Today I am moving into the apartment with Cody and then going to Brooks party.

I'm very excited to finally be on my own and not feel like I'm taking advantage of the Whites.

I never really unpacked my boxes so it doesn't take long to pack everything up.

I still have to figure out what to do with my house. I'll take care of that after I turn 18 so that I can get the money for it.

After packing everything I look at Mason to see his eyes still pressed closed.

I shake my head, a smile on my face. Picking up some of the light boxes and bringing them downstairs.

"Leah? Wheres Mason?" Brooks questions as I struggle with a heavier box.

"He's still sleeping. Its early" I laugh, looking at my watch.

Its only 8:30. I wanted to get packing done early.

"Go wake his äss up. You need help" Jim takes the box from Brooks.

"I can manage" I smile, running up the stairs to grab another box.

Once all the boxes are at the door I decide to wait for Mason to wake up to bring them to the car.

"Thank you guys. I have it from here" I smile, walking back up the stairs.

Mason stirs, causing me to hold my breath.

"Leah?" He questions, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm up" I smile, sitting next to him.

"Hm" He nods, placing his head back on his pillow.

"Lay down" He whines, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to lay next to him.

"I have things to do Mas. And you should thank me. Your dad wanted me to wake you up" I smile, playing with his messy hair.

"Hm? And why did he want that?" He smirks.

"To help me carry the boxes downstairs" I mumble, trying to group his hair to the right.

"You carried them downstairs by yourself? You should have woken me" His eyes snap open, causing me to jump.

"No, your dad and Brooks helped me" I fix his hair, directing it to the left again.

"You should have woken me up. I would have helped" He yawns, kissing me on the temple.

I smile, climbing out of bed.

"Where are you going?" He whines and I steal one of his hoodies.

"Changing. I told Cody I would be moving in at 12:30. I still need to make lunch" I smile, going into the bathroom to get ready.

I change really quickly, do some simple makeup with a darker eyeshadow look than usual and I curl my hair, throwing it into a messy ponytail.

When I get out if the bathroom Mason is still in his bed, eyes closed and everything.

"Mas" I grin, laying on top of him.

"Now what are you doing?" He laughs, hugging me closer to him.

"I'll be downstairs" I kiss his cheek, walking downstairs.

"Leah, how'd you sleep?" Tara hugs me.

"I slept good" I smile, sitting at the island.

"So todays the day huh?" She smiles, tears in her eyes.

"It is. And then you guys don't have to worry about me anymore" I laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"If it was up to me I would have you here all the time. You've brought so much joy to this house. Promise to continue coming here" She blinks away tears.

"Of course I will" I hug her, tears springing to my eyes.

I've never felt more loved or appreciated. This family has welcomed me with open arms and I don't know how I can ever repay them.

"Thank you for everything Tara" I smile into her hair.

"Okay, the boxes are in your car. I'm ready to go when you are" Mason walks into the kitchen all dressed and ready.

"That was fast" I laugh grabbing a water for the both of us.

"I'll be back later" I smile and we walk out to the car.

"Is your place dog friendly?" Mason asks as I back out of his driveway.

The apartment is pretty close.

"Not sure, I didn't ask. Why?" I question, switching lanes. I know Bella is technically my dog but she's so happy at the Whites.

"Because of Bella. She is your dog you know" He chuckles.

"I know, but she's so happy at your house and she makes everyone happy. She can stay at your place" I smile pulling onto the side street. Cody told me its faster since there is never any traffic.

"Nonsense, I'll find out if she can move in too. You can bring her over anytime" He smiles, grabbing my hand and kissing the top.

The simple gesture makes my heart flutter causing me to swerve a little. "Sorry" I mumble, embarrassed.

We pull into the apartment and grab some boxes.

I make my way to the door, knocking. Mason places the box at the floor and jogs to go grab another heavy one for me.

"Leah, hey. Wheres your boo thang?" Cody answers the door causing me to laugh.

"He just went to go grab another box" I laugh, attempting to grab the heavy box.

"Let me take that for you" He laughs grabbing it before it makes a mess on the floor.

I smile, thanking him and grab the other box that was previously in my hands.

Mason follows us into the apartment and then shakes Cody's hand.

