Anger To Love; Theo Raeken [1]

39|Brett And Lori

Mason was at Ava's house and they were playing video games on her Xbox.

"No. No. No!" Mason groaned when Ava killed him in the game again making her laugh.

"You swear you weren't cheating?" He demanded.

"I swear to God." She chuckled.

"Fine. One more game." He said.

"I have to get back to studying." Ava told him and grabbed her text book off her bed.

"Uh, you need any help with anything?" He stammered.

"What, you wanna help he study?" She asked.

"I'm your best friend, I can help you study." He said.

"That's all right." She smiled. "Go home."

"Uh... you-you mind if I... I mean is-is it cool if..." Mason spoke nervously.

"What, you wanna stay over?" She asked.

"Yeah, is that all right?" He asked worriedly.

"Always. But are you gonna tell me why?" She asked.

"What do you mean why?" He chuckled. "Maybe I just wanna hang out."

"What about Corey?"

"Nah, he's at a library study group." He said.

"We haven't had a sleepover since we were 12." Ava pointed out. "What's going on?"

"You remember that body that we found? You know, the one without the face? I can't get it out of my head." He told her.

"Yeah, me too." She said.

"No. Aves, I'm... I mean, I-I literally can't get it out of my head. You know what after images are?"

"Uh, you mean, like, when you look at a light bulb and when you look away you still kind of see it?" She asked.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Well, there's this more extreme version called palinopsia. It literally means seeing again. I mean, the image just stays with you...And you see it again. And again."

"So, where are you seeing the body?" Ava asked concerned.

"Everywhere." Mason whispered.

"I understand." Ava said and pulled him up onto her bed and hugged him tightly.

"How?" He asked.

"Remember before you knew about the supernatural, and that one night we were playing video games and I tried to get you to keep playing and not leave?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"I must have been having the same thing. I kept seeing the Beserkers everywhere." She explained. "That's why I was so jumpy. I was terrified of them."

Mason suddenly chuckled as he squeezed his arms around her.

"What's funny?" She asked.

"Both our solutions to our fears are having sleepovers." He said.

Ava's phone suddenly rang and they both jumped at the sound. It was Scott.

"Brett's missing." Ava said when she finished speaking with Scott. "Lori found his crosse with blood all over it."

"What's the plan?" Mason asked.

"I'm going to meet Lori and Scott in the woods. Can you meet Corey at school, Lydia will be there soon to see if she can get a premonition." Ava explained.