Morpheus's Mortal

Chapter 4 Melted Heart

Mason's eyes moved up and down, studying my body. He sucked in a breath, ran his fingers through his hair, then exhaled.
"Wow, you look a-amazing."
I didn't know what to say, so I just stared. What are you supposed to say to your first kiss and first heartbreak, your childhood friend?
Milly clears her throat, signaling me that I should say something.
"Um, thank you?" I say, hoping that that will enough.
"I think I will go use the bathroom." Milly excuses herself.
Of course she would abandon me at a time when I needed her the most.
"Ok, cut the crap," I say," what the hell are you doing here?"
He puts his hands in the air like he hasn't done anything wrong.
"I'm serious, Mason."
He grins, "Say my name again. I love hearing the disgust in your voice when you say it."
"Bite me," I snarl.
"With pleasure."
He pushes me into a quiet and dark room and locks the door.
"What are you doing?" I ask, slightly terrified in the back of my mind.
He smiles and pins me against the wall, positioned in a way that I can't escape. He licks his lips and stares at mine, I can practically smell the whiskey on him.I glare at him, telling him no, but he doesn't listen.
I feel something wet fall on my neck. I realize that it's a tear and it's not mine.
"I'm so sorry, Wendy. But you're back now and that's what matters."
"Mason, I'm not Wendy." I say shakily.
He kisses my cheek. Poor Mason.
I shift my shoulder inward a bit, causing him to look up at me. I give him a warm smile, his grip on me loosens, now is my chance. I slowly raise my hand and bring it to his neck and my other hand slowly makes it's way to his pocket. Next, I ball my hands into a fist and smack him in his face. He pulls back, cursing. I quickly run and unlock the door with the key that was in his pocket. I run out of the room as fast as possible, trying not to trip.

Milly rushes over. "What's wrong? Your face is red."

"Mason." I blurt out.

"Shit, I shouldn't have left you alone with him."

"It's alright, normally he is a gentleman. I think he might have had too much to drink and you know how he gets when he is drunk. He kept say Wendy's name."I explain.

She nods her head understandingly.
"Your dad was looking for you." She says.

"Was Alex with him?" I ask, with a hint of irritation in my voice. I already managed to escape one guy tonight, I don't want to escape another one.

"Are you kidding me? Of course he is." She snaps back.

"Chill with the attitude."

"Sorry," she apologizes,"it's just that every time I look over at your father, Alex seems to be glued at his hip."

Great, I thought, just what I need. A guy who idolizes my father.
I start walking back towards the Main Hall. I didn't notice how beautiful it was earlier.
The Main Hall had white marble walls with elaborate gold designs painted around it. Champagne colored silk streamers hanged from the ceiling. A beautiful crystal chandelier gave off the perfect lighting. I couldn't help but stare at the ceiling, realizing that the room's color seemed to give off a gleeful mood.

"If you keep looking up, you're neck is going to get stuck like that."

"Hello, Mason." I say, brining my neck back to it's original position. I hope that he is a little more sober.

"I'm sorry, for what happened in the room." He started to tear up a bit, but continued,"it's just that it's been so hard without her, I miss Wendy, and you remind me of her."

Mason has been my friend since I was three, not to mention my first kiss. We dated when I was fifteen, he was sixteen. We broke things off a year later, wanting to remain just friends. We still did everything together and he practically became my brother.

At my 17th birthday party, which was just going out to dinner with friends, I introduced him to my friend. Wendy. And yes, Wendy did look similar to Wendy from Peter Pan. She had reddish brown hair and bold green eyes with fair skin and she was the same age as me. Not to mention that she religious to working out, so her body was to die for. Mason and Wendy hit it off great at the party and started dating. I already knew that Mason crazy about her and loved her deeply. But it took awhile for Wendy to tell him she felt the same. After that, they became very serious. Mason was going to propose the night of her graduation party. The night when she.....

The night when her body was found. She was stabbed in four different places. They still don't know who did it and they are still working on her case. Mason would spend hours researching, always asking if any new evidence was found. When there was still no trace of her killer, Mason started turning to alcohol to numb his pain. He stopped being caring and became abusive instead.

I handled my grief in another way. Eating and watching Netflix. That was what Wendy and I would do when she would come over. We had both admitted that whenever we got sick, we would immediately go to the kids section to watch cartoons. It made me feel better, but I did gain a little weight. I cried and didn't leave my room for days. After a while, I became insecure about my body, so I stopped eating. That's when my dad decided I should move, to get away from everything.

Finally, Mason started acting a little more like himself and resumed our friendship. We started going to see movies and spending all of our money at arcades, trying to win giant, stuffed animals. He started to smile again, but that's when I received news that I was going to live in Paris for a year. I thought my dad was just suggesting moving, I didn't think he was serious. I also told him I was engaged.

Basically, when I told Mason, he freaked. He kept saying that this ruining everything, that he needed me to stay. I tried to tell him that I had no choice and that we can still keep in touch everyday. But he called me vulgar names and slapped me. That's when I ran out and never spoke to him again.

But here he is now, front and center. He's changed, but he looks in better shape than I left him in. He leans in and whispers,"So, Cass, why don't we forget the party and go talk."

I lean in as well and put my lips close to his ear,"I would love to, but only for a little bit. I have to meet Alex still."

He seems to snarl a bit, but he hides it fast. He slowly turns to a waiter nearby and grabs to glasses of extravagant champagne.

"Follow me," he says, taking the lead with me behind him.

I never knew following him would change my life for forever.