Leap of Faith

Chapter Twelve

Rebecca

"Morning Mom," I said, sitting at the kitchen table as she flipped through the paper. She glanced up at me.

"Who was that boy, Rebecca?" I froze. How had she known that Mason brought me home last night? I scowled. Seth must have spilled it to  her in his drunken state that I had come home with a boy.

"What boy?"

"The one who brought you home. I was under the impression you were with your brother last night."

"I was, mother. But isn't it good enough that this boy brought me home when Seth was too drunk to do it?"

"What's his name, Rebecca?" she said, irritated.

"Matt."

"Rebecca, please," she snapped.

"Mason. He's new. Happy now?" She nodded.

"I want to meet him."

"Mom! That's so lame! I didn't ask who you were with last night, even though I know you were with some guy," I paused, watching her blush and confirm my assumption. "We aren't even together! You can't go all obsessive parent on me now."

Mom hated it when I pulled the obsessive parent card, because her parents were crazy overprotective, and she deemed herself better than to follow in their footsteps.

"In a few weeks, maybe." She went back to her paper, and just like that the conversation was over. I walked up to my room and found Seth on my bed.

I jabbed him in the ribs.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he jerked awake.

"I came to ask you to cover for me, but I fell asleep."

"Mom already knows you're drunk, dweeb."

"Did you tell her?"

"You came home slurring about how there was a rabbit in your ear. I didn't have to tell her shit." He groaned.

"Don't worry about it. Mom has always liked you more, and she was already worked up about Mason and-"

"Did you sleep with him?!" he tried to look intimidating, but only succeeded in looking hungover.

"Yes, and now I'm pregnant." He looked raging mad, and I chucked. As big of an idiot as Seth was, he was still my brother by some twist of fate and I loved him. Even if he was crazy overprotective.

"I'm kidding, Seth. I didn't sleep with him."

"Good."

"Go eat some toast, you'll feel better." He nodded weakly. He was such an idiot.

Mason

Ineeded to see her. I dropped her brother off last night, hearing him drone on about bunnies in his ears or something, and climbing through her window seemed a viable option.

I resisted calling her for about ten minutes and then caved. I didn't really know what to do with everything I was feeling - should I act upon it or stifle it? Was I acting like a girl by thinking about her too much or was that normal?

"Hello?" she answered and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. Feeling this way was startling, and insane.

"Morning, Beautiful," I croaked, my voice cracking. God, it was like I was some love struck, horny, hormonal teenaged boy. Okay, well I was all of that. But I normally didn't show it.

"Mason? Hey! Thanks for getting Seth home safely last night." I nodded and then, realized she couldn't see me.

"Sure thing. I was wondering, do you want to hang out today, maybe get lunch later?" I could practically the indecision in her voice. Was she having second thoughts?

"Sure," she said ultimately. "Can you pick me up now?"

"Yeah, I'll see you in ten."

We hung up, and I suddenly worried about what I was wearing. Okay. Now I was just being a girl.

Rebecca

I didn't want to see him. Yet, I did. I was falling in love and at the same time I was telling myself not to. It was like pushing a table into a wall - pointless. Because as much as I didn't want my heart to be broken, as much as I didn't want to end up like Mom, I couldn't deny that Mason made me feel amazing.

I guess when you're with the right person, you become the best version of yourself. And as much as I didn't want to be stupid and reckless with my own heart, I didn't really think the choice was mine anymore. My heart seemed to have its own mind, the capability to make its own choices - and it had chosen Mason.

Mason

When I got to her house, I rang the bell, nervous because I figured her Mom was home. Maybe even, if I was unlucky, her Dad. God, even her brother.

Bex opened the door and my breath caught in my throat as blood flowed to areas in the Nether regions.

She had on a lacy blue sundress, that exposed a lot of her thighs and followed the curve of her waist. I wanted to rip it to shreds.

She smiled at me lightly, and my heart thumped at just that. Good God, what was this girl doing to me? Feeling this way was surreal, impossible, because I had kept my heart so guarded, so safe for my entire life. I had set up such a strong shield to keep myself from becoming my parents that I couldn't even become myself.

"Hi," said a voice from behind Bex. A women who looked startlingly familiar appeared. She was, I realized, Rebecca's mother.

"Hi Ma'am, I'm Mason Hawthorne."

"Take good care of my daughter," she stated simply, and then the door was closing and Becca was right in front of me on the porch.

"Everyone seems to think I can't take care of myself," she grumbled and I shrugged.

"They care about you," I told her, taking her hand shyly. She sighed and gently eased out of my grip. My smile faltered but I ignored it.

"So, was your Dad not home? That was lucky right?" I laughed and turned to look at her. She was chewing her lip nervously, avoiding my eyes. I frowned and pulled her to a stop.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my hand on her waist. She looked up at the ground and then up at me.

"My Dad's dead, Mason."