Shark Strike Survivor

Chapter 10

My brothers stay in the kitchen to give us a small amount of privacy, but nearby if I need them as Mason walks over to stand in front of me about a foot away with a loud sigh.

"I am sorry for being an asshole toward you earlier," he apologizes as he moves forward to hold my hands.

Quickly stuffing my hands into my pants pockets while taking a step back into the closed basement door; "I do not want you touching me."

Mason drops his hands back at his sides while chewing on his lower lip; "Sorry. I truly am sorry for my words and frustration toward you. You are right, I did not offer to pick you up, like a proper person would have. I had no right becoming upset because you found your own way there. Why didn't you ask me for a ride though?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh as I scrub my face with my left hand; "I am an adult who can make my own decisions, and my own way to places."

Stuffing my hand back into my pocket as Mason rubs the back of his neck in nervousness; "I know this. Can I make it up to you by taking you out to dinner now, and redo our date? Please, Larken?"

Chewing on my lower lip as I think about his request for a moment before answering; "I want to, Mason, but I dunno. I do not know if I want any sort of relationship with you when I cannot be confident you won't become angry because I do or say something you do not like."

He stares at me with sad eyes for several seconds before slowly nodding; "I can respect that. Will you think it over for a couple of days, and then let me know what you want for us, please?"

"Sure," I agree with a nod, and decide to be honest with him, so he cannot think and say I am hiding anything from him. "I met a guy on the bus here, and we exchanged numbers to become friends. I am telling you this, so you do not think I am hiding something from you."

"Thank you for telling me this, but you did not have, too," he says with a tiny smile. "What is his name?"

"Chandler," I answer, not wanting to give him the last name, so he cannot do any sort of search on him.

Not that I fully believe he would use his job in the capacity of doing a background check on Chandler if I gave his last name, I am not taking any chances either.

"Thank you for telling me," Mason replies, and I swear I see worry flash through his eyes, but it is gone as quickly as it came.

Humming at him, I shift my full weight onto my left foot, feeling extremely awkward.

"Well, I guess I should be heading out now," he quietly states, and I nod in agreement. "Please think over this as will I, and contact me when you know."

"Bye Mason," I murmur as he starts to turn to leave, and he gives me a tiny smile as he returns the words.

Mason stops in the kitchen to speak with my brothers, mainly Lyric before leaving. Once I hear the front door close behind him, I head downstairs to shower, and I plan on taking a nap while listening to a movie. What movie, I have no idea, but I will decide when I get to that point. Stepping out of the shower carefully, I lean against the counter to dry myself off, slip on a pair of fresh blue boxer-briefs, and sit on the closed toilet seat to place my covers and prosthetic on before completely dressing in a pair of loose black sweats, and a loose white long sleeve shirt.

As I walk over to my bed, I grab the television remote to turn the television on, pulling up a streaming service to find a movie. I decide on a movie, climb onto the mattress, and cover myself after setting an alarm on my phone. Just as I start falling asleep, there is a knock on my closed bedroom door before it opens and closes. Internally groaning as I am ninety percent positive that it is Lyric.

"Larken, can we talk?" Lyric firmly asks as I am sure he does not believe I am not asleep yet.

Rolling over onto my back to sit up with my back against the headboard to glare at my older brother; "What? I would like to take a nap."

He sighs as he moves to sit on the end of the bad with his leg bent at the knee to face me; "I want to talk to you about Mason."

"No. We are not having this conversation," I shut him down instantly with a frown, and continue to rant, and become angry that Lyric thinks he has an opinion either way. "My possible dating life, or lack thereof is not any of your concern. He had no right coming here to you, daddy or our brothers to try and convince me to take him back. I am an adult, and can make my own decisions. I did not ask for anyone's opinion on him, or what happened between us."

He lifts his right eyebrow up in irritation at me; "Larken, I know this. All I was gonna say was to take some time to decide what you want, and do not want."

"Cool. Can I please sleep now, my head is pounding with a headache?" I grumble, rolling over onto my stomach, and pulling my black blanket over my head.

Yes, I am aware that I am being rude and bratty to my brother, but at the moment, I do not care. I just need to be alone right now, sleep, and reset my feelings and brain to decide what I am gonna do about Mason.

Lyric sighs softly, shifting off the bed to his feet, and leaves my room. I think I need to find my own place, so my brother cannot come inside my personal space without my permission. This will have to wait until tomorrow when I have a clear head.