Inferno

~149~ Secrets

Ellie's POV

It's been two days since I caught the stomach bug, and I'm finally back to normal. That was so completely awful.

I'm downstairs getting caught up on the MOUNDS of laundry I'm behind on. Seriously, you're out of commission for a couple of days and the entire house falls down it seems like.

As I'm doing laundry, Mason walks in. He stops as soon as he sees me.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in here. I was going to throw a load in for you" he says with a smile.

"You're sweet. This is going to take me a year" I chuckle.

He doesn't say anything. Instead he just looks at the ground, and then starts to turn and leave.

"What's wrong?" I ask gently.

He turns back around and shakes his head. He looks sad.

"I'm a pest. I'll just keep bugging you until you tell me" I tease with a gentle smile.

He still hasn't cracked a smile. He looks at me hard and tears fill his eyes.

"It's so weird. You hated me for a long time, and I couldn't hardly stand to be near you. It was too awkward. I would intentionally hide if I saw you walking down the hall or something" he says, getting embarrassed.

I just smile, understanding what he means.

"Ellie...Man...I feel like...This is going to sound insane. I seriously love you...Like, as a mom. I feel like you're my mom" he says, getting choked up.

I'm stunned. I don't even know what to say.

"That was the first time in my entire life where I was taken care of when I was sick. My mom never took care of me at all. She would put me in my room and shut the door. She wouldn't even bring me food. I had to do it all. I felt like I was dying the other day, and you not only took care of me, but every other person in this house. I've never met anybody like you before" he says, biting his lip.

I go over to him and hug him tight. "I love you too. I already consider you my son" I say, kissing his cheek.

His eyes fill with tears and he shakes his head. "I love my mom. I'm not trying to say that I don't" he says, upset.

"I know" I say gently.

"Thank you for the other day" he says simply.

I just nod. "You were taking care of everyone too. You would have done it for me" I say, 100 percent certain that's the truth. He just nods.

"Our first day back tomorrow...Think anyone will get suspicious?" He asks nervously.

"I doubt it. Lance said it's going around the school like crazy. Nick and Lana were out too" I say, pretty confidently.

He just nods as he leaves. As he goes, he picks up a wash rag that's sitting in a pile and chucks it at me. It hits me in the face, and we both start cackling like idiots.

The next day I get to school and get into a rhythm. I've been swamped. Kids are dropping like flies. I've been calling parents and calling the janitor to help me clean up all the puke. I'm OVER puke.

I finally get a break and head to lunch. Everybody else has been eating a good ten minutes when I get to the table. As soon as I sit down I sense trouble. Missy and Mason are starting to argue.

"Why are you always so vague all of the time?" She snaps.

"Because I don't owe you an explanation on my life" he snaps back.