Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) (23 page)

Knox had told Mason that he didn’t want him to join the club. He wanted Mason to go on and make something of his life, but Mason just didn’t know what he wanted to do. He loved football but couldn’t see it being his life. He wanted something more. Something meaningful. He had half-heartedly applied for different universities trying to find something, but he wasn’t sure whether he would be accepted into anything. Chelsea applied for art school at the university just near their house, she wanted to stay with Mason. This way she was able to continue to study art and be with him. Knox was really proud of Chelsea for getting through to where she had and offered to pay her way through school. Chelsea was embarrassed at first but was honoured that he felt that way about her. Dylan was going interstate, he had also been given a scholarship in music and was going to be studying at Mikklesons School of music.

Everything was working out well for them and summer looked like it was going to arrive early. Chelsea couldn’t wait. They had all agreed to go away before everyone went on to do their own thing and spend a week down at the beach. Lincoln had organised to use his parent’s beach house. Chelsea was like a little excited school girl; she couldn’t wait. Chelsea still hadn’t heard from her Mum and she hadn’t even given Maggie a second thought. As far as Chelsea was concerned her parents no longer existed. She didn’t really care what happened to them. Knox asked if she was going to invite her Mum to graduation. Chelsea had just shaken her head and told him that she didn’t deserve to be a part of something so special.

The one person that Chelsea was going to miss more than anyone was Brenda. She had been such an integral part of Chelsea’s life through her high school years that she would miss walking into the classroom and not seeing her bubbly face. Just before graduation Brenda had pulled Chelsea aside.

“I wanted to give you a graduation gift” Brenda said with a coy smile.

Chelsea smiled up at her and took the neatly wrapped gift opening it carefully. Inside was a box full of beautiful pencils and art supplies. Chelsea looked up at Brenda with tears in her eyes and wrapped her arm around Brenda’s neck.

“Thank you so much” Chelsea said giving Brenda a kiss on the cheek.

Brenda smiled and nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

“It has been an incredible honour to teach you and watch you grow Chelsea” Brenda said. “I don’t like to have favourites, but with you. Well what can I say?’

Chelsea grinned.

“Well you were my favourite teacher too” Chelsea laughed.

Brenda laughed and put her arm around Chelsea’s shoulder as they both wiped tears from they’re eyes.

Chapter Twenty Two

Graduation seemed to come around so fast that it caused Chelsea’s head to spin. At the ceremony she stood on the podium receiving her high school certificate looking out to the crowd. Kelly, Knox, Blade, Sharon and most of the Kings of Darkness sat in the front row cheering. Chelsea beamed at the attention. She had never felt so loved before. She gleamed over the crowd with the fleeting hope that her mother would be there, but of course she was a no show. Chelsea shrugged and smiled holding her certificate above her head and walking to the side of the stage. She cheered when Mr O’Ryan announced Mason, Lincoln and Dylan. Announcing where they had been accepted for university, Chelsea beamed with pride when it was announced that Mason was going to go to the same university as her, accepted into Engineering.

After the ceremony rolled up and everyone mingled around the front hall chatting and sipping cups of coffee, Kelly wrapped her arms around Chelsea.

“That was so cool to watch you all” Kelly grinned.

Chelsea smiled and hugged her friend back.

“Now let’s bring on the summer to end all summer’s” Chelsea said.

Lincoln, Dylan, Kelly and Mason all shouted in agreement. The after party was held at Lincoln’s house. There were people everywhere, music thumping and alcohol flowing. At one point in the night she was sure she saw half the football team in the pool naked. Lincoln’s Dad Eugene came and stood beside Chelsea and Mason while they watched the going’s on.

“I’m really proud of you lot” Eugene said with a smile.

Chelsea looked up at him and smiled in return. Eugene rocked back on his heels as he folded his arms across his chest. Sighing he nodded again as if lost in thought and reached out for Mason’s hand and shook it firmly.

