Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) (6 page)

Chapter Six

Later that morning Mason and Chelsea headed for the shops, Chelsea was still wearing the clothes that she had borrowed from Kelly, whom she still hadn’t met and didn’t know who she was. They walked from shop to shop. It wasn’t something that Chelsea was accustomed to. She generally shopped at second hand stores and just found the most comfortable clothes she could find, she didn’t really care about style or fashion. Chelsea was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience, but it felt nice to have Mason by her side. He didn’t seem to tire going from store to store and would happily point out things that suited her. She was astonished by how the sales girls would flirt with him and he would flash them that crooked smile. Chelsea had never experienced jealousy over a boy, but when the sales girls would casually flick their hair and put their hand on Mason’s arm, with their fake laugh she wanted to reach over and rip their heads off.

She had to keep her eyes on the task of finding clothes, Chelsea was sure they thought she was just his sister or cousin and that’s why they were openly flirting with him. Mason didn’t seem to notice the way they looked at him, but Chelsea saw it all. Finally they found a shop that sold jeans that Chelsea liked and that Mason said suited her and once again the girl was flirting and laughing with Mason.

Chelsea stood at the counter waiting to pay for the clothes, while the girl leaned over talking to Mason, making sure that her top hung down low enough for him to get a good look at her cleavage, flashing him her too white teeth and flicking her hair with exaggerated movements. It was when she turned and bent over wiggling her arse for him that Chelsea couldn’t hold back.

“Oh come on already, yes we get it you want to fuck him, now can I please pay for my things so I can go be sick somewhere else?” Chelsea moaned out loud.

The girl stood and spun on her heel staring at Chelsea, her mouth dropping open and closing again. Chelsea lifted her clothes and waved them at her. The girl bustled forward and quickly put Chelsea’s purchases through the register, careful not to make eye contact with either Chelsea or Mason. She could see out the corner of her eye Mason’s wide Cheshire grin. The girl handed Chelsea the bag and turned again busying herself on the back shelf. Chelsea didn’t even look at Mason as she passed him out the shop but she could tell he had enjoyed the show very much.

“What was that?” Mason said laughing hysterically. “I get it you want to fuck him”

He was bent over laughing so hard Chelsea couldn’t help but giggle.  Soon they were both laughing hysterically, holding onto one another to prevent from falling over.

“Mason, hey man” Chelsea heard the male voice call.

They both turned to see Lincoln, Mason’s best friend quickly strolling toward them. He stopped short when he recognised Chelsea. She wanted to slink back into the crowd and escape. Lincoln had always been one of the biggest instigators with the name calling and the nasty notes she found stuck to her locker. A few years early he had got hold of Chelsea’s school photo and hung it in a noose from the roof. She hated him with a passion and he was the last person that she wanted to run into.

“Oh Chelsea, um hi, how are you?” Lincoln.

She gave him a tight smile and a quick nod before turning her back and looking over the rail to the lower level, trying to ignore his existence. It had been so nice to forget that Mason was in a different place to her, that she could never be a part of.

“What’s the go with that Mason? And where is her bag lady look?” Lincoln asked with a scrunched up face “She almost looks like normal”

Chelsea shook her head to bite back the tears as she tried to pretend she wasn’t listening.

“Linc, let it go man. She’s a cool chick. You just need to get to know her” Mason said.

Lincoln snorted and out the corner of Chelsea’s eye she could see him shake his head. She couldn’t help but wonder if Mason really felt like that about her or whether he was only saying that for her sake.

“I’m going to head off now, it was good to see you Mason. I’ll talk to you at school” Chelsea said with a nervous smile.

Mason frowned and looked between her and Lincoln, he looked confused but she gave him another reassuring smile. Mason nodded as if he was kind of understanding that she was trying to save face for him. The last thing she wanted for him was to be embarrassed by her or lose his friends because he was seen hanging out with the emo freak.

“You don’t have to go Chels” he said frowning again.

Chelsea forced a smile and nodded.

“It’s alright, I’ve got things I’ve got to do anyway. Thanks for helping me choose some jeans. I’m going to enjoy the makeover” she said flicking her eyes between Mason and Lincoln.

Lincoln stood with an amused smile on his face as he hung onto the rail watching the love show play out in front of him. She didn’t know if Lincoln could see through her story or not. Mason took her hand and took her away from Lincoln a bit.

“Chelsea you don’t have to go because of Lincoln. I’ll tell him to fuck off if he gets rude” Mason said.

Chelsea smiled again this time it came more genuinely.

“Thank you Mason, that actually means a lot to me that you would stick up for me. But I’m going to go and see Dylan, I think he deserves to be let in on everything. Is it alright if I come back to your house tonight? I still haven’t heard from my Mum” she said.

Mason nodded and gave a tight lipped smile. She didn’t know if it was because she was going to go back to his home or that she was going to see Dylan. But his eyes flashed darker and she could feel a tension rise through his arms. Chelsea frowned.

“I don’t have to come back to your home, if you’re not comfortable I can ask Dylan if I can stay there” she said.

Again his eyes flashed and his arm stiffened as he clenched his jaw. Chelsea couldn’t read what it was he was thinking and she started to panic.

“Chelsea come back to my house tonight. Don’t stay with Dylan” he said through what seemed like clenched teeth.

Chelsea couldn’t believe the reaction as it suddenly dawned on her that Mason was jealous that she was seeing Dylan.

“Mason, there is nothing more than friends between Dylan and I. We both had lost our Mum’s the most important people in our lives. We needed each other for that support. But that is it” she said.

Mason’s jaw clenched again as he nodded sharply and took her hand in his, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers again and she felt that same flutter in her stomach. She caught the look of shock on Lincoln’s face, it probably resembled the same look on hers.

