Page 117 of Please Save Me

“The only thing I ask in return is no more secrets.”

Her gaze flickered to mine, and though her face was blank, her eyes seemed scared. Mason’s lips parted before rapidly shutting, almost as if she had something to tell me. My shoulders straightened as I prepared to accept whatever she told me, but a confession never came.

“No morenewsecrets?” she asked, causing me to wonder why she needed the clarification.

“Do you have anyoldsecrets that could potentially affect me?” While I wanted to know everything about Mason, I didn’t really care if she had hidden anything pertaining to her past.

Fuck, I killed people for a living. That instantly made her look like a saint no matter what she had to say. But, if she had hidden something that could affect our future, I needed to know.

She hesitated for another beat before shaking her head.

“Then, whatever old secret you have may remain a secret.”

“So, no hiding from here on out?”

“Exactly.”

Mason took a deep breath before looking at the protein bar. “This tastes bad, and I don’t want to eat it.”

A smirk twisted my lips as I removed it from her hand and took a bite. While this flavor was my favorite, I understood her point.

“Do you think you have enough in your system to prevent you from vomiting in my car?” I mumbled with a full mouth.

She nodded.

“Then that’s good enough.” I folded the wrapper over what remained of the bar. “Let’s go get your shoes on.”

“They’re downstairs,” she explained as I moved to help her stand.

“I know.”

Mason’s hands found their place in mine as I pulled her to her feet before we left the apartment. Together, we snuck through the still house, careful not to wake anyone else. While I was growing more and more accepting of the dynamics of the house, I wanted alone time with Mason.

And I thought I’d get it, that was until I noticedCameronin the reading nook.

God fucking dammit.

His massive frame was slumped slightly as he clutched a thick, hardback book in his hands. There was a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. I couldn’t tell why, but it almost felt like an insult.

As we stepped into the main part of the house, Cameron looked up. The moment his attention settled on us, he slipped the thin-rimmed glasses off.

“Why’re you two up?” he asked, placing the book on the end table.

Just as I prepared to tell Cameron to mind his fucking business, Mason swooped in to answer the question.

“I’m hungry,” Mason explained, resting a hand on her stomach.

For the first time today, Cameron smiled. My chest tightened as if I’d forgotten how to breathe, causing me to look away. Slowly, Cameron grew to his full height, and my spine ratcheted straight.

It wasn’t that I thought I could be taller than Cameron if I stood the right way, but it was still bizarre when someone was taller than me.

“You’re always hungry.” Cameron chuckled, extending his hand to rest on Mason’s stomach.

He touched her as if she were the gossamer threads on a dandelion seed. For example, if he made one wrong move or even brushed her too harshly, she would be gone in the wind even if he begged her to stay.

Cameron’s love for Mason was one of the few things I liked about him. She deserved people content to let her shine, ones who never dulled her glow or caused her barely mended heart to fall apart like my brother did.

“Do you want me to cook?” he offered as his thumb ran across the blue cotton of her sweatshirt.

---