at me! “You are delusional. Are you actually trying to make me believe that the thought of you and Mason tangled up in the sheets has never crossed your mind?”
“No!” I snap. “Not until Dad brought it up, anyway.”
The silence that fills the basement minute after minute is unnerving. Evie is never this quiet. She’s never stopped talking for this long. Ever. Each excruciatingly long moment peels away a layer of confidence. I start to wonder if she’s right, if I’ve really been deluding myself this whole time. But, it honestly hadn’t even occurred to me that living with Mason would be a problem before that night. Why would I?
“How could you not have thought about Mason like that?” Evie asks finally. The disbelief in her voice makes me feel foolish without really knowing why.
“I don’t know. I’ve always thought of him as my brother.”
“What is wrong with you?” Evie demands.
Shocked by the strength behind her words, I struggle to form a coherent response. “Are you saying that you’ve thought of him like that?” My nose wrinkles. “What’s wrong with you?”
Evie’s Skecher-clad feet slap on the concrete floor as she jumps down from the dryer and glares at me. “For one, Mason is not and has never been our brother. Do I love him? Absolutely. But is he my brother? No.”
“How can you say that?” I demand.
“It’s not some personal attack on him! It’s just the truth. He’s not our brother.” Evie shakes her head at me. “I care about Mason just as much as anyone else in the family. It has nothing to do with that. I’m just being honest here.”
I don’t understand her, but I know I have no right to criticize her for not thinking about Mason the same as a blood brother. Am I the one that’s seeing this situation abnormally? I thought everyone in the family viewed Mason like I did.
“Secondly,” Evie continues, “Mason is just about the most awesome person I’ve ever met. He’s completely hot! How could I not think about him like that? Not that I fantasize about him or anything, but the possibility of you two being together has certainly crossed my mind.”
“How would you know whether or not Mason is hot?” I snap, regretting very much ever starting this conversation. Evie has thought about Mason like that? Eew!
Evie starts chucking mismatched socks at me, startling me into tripping over a basket and landing hard on my hip. When she runs out of socks, she stares me down. “You have got to be the most hypocritical person I have ever met if you think I was talking about Mason’s looks.”
I scrunch up my face in confusion, wondering if she has lost it.
“You of all people,” Evie snaps, “Miss I’m Gorgeous But It Doesn’t Matter. Miss Every Guy Practically Drools Over Me As I Walk Down The Hall! Who cares what Mason looks like? He is the most caring, loving, sweet, doting, selfless guy I know. He’s practically perfect and you act like he’s just some run of the mill average Joe. Is he unattractive? Is he? Because if that’s your problem with him, you don’t deserve him!”
Completely stunned, I have no idea how to respond to any of that.
“Well?” Evie demands.
“Well what?” I ask. Was there actually a question somewhere in her tirade she expected me to answer?
“Is Mason ugly? Is that why you don’t like him?”
Is she serious? This whole conversation has turned into a nightmare!
“I never said I didn’t like Mason,” I snap. “I just said I hadn’t considered our relationship going in that direction until Dad brought it up because I’ve always thought of Mason as a brother—which I’m apparently alone in! And no, he isn’t ugly. That has nothing to do with it. Why would you even say something like that?”
Folding her arms across her chest smugly, Evie says, “Well, I honestly can’t figure out why you wouldn’t be jumping at the chance to be with Mason. The only thing I can come up with was that you’re way shallower than I expected.”
“Thanks. Thanks very much! This is the last time I ever try to talk to you about something like this.”
Throwing the loose socks off my body and pushing myself up off the floor, I wince when a sharp pain shoots through my thigh. Yeah, this is definitely the last time I ever go to Evie for advice! She can finish the laundry by herself. I’m done!
Pushing past Evie, I try to shake her off when she grabs my arm. Getting away from Evie has never been easy, though.
“Olivia, wait. I’m sorry. Don’t storm off all mad, please?”
“When have I ever judged someone based on how they look?” I demand angrily.
Her head falls, ashamed. “Never. I shouldn’t have said that. I know you wouldn’t turn Mason down just because he was unattractive. I just don’t get it.”
“I don’t get why you don’t think of him as your brother. He’s been here since you were three!”
Evie shrugs. “I don’t know. I just don’t think of him that way. He’s always been more like this amazing friend who gets to stay over every night. It doesn’t mean I love him any less.”
Sighing, I sit down on the bottom stair, grimacing again when my hip aches. “I know. It just surprised me. I didn’t realize everyone saw him differently than I do. It’s confusing.”
“No kidding!” Evie laughs and nudges me with her elbow when she sits down.
For a while, we just sit there. The thought crosses my mind that we better clean up the clothes now scattered on the floor before Mom sees them, but I don’t get up to do anything about the mess. I feel really drained all of a sudden.
Evie elbows me again. “So, is Mason hot? I’ve always wondered what he looks like.”
I can’t help but smile when I picture Mason’s face. Until Robin showed up, I had never thought about whether or not Mason was hot in the sense of whether or not I was personally attracted to him. I always knew he was gorgeous, though.
“You already know Mason is tall,” I say, “but he has this athletic build that seems so effortless. He’s not all muscle-y, bursting out of his t-shirt or anything, but you know he’s strong just by looking at him. His strength is quiet, like it’s waiting for just the right moment to jump into action and do something amazing.
“The color of his hair depends on whether he’s inside or outside,” I say. “When he’s inside, it’s almost red. When he’s outside, though, it turns the color of those really neat fireworks on the Fourth of July that look like golden waterfalls. His hair usually looks a bit like those fireworks too, especially lately because it’s a little too long.”
I laugh thinking about the first time I tried to help him cut his hair. It was a good thing no one else could see him. Now he does it on his own, but it still makes him nervous.
“The way Mason smiles… it’s something that would catch every girl’s attention if they could see him. He always seems like he’s about to laugh when he smiles, but not in a mean or hurtful way. It’s more like he’s excited about something. It’s infectious, and he could always cheer me up with his smiles when we were little.”
My hand bumps against Evie’s and I smile. “His eyes are the best, though. They’re so unique, it’s hard not to stare.”
“What do they look like?”
“I’ve never seen blue eyes as dark as his. When he gets mad, they almost turn black, all but the silver ring around his pupil. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, well, aside from when Mason is really happy.”
“What happens when he’s happy?” Evie asks quietly.
Grinning is inevitable when I think of Mason being that happy. “The silver almost seems to take over his eyes. You’ve heard people say someone’s eyes sparkle? Well, Mason’s really do. It’s amazing.”
It’s something I realize I haven’t seen very often lately. The thought saddens me until Evie leans her head against my shoulder and asks, “Are you sure you aren’t in love with Mason, because it sure sounds like you are.”