I woke up to someone shaking me awake.

"Le, you have to get up. Scarlet's here" Mason says and I open my eyes to see the yellow and white jersey with 'White' written across it.

"What time is it?" I scratch my eyes looking at Mason.

"It's 11. You slept late, Sleeping Beauty" He chuckles while he throws on a shirt over his head, covering the view of his perfectly chiseled abs.

"Did I fall asleep last night?" I say blushing at his previous comment and getting out from under the covers.

"Yeah, It was no problem. Soon after you feel asleep Ellie went into her room and I felt too bad to wake you up so you just slept in here while I slept on the couch" He says and I nod, feeling guilty.

"Sorry Mas, you could have woken me up. I feel bad" I say and he shakes his head.

"Don't be silly. It wasn't a problem at all. Trust me" Mason says as Scarlet walks in.

"Hey honey, can I take a look?" She says and I nod as she lifts up my shirt to reveal the worsening bruise.

"Hi Mrs. White. How are you doing? Yeah of course" I smile at her.

"Leah, dear. You are my nephew's best friend. Please, call me Scarlet" She says and I nod.

"Did something happen that could have caused it to get worse?" She asks tracing her ice cold fingers across it. I have to remember it's only Scarlet to prevent myself from flinching.

"Um yeah actually. My friend gave me a hug yesterday and he didn't know about my bruise so he pressed down on it pretty hard" I say and notice Masons stance get tense.

Scarlet looks over at Mason giving him some sort of look and then turns back over to me.

"Okay, that will do it. The ice seemed to help a little bit so how about we do that again for around a half hour or so and then I'll wrap it for you" Scarlet says and I nod thanking her. "And we should put some ice on that bruise on your cheek. It will stop it from progressing" Scarlet says and I nod.

"So um, who's your friend?" Mason clears his throat, his shoulders still tense.

"The guy I met up with yesterday. He was nice but I couldn't date him" I say matter of factly and it seems to put Mason at ease.

"Oh okay, that's good" Mason says and I nod as Scarlet comes in with a small wrapped ice pack and another larger one. She gives them to me and I hold it on my side and my cheek as I proceed to go downstairs to see Mr. White.

"Leah, is that you? Wow, It's felt like forever. How are you sweetie?" He says and I smile giving him a hug. I grew up with this family, it feels really great to have them back in my life.

"I'm doing great Mr. White. How are you?" I smile and he gives me the same look Tara gave me when I called her Mrs. White.

"Leah honey, I've known you since you were little. Please, call me Jim. And I'm doing great, although it is amazing to see you again" He says and I nod smiling.

"What happened to your face?" He asks seeing the big purple mark on my cheek.

"Um, it was nothing. I'm clumsy" I say looking at Mason, not wanting to get him in trouble.

"Some guy was insulting Leah and treating her really bad so I punched him and we started fighting and Leah got in the middle so I accidentally punched her instead of the guy" Mason scratches his neck nervously.

I've noticed him and just about every other guy does that as a nervous habit. It's cute.

"Mason, you can't just go around starting fights. You're lucky you didn't get caught. Poor Leah, are you okay?" Jim says and I nod.

"Nothing too bad" I laugh and he smiles.

"Don't hurt her again kid" Jim says winking and Mason.

"Yes sir" He laughs out blushing a little.

"What plans do you kids have today?" Tara says as Bella comes trotting to me.

"Hey Bella baby" I say putting down the ice.

"Leah, you need to keep this on" Mason says grabbing it and trying to put it back on me.

"Get that away from me. I wanna see my Belle" I pout causing him to roll his eyes. I sit down and Bella finds a toy and I throw it for her a couple times.

"That dog adores her huh?" Jim says observing Bella and I.

*Click* "You have no idea" Mason says smiling at his phone.

"Awhhh, Mason has a crushhh" Ellie sings out and Mason slaps a hand over her mouth.

"Thats a good photo Mas" Tara says and I get up looking at his phone.

"It is. Send me it?" I say smiling and he nods sending it to me.

'💕 Attachment: 2 images' Pops up on my phone and I look up to see Mason smiling.

"What are you smiling about?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Cute contact name and background" He winks and walks off.

"So, when are you going to tell us?" Jim says and I look at him confused.

"That you guys are dating" Tara adds on.

I gasp and Ellie laughs. "We are not dating. I-I promise" I stutter out, shocked.

"One day" Ellie chimes out grabbing a piece of bacon.

"Let's get ready. Grab the ice" Mason screams down and I roll my eyes grabbing the ice and making my way up the stairs of the Whites.

"Where are we going?" I ask flopping onto Masons bed and crawling under the covers.

"I am taking you and Ellie out for lunch" Mason says taking his shirt off and replacing it with a white and blue Hollister t-shirt.

I feel my eyes linger on his abs and notice how the fit of the shirt defines his muscles perfectly.

"Take a picture, it will last longer Mason winks at me and I blush, burying my head into his pillows.

"I'm done" He says and I open my eyes to see Mason buckling his belt.

"Fix your hair" I say walking out of the room while also grabbing my bag so i can get changed.

I change into a pair of blue high waisted jeans and put on my white cropped Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt. I slip on a pair of Adidas superstars and I grab some of the materials needed to wrap my side.

"Le, where are you going?" Mason calls as I make my way down the stairs.

"I'll be back" I call back to him and continue to the kitchen.

"Hey honey" Mrs. White says.

"Hi Mrs. Whi-Scarlet, can you please wrap my side for me? It always feels better when you do" I say laughing.

"Of course, It's not a problem. You look really cute. Like cute enough to catch Masons attention" She winks at me and I smile back at her.

"This might hurt a little. Grab onto the table if you need" Scarlet says as Mason walks into the room.

"Whatcha doing?" Mason says walking over to us and I force a smile.

"Hi Mas" I hiss out as the pain increases each time Scarlet wraps it around me and pulls on it.

"Okay, just one more Leah. I promise" Scarlet says and I nod closing my eyes.

Mason quickly grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze.

"If it hurts just squeeze my hand. It will take your mind off of it" He smiles and I give him a gracious smile back.

Scarlet tightens the wrap and I instinctively tighten my grip on Masons hand.

"Holy shįt thats tight. Damn girl, you're strong" Mason laughs out.

I quickly remove my hand to see Masons beat red hand.

"All done. Nice going Mas" Scarlet says and I thank her.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to. I usually grip the table or whatever. I didn't mean to squeeze your hand like that" I ramble on causing Mason to put his hands on my shoulders, staring into my eyes.

"Leah, honey. In case you've forgotten, I'm the quarterback on the football team. I have been through far worse than that. It was nothing. But you've got some grip Williams" He says throwing an arm around me, laughing. Causing me to blush a little bit.

"And your mom texted you" Mason says handing me my phone. My heart rate picks up a bit and Mason notices this. "You didn't read it right?" I ask and he looks at me confused.

"No, I don't invade people's privacy. Is everything alright Leah?" He says and I nod relaxing a little bit.

"Um yeah" I say not wanting to look at Mason.

I know that he sees right through me. I just gotta wait a little longer before I feel I can trust him with this burden. I can't risk it getting out before I turn 18.

~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, so its been a couple chapters since the first chapter. If can recall, this has all been building up to when Mason asked Leah about the bruise on her arm. I know it hasn't been that long but I'm thinking of bringing it back to the present soon and starting a chapter with the start of the first chapter. If that makes any sense. Comment your thoughts and vote!! I hope you enjoyed!

Word count: 1644

~Leah