This goes on a couple times until we have all the boxes placed in my room.

I smile at the empty room. A fresh start is exactly what I need.

"I'll leave you to it. Le, I'll give you a more in-depth tour whenever" Cody smiles, closing my bedroom door.

"When is your furniture arriving?" Mason asks, taking in the room.

"I only have my bed coming soon. I still need to get an idea of what exactly I want my room to look like" I gush, a grin spreading on Masons face.

"You're so cute when you're exciting" He bear hugs me.

"Thank you" I squeak out, melting into the hug like usual.

"What time is the party?" I question when he lets go.

"Its at 8 but no one ever goes on time" Mason shrugs, grabbing my suitcase filled with my clothes.

"Now why have I never seen this?" He holds up a dress Grace got me a while ago.

"Because its old and definitely doesn't cover anything" I snatch it out of his hands. Its a short leather dress.

"Thats the point babe" He smirks placing some of my shirts on hangers and into the closet.

"What are you going to wear today? Ellie's at Brooks so she wont be controlling your outfit" He laughs scanning my clothes.

"Maybe just jeans and a nice shirt" I shrug, not feeling like dressing up today.

"That works" He laughs. I love that sound.

Right on cue my phone rings and its Ellie. "Can you answer?" I toss my phone at Mason and he quickly swipes over.

"Hey" He answers. I hear her sigh from across the room.

"She's busy" "Don't worry" "I would rather her wear something she's comfortable in" "Ellie, take a chill pill. She pulls everything off" "Bye" He rolls his eyes.

"She wants me to wear something slutty, doesn't she?" I question already knowing his answer.

"Yup" He shakes his head, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"And as much as I love those clothes, I want this party to go smoothly and for you to be comfortable" He kisses my neck, looking at a shirt.

"Wear this and this" He grabs a pair of my black, ripped skinny jeans and a red flannel.

I grab a lace bralette and a black t-shirt as well.

"I'll be back" I kiss him quickly and walk across the hall to the bathroom.

Changing into the jeans and t-shirt was a struggle with the boot. I made it work though. I quickly tie the flannel around my waist and pat myself on the back for this outfit. It might even be up to Ellie's standards.

I walk back into my empty bedroom. Masons on his laptop, tracking my bed location.

I chuckle knowing how much he hates sitting on the floor like that.

I throw some jewelry on and a black sneaker. I grab my black bag stuffing some of my necessities into it along with money. "Ready?" I question.

Masons head snaps up to look at me. "You look so cute" He smiles.

I feel the heat spreading up my neck into my cheeks.

"Lets go, I need to get ready" He smiles, grabbing my hand.

Its only 2:15 and if the party isn't until 8 then we have a lot of time.

Mason pulls into a cute little café. "I want some coffee" He smiles parking the car.

"I could go for a latte" I smile, following Mason into the café.

Mason orders our drinks while I take a seat next to the window. People watching is one of my favorite things to do. Its fascinating how much people can be hiding behind a fake smile. I've been there.

Mason places our drinks on the table and we quietly converse for an hour until we go back to his house.

Mason looks hot.

He's wearing a white shirt with red sleeves and some blue jeans. His basketball sneakers on as well. His hair is a little messier than usual but I like it ten times better.

"Are you ready?" He knocks me out of my trance, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Yeah" I half smile, walking into the house.

Here we go again.

"Mas" "Hey man" "Yo, drinks in the kitchen" "Hey, how are you"

The smell of alcohol, body oder, pot and other horrendous smells fill my nose causing me to cower into Mason. He wraps a protective arm around me, shooting a dirty look to the one guy ogling me.

"You're okay. I got you" He whispers into my ear, leading me to what seems to be the back of the house.

We soon find the rest of our friends, I quickly hug them, declining a drink from Ben.

"Mason, you look really good tonight" Samantha slurs, clawing at Masons arm.

"Hm. Thanks" He tightens his grip around my waist. I lean my head into him, trying to give Samantha the message she obviously still refuses to believe. He's taken.

"We're playing truth or dare. You should come play. You remember all the fun we use-" I clear my throat, taking a sip of my soda. "Go" I snap, catching everyone off guard.

