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"Hey"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for calling ht? That means you called , you usually let it go You’re not like other girls and talk about it over and over again" His voice quieted "Thank you"

He sounded so grateful that I felt another tear at my eye I brushed it away and lanced at the screen and saw that Mason had ended the call Hearing the change fro concerned, I asked, "What did you do?"

"Yeah Mason and I talked about one other thing before I didn’t tell you because I wanted to knohy you called"

Why did a feeling of doo up for dinner"

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MASON

Marissa was gone by the ti out There was no note When I went downstairs, no one re her leave I didn’t question it Marissa wasn’t ot back from practice, ent to ain, so I kneouldn’t be interrupted I needed this tilanced at an and Kris at the restaurant

My throat was thick as I started, "I’ht that Marissa had been an afterthought, but looking at it through her point of vieas ashamed I should’ve taken Marissa to a hotel, not the house "I need to explain why she was here in the first place I will apologize profusely for it because I screwed up She shouldn’t have been here, and I should’ve been thinking about you first the entire time" I started with the facts "She asted at the club She had no phone, no purse She wasn’t answering questions We couldn’t find any of her friends, and I forgot my phone at home I couldn’t call Nate, ould’ve knohere she lived Drew offered his roouy was all over her If we had left her, I’ said all that, she should’ve never been brought into this house I wasn’t thinking Dreas drunk Matteo erking against everything The car door A street light Our mail box Marissa started to cry that eren’t friends I wasn’t thinking I’m so sorry"

If I’d been her, if I had come to her house and found Quinn in the hallway, I wouldn’t have handled it like her I would’ve wanted to hurt hiardless of the circuuy that tried to threaten that, threaten our relationship, and I saw red Even thinking about his past antics sent a fierce wave of anger through me I protected Saht I was her"

"I did" Fuck "I couldn’t tell how drunk she was, but I know she has feelings for ht’ve tried to sneak in I’m really sorry, Sam I really am Then you came in, and I saw red I was mad at her for you If that makes any sense I was mad that she would dare try to come in when she knows I’rirabbed her arrabbed you too hard last night"

She nodded "I’ down "You were rough because you thought I was her Thank you" She looked back up, raw e in her eyes "Jeff never would’ve done that for me, but you do You always take care of ht

"She didn’t look drunk when she opened the door" She looked up, searing ony in her eyes "She looked tired, but not drunk Drew said you got in an hour before I got there If she was that wasted, she wouldn’t have sobered up that quick"

I sighed, sitting on the bed "I know"

She shook her head, blinking for a moment, and for that brief moment I couldn’t see the pain she was in When she opened theain, it was there It hit me like a ton of bricks I was a part of that I had hurt Sa my teeth, my hands curled into fists I hated that I hated any pain sheI had contributed to it, even if it hadn’t been intentional, gutted me

Sheto try soan said she’s crazy"

"She was a friend to ender I felt like they wanted to use an, use irls want to use so I haven’t wanted to deal with her, with this crush she has on me, because I cared about her"

Sa to say so I said softly, "I don’t care about her now I’ht was a set-up, that soht here, but I can’t rule out that possibility"

"Have you talked to her?" She looked back down at her lap Her hand started to pick at iinary lint on her pants She did that when she was nervous or couldn’t deal with the pain inside her