“I’m here to protect you now Chels, you know that don’t you?” Mason asked.

Chelsea blinked to hold the tears back. She had never had anyone protect her and until that point she never realised that the one thing she wanted in life was protection. She nodded quickly unable to speak without the tears beginning to fall. Mason kissed her again, this time lingering a little longer of her lips. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she saw him staring into her. Her stomach did a back flip and her knee’s began to buckle. Chelsea couldn’t prevent the smile that started to creep its way across her face as she pulled away.

“You better stop that, your friend is about to faint with shock” she said with a nod of her chin in Lincoln’s direction, whose jaw was practically resting on the floor.

Mason quickly glanced over at his friend and gave her his crooked smile as he shrugged his shoulder, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in close to his chest.

“Let him faint” he said as he leaned in and kissed Chelsea again.

This time it wasn’t just a small peck on the lips, this time the whole world vanished and it was just the two of them standing in the shopping centre, as she felt him nibble at her lips, his tongue gently flicking out to taste her. Chelsea reached out with her free arm and felt his arm muscles tense under her fingers. She parted her lips instinctively and he gently intruded her mouth with his tongue, tentatively dancing with her own. She had never been kissed so beautifully, she had never imagined a kiss could be so passionate, gentle and healing all in one. It seemed to be over as quickly as it started when Mason pulled away from her with a smile. She continued to look into his eyes, unable to form words or even think like a normal human being. She defied any girl to be able to recover quickly after a kiss like that.

“I better see you tonight” he said with a smile.

Her smile this time was genuine as she nodded, stepping out of his embrace. He reached down to the front of his pants and adjusted himself with a shrug of one shoulder. Her face instantly blushed which caused him to chuckle. He kissed her cheek and then forehead before letting her go and turning to Lincoln, who still stood with his mouth gaping open in shock.

“The emo Mason? Really?” Lincoln said.

“Fuck off Lincoln” Mason growled as they walked away.

Chelsea’s emotions tumbled around inside her. She didn’t know what to make of the kiss, it melted her, it felt nice, it felt right, but she didn’t know if Mason would be true to his word and stick up for her. There was a niggling inside her that she was doing the wrong thing. Chelsea continued to chew on the thoughts as she walked towards Dylan’s home that he shared with his Grandma.

Chapter Seven

Chelsea met Dylan when she was twelve, in the seventh grade, he had come as a new kid to the school the same as her. They instantly bonded, they both had lost their Mum’s. Dylan’s Mum had died of a drug overdose when he was ten and his Dad had been killed before he was born, so he went to live with his Dad’s family. Dylan didn’t have much to do with his Mum’s family. His aunty was in jail as she was the person who had organised his Dad’s murder and other than his Mum there was only his Grandfather and he was in and out of jail for drug dealing. Dylan didn’t have any friends when he came to the school, he didn’t talk much and when he did it was usually rude and abrasive, but Chelsea could see through the tough shell and underneath it he was tender-hearted and soft. Most of the boys in the popular group bullied him and there was occasion that he turned up the next day with a black eye. Chelsea didn’t know if Mason was involved in the beatings or not. She decided not to tell Dylan about her shared kiss, she didn’t know how he would react.

When she got to Dylan’s house, his Grandmother Sharon, greeted her with a kiss and waved her inside. Dylan was in his music room and art studio. Chelsea could hear the familiar cords of a Bullet for my Valentine song that had always been his favourite to play called “Tears don’t fall”. When Chelsea opened the door Dylan looked up giving her a big grin, before frowning slightly.

“Hey Chels, what’s with the new clothes?” he asked.

Chelsea looked down at her body. She had forgotten she was wearing the mysterious Kelly’s clothes. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable in her own skin, like she was an imposter. She chewed at her lip and ran her hand through her hair.

“Um I bought some new clothes, these ones are just on lend. Can I use your room to change?” she asked.

Dylan frowned at her again and nodded his head. Chelsea quickly left the room and went into Dylan’s room, spreading her bags out on his big bed. She pulled her new jeans and shirt from the bags and put them on. They weren’t as tight fitting as Kelly’s clothes, but still showed off her curves and body. Chelsea felt good in them, she felt pretty. She stood looking in the mirror on Dylan’s wardrobe at herself, twisting and turning looking at her different angles. She reached into the bag and pulled out a hair band that she had picked up and pulled her hair back off her face.

Chelsea stepped closer to the mirror and examined her face. With her  hair back she could see her dark green eyes that were surrounded by almost black eye lashes, her eye brows were naturally well shaped, her nose not too big but not too small, her face was pale with a small smattering of freckles that dotted her cheeks. She could see that she was pretty, not Maddison Hartley pretty though, the most popular girl at their school. She had the typical blonde swimsuit model body, with her bright blue eyes and curvy body. Chelsea continued to study her body as she ran her hands down over her breasts. They weren’t big, but they weren’t tiny either. Maddison had a chest full of breast, she wore tops that accentuated them making sure that everyone knew how well-endowed she was.

Chelsea was happy with her small pert breasts, she continued to run her hands down over her body down to her waist and hips. She was small and some may say fragile, but standing there in front of the mirror she was happy with the way she looked. A knock on the door roused her from her study.

“Oh sorry I’m dressed” she called.

Dylan poked his head in and frowned at her again before shaking his head.

“Is this the new clothes you bought?” he asked.

Chelsea nodded and smiled uncertainly.

“Do you like them? I felt like a change” she said.

Dylan shrugged his shoulders.

“I liked the old Chelsea” he said flatly.

“I didn’t” she said quietly.

He sat on his bed and held up the other tops she bought and the summer dress that Mason had brought her. That was her favourite piece of all. When she had tried it on she felt so feminine and pretty  in it.