I kicked him hard in the gut. “Why the fuck do you think? You’ve got a brain cell or two in that thick skull of yours?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Mason sneered down at the man and then gestured for me to finish packing up. I quickly grabbed the rest of Molly’s things, zipped up the duffels, and swung them over my shoulder. Cory was still on the ground, his beady eyes wide with fear.
Mason fisted his hand through Cory’s greasy hair and lifted his head a few inches off the ground. “You’re never going to see Molly again, you understand? She won’t be coming back here, but if you happen to run into her anywhere in this city, you’re going to turn around and walk the other way.”
“Who are you?” Cory wheezed. “She never said she had a boyfriend.”
“You’re. Not. Listening.” Cory’s jaw slammed closed as Mason shook him to emphasize each word. “If you touch her again—if you as much aslookat her—we will destroy your pathetic fucking life and make you wish you’d never met her.”
“I got it! I’ll stay away from her.”
Mason threw him back on the ground, wiped his palms on his jeans, and gave Cory a disgusted look.
Jesus.Honestly, I was impressed. My bandmate hadn’t gotten into a single fight since I’ve known him, but he could clearly put his muscle to work when the need arose.
We left the apartment and dropped Molly’s things in the trunk before getting inside the car.
“Feels like he got off too easy,” I said, imagining how scared Molly must’ve felt. “He could do it again to someone else.”
“She should go to the police and make a statement.”
“When I suggested it to her earlier today, she said she didn’t want to.”
“Let’s give her some time.”
Mason began to drive back home, while I kept my eye on the bleak skies outside. “You said you understood why she stayed here.”
He tapped out a rhythm on the wheel. “She didn’t want to seem weak by asking for help.”
Oh.
I wanted to say that was ridiculous, that no one would think that of her,but the truth was, I understood that thinking all too well. I was convinced I was better off alone for a long time, until I’d met Mason. He’d shown me that close relationships didn’t always need to end in me getting hurt. Maybe Molly was still learning that for herself.
I glanced at my bandmate and rubbed my chin.
Maybe we could be the ones to teach her.
20
MOLLY
It’sfunny how life can turn on its head in the span of a few minutes. Yesterday, I’d folded this very same T-shirt and put it away in my closet, and now I was tucking it into the drawer Kaz had cleared out for me in his dresser.
Yesterday, my biggest worry was causing a rift between Mason and Kaz, and today I was coming to terms with being displaced from my home.
Yesterday, I thought I could handle anything life threw at me on my own.
Now, I wasn’t so sure.
I put away the last of the clothes the guys had retrieved from my apartment, plopped down on the edge of Kaz’s bed, and dug the heels of my palms into my temples. A splitting headache was the last thing I needed, yet I could feel it coming on. There were a few things I needed to get done before I could go to sleep guilt-free, but I had zero motivation to do any of them. Going to the police station earlier with the guys to file a report drained the last of my energy. I didn’t want to eat dinner. Didn’t want to shower, or look at my phone, or send the work emails I’d meant to write this weekend. I still hadn’t called my sister, and I definitely didn’t want to make that call.
A few minutes of genuinely fearing for my life had turned me into an utter mess. I supposed no one could blame me for feeling out of sorts.
A knock sounded on the door. This wasn’t my room, so it felt weird someone was asking for my permission to enter. The guys were very kind to let me crash with them, but I had no intention of staying here the entire two weeks. I’d look for a new apartment as soon as I got some of my energy back.
“Come in,” I said awkwardly.
