I wake up, completely exhausted. Mason left really late last night and we all talked for a while.

I quickly change into a green hoodie, some black sweatpants, a white baseball hat with a rose and some white sneakers. I quickly curl my hair and do some simple makeup.

I leave a note to Luke and grab my bag, keys and coffee.

Almost done.

When I get to school no one is at my locker yet. Why am I so early?

I grab my books, closing the locker.

"Hey Le" Christine and Dani come up to me, smiling.

"Hey guys" I yawn.

"You look tired. Where were you yesterday?" Christine smirks.

"Mason and I were exhausted and accidentally slept in" I say, my eyes meeting his.

"Hey babe. You look cute" He kisses me, pulling on my hoodie.

"No I don't" I laugh.

"You do. How did you sleep?" He smiles.

"I barely did" I laugh, leaning against my locker, taking a sip of my coffee. The hot liquid burns my throat but I ignore it.

"I'm sorry" He pulls me into his arms.

"Y'all are cute" Dani smiles as Tim comes up to us.

He swiftly slips his hands into the hoodie pocket, pulling me closer to him.

"You're so clingy" I laugh as he kisses my cheek.

"So what? You have a problem with it?" Mason smirks.

"No" I blush, leaning into him.

"Mason, Charles wants to talk to you" Samantha comes up to us, her arms across her chest.

"You're full of shįt Samantha" Dani rolls her eyes, causing me to slap a hand over my mouth of hold in a laugh.

"Shut up. Theres a reason no one likes you" She smirks.

"No one likes her? Do you see everyone here. We're all her friends. I bet if I went up to anyone they would like her more than you. So please, get your petty ãss away from me and my friends" I get out of Masons grasp.

You can walk all over me, as much as you want. The second you talk shįt about my friends in front of me I'm done.

"Leah, hey" Mason gasps, pulling my arm back.

"Wow, you seem full of yourself. Honey, you do know they are only friends with you because Mason is with you until he finds a new, better girl to fück. That will be me" She places a hand on her hip.

I roll my eyes, trying to mask the hurt. I've been trying to avoid that thought. The thought that Mason is only with me to say he fücked the shy, nerd who had abusive parents. Its crossed my mind but U've denied it.

"Samantha, get your äss away from Leah and my friends. I'm not kidding" Mason seethes.

"Mason, stop. Its fine" I step in front of him.

"Well, well, well. Whats going on here?" Patrick smirks, walking towards us.

"Fücking hęll" I curse under my breath.

"Alright, listen y'all. We are gonna back up right now. I'm not having it" Aiden shouts.

"I'm not scared of you. You wouldn't hit a girl" Samantha smirks as Patricks hand wraps around her waist.

Barf.

"You're right, he wouldn't. But I sure as hęll would" I push past Aiden, standing in front of little miss plastic.

"No you won't" Mason grabs my arm.

"Mas, chill out. Let me handle this" I pull it out of his grasp.

"Listen Samantha. I feel sorry for you. I truly do. I feel sorry for you because you feel the need to sleep around and throw yourself at anyone. I know the both of you have heard about me. Practically the whole world does. And maybe, thats why you are continuing to try to get to me. Let me tell you something, it's not doing anything. My whole life I've been bullied and hurt, constantly. I didn't let it get to me. Now, I don't know whats going on at your house, with your friends. I don't know shįt about you. What I do know, is that if you let your life go to shįt, and your personality, you're screwed. You and Patrick deserve each other. Now please, if you have anything to say, say it to my face. Leave my friends out of this. This whole thing, its between us. Not them. So, keep them out of it" I spit out at her, causing her eyes to fill with tears.

"Leah" Mason grabs my arm.

"It's fine Mas. I'm fine. I promise" I nod, staring at Samantha.

"I-I" She stutters out, looking at all the eyes on us.

"Lets go" Ellie says, leading us away from the crowd.

"If that didn't send a message, next time I'm hitting a bįtch" Dani cracks her knuckles, lightening the mood.

"I love you" I laugh, pulling her into a hug.

"Le, can you come here for a second?" Mason says.

"Yeah, of course" I follow him to an empty area.

He pulls me into a hug, smoothing out my hair.

"Mason, I'm fine. I promise" I sigh.

