She turned to me, more tears brimming in her eyes. As they fell, she whispered, “I have to leave your father, Mason. I can’t stay here anymore and be in this marriage. I just can’t.”

My eyes narrowed. I heard the pain in her voice, but I shook my head. Anger jolted me and I growled, “Whatever. Fucking leave him if you want.” I turned to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“Out. What do you care?”

“Mason,” she gasped.

I ignored her, left the kitchen, and threw open the back patio doors. I could hear Logan trailing behind me. Ignoring him, knowing I shouldn’t be doing this in front of him, I circled around to the parking area where my dad was. He was still on top of that bitch, their mouths fused together.

I hollered at him, “Hey! When you’re done macking on your newest whore, you might want to book a vacation for Mom.”

He whipped around and looked at me. “Mason?” The blood drained from his face. “What are you doing here?”

I snorted. “My homework. That’s what I’m doing, or what I was trying to do before I heard Mom sobbing.” He stiffened. I laughed. “Yeah, she saw the whole show, Dad. Not that it’s a big surprise. The new f**king shocker is that you’re bringing them here.” I lifted a hand. “No offense to you, lady, but he’s my dad and there’s a whole family factor here that you’re helping to break up.” I turned my hand around and gave her a thumbs up. “But good for you. I’m sure my dad will pay you with lots of dinners and diamonds. If you don’t get the private jet ride while you’re sleeping with him, you’re doing something wrong.”

“MASON!”

I ignored my dad. “Oh, and just so you know, I’m leaving for Ethan’s now. I’ll be staying at his or Nate’s place all weekend.” I turned to go, but twisted back around. “And I’m going to be drinking beer. I’m telling you now, considering that you’ve got no leg to stand on with your parenting skills.”

Logan was right behind me. He held two bags in his hands, mine and his. As I bypassed him, he held mine out. “Can I come?” he asked.

“Yes,” I ground out. I’d never leave him alone again. No way in f**king hell.

He trailed past me. Helen was gone, but I didn’t care where she had disappeared to. This was normally the time she took a pill or started drinking.

As we went out to the sidewalk, he asked, “Can I drink beer too?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

Hearing his disappointment, I sighed and tugged him close. My arm went around his shoulders and we walked to Ethan’s like that. They’d be fighting tonight. I already knew it. Our mom witnessed it. We witnessed it and I called him out. I tightened my arm around Logan. He had heard too much already.

2

THE WAKE-UP CALL

We stayed at Ethan’s that night and then went to my best friend’s house for the rest of the weekend. The sad part was Nate never asked if we would. We all waited on the curb and when his parents’ driver came to get him, he told him to open the trunk. He said, “Mason and Logan are coming with.” When we got to his house, Nate walked inside and we followed. When his mom came out from the kitchen, her smile dimmed when she saw me. Then Logan popped out from behind me and it stretched again.

She asked, “How was it, honey?”

Nate reached up and kissed her cheek. “It was good.” He gestured to me. “Mason and Logan are staying the weekend.”

“Okay. I’m making pizza for tonight.”

Nate hit my shoulder and laughed. “Last one downstairs doesn’t get any pizza.”

Logan took off first. Nate wasn’t far behind. I waited until they were down there and turned around.

Nate’s mom was watching me warily, biting the corner of her lip. I knew she was a busy woman; both of Nate’s parents directed movies. In that moment, I was jealous of him. His mom was home, but she wasn’t crying. She wasn’t drinking. She didn’t look like a made-up Barbie doll. She was wearing jeans, an apron, and a normal t-shirt. She wasn’t like my mom, who always dressed like she was going out to a socialite party. My mom even wore big huge necklaces and her hair always looked perfect. Nate’s mom was so far from mine in every way. She cooked for him. Our chef prepared every meal. If we ran out, food was ordered in. His parents were as wealthy as mine, but they were more down-to-earth.

Her eyes narrowed now. “What’s up, Mason?”

I heard the wariness in her tone and knew she didn’t like me. That was part of the reason I wanted to speak to her. “I know we stay here a lot. Thank you.”

She nodded. “Yeah, well, your dad’s good friends with us, and I know you mean the world to Nate.”

“I know, but I know you don’t like me.”

Her eyes widened and her hand went to her chest in an absentminded gesture. “No, Mason. I don’t want you to thi—”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I know you don’t and you shouldn’t.” What the hell was I doing? I wasn’t a great kid. I knew that. I smarted off to my dad all the time. I cursed around Logan every other minute. I was disappointed in my own mother, but this was Nate’s mom. She used to like me, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew when she stopped; it was when my dad’s cheating started to be more obvious. All that crap at my house pissed me off. Logan handled it differently than me. He didn’t seem as angry as me. I said to her, “You’re a good mom to Nate. I know you’re worried I’ll get him in trouble or something.”