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  Quickly, I called Elena and said a silent prayer when she answered. “What’s up?”

  “I have a situation with Jameson. He’s here and, after last time, I could use some help ASAP.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Then the line went dead. At least I would have reinforcements. Lord only knows what kind of crazy was waiting for me just outside the house.

  Sighing, I straightened myself up and prepared for the confrontation waiting on the other side of the door. I felt my anger growing but curiosity won out. Not giving him a chance to say anything just yet, I stepped outside and shut the front door behind me. Then I sat on the porch, waiting for his explanation as to why he was ruining my day.

  Jameson sat down next to me and I scooted a few inches away from him. He looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. I couldn’t believe he was pushing me. He knew that look was my weakness. I struggled but finally managed to look the opposite direction.

  “Look, Jameson, I don’t know why you’re here, but I need you to leave. I’m done dealing with this crap. You and I can’t be friends, it’s too painful. Please just leave me in peace. I’m packing up for college and will be leaving in a few days. Let me go.”

  He tried to take my hand, but I pulled it away. Finally he spoke up.

  “I made a mistake, Lexi. You’re the love of my life. Why can’t you forgive me? We’re meant to be together. We can get married and settle down together. Come on, I need you.”

  O.M.G., I couldn’t believe he had the audacity to come here and grovel for another chance like this. He was delusional.

  “No, Jameson, I won’t marry you. You’re not the love of my life.”

  As soon as the words were out, I felt the truth in them. No matter how short my time with Mason was, he was never going to be replaceable and would always hold a piece of my heart.

  “What do you mean; I’m not the love of your life? We’ve been together for over three years. How could you say that?”

  I finally had the courage to stand up to him and it felt good. “Let’s not pour salt into old wounds. And we haven’t been together over three years. We aren’t together now and never will be again.”

  Jameson turned and grasped my shoulders. He finally caught on. “Who is he? I’m going to kick his ass. No one takes what’s mine.”

  “Excuse me? I’m not yours to take. I’m especially not a possession. You are delusional. I don’t know what happened to you these last few months, but we,” I said, pointing between us, “are no longer anything but a distant memory. It’s a tainted one and I’ve moved on.”

  His fingers tightened and started to dig into me. I was about to rip myself out of his grip when Elena finally showed up. I let out a sigh of relief.

  “How dare you show up here, Jameson? You don’t deserve to even talk to Lexi May after what you did to her. You disgust me. Now take your hands off her and take your leave.”

  She stood there with a no-nonsense stance that made it clear she wasn’t backing down to him. One by one, he pried his fingers away from me until he was sitting there, eyes burning into mine. I had hurt him and I didn’t feel bad about it. He did this to us, not me.

  Jameson looked up at Elena, but didn’t budge from where he sat. “I’m not leaving until she agrees to marry me. We’re meant to be together, I love her.”

  I thought steam was going to come out of Elena’s ears. She looked furious now. “You think she would marry you? Lexi May isn’t meant to be with you. In fact, leaving you was the best decision of her life and she’s better for it. You did her a favor. Now get over yourself and go do what it is you and Christy do best and leave Lexi May out of your problems.” Then she added, “I bet you don’t even have a ring for her. You’re just desperate because she left you.”

  He bowed his head and I knew she was right, there was no ring. Jameson had asked me to marry him and didn’t even have the ring to back it up. This conversation was getting way off track. I was about to steer it back to the point, but another car pulled up. Great, this couldn’t be good.

  I was right, it wasn’t good. The Mustang came to a stop, shut off, and Mason got out. When he took in the scene before him, his eyes darkened and I could tell he wasn’t happy. This was the second time he’d found me with Jameson.

  Panicking, I looked up to Elena and she told me to go. I watched as she held Jameson down while I took off for Mason. As soon as I reached him, I threw myself into his arms, but he pulled away from me, unsure what was going on.