“You’ve been a great friend to my son, I’ve seen you as a son of my own” Eugene said as his voice hitched with emotion. “I’m very proud of you”

Mason blinked away his own tears and nodded.

“Thank you” Mason replied.

“Ah there you are, come on let’s go upstairs and leave the kids alone” Lincoln’s Mum Tracey said from behind them.

She saw Chelsea and gave her a warm smile, but underneath the smile there seemed to be something else. Chelsea couldn’t read the emotion. Tracey stepped around Eugene and stood beside Chelsea.

“Chelsea isn’t it?” Tracey asked.

Chelsea nodded her head; she was confused by the way Tracey looked at her.

“Yes it is” Chelsea smiled warmly.

“You’re Maggie’s daughter is that right?” Tracey asked.

Chelsea dropped her head and nodded slightly. When she looked back up at Tracey, she noticed the woman had tears in her eyes.

“Yes I can see the resemblance” Tracey said taking Chelsea by the hand. “Come so I can show you something”

Chelsea looked over her shoulder at Mason who was lost in conversation with Eugene. She didn’t know what she was about to walk in to, Chelsea had never met Tracey before, she had seen her passing through on occasion when they had been at Lincoln’s house but she had never formally been introduced to her. However, by her reaction Chelsea knew that Tracey obviously knew her mother.

Tracey took Chelsea into a large library with a huge wooden desk that sat in the middle of the room. Surrounding the room were shelves covered with books of various sizes and colours. Chelsea looked around the room in awe. Her eyes landed on a hand painted portrait of three girls, two with blonde hair and one with dark hair. Chelsea recognised straight away that the girl smiling back at her was Maggie, her mother. Chelsea walked closer to the picture with her mouth gaping open.

“That’s your mother, my sister” Tracey said.

Chelsea spun on her heel to look at Tracey. She shook her head.

“Mum never told me much about her family, well not that I remember seeing as she was gone when I was five, but I do remember she said that she wasn’t wanted” Chelsea said with a frown.

Tracey dropped her head and shook it slowly. When Tracey looked back up Chelsea saw the tears gleaming in her eyes.

“That’s not necessarily true. We always wanted her. We loved her, hell we still love her. We just wanted her to leave that horrid man she chose” Tracey said.

“You mean Carl?” Chelsea asked.

Tracey nodded her head and ran her hand through her hair.

“Were you living with Mason when your Mum went to jail?” Tracey asked.

Chelsea shook her head as tears sprung to her eyes.

“You knew she went to jail?” Chelsea asked frowning, her eyes were beginning to blur with tears.

Tracey nodded her head.

“Yes. She rang us when she first went there. She told us that Carl had sent you to live with someone, but wouldn’t tell her who. We tried to find out, but kept coming against brick walls. If I’d known you were here all the time” Tracey said as she choked on some tears.

“I didn’t go to Mason’s. Carl never sent me anywhere” Chelsea said quietly unsure how to react to the new information she was learning.

Tracey’s eyes widened and she paled putting her hand over her mouth as she stepped forward quickly to Chelsea’s side. She put her hands on Chelsea’s shoulders and looked into her eyes, which were filling with tears. Rogue tears fell down Chelsea’s cheeks.

“Did he hurt you?” Tracey asked with a frown.

Chelsea let out a sob as she nodded.

“Shit, that piece of shit” Tracey spat, pulling Chelsea into a hug.

Tracey held Chelsea while they both stood in the middle of the grandest library Chelsea had ever seen under the watchful eye of the three sisters.

“Is everything alright?” Lincoln said from the door.

Chelsea and Tracey both looked up startled, Chelsea had forgotten that they were at a party. Tracey nodded and put her arm around Chelsea’s shoulder.

“Well I’ve just found my niece it seems” Tracey said with a nervous laugh.

“What the hell? For real?” Lincoln said with shock as he shook his head in disbelief.

He came into the room and pushed Chelsea to stand under the portrait looking up between the picture and Chelsea. He stood nodding for a long time.

