Page 42 of Mason

“It’s okay, Josephine. I’m coming. I love you, baby.”

“Hurry, Mason.” Jo hung up the phone after that, and Mason grabbed his jeans, pulling them on along with a hoodie before shaking Keith awake.

“What the fuck, man?” Keith grouched as he came awake. “It’s too early to get up.”

“Wake up, asshole. Someone attacked Jo at the hospital.”

Keith blinked bloodshot eyes. “What?”

“Get up, man. We have to go. She’s hurt.”

Keith stumbled his way out of bed. Mason had just tossed him on it earlier, so Keith didn’t have to get dressed. He shook his head. “Is she okay?”

“No,” Mason barked as they walked out of their room, rage blinding him. Some bloody fucker attacked his girl.

He almost didn’t hear it.

But he paused when the sound registered through his haze of anger. The small cry.

“No!”

What the ever-loving fuck?

Keith heard it too, and they turned down the hallway toward the sound.

“Stop!”

They looked to each other before opening the closed door at the end of the hall. Three guys had a girl pinned to the bed, one of them rutting on her. She was clearly drunk, but not drunk enough to pass out. And not drunk enough to not say no.

“Stop, please!”

A sound came out of Keith that Mason didn’t recognize, but he barreled forward and grabbed the asshole on top of her. He pulled him up and punched him right in the face. The other two looked surprised for a moment but then stood, clearly aiming to take Keith down.

“I wouldn’t,” Mason said softly. Here was an outlet for all the rage he had boiling inside. “What the hell is going on in here?”

Keith hit the bastard again, and he fell. But Keith didn’t stop. He kicked the asshole in the gut. Then he turned to the other two.

It was then Mason saw the girl on the bed. He recognized her. Jo’s roommate.

That rage rolled to the surface, and he lit into the other two like a demon possessed him.

“Mason, stop!” Keith dragged him off the unconscious guy. “Stop, man.”

Mason shook. He was so angry, he couldn’t stand it. First Jo was attacked, then he’d walked in on her roommate being sexually assaulted inhisfucking frat…

He shook his head trying to clear it.

“Hey, Cara, right?” Keith approached the girl on the bed, his hands up to show her he meant no harm. “Do you remember me?”

She nodded, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m gonna call campus security and report this. We’ll get you taken care of, okay?”

“No, call 911. Campus security will sweep this under the rug, and that’s not acceptable.” He and Ben had talked about this at the beginning of last semester. A lot of colleges dealt with this type of attack internally, and nothing was ever really done to the rapist because the school wanted to keep it under wraps. That was not acceptable. He wasn’t sure of NYU’s policy on sexual assault, but he wasn’t taking chances.

Keith nodded, and Mason listened as he talked to the 911 operator, some of the rage leaking out of him, but not his sense of urgency. He had to get to Jo.

“Can you stay with her, man? I got to get to my girl.”

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