  “It’s not what it looks like. Elena and I are trying to get him to leave. He’s delusional and thinks I’m the one and need to marry him. We aren’t getting through to him.”

  “So you aren’t getting back together with him?”

  Surprised, I shook my head. “No, of course not, Mason. He’ll never be the one I want again. I don’t love him and certainly don’t want to marry him. Everything you and I have been through in such a short amount of time proves to me how wrong my relationship with Jameson was.”

  Mason smiled finally and pulled me in for a kiss. I melted into his arms, forgetting my problems. He consumed me and I wanted every ounce of him. By the time he pulled away, I was flushed and breathless.

  Suddenly, I was violently ripped from Mason’s arms and Jameson had forced me to his side. I looked back to see what happened with Elena, but she just shook her head in apology. There was no way she would be able to keep an angry Jameson back and I shouldn’t have flaunted my relationship with Mason in front of him. That was definitely a mistake.

  “So, you must be the guy that has stolen my girlfriend. You’ll regret it. She’s going to marry me and you’ll just be nothing but a memory.”

  Okay, Jameson had officially lost the plot. He was living in another world than the one we all lived in. I yanked myself away from him and started to shout. I couldn’t help it, I was so angry.

  “Damn you, Jameson, I’m not going to marry you and I’m not yours! You will leave Mason alone and leave, NOW!”

  That isn’t what happened next, unfortunately. Instead, Jameson cocked his fist back and punched Mason. My hand flew up to my mouth in horror and Elena ran to us just in time to pull me out of the way. Mason fought back and now there was an all-out brawl going on in my front yard. My neighbor’s hopefully wouldn’t call the cops on us. We were causing a huge scene.

  We were so caught up in the fight; I never even saw it coming. A hand grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked, hard. I squealed in surprise and was rewarded with a kick in the stomach. There was just a small amount of time when I was able to look at my attacker. It was Gina. Great, this couldn’t get any worse.

  Elena tried to break us apart, but it was no use. She got a punch to the side of her face for interfering. Gina was just as looney as Jameson was. This kind of thing would only happen to me.

  Gina kicked me once again, never letting go of my hair and I crumpled to the ground. My foot hurt from the impact and I let out a cry of pain. It didn’t matter, though, Gina had pinned me to the ground, her body straddled on top of mine. All I could do was cover my face with my arms and hope she didn’t break anything.

  “You bitch; I can’t believe you stole him after I warned you not to. Mason’s mine! We got back together at Henry’s party and you, you have the guts to go after him!”

  The sound of Gina’s voice finally penetrated the boys’ fight and they were running toward us, eyes wide. How she showed up at that moment was a mystery. Mason pulled Gina off me and Jameson helped me up. I could barely stand due to the beating I just received.

  I was a little hurt that Mason stood there with Gina. After all, Mason was the one that I gave my heart and body to. I trusted him not to hurt me. My emotions quickly changed when Mason started yelling at Gina.

  “Are you crazy?” he asked.

  “You’re mine! Don’t you remember Henry’s party?”

  I winced at just the thought of them together that night. I think Jameson and Elena were stunned because they just stood th
ere, watching with their mouths open.

  Mason’s look was stormy and his voice was cold when he spoke next. “I do remember Henry’s party! You got drunk and stripped naked for everyone. I was hella embarrassed for you! I did what any friend would do and took you home. Nothing happened.”

  Tears started to roll down her cheeks and her voice shook. “You brought me home, and I woke up naked. I thought we had spent the night together.”

  “No, Gina, we didn’t. I brought you home and put you in bed. I’m sorry if you thought otherwise.”

  My mind was on overload. Mason really did have a complex for damsels in distress. He was the mystery guy we’d heard about with the naked chick, a.k.a. Gina. I couldn’t help the jealousy I felt from that little confession.

  She turned to me, I assumed to apologize, but didn’t get the chance to. Lucky me, Christy came storming up the sidewalk and stopped just in front of me. I couldn’t handle another beating, so I put my hands in front of me to stop her.

