Chapter 10 Tonight
SOMA
I wake up to something firm pressing down on me. For a terrifying second, I forget where I am. My eyes snap open to pitch black, and my heart leaps into my throat. Before I can scream for help, a hand goes over my mouth, muffling every sound I make.
Panic sets in fast. My arms flail against the sheets, and my mind yells for Mason. I should have known not to trust Jimmy.
Sleeping here was a mistake. I should have gone back—
“Stop moving.”
The low, familiar voice breaks through the fog of fear, and I freeze. “Dee, stop struggling. It’s me.”
Only Mason calls me that. Still, my eyes shut tight, but the hand doesn’t hurt me or press harder. It’s just… there. No attack. No attempt to rip off my dress.
Am I really safe?
“Don’t scream, okay?” the voice whispers again.
When I nod, the hand slowly lowers, and my eyes open to the unmistakable blue of Mason’s.
He’s here. He didn’t leave Shadowspire without me.
Relief crashes through me so fast I can’t breathe. Mason kneels beside the bed, half in shadow, his body tense like he expects to get hit. His face is dimly lit by a sliver of moonlight cutting through the curtain.
The swelling around his jaw has gone down, and the bruises are fading, but the purplish smudges still haunt his skin.
Without warning or a buildup, I burst into tears. He catches me in his arms before I can crumble. I press my face to his chest and sob so hard my shoulders shake. His arms curl around me like a shield.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmurs into my hair. I don’t reply because I’m too busy falling apart. “I’m sorry, Dee.”
My tears dampen his shirt, but he doesn’t protest or push me away. I want this to end. One day of normalcy is all I ask. After a while, his voice cuts through the quiet.
“What happened?” he asks. There’s an edge in his voice I recognize. It’s that same tone he used that led to Brynne punching him. “Did Jimmy do anything?”
Tension ripples through him as he breaks the hug. He shoots to his feet and declares, “That bstrd. I’ll kill him.”
His voice sends a chill through me, but the second he tries to move, I grab his wrist. My chest tightens when I try to speak, but after a few exhales, I find my voice. My eyes still sting, and my nose runs, but I don’t care.
“Where were you?” I whisper. “I thought you had left.”
He lets out a soft laugh, like he can’t believe I’ll think that. “Of course not. I’m not leaving without you.”
“Then… where were you?”
Mason hesitates, and I can tell there’s more than he wants to admit. Does he know the hooded man?
“In the woods,” he says. “Needed to clear my head.”
Something lingers in his eyes, a tiredness I’m surprised I haven’t noticed until now. I’m not the only one who has had it bad in this horrible pack. He’s hurting too, even if his scars aren’t physical like mine. I study his face for a second longer and nod slowly, my decision fully made. I’ll leave with him. But before that, I need a few answers.
“Did you see the guy?” I ask. “The one in the hoodie?”
His brow furrows. “No. What guy?”
“There was someone outside earlier. Just standing. Watching. I thought…” I shake my head as if it will stop the images blooming in my mind. “Never mind.”
Mason’s jaw tenses again, but he doesn’t push. He drops beside me on the bed, his body so close, our knees almost touch. I’m not sure what makes me lean against him, but my head drops to his shoulder, and I exhale softly.
“I… I can’t go back to that house, Mason.”
The words fall out before I can catch them, but he doesn’t flinch. His hand slides into mine, rough fingers folding around mine like they belong there. Without a word, he brings my hand up to his lips and kisses my knuckles like I’m something precious and worthy, made of glass, not filth, as my cousins will say.
My heart aches, but not in the way I’m used to. It’s the good ache, one that’s followed by images of our future together without Sheila, Maeve, Aunt Helen, or Jimmy.
Mason holds my gaze, his voice barely above a whisper. “I told you already, Soma. I’ve got money saved up because I’ve been planning this for several months now.”
A lump swells in my throat. He makes it sound so easy, but I know it’s not. I also don’t want to be a burden to him or anyone. Unlike him, I never had time to work, let alone save for emergencies. I’ve always survived on my aunt’s kindness.
“If you agree to leave with me, we can leave tonight,” he continues. “By the time anyone realizes we’re gone, it’ll be too late for them to track us down.”
My breath shudders. “But the risks…” I release a breath as every nightmare Aunt Helen’s ever warned me about presses in. “If we’re caught, we could both be killed.”
“We won’t,” he says with steady conviction. He lets go of my hand to cup my cheeks, grounding me with his touch. “I have everything mapped out. You’ll head home to get your stuff, and when the ceremony is in full force, we’ll come here, grab our stuff, and vanish.”
A small laugh escapes me. For the first time, I believe we can make it out of Shadowspire alive and thrive.
“You’ve really got this all figured out, haven’t you?”
“Of course.” Mason grins, and it sends warmth to all the bruised places inside me. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rumpled flyer, stretching it over his knee. A picture of a café is on the front with a job-opening sign. “I do. This involves our lives.”
Mason presses his forehead against mine, and his breath brushes my lips. When he leans in, close enough to kiss me, I hold my breath, but he doesn’t.
“You can get a job here until we save enough to find something better.” My gaze drops to the flyer. It looks like a human café. How did he get it? Before I can ask that, he whispers, “Tonight, Dee. We leave tonight.”