“Yeah I can see it. How did I not notice this before?” Lincoln mused with his hand on his chin.

Chelsea shook her head and smirked.

“You’re not exactly Sherlock Linc” Chelsea laughed.

Lincoln looked at her and winked.

“Well it’s a good thing Mason got you before I did, that would have been a bit weird” Lincoln laughed.

Chelsea screwed up her nose and shook her head, she knew there would have been no chance that, that scenario would have ever played out, up until a few months ago Lincoln seemed to hate her and was one of the main instigators in her torment next to Maddison.

“Yeah let’s not be that close of a family” Chelsea laughed as she pushed away the memories of Lincoln’s reign of terror.

Mason appeared at the door with a frown on his face.

“What are you all doing?” Mason said looking between them all.

Tracey’s eyes were red and puffy and she knew that hers wouldn’t be any different. Soon Eugene and Kelly were joining them.

“Well now that everyone is here. I’d like to introduce you all to my cousin Chelsea” Lincoln announced with a smile putting his arm across Chelsea’s shoulder and pointing between the two of them.

Mason looked between Lincoln and Chelsea and shook his head.

“What?” Mason said confusion reading all over his face.

Lincoln nodded his head and pointed to the portrait.

“The woman with the black hair is Maggie, Chelsea’s Mum, the one in the white top and blonde hair is my Mum. They were sisters” Lincoln explained.

Mason looked between the picture and Chelsea just as Lincoln had done. Eugene came and stood beside Tracey, pulling her into a hug. It had obviously meant a lot to Tracey to find Chelsea. She hadn’t even given a second thought to her mother’s family. Chelsea had taken her mother’s word as gospel and believed that she had been cast out by her family, who wouldn’t she was a child; every child believes everything their parent’s tell them. Now however, Chelsea’s interest was piqued and she wanted to meet the rest of her family. Chelsea though couldn’t help but think if she had found out only a few months earlier that Lincoln was her cousin she would have wanted to hide under a rock.

“Yep I can definitely see the resemblance.” Mason said. “Although I’m really glad you didn’t get Linc’s nose”

“Hey” Eugene yelled with a laugh “That nose is very distinguished thank you”

He pointed to his nose and Chelsea could see it was long and slender just like Lincoln’s. Not that his nose was bad by any means. Mason ducked his head and gave a cheeky smile. Tracey was laughing heartily and Chelsea couldn’t help but smile too. Chelsea caught Kelly’s face, she looked sad. Chelsea went to her and put her arm around Kelly’s shoulder, kissing her cheek.

“Love ya Kel” Chelsea whispered into Kelly’s ear.

Kelly looked up at Chelsea and put her forehead on Chelsea’s.

“You’re better than a cousin. You’re my sister” Chelsea said.

Kelly straightened up and smiled widely. Chelsea kissed her on the cheek again.

“Well I reckon we need to do shots in celebration of finding new family” Lincoln announced.

Mason and Kelly cheered. Chelsea groaned remembering the last hangover she had. Sure enough the next morning she woke draped over Mason, her head fuzzy with no memory of the night before. She sat up feeling the pounding in her head and the bright light that stung her eyes as she looked around the room that they were in, the floor was covered with bodies, some dressed, some naked and other’s half dressed. Chelsea shook her head and instantly regretted the movement.

“Hey baby” Mason said huskily behind her, reaching up and touching her back.

She turned gingerly and looked at him. She found if she moved to fast the motion gave her almost like sea sickness and the urge to vomit became present.

“Hey” Chelsea groaned.

Mason chuckled before he touched his head and groaned. Chelsea smiled and pointed at him.

“Yeah don’t pick on me” Chelsea groaned.

The rest of the day her and Mason laid by the pool in the sunshine with sunglasses on sipping bottles of water and not moving. By that evening Chelsea’s head had stopped pounding and she was able to do more than grunt responses at people.