  “Why is Jameson at your house? I went by and his mom told me he was here. What the hell, Lexi? He’s not yours anymore. You can’t have him!”

  Everyone just stared, stunned. I couldn’t really blame them. This was like a circus act.

  “I think he should tell you why he’s here and you can have him. I don’t want Jameson. You and Jameson both need to leave.”

  I tried to keep my voice neutral, but I was so shook up, it trembled a bit. Jameson tried to reach for me, but I had stepped away from him and wasn’t about to start this conversation up with him again.

  “This is ridiculous. Jameson, just take your girlfriend and go. This is between you guys. You and I are over. I don’t want to see either of you again.”

  He looked like he was going to argue, but the resolve I displayed must have told him not to bother. Jameson nodded and turned to leave. That was fine, but he didn’t take Christy with him and she was left standing there.

  Her eyes filled with rage and she looked straight at me. “What did you do to him? He’s never rejected me! I gave him something you never could!”

  “Oh I know, Christy. Everyone from school knew what you could do. It’s disgusting that you would actually get on your knees and pleasure them at school just for a little male attention. I’m not trying to be mean, but you need a reality check. I’m not that girl and will never be. You can do whatever you want with Jameson. Oh, and stop prank calling me!”

  I might have been a little harsh, but I wasn’t going to get my ass kicked again and I just wanted her gone. Surprisingly, Elena stepped forward, whispered something in her ear, and she turned and bolted. I wasn’t sure what she said, but I was grateful for it.

  As Christy finally left, I was acutely aware of the awkward silence that surrounded me. Bless her heart, Elena sensed my discomfort and spoke up.

  “The show’s over. I think you need to leave too, Gina. There’s nothing left to discuss here.”

  Gina cut her eyes to mine and I could see the pain in them. I couldn’t blame her, Mason was a great guy and I would be hurting too. Just thinking about the fact that I was leaving made me sympathize with her.

  I waited and finally she nodded before turning and taking leave. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and turned to Elena.

  “Thank you for everything. I’m so glad you were here with me. That was insane. Do you want to come over tomorrow and help me pack up my stuff?”

  “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. You’re nowhere near ready.”

  She looked from me to Mason before continuing. “I actually have to get back to Tate. Are you good now?”

  I gave her a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m going to talk to Mason for a bit and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She gave me a big hug and waved at Mason before leaving. I knew what I had to do next and I was dreading it. Things had changed so much for me over the last few weeks, I don’t know who I would still be if Mason hadn’t come along. I would forever be thankful for him.

  I didn’t want to take him inside now. If I did, two things would happen. My mom would come home, take one look at me and go into nurse mode. The second thing was controlling my suddenly rampant hormones.

  I took a few steps forward and entwined my fingers with his, feeling the familiar tingle of chemistry we had. “Do you think we could go somewhere and talk?”

  He frowned. “Don’t you need to get checked out? You don’t look too hot, Lexi May, no offense.”

  “I’ll be fine. Maybe we can go to the park up the street and swing for a little while,” I suggested.

  “That sounds like a plan. Come on, let’s get you in the car.”

  He walked me the rest of the way to his car and opened the door for me. When I got in, he buckled me in and shut the door. Once he was inside and started the purr of the engine, I risked a glance at him. Mason looked deep in thought.

  I too was thinking. It was hard, but I peeled my eyes away from him and gave him directions to the park. I tried desperately to not focus on what I needed to do. It was going to be now or never and this would be the hardest thing I would ever do.

  He came around and opened my door for me. I took his hand again and led the way toward the swings, bumping into the left one while he took the swing on the right. We swung in silence for several minutes as we both collected our thoughts.

  There was so much I wanted to say, but nothing would come out. We continued to swing without another word. It felt bittersweet. I wouldn’t tell him, but what we had was the closest thing to love I’d ever felt. This was going to hurt like hell.

