Broken (Book 1, The Watcher Chronicles, Paranormal Romance), page 8
I spend the next three hours with Faison and Mama Lynn trying to forget about the crown and Lucifer. We make cookies, which will be delivered to all our friends as Christmas gifts, and eat lunch together. It reminds me of when Faison and I were kids around this time of year. We would bug Mama Lynn to make her famous iced sugar cookies just so we could snack on the ones she deemed unworthy of giving as a gift.
The conversation at lunch eventually turns to my work. I learn that Mama Lynn has told Faison about meeting Mason that morning.
“So is he cute?” Faison asks me excitedly.
“He’s a Watcher,” I say in response. “What do you think?”
“Then he’s drop dead gorgeous,” Faison sighs. “If that were the reason you wanted to be around Watchers all the time, I could fully understand and support your chosen profession.”
“Why does he have that scar on his face?” Mama Lynn asks. “I’ve never seen a Watcher with something like that.”
“A scar?” Faison asks, becoming even more excited. “That must mean he has a tortured past.”
I roll my eyes at Faison and her fanciful notions. “I don’t know where the scar came from. We haven’t exactly gotten to be bosom buddies in less than a day. He hasn’t shared all his deepest, darkest secrets with me.”
“Not yet,” Faison adds.
“He doesn’t seem like someone who shares his thoughts easily with a lot of people,” I say.
“Well,” Mama Lynn sits back in her chair at the dining room table, “that certainly sounds a lot like someone Faison and I know.”
“I share,” I say in my own defense, knowing she’s talking about me. “I tell you and Faison everything.”
“You tell us about your day,” Mama Lynn says, “but you rarely share what you’re feeling. There’s a difference.”
I don’t respond, which just seems to verify what Mama Lynn has said about me.
I get a call on my cell phone and thank whatever higher power there might be for the temporary save.
“Hello?” I ask, not recognizing the number which is calling.
“Where are you?” Mason asks.
“I’m at Mama Lynn’s house. Where are you?”
“Your house but I’m walking to you now.”
I stand up and walk away from the dining room table to go to the front door. After I open it, I see Mason walking along the sidewalk heading my way. I wave to him and he waves back. I end our call and wait for him to walk over.
I soon find Faison and Mama Lynn standing on either side of me peering out the door to watch Mason’s approach.
“Wow,” Faison says. “I think that scar just makes him look hot. Kinda rough and not so perfect like the other Watchers.”
“It does lend him a manly ruggedness,” Mama Lynn agrees with a nod. “Now you invite him in,” she tells me. “I want to give him some of the cookies we just baked.”
“I’m not sure he’s a sweets kinda person,” I tell her, remembering his ability to withstand the offer of sharing Beau’s cinnamon roll just that morning.
“Oh everyone likes something a little sweet every once in a while,” Mama Lynn says, heading back to the kitchen.
“Yes they do,” Faison says suggestively beside me. “And I think he’s just the sweet you need right now.”
I feel my cheeks flush. “Faison, I swear to God if you try to play matchmaker I’m gonna strangle you. He’s my boss. Don’t try to make something out of nothing.”
“Your mouth may say that but your flaming red cheeks are telling me a different story,” she says with a knowing smile. “I’ve never seen you blush when I teased you about other boys. Is there something going on between the two of you I should know about?”
“We just met last night!” I say a bit too loudly. I glance at Mason who’s only a few yards away now, hoping he can’t hear a word we are saying.
“I fell in love with John Austin the moment I saw him,” Faison says, a far away look in her eyes as she remembers the day.
“You were in second grade,” I remind her, bringing her out of the clouds and back to reality. “I don’t think a seven year old is able to comprehend what true love is.”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are. True love finds you at some point in your life whether your seven or a hundred. Thankfully you’re not an old maid yet. There’s still hope.”
I stick my tongue out at Faison which just makes her giggle.
Mason finally arrives at the front door.
“You better come on in,” I say to him. “Mama Lynn wants to give you some of the sugar cookies we made,” I forewarn.
“Hi,” Faison says holding out her hand to Mason. “Faison Mills. And you’re Mason….” She says fishing for his last name.
“Collier,” Mason provides. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Jess has spoken very highly of you.”
Faison beams her beauty queen smile as she looks up at Mason with her big doe eyes. I can read her face like a book and know she’s about to do something that will no doubt embarrass me.
“Have you told Mason about the party yet?” Faison asks me.
I suddenly feel like getting a roll of duct tape to bind Faison’s lips together ensuring she is unable to speak her next words.
“Jess here has refused to let me set her up on a date but I was thinking maybe you could be her escort. That way we could all get to know you a little better since we’ll probably be seeing a lot of one another from now on.”
Faison’s ability to use her southern wiles on the male population is legendary in Cypress Hollow. With one bat of her long eyelashes, she’s been known to make even the most ornery man melt to her will. I look at Mason and realize it’s the first time I’ve seen him completely speechless. I instantly want to go hide in a closet until the whole disastrous encounter is over with.
“Well?” Faison says, trying to coax an answer from Mason.
“I’m sorry,” Mason says. “Was there a question in what you just said?”