"Damn" Aiden gushes. "Feisty one tonight. Come alone" Samantha smirks, shooting a glare at me.

"I'm bored" I sigh, sitting on the floor. "Get up" Mason laughs, pulling me back up to my feet.

"We'll be back" He smiles, leading me outside. I breath in the fresh air, thankful that Mason understood what I meant.

"Thank you" I take in a deep breath, using the moment to close my eyes.

"Do you need anything? How are you feeling?" Mason asks, staring into my eyes.

"I'm good. Thank you" I quickly kiss him, placing my hand in his.

"Lets go back in so we can ditch this place soon" I joke, leading him into the house.

"You okay Le?" Ellie smiles. "Yeah, I'm great" I smile back.

"We'll leave soon" Mason shouts over the music. Right now we are all dancing. This is the most fun I've had in a while.

"I'm having fun" I whine, causing a silent chuckle to escape Masons mouth.

It wasn't actually silent I just couldn't hear it over the music.

"White, can I talk to you?" A drunk Patrick stumbles up to us.

Here we go.

Of course something has to ruin the night.

"What do you want man?" Mason sighs, not wanting any trouble.

"Ever since you met your little play thing you've gone soft. What happened man? We used to be such good friends" He slurs.

Masons fists tighten at his sides. Uh oh.

"Yo, man go away" Brooks steps in between them.

Oh God no.

"She's my girlfriend Patrick. Not a play thing. Soft? No, I've just learned to respect women and everyone else more. Maybe if you get a girlfriend you'll learn what its like to actually be happy. Now, please piss off and leave me and my friends alone. I won't tell you again" Mason responds, keeping his distance.

"Listen man, with all due respect, you could do better" He laughs, causing Masons back to tense.

"Mason, don't" I grab his arm, stopping him from doing something he'll regret.

"Look at me, I don't care. Just ignore him. He just wants a reaction, okay?" I turn his head to look at me.

"Shįt, did we not teach you the respectful way to treat women? Some people never learn, huh Tim?" Aiden scoffs.

"Yeah, I mean, we were stupid to think he would" Tim shrugs.

"Listen here you mother-" Dani starts causing my eyes to widen and Tim to slap his hand over her mouth.

"I'm going to say it once, then I'm done. Patrick, get the fück away from us" Mason says, taking deep breaths.

"Ya'll are ridiculous" He stumbles away, all of us immediately calm down.

"Let's go outside for a little, yeah?" I ask Mason, he slowly nods

"Fück" He mumbles when we reach the cold air.

"I'm sorry. I was going to do it. How did you know?" Mason shakes his head, pacing back and forth.

"Don't be sorry. I know you were, I'm just observant like that" I laugh, shrugging. I'm not going to give away how I knew.

Just then strike of lightning flashes in the sky followed by a crack of thunder. The whole ground shakes and I immediately am absorbed in a flashback.

'"Mommy?" I whisper, shaking because of the thunder. It's so loud.

"What?" She slurs, looking at me in disgust.

"Can I sleep in here?" I ask, hoping she's not in another bad mood.

"Ew, no go away" She rolls her eyes, flicking her lights off.

I coward back to my bed, not event bothering to ask my dad. He's been in even worse moods then mom. He even hit me yesterday.

I slowly lift up to feel the raised skin on my left arm.

Blinking back the tears I turn on a couple lights in my room, covering my ears with my pillow.

Soon, the sound of breaking glass joins the thunder.'

"Leah, we need to go inside now" Mason says breaking me out of my trance.

"Shįt, O-okay" I stutter, following Mason into the house.

"What happened out there?" He asks, staring into my eyes.

I could easily get lost in them, The shade of blue is beautiful and different than any blue eyes I've ever seen.

"Nothing, I-um. I just don't like thunder and lighting" I blush.

"Come here" He smiles, pulling me into a hug.

"I have you, always" He kisses my temple.

Memories of my parents swarm my mind, disgusting looks are tossed my way, tears blur my vision and a mixture of strong, gross smells set into my nose. But right now, in Masons arms, I've never felt so comfortable or content.

35 thousand reads is absolutely insane. Thank you so so much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a little rushed! Don't forget to vote, comment and share!

15 votes and 20 comments

Word count: 2636

~Leah