  Closing my eyes, I let the feel of the humid air sweep over me, trying to hold on to everything Mason. God, I didn’t want to let him go.

  “Mason, have you thought about what happens next?”

  He nodded. “I want you, Lexi and I’ll take you any way I can get you.”

  This was going to be so much harder than even I could imagine. All I wanted was to hear him say those words. Now that they were out, our situation seemed all the more impossible.

  “How can we stay together when we will be living on opposite sides of the country?” I asked, skeptical.

  Mason quirked a half grin and it momentarily distracted me. “If it’s meant to be, we’ll make it work. There is such a thing as Skype now and don’t forget Snapchat. We can stay in touch; maybe just see each other when you’re home for the holidays.”

  I swallowed thickly. “There’s just one problem with that plan. I won’t be coming home for holidays, it’s just too far. I will be back next summer, though.”

  “I still think we could make it work, Lexi. Give me a chance.”

  As much as my heart screamed yes, my head thought logically. It wasn’t possible without a lot of strain to the relationship. I never thought it would be me to break off a relationship, let alone break my own heart, but here I was doing it anyways.

  We couldn’t be together, but I wanted to remember him as a fond memory that made me smile. He was amazing and I wanted to keep him that way in my eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Mason. As much as I want it to work, it can’t.”

  Not able to look him in the eye, afraid it would test my resolve, I bolted. Wisely, he didn’t follow me.

  My heart was shattering into a million pieces, but there just wasn’t another way. A part of me would always cherish Mason and what we had.

  I TRIED TO shake the sadness that was pouring off of me, but Mom knew me well.

  “Lexi, honey, what’s going on?”

  I swallowed, knowing she was referring to why I looked like something the cat dragged in. This was not going to be a fun conversation, especially if she pressed for more. I might just break down; the sadness I felt was completely overwhelming.

  “Well, I sort of got into a fight earlier. Don’t worry, Mom; I just defended myself, no fighting back. You taught me better than that.”

  “Are you okay? You look terrible!” She practically gripped my shoulders and I could sense her fear for me.
/>   “I think I’ll be fine, but just to be sure, can you check me over? Two girls got ahold of me and I wasn’t sure what exactly happened once it started.”

  “Let’s get you to the kitchen table so I can take a look. Come on, I’ll help you,” Mom said.

  I was grateful for such an amazing mom. She was everything most people didn’t get. I loved her and respected the hell out of her. A single working mom who found time to keep our relationship strong was not easy.

  Finally, after she had inspected practically every nook and cranny, Mom finished. “Well, Lexi, you’re going to be fine. I expect to see bruising and you will be sore, but nothing a couple of days won’t heal. You got lucky.”

  She handed me two Ibuprofen pills and a glass of water. I couldn’t wait until they kicked in.

  “Thanks, Mom. I feel absolutely awful about what happened. I promise that I didn’t do anything to provoke it other than liking a guy.”

  “Let’s go into the living room and chat. I think you have some explaining to do.”

  It was just as I thought. I wouldn’t get out of this talk. Mom meant well, but I was so melancholy, I didn’t really want to talk to anyone right now. I sucked it up and slowly made my way back into the living room and onto the couch.

  Putting my head in my hands, I let out an exasperated sigh. “The whole situation is crazy. Are you sure you want to know?” I asked. It was my one last-ditch effort to keep her out of it.

  She nodded, never taking her eyes from me.

  Here went nothing. “I’ll start with the weekend at the beach house. It was a fun time and I’m glad I went. Mason set up the most romantic date for us on the beach and I’ve never been treated so well. It makes me sad to know I’ll be leaving soon.”

  “I’m sorry about you and Mason having to separate. He seems like a great guy. You could always change your mind and stay here for school,” she suggested.

  I could see that spark of hope in her eyes and hated to squash it, but I was determined. “Sorry, I’m going to school in California, and you can’t change my mind. Besides, it will be good to get away from Jameson. He’s turned into a crazy and I don’t want to be the target of that insanity.”