“I was asking,” Faison says slowly so Mason hears her words clearly, “if you would like to escort Jess to a Christmas party at one of our friend’s house tomorrow night.”
Mason looks over at me and I can see he doesn’t quite know how to respond.
“I suppose I could act as Jess’ escort, if she really needs one,” he says haltingly.
“Good, then that’s settled,” Faison says, smiling at her accomplishment of finding me a date on such short notice, even though she never actually asked me if it was what I wanted.
Mama Lynn appears in the arched entry way to the kitchen from the living room.
“Come on in, Mason,” she says, ever the epitome of southern hospitality. “I’ve got something for you.” She waves him over indicating he should follow her into the kitchen.
Mason walks into the house and I close the door behind him.
Faison leans into my ear and whispers, “I think he likes you.”
I look at her like she’s lost her mind.
“You practically bushwhacked him into taking me to that stupid party. A party I wasn’t even intending to go to,” I whisper back heatedly.
“But he likes you,” Faison says, full of excitement because she’s always been a hopeless romantic.
I just shake my head and walk to the kitchen, completely unsure how I will ever recover from my Faison induced mortification.
Mama Lynn is just handing Mason a snowman tin full of cookies when I reach the kitchen.
“Now you share these with the people you and Jess work with,” Mama Lynn instructs. “I only make them once a year so you better enjoy them while you can.”
“I’ll be sure everyone gets a chance to taste your wonderful cooking,” Mason tells her. “Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
I see Mama Lynn blush slightly as she waves her hand. “Oh, they’re just a little something we give to all our friends at Christmas.”
“Then thank you for including me in such a special group of people.”
Mama Lynn smiles. As Mason turns around to find me, I see Mama Lynn point to Mason and make the ‘ok’ sign with her hand telling me she approves of him. It makes me wonder if Mama Lynn had been the mastermind all along behind Faison’s ambush of Mason. Had she been secretly orchestrating a way to get Mason and me on a date since she met him that morning? It is then I realize how desperate the two most important people in my life are to see me go on a date. Poor Mason is fixed in their crosshairs now. A fact which almost makes me pity him.
When Mason faces me, I know there is only one thing to do: get him out of Mama Lynn’s house before she has us married off.
“I need to speak with you in private,” I say to Mason, tilting my head indicating we should go outside.
Mason turns to look at Mama Lynn.
“I’ll make sure the people we work with in Colorado get these,” he tells her. “Thank you again.”
“Anytime.” Mama Lynn smiles.
Mason turns to Faison. “Nice to have met you, Faison. I suppose I will see you at the party tomorrow night.”
Faison smiles. “Oh, you can count on it.”
Once we step outside, I start to walk down the sidewalk to my house, not wanting curious ears to hear what I have to tell Mason.
“Lucifer came to see me,” I say.
Mason scowls. “What did he want?”
“He seems to think he and I can be friends,” I say, shaking my head at the absurdity of the string of words I just said.
“I don’t think he knows the true meaning of that concept,” Mason comments dryly. “Did he say why he thought the two of you could be friends? Or more importantly, why he wants to be friends with you?”
I shrug. “Just that he sensed something familiar about me. He didn’t elaborate much on the subject.” I pause for a moment, not sure how Mason will take my next revelation. “He saw the crown.”
Mason stops walking, forcing me to stop and turn to face him.
“What did he say about it?”
“Not much, just that it shouldn’t be here. More or less the same thing you said to me when you first saw it.”
“Did he try to take it from you?”
I shake my head. “No. He didn’t seem interested in trying to take it.”
Mason’s eyes narrow on me. “You don’t seem scared of him.”
I suddenly realize Mason is right. “No, I guess I’m not. He hasn’t really done anything to make me scared of him.”
“But you know who and what he is,” Mason points out. “That in it self would scare most humans.”
“I can’t really explain it to you,” I tell him. “I don’t understand it myself. If anything, I guess I feel pity for him.”
“Pity?” Mason questions, like it’s the most illogical thing I could have said. “Why?”
“From what I know of his story, he lost everything because of his pride and his hatred of humans. I can’t imagine living with a hate that eats you up like that. He let it control him and he lost everything. He doesn’t seem to have anything to live for now except revenge. I guess I pity him because I can’t imagine living like that.”
“He made his own decisions,” Mason says, not arguing with my statements but reminding me Lucifer wasn’t forced into anything.
“I know,” I reply, suddenly feeling a need to change the subject. “By the way, you really don’t have to go to that party with me tomorrow night. Like I told you earlier, Faison is always trying to set me up with people and you were just her latest victim.”
A small smile stretches Mason’s lips. “No, I would like to go. It’s probably a good idea for me to get to know some more of your friends. If anything were to ever happen to you, I would know who else to contact besides just Faison and Lynn.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I say, feeling my heart deflate a little with his sensible logic. “What did the Watchers you went to speak with have to say about the crown? What’s our next move?”
