The Rainbow at the end of my storm

•8•

The elevator ride was awful. The whole time I was pacing, jiggling my keys, and fidgeting. As soon as the doors opened - way faster than I remembered them opening earlier today - my stomach sunk. Even if I tried to tell myself everything was okay, it wasn't. Mason was driving us. The thought sent shockwaves of excitement through my limbs, but made my nerves more jittery than I thought possible. I had to get a control over my emotions.

"I noticed you and Jason were pretty close at the party" changing the subject seemed like a good idea.

She blushed. "Yeah, he's a great friend of Adams"

Rolling my eyes I said, "sure, he's a great friend of yours too" I smirked and waited for her reaction.

She looked at me in shock. Her mouth was wide open, and her cheeks were still Scarlett. "Oh god!" She whined, covering her eyes. "Was it that obvious?"

I laughed. "Yes, but maybe not to Adam. If you're worried about him knowing, he either does and doesn't care or he hasn't noticed"

"I hope the former" she whispered, more to herself than me.

"Victoria, Bree" his deep voice pulled me from our laughing fit, my eyes hesitant to search for his.

When I did, I was gripped. A grip so powerful, so tight, pulling me towards him. He wore ripped skinny jeans (like me) and a black T-shirt covered by a black hoodie. He looked so sexy all in black. Mysterious even.

"Hey! Thanks for this" Bree called as she slipped into the back seat.

I smiled, following, until I realised there was no room. There were three seats in the back of his Audi but Jason and Bree were hogging them. Reality hit, I had to sit in the front with Mason.

I looked over at him, a playful smile tugging on his lips. He leaned against the car with his hands in his pockets, slowly edging towards me. "Well, well, Well. Guess you've gotta sit beside me" he made his usual perusal of my outfit, then sunk into the drivers seat.

This was going to be hell. 

We were halfway down the road when he opened his mouth. I thought I had the privilege of not hearing him speak; clearly I was wrong.

"You look nice. Different" his eyes narrowed, making him look even more handsome and sexy. My breath caught in my throat.

"Thanks" I whispered.

"Look at me" he pulled my chin up, half watching the road and half watching me. "You really look beautiful"

What? My breath had caught again - in fact it completely stopped. I wasn't sure why I was still alive. I was struggling to remove the tightness in my chest.

Then he laughed. He. Fucking. Laughed.

"What?" I snapped, practically growling at him.

"Don't take it so serious, cupcake. It's only a compliment"

What a fucking dick. He was so confusing. One minute he's forcing me to believe he thinks I'm pretty and then he's doing the opposite. I had no idea what was happening right now, but I could see Bree giving him dirty looks from the back of the car.

The rest of the car drive was agony. I forced myself not to look over at him, even if something caught my attention on his side of the road, I refused to avert my eyes from the side window.

I slammed the door as soon as we pulled up, heading straight towards the bonfire. I was done spending another minute near that idiot.

"Victoria!" I heard Pippa's familiar voice and headed straight towards her.

My intention was to spend the rest of the night away from Mason and this was a great way. Pippa was sitting with Johnny, no sign of there other friend, but hopefully I wouldn't be interrupting anything. Last thing I want to be is a third-wheel.

"Hey Victoria," he noticed who's car I came from and raised his eyebrow at me. "Don't know him, huh?" He mocked.

Swatting his shoulder, I explained that he offered without me knowing.

"Like I said, he's bad news"

Intrigued to know why I asked.

"Well for one, he doesn't date. You don't seem the one-night type of girl, or someone that sleeps around. Secondly, he's complicated; more issues than you can imagine"

Now I was definitely intrigued. Issues?

"What issues?" I asked, suddenly feeling guilty. This was wrong. I felt I was violating his life, it shouldn't be anyone else's place to tell me his issues. Hell, if someone told my business - my past - I'd be fuming.

"Well-"

"Actually, it doesn't matter" I rose from the log I was sharing with Johnny and Pippa. "I'm going to get a drink"

There was a huge bonfire in the middle of several tree trunks and logs, people spread out all around it. There was a cosy feeling to it. I headed for the liquor, hoping they had something soft; I wasn't interested in alcohol tonight.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Bree asked, popping up beside me.

"Over there with Johnny and Pippa" I gestured behind me.

"New friends?" She poured us two drinks

"You could say that" I realised she'd poured me a beer but when I looked, there wasn't any other option anyway. Guess I'll have to suck it up.

"Thanks-"

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, pulling me away from the group. It was my mom. "I'll be back" As I walked further into the woods to answer it, I got no service. Great.

When I turned back I noticed I'd walked further than intended. There was no light from the party. Shit. I trudged my way through the trees, noticing a small flicker of fire and feeling relieved. Only when I reached the entrance, a hand curled around my waist and pulled me backwards.

"Ahh-" my scream was cut off by a huge hand, reeking of alcohol.

"Hey Angel, how about you take me up on that offer tonight?" Carter.

My body went limp as memories flashed through my brain. The grip on my waist ripped through the wall I'd built, revealing images I never wanted to imagine again. His hand curled around my neck, freeing my mouth and I screamed. "Get off! Now!"

"Don't shout, they cant hear you anyway. You wouldn't want to get caught"

Oh fuck. "What do you mean? What are you going to do?" I rasped, trying to break free from his hold.

"You mean, what are we going to do. If you scream this loud when I fuck you, they will all hear"

I almost fell from his arms. Oh no. Oh no. This isn't happening.

"Please, I don't want this. Stop"

My nails dug into his forearm around my waist and he groaned. I kicked and kicked but he wouldn't let me go. He was moving me backwards.

"Get the fuck off her!" An almighty yell came from behind me, and then I was being hauled away from Carter. My breathing was uneven, my hair was half out it's ponytail, and I'm sure I was crying erratically.

I stumbled backwards into a tree, trying to calm myself down, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around my tiny waist. I began to panic until I saw those familiar brown eyes. Mason. He'd helped me.

"Hey, shhh. It's okay. He's gone" he cradled my face in his giant hands, analysing my whole body. "Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head, suddenly unable to speak.

He stared at me, his hands still in place. He didn't take his eyes off me, and I didn't taken mine off his. It was the same as the other night, but this time he didn't pull away. Instead he got closer. So close, his head rested on top of mine.