mason

The sound of a sharp crash behind the bar pulls my attention from the keg and toward Tony as he steps out of the stockroom.

“Clean up on aisle three, man,” I call out, smirking at his annoyed expression.

“Son of a bitch,” he groans. “What the hell are y’all doing up there?”

“I don’t know, man. Dash is up there,” I shrug, scratching the back of my head. “I think I’ve come to the conclusion it’s better for my sanity if I don’t pretend to understand anything he’s doing these days.”

I’m a few feet away from the entrance to the back bar at the same time I hear commotion on the other side of the double doors, the sound of shouting making me move faster.

I push through the double doors just in time to see Dash hurl himself over the top of the bar, his eyes crazy with rage like I’ve never seen.

“Motherfucker!” he roars, stalking toward the behemoth turning to face him. “You’ve got about two fucking seconds to back up before I end you!”

It’s then that I see the guys grip on my sister. He squares his shoulders as Dash stalks toward him, his chest heaving.

“One!” he shouts, shoving through the crowd between them, his eyes never wavering as he kicks a chair out of his way and clears the distance between them. “Two!”

Something clicks inside the guys’ head and he roughly releases his grip on Evie, the force knocking her into a table as he takes a step toward Dash, his fists clenching.

“Wrong fucking move, asshole,” he roars, his chest heaving as he yanks a full tray from a table, spilling the contents out onto the floor.

“Dash, no!” she tries, but she’s too late.

The sound of the empty tray crashing across the patron’s face rings out across the bar, cutting her off.

“Evie, get out of the way!” I warn her, already pushing my way toward her, gripping her elbow to pull her behind me as shattered glass begins to fly in every direction.

“Oh, my God!” she cries out, covering her head as she grips my arm. “Mason, you have to do something!”

Another bottle comes flying off a table toward us and I turn to cover her before glancing back toward Dash, flinching slightly when I see him take a hit to the jaw.

I’m about to jump in until I see his expression.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dash this angry.

Ever.

“You wanna fuckin’ grab someone?” Dash spits as he charges the guy, his hand gripping him by the throat with enough force to lift his feet from the ground, the impact of him smashing against the wall enough to shake two of the dated, lit signs loose. “Grab me, you little bitch.”

Holy fuck.

“He seems to have a pretty good handle on it, Eve,” I start, shielding her as best I can. “I don’t think he needs help.”

“Are you serious, Mason?” she balks, her frustrated gaze telling me she’s misunderstood my words as she pulls away from me, facing him. “Dash, stop!”

“Baby, don’t!” he warns loudly as she braves a step away from me.

“You’re gonna go to jail, you idiot!” she calls out as the pair falls into another table.

“Mason, get her the fuck outta here!” he huffs, but I’m already lifting her at the waist.

“On it!” I call back, elbowing my way through the massive crowd that’s formed around them.

When I finally get her to the small office on the other side of the bar, I slam the door shut behind us, out of breath as she spins to face me.

“I cannot fucking believe you, Mason!” her voice shaking with a combination between anger and hurt.

“What?”

“Seriously?” she asks, her eyes filling with tears as she deflates, falling into the chair behind her and burying her face into her hands. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Evie, I didn’t-” I start, but the sound of another crash loud enough to make her jump cuts me off. I glance back toward the door before giving her a quick onceover and meeting her eyes again. “I’ll be right back, okay?” I promise. “Just stay here. I’m gonna lock you in.”

“Okay,” she sniffs, giving me a nod as I move toward the door.

I’m about to step outside and save him from prison when the door swings open.

“Are you okay? Did he fucking touch you, baby?” Dash asks, his voice thick as he moves directly toward her. “I kicked everyone out, but I swear to God, Evie, if he hurt you, I’ll-”

“He didn’t,” she shakes her head as she uses the back of her hand to wipe her cheek. “I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?” he asks, softer as he clears the distance in three steps and lowers in front of her, resting his hands on her waist.

