Oblivion (The Watcher Chronicles #3) (25 page)

“I’m sure he understood.  Rafe probably told him what was going on.”

“I know but I feel like I should be there for all of them.  I need to see him this morning.”

Mason walks over to me and gives me a kiss.

“Call me when you’re ready,” he says.  “I’ll take you to him.”

It doesn’t take me long to get ready, less than an hour.

Just before I call Mason to come and get me, I get a call from Faison.

“Have you seen the news?” She asks me.

“No,” I say, not understanding why she’s asking me such a question.

“So,” she says, taking a deep breath, “the world seems to think you’re engaged to Chandler Cain.”

“What?” I say quietly, sure I misunderstood her.  “Why would they think that?”

“There’s a picture of you and him in his suite in L.A. being splashed on every gossip site on the internet showing the 10 karat diamond you have on your ring finger.”

“Crap,” I say, remembering Deon looking at it suspiciously but not saying anything at the time.  “Mason’s going to go ballistic.”

“Who do you think told the news media?”

“I think I know,” I say.  “I’ll handle it.  Chandler and I might just have to have a break up sooner than we thought.  I’m not putting Mason through this unnecessarily.  We’ll just have to find Chandler another cover story besides me.”

When I get off the phone with Faison, I decide to text Mason instead of calling. 

I have some bad news…

Your texting…not calling… it must be bad…

I sigh.  He knows me too well.

Apparently one of Chandler’s entourage took a picture of me while we were in his suite the other day.  With the biggest diamond in the world on my ring finger, that same world is now under the impression he and I are getting married…

I wait…and wait…and wait for a response.  Since I don’t get one, I text him again.

How mad are you?

Still no response.

That mad, uh?

Give me a minute please…

Listen, I’ve already decided that Chandler and I need to end this charade.  I will not have people thinking I’m about to marry him when I’m desperately, wholeheartedly in love with you.  It’s wrong Mason.  I can’t go on like this.

One second…I need to think clearly before I answer…

I wait.  Five minutes later Mason appears in my living room.

The first thing I notice is a lot of what looks like white powder all over his shirt and black slacks.

“Why do you look like you were just hit by a large powder puff?” I ask him.

Mason clears his throat like he’s embarrassed to say why.

“Because I put a few holes in a certain wall in the new house.  It’ll have to be replaced now, of course.”

I bite my bottom lip as I watch Mason try to dust himself off but the dry wall material doesn’t look like its going to come off that easily.

“I guess I should change,” Mason says, giving up his futile efforts.

“I love you,” I say, bringing his eyes to me instead of his ruined clothes.

“I know,” he says back, trying to smile.  “And I don’t like the charade either, but it works.  It shouldn’t be for much longer.  I can deal with it.”

“But the world thinks Chandler and I are getting married.”

“Let the world think it,” Mason tells me.  “We all know the truth.  You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you why your neighbors have never said anything to the news outlets about you and me.  They all saw us get engaged the other night yet I’ve never heard any of them ask about your relationship with Chandler.”

“These people have been in my life forever, Mason.  They know me.  They know I love you.  Plus, they’re not people to pry into my private life or gossip behind my back.”

“But they could make a lot of money telling the real story.”

“They’re my friends, Mason.  They wouldn’t betray me like that.  We don’t have to worry about them telling any nosey body reporters the truth.”

My phone buzzes.  It’s Chandler.

“Hello hubby,” I answer sarcastically.

“Oh god, Jess, I’m so sorry,” Chandler moans. “How mad is Mason?  Is he going to throw me through a wall the next time he sees me?”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, the wall already has a lot of fist size holes in it.”

“That mad, uh?”

“No, he’s ok.  He thinks we should just let the world continue to think what they want.  But, Chandler, after this is all over, you and I need to have the mother of all fights in front of a large group of paparazzi.”

“Agreed.”  Chandler pauses and I can tell he wants to say more because he doesn’t say goodbye or hang up.

“What’s up, Chandler?” I ask.

“It’s my folks.  They want to meet you.”

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose with my index finger and thumb.

“Are you seriously going to make me meet your parents and pretend that we are getting married?  Do you realize how uncomfortable I will be just flat out lying to them?”

“I know,” Chandler says, “but I can’t hold them off forever.  They’ve been hounding me for a while now to bring you over to their house.  Please, Jess.  Just once to get them off my back and I promise you won’t have to meet them again while we’re pretending to be a couple.”

I sigh heavily.  “All right,” I grumble.  “When?”

“I’m not sure yet.  I’ll get back to you when I set it up with my mom.  Thanks, Jess.  You’re the best.”

When I get off the phone, I tell Mason what Chandler needs me to do for him.

“Do I need to remind him to keep his hands to himself during this little visit with the folks?” Mason asks tersely.

“No.  