Page 127 of I Heart Mason Cartwright
Willow
I listento them arguing in the front yard. It’s not hard to hear them with how quiet the area is. If I wasn’t so angry, I would probably laugh.
I hear something smash, like glass, and then the car alarm goes off. I look out the window and see that they are arguing again, both have arms flying in the air as they talk. It looks like the driver’s side window on Mason’s Jeep is broken.
Jesus. Idiots.
I grab his keys and click off the alarm, so at least that stops. The remnants of their little party still on the coffee table. A near-empty bottle of tequila, salt everywhere, lime rinds, shot glasses, an empty bag of chips, and a cooking competition on the TV. I grab the TV remote and click it off, then wipe up the tequila mess. I’m surprised to see the kitchen is completely clean, as is the back patio. You can’t even tell there was a party here today. I open the fridge and see a small number of leftovers and smile. It means Mason used my to-go containers and made everyone take food home.
I dump the rest of the tequila down the sink, throw the bottle into the recycling bin, then grab an afghan and cuddle on the couch with Princess Tinkerbell.
“What went wrong today, P-Tink?” I ask her. She licks my hand in return.
“Why did Mason and Zach get to have a tequila party when I’m the one who’s pissed off? Huh?” I scratch behind her ears and she immediately rolls over and displays her belly. So I scratch that too.
I’m angry that my family came and messed up what was a perfect moment. Mason’s and my perfect moment. For once, I just wanted to set them all straight. Tell it like it is. And for hours I tried to do just that.
But everything I said was ignored by Cassandra and AshLynn. They believe what they want to and that’s that. They tag teamed me the entire pointless conversation. I waited for my father to come to my defense. For him to say anything at all, but he just sat there. He didn’t join in with anything they said, but he didn’t counter it either. It was like he just tuned out completely.
We didn’t just talk about Mason, they lost steam with that soon into our time together. Then they went on to money, specifically the money that my grandmother left me that should have been “family” money. The fact that my dad took my entire inheritance from my mother as “family” money didn’t matter to them. It should all be “family” money.
Of course, talking about money led back to talking about Mason and how he is only with me for my money. My counter argument was that he has money of his own. A net worth of millions in real estate holdings and other equally sound investments. That’s when things got really ugly. Because then AshLynn’s brief fling with Mason—which apparently was fake all along—became the love story of the century and I ruined it. And now I’m tromping all over it with my wanton behavior. Not to mention, that I’ve flat-out ruined my relationship with my poor sister. And she will never forgive me.
Ever.
Ever.
She actually stomped her foot when she said that. Which made me laugh. Which made Cassandra livid. Which made her turn red. Red like I’ve never seen. Really, I’ve never seen her face be anything other than cool motionless ivory. I think she broke her Botox. Why AshLynn couldn’t be bothered to admit the engagement was fake all along is beyond me.
Which was when my father finally stepped in.
“Enough,” he’d said. It wasn’t loud, but it was finite, and it made everyone stop. He still didn’t stick up for me, but he didn’t stick up for them either.
“You both have your opinions. And they are different. That’s it. End of discussion. AshLynn, there will be other boys who will break your heart. Willow, there will be other boys after your money. Deal with it. Both of you. I love you, but I’m done. I don’t want to hear any more of this. Understood?”
I’d nodded. Then I kissed my dad on the forehead and left. Their hotel was in downtown Seattle. I hung out in the bar for a while drinking coffee and sorting out my thoughts. Then I bought a jacket and some sweatpants from the gift shop and charged them to my dad’s room and walked around downtown. Went back to the hotel, ordered a town car, charged it to my dad’s room too, and had the driver bring me home.
I cried the entire way. For the loss of my relationship with my father. The loss of my mom and my grandmother. And even the loss of AshLynn and Cassandra. Or at least the loss of theideaof a stepmother to take the place of my mom and theideaof a sister. Because the reality with them was only good for a short time. I still don’t know why it changed. Why everything changed. And coming to terms with all that was emotionally debilitating. All I wanted to do was go home and see Mason and P-Tink. Forget about AshLynn and Cassandra and all the bitterness wrapped up in them. Go home, let Mason prop me up and put me back together, in the way that only he can.
Instead, I open the front door and hear Mason and Zach talking about how the entire relationship with AshLynn was fake. He lied about it all, then and now. And I just want to know why? Why did he do that for her if he didn’t even know her? And why lie to me about it? It doesn’t matter what, I’m always second to her. I spent all afternoon being reminded how much better she is than me.
I can’t do it anymore. I just can’t. I thought I had it all figured out by the time I headed home. But apparently not. And now I don’t even have anyone that I can talk to about it. Because I just kicked out the only two people I would ordinarily talk to. I go to grab my phone, thinking maybe I will call one of the girls from today.
Which is when I see the ring. I don’t even remember taking it off. But I must have, maybe subconsciously, when I knew I would be talking to my family. Which is stupid since it’s a huge diamond, from Mason to me, and that would have only aided in my arguments with Cassandra and AshLynn today.
They would have assumed you paid for it anyway.
True.
Which deflates me even further. I didn’t even think that was possible. But it makes me realize I don’t want to talk to one of the girls from today. I want to talk to Mason. And Zach. I want to forget about what they said about AshLynn and have everything go back to the way it was this morning.
But I can’t forget.
At least not right now. It’s all too raw. The arguments with AshLynn and Cassandra too fresh, and the lingering insecurity from that too overwhelming. The fact that my dad just sat there and did nothing the entire time they harped on me. For hours he let them rant. The favoritism could not have been clearer than it was today. There is no way for me to go on pretending he treats AshLynn and me equally.
Sigh.
I flop back down on the couch with P-Tink and let her lean her big body against me. My ring twinkles in the light. Not that I’ve put it back on my finger. But I am holding it in my hand, turning it back and forth studying it.