“Yeah,” she nods, pulling a deep sigh of relief from him as he leans closer, kissing her cheek and raising his hand to sweep her hair away from her face. “I’m not hurt, he just freaked me out.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, burying his lips in her neck as she rests her forehead against his shoulder, her chest shaking gently with silent tears only making him hold her tighter.

“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean for you to get into a fight, Dash,” she sniffs, shaking her head as she glances back up at him. “He just wouldn’t stop.”

“Evie,” he sighs, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “You should know by now you’re one thing I don’t mind fighting for.”

Something about his words make her tears come faster as she pulls him closer, resting her cheek on his chest again as he tries his best to soothe her.

Witnessing them like this is undeniably awkward, the sight of my best friend all over my sister sending my protective side into overdrive, but there’s something else there, too. Something that very same overprotectiveness wouldn’t allow me to see before, but I can’t deny now, no matter how much I’d like to.

He’s still shaking, his grip tightening as he inhales her scent and pulls away slightly, searching her face again for any signs of trauma.

“Thanks,” she sniffs as she pushes his disheveled hair away from his face, sighing as her eyes fall on his jaw. “He socked you good, baby. Your lip is busted.”

“Stop worrying about me. I’ll live,” he shrugs it off before shooting her a wink. “He ain’t got shit on your right hook.”

As Amy and Tony let themselves in, their private moment is on full display, but he doesn’t seem to care.

Neither of them do.

“Do you wanna go?” he asks.

“Yeah, but…”

“Alright, come on,” he cuts her off, rising in front of her.

“Dash, you have to finish your shift,” she offers, prompting him to shake his head as he pulls her small, shaking frame into his arms.

“Fuck that,” he says as she wraps herself around him. “If you wanna leave, we’re leaving.”

She nuzzles into his shoulder, thanking him quietly as her body begins to shake in silent sobs.

“Lock up for me, will you?” he says as he comes to a stop in front of me, fishing the keys to the bar out of his pocket. “If the cops show up...”

“Yeah, man,” I nod, swallowing hard as I take in the gentle shake of her chest, his hand rubbing her back in consolation before I glance back up at him. “Don’t worry about it. I got you, bro.”

dash

She clings to me the whole way back to my apartment making it almost impossible to drive, but I’d never admit as much to her.

I don’t have many redeeming qualities, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few days is that hanging onto her when she needs me is the least I’d do for Evie King.

When we get to my place, I put the truck in park and pull away from her for a moment, smoothing her hair away from her face and studying her features for a second before I press my lips to her cheek.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she nods, her pretty blue eyes stained underneath with the remnants of her mascara. “Thank you,” she wipes her cheeks. “Looks like I owe you again.”

“Gimme a kiss,” I say, giving her a soft smile as I rub my palm over her arm as she complies. “There. All paid up,” I kiss her once more, happy when I watch her lips curl up on either side. “You want me to carry you in?”

“Kind of,” she blushes, making me smile wider.

“Done,” I sigh, pulling her into my grip once more and holding her close as I kick the door shut and make my way upstairs. I’m nearly there when I slow, my afternoon returning to me. “Oh…” I say low, facing her as my steps slow. “Um… I have to tell you something.”

“What?” she asks, wiping her face clean as she settles her hands on my chest.

“Earlier? When I said I was getting stock?”

“Yeah?”

“I lied,” I admit, pushing the door open and stepping inside, watching her features freeze.

“You lied?” she asks as I set her on her feet, pulling away from me almost immediately. “About what?”

“Where I was… what I was doing,” I stumble, finding her eyes as I release a nervous breath, not sure how she’s going to react as I take in her features. “Evie, you know I love you, right?”

“Yes,” she nods, swallowing hard.

“Baby, I um…” I trail off, my hands clammy, my neck heating. “Don’t get mad, but I…” I clear my throat again, hating the glassiness of her eyes and the fact that I put it there. “Evie, I fucked up.”

evie

“Dash,” I manage, clearing my throat as I glance up at him, my stomach turning when I see his guilty expression. “I know you’re new to the whole relationship thing, but starting a sentence with ‘I lied to you, but don’t get mad’ is pretty much never a good thing.”