"I know that thought has passed through your head Le. I just want you to know that I really, truly love you. More than I have loved anyone in my whole life" He pulls away, sincerity in his eyes.

"I believe you. I love you too" I nod, kissing him.

"Leah, I'm serious. I know that look" He frowns.

"Mason, I'm fine" I look down, fidgeting with my ring.

"Le" He starts. "Can we just drop it? Please Mason, I'm over it" I sigh.

"Leah, please. You know my feelings towards you" Panic flashes on his face, I immediately feel bad.

"Mason, shh. I do. I know you love me. You respect me, my body and my feelings. I couldn't ask for anything else. Everything is fine, okay? Sometimes I just have my moments of doubt and what Samantha said is something I had been trying to deny" I grab his hands.

"I understand that. I have my moments too. I mean, look at you. Not many people can pull off a hoodie and sweatpants look but dãmn do you" He smiles.

"You're the golden boy. You've got girls gawking over you and landing at your feet, you have nothing to worry about" I joke, patting his cheek.

"Haha, so funny Le" He smiles.

"Lets get to class, okay?" I question, Mason nodding.

The day went on as planned.

"Are you coming over?" Mason asks as we walk out of the building.

"No, today is Luke's last day" I yawn.

"Oh okay. Have fun babe, text me and keep me updated please. I love you" He kisses my cheek as we get to my car.

"Okay. I will. I love you too. I'll call you tonight" I get in the car, starting it.

The drive home was short. My music drowns out the earlier incident and I find myself looking forward to spending the rest of the day with my cousin.

"You're home" Luke closes the fridge door as I walk into the room.

"That I am" I laugh, throwing my bag on the floor and sitting at the bar area.

"Nice, how much longer do you have school for?" He asks, eating some yogurt.

"About a month. It's crazy how fast this year went. Especially these last few months. They flew by" I shake my head, it finally hitting me.

"I'm coming back for graduation. You know that right?" He laughs.

"I do, I do. I want you all here. You're the only family I have left" I nod.

"Better us then your shįt parents Le" He side hugs me, handing me a cup of coffee. "Now, what are we going to do today?" He asks.

"We can go bowling?" I suggest, not having any clue as what to do.

"Works for me" He grabs his shoes.

"Okay, sounds good" I grab my coffee, phone and keys and sent a quick text to Mason, telling him my plans.

I drive to the bowling alley, and we play a couple rounds.

"Hey Le, I'm going to leave tonight so I'm not intruding any longer" Luke says, handing me a water bottle.

"Oh okay, you can stay if you want. You aren't intruding on anything" I take a sip of the water.

"It's fine, honestly" He shakes his head.

"Okay, I'll miss you man. I'm coming to Florida during the summer" I smile.

"You better" He nudges me with his elbow.

"We'll head back to the house and watch a movie. Sound good?" I suggest.

"Works for me" He clicks his tongue.

We watch a movie and eat some snacks, talking and laughing. Soon its time for Luke to leave.

"Bye Le. I'll keep in touch, I promise. Stay strong, we're always here for you. I know the anniversary is coming up. Thank you for giving me a place to stay. Text me if you need anything at all" He hugs me. His uber just got here.

"Okay. Thank you for coming home and surprising me. Stay safe Luke. I'll see you again soon. I want pictures and updates on the girl. I love you. Thank you for everything" I wipe a tear from under my eye.

"You're good girl. You have such a great family that cares for you. Hold onto that. Masons got a good one. I love you" He holds his pinky out.

More tears well up in my eyes and I interlock out pinkies. He smiles before placing his lips on his hand and I follow.

Some cousins have handshakes, this is ours. Our handshakes symbols a promise. A promise to each other that we will forever be family. Its a promise that I will never do anything stupid or harmful to myself. This handshake started when everything change. When Luke became an even bigger brother figure in my life.

I can't talk so I just nod. He leaves a kiss on the top of my head, walking out of the door.

I watch his retreating figure leave, my heart aching.

"He remembered" I whisper, not being able to control the tears from flooding down my face.

I fish my phone out of my pocket, pressing on Masons name.

"Leah?" He questions, I can't help but let out a small sob.

"What happened?" He rushes, panic clear in his voice.

"Mason, he remembered" I whisper.