“None of them seem to know why it’s here either. But, we’ve decided you should take the crown to Lilly. Since you are the only one who can even touch the crown, you have to be the one who takes it to her. Maybe she will sense something about it we can’t. We’ve arranged for you to meet with her tomorrow morning. Can you be ready by nine or should I plan on coming a little later?”
“No, I’ll be home this time. I promise. I know how hard it must have been for you to arrange this meeting.”
“You’ll have to meet with her guardian first,” Mason tells me, a warning in his voice. “He doesn’t let anyone near her until he’s met them.”
“Will I be meeting him tomorrow morning too?”
“No, I showed Malcolm where you live. He’ll be back sometime this evening. He had a few errands to run first. When he does come, just be yourself and he won’t have any problems allowing you to meet with Lilly. Give me a call at the number I just called you from when he leaves. I would like to know how the meeting goes.”
“Ok,” I say. “Is there any reason why he would disapprove of me?”
“I don’t think so,” Mason says, not sounding completely sure. “But like I said, Malcolm is very protective of Lilly and her family. If he senses any kind of threat from you, he won’t let you near her no matter how much I ask him to. Don’t worry though. You’ll do fine.”
“You might want to let him know I won’t be home until late this evening. I have to take Mama Lynn to Baptist Memorial to see her brother.”
“I’m sorry to hear he’s sick,” Mason says sympathetically.
“He’s not expected to make it too much longer so she wants us to say our goodbyes.”
“And how are you handling this?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Death is part of life,” I say unemotionally.
Mason’s eyebrows lower and I can tell he’s concerned by my answer. Before he tries to dig into my feelings any deeper I say, “I’ll call you as soon as Malcolm leaves and let you know how it goes.”
Mason nods, seeing I don’t want to talk about my Uncle anymore. “All right. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
Staying true to my word, Faison and I take Mama Lynn to Memphis so she can visit with Uncle Dan.
“Ever since he had that accident and became paralyzed back when you girls were teenagers, his health has just been deteriorating,” Mama Lynn says on the drive up. “I swear it was like he just didn’t have anything to live for anymore. Then this year when they found cancer in his lungs and saw that it had spread to his bones, it’s like he just completely gave up and is waiting for God to call him home.”
Both Faison and I remain silent.
I remembered Uncle Dan’s accident clearly. I was the one who caused it.
It happened the day I confronted him with what he had done to me as a child. I was a spunky thirteen year old and wanted him to say he was sorry for doing the things he did but all he did was smirk and tell me I should stop trying to deny I didn’t enjoy it as much as him. In that moment, all I saw was red. I completely lost my temper and kicked him so hard in his groin he fell to his knees. With him in such a compromising position I couldn’t prevent myself from kicking him under his chin, causing him to fall back and hit his head on the brick steps leading up to his front door. Blood had poured from the wound on the back side of his skull.
To this day, I can remember just standing there watching his dark red blood pool around him. I can’t say for sure if it was due to shock or just a morbid need to watch him suffer, but I didn’t run for help immediately. I think I stood there for a good fifteen minutes before I ran to find Mama Lynn. I didn’t tell her what happened just that I had found Uncle Dan that way when I went over to see him. She immediately called an ambulance and they arrived just in time to save his life but not his ability to walk.
When he awoke, he didn’t seem to remember that I was the cause for his fall. Shortly after that, we found out his spinal cord had been damaged and that he would forever be paralyzed from the waist down, a fitting sentence for a pedophile if you ask me.
When we reach Baptist Memorial, I allow Faison and Mama Lynn to walk ahead of me. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be near a man who took so much away from me. Not only did I lose my parents, I was also placed in a position where my childhood innocence was snatched away from me.
Uncle Dan is in the hospice ward since there’s no hope for him to recover. We are basically just waiting for him to die. I stand at the entrance to his room as Mama Lynn goes into caretaker mode and walks over to what remains of the man who terrorized me as a child more often than I allow myself to think about. I can hear his ragged breathing from where I stand. I watch as the living skeleton in the bed turns his head to look at his sister. Uncle Dan once weighed a good 270 pounds but the person lying in the bed is nothing more than skin covering bones. His once thick brown hair is now reduced to small patches scattered randomly on his scalp like a mangy dog. His eyes are hollow and I’m not even sure he knows who Mama Lynn is, much less Faison and me.
I watch as Mama Lynn takes her brother’s hand and kisses it tenderly. I know seeing Uncle Dan in such a state is killing her and it’s that knowledge more than anything else that makes me turn away from the scene and walk down the hallway to a window overlooking the Memphis skyline. I lean against the wall as I look out the window and feel my heart burn with a mixture of sorrow for Mama Lynn’s pain and righteousness for a death I feel is long overdue. I’ve always hated Uncle Dan for the things he used to do to me, but a small part of my soul cries for the agony being suffered by the creature I see wasting away to nothingness. I soon find myself crying for someone I have hated most of my life and can’t seem to make my heart stop aching for the pain Mama Lynn is enduring.
“Jess?”
“Jessica?”
I look up at the window and see the reflections of both Mason and Lucifer. They’re standing side by side directly behind me.
I turn to face them, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“What are you both doing here?” I ask, feeling embarrassed for having been caught in such a vulnerable position.