“I know. I was gonna come clean tonight when we left the bar, but I never got to talk to you about everything,” he sighs. “Mason’s just been making shit so hard on you and you’ve been so fucking miserable, baby,” he shakes his head and I feel my limbs begin to go numb. “Fuck, Evie…” he whispers, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t… I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just say it,” I rasp, swallowing hard.

I’m not going to survive this.

“Look, I know you’re trying to keep it from me, but I see it and I know it’s my fault. It’s been sitting in my gut all week just fuckin’ with me and I heard you on the phone with your mom,” he swallows hard. “Before? When I got fucked up in the head like this? Needed to relieve stress? I just…” he trails off, his eyes laced with regret meeting mine as I remember exactly how he relieved stress.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Come here,” he whispers, reaching for my hand and flinching when I pull away. “I’m sorry, Evie. I didn’t have you back then. It’s different now, but when I saw you like that, I didn’t think shit through,” he rakes his palms over his face. “I just… I freaked out. I reacted.”

“Dash,” I finally manage, my voice cracking despite my best efforts. “What did you do?”

My eyes find his as he stares ahead for a second before he steps away from me, nervously pushing the door to the spare room open. He flips the light on and stares inside for a minute before facing me.

“I broke into your mother’s house,” he sighs, making me replay the words in my head at least three times before they finally register.

“What?” I ask, moving to stand beside him, my gaze swinging toward what had been an empty room this morning, my chest clenching when I see the familiar stool and easel that had belonged to my dad.

“In my defense, if your mom wasn’t out of town and Mason wasn’t acting so fuckin’ stupid, I never would have done it, but you know, maybe that’s partly why I did, Evie. It doesn’t matter how mad he is, he doesn’t have the right to take this from you,” he says quietly, glancing down at me and gently wiping my cheeks clear. “I’m sorry I broke into your mom’s house, stole a bunch of shit, lied to you and made you cry,” he sighs, gently wiping away my traitor tears before winding his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. “I’ll never lie to you again. I just knew if I told you what I was doing, you’d tell me not to.”

“Oh, my God,” I whisper as I release a long, low breath of relief, my own guilt waving through me when I consider where my thoughts had just been five seconds earlier. “Dash,” I lean my head against his bicep. “Baby, you seriously need to work on your delivery.”

“I’m sorry. I felt really bad about it, though,” he smirks against my hair. “Why? What’d you think I did? Cheat on you?”

“No,” I lie, closing my eyes tight as he pulls away in surprise, his gaze full of offense.

“You did! You thought I cheated on you!”

“Well, can you blame me?” I shout, throwing my arms up. “You made it sound so bad, babe!”

“Yeah, I guess,” he allows, the judgment in his gaze slowly leaving his eyes. “Still kinda makes me feel like shit you think I’d fuck around on you, but…”

“I don’t,” I cut him off. “Dash, I swear to God I don’t think that, I just… it’s been a long night and I know I’ve had relationships before, but I’m not exactly an expert myself,” I admit. “I’m sorry. I trust you, Dash. It was just…” I trail off, pulling away and looking up at him with a narrowed gaze of my own. “Wait a second! You lied to me, broke into my mom’s house and made me think you cheated on me with your bullshit delivery!” I smack him. “How the hell am I in trouble?”

He studies me for a minute, biting down on his lip in consideration before he hooks his arm around my neck and gently tucks my head under his chin. With a light tug of my hair, he brings my eyes to his.

“You wanna call it even?”

“Okay,” I nod. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

I wrap my arms around his waist, savoring in the feel of his lips pressing against the top of my head.

“Thanks for not punching me in the face when you thought I cheated on you.”

“You’re welcome,” I whisper, glancing up at him to find him already returning my smirk as I lean up to kiss him. “Thank you for robbing my mother.”

“Anything for you, little monster.”