"I'm coming over. What happened?" I hear running in the background, causing me to smile.

"No, its okay. I'm okay. Luke just left and as he left he did our handshake from when we were younger" I hiccup.

"My God Leah, you gave me an actual heart attack. But, why are you crying? Isn't that a good thing?" He sighs.

"It is. I know. I just didn't think he would. Its very meaningful" I shake my head, wiping my tears.

"Do you want me to come over?" He asks.

"No, its okay. I think I'm going to get to sleep soon. I'm exhausted" I yawn.

"Okay, me too" I hear his keys hitting his desk and then his bed creaking.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow. A little earlier, I'm treating to coffee. Goodnight, I love you" I walk into my room.

"Okay Le, text me if you need anything. I love you too" He answers, hanging up the phone.

I hop in the shower, deciding on doing a face mask after.

After my shower, I place a charcoal face mask on and cuddle under my covers with my book, waiting until I can wash the mask off.

I take a picture, texting it to Mason. 'Thinking of you'

After a couple minutes Mason answers, 'You're adorable baby <3'

I smile, continuing my book. Its been weird having so much free time. I used to be so busy with work, trying to stay out and doing so much homework.

Once my face mask is dry I wash it off and finish getting ready for bed.

I throw one of Masons shirts on over a sports bra and my underwear. He left it here a couple days ago so it still smells like him.

Slipping into bed, I turn my lamp on and get comfortable.

Maybe if I sleep with my lamp on I won't have a nightmare.

Lets give it a go.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault" I scream, shooting up out of my torture people call sleep.

"Leah?" Cody runs in.

"It was just a dream" He tries to calm me down.

"No it wasn't. It happened. It was my fault" My breathing becomes shallow, the walls closing in on me.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything is okay now" He rubs my back.

I shake my head. Its not okay.

"Please just breathe" He stutters, running around.

I gasp, trying to suck in a breath.

"Mason, yeah. Its a bad one. I tried. I don't know what to do. I can try. Okay" I hear him speak into my phone.

"Okay, try to ground yourself" He says, squatting in front of me.

I shake my head, not being able to concentrate on anything.

I wheeze, trying to get some air into my lungs.

Soon Mason bursts through the door, my eyes immediately find his.

His eyes widen and Cody quickly backs away.

"Deep breaths Le. Yeah, in and out. Do it with me, okay?" His voice calms me a little.

I try and follow along with his breathing, getting a couple bursts of air at times.

"Shįt" He mumbles.

"Okay, um. Look at my eyes" He points at them.

I turn my attention from the thoughts running through my mind to his eyes.

"And listen to my voice. Okay?" He asks, I nod.

"You say they remind you of the ocean right? The bright blue waves crashing on the sand. The sound that could put almost anyones mind at ease. The salt in the air creating a beautiful scent. The sand on your feet, feels like memory foam every time you take a step. Is that what my eyes remind you of?" He says, my breathing gets a little better.

"Yes" I gasp, trying to collect more air.

"Okay, good. Um" He stutters, looking around my room.

A million thoughts run through my head, making me lightheaded.

"Fück" He yells, grabbing my face.

"I love you" He whispers, smashing his lips on mine.

My eyes widen, not being able to process whats happening.

A couple seconds later he pulls away, studying my face.

Surprisingly enough, my breathing is back to normal and I don't feel like I'm suffocating.

"H-how?" I stutter, taking a deep breath.

"I-I saw it in a show" He lets out a breath, holding his head in his hand.

"I-I'm sorry" I shake my head, guilt filling my body.

"Shh, don't apologize, come here" He lays down in my bed, opening his arms.

"I woke you up and made you drive here in the middle of the night. All for a little flashback" I close my eyes.

"Just try and get some sleep Le. You're okay now. I'm here" He kisses my head, brushing his fingers through my hair.

I find myself slipping into darkness, feeling safe.

Its my fault.

Hi angels, another short update, I'm sorry! I just wanted to get this up! I don't really know where to go with this right now. I think I might try and wrap the school year up because its getting boring and such. We'll see. I hope you enjoyed this crap chapter. Thank you for everything. Don't forget to vote, comment and share!

14 votes and 60 comments

Word count: 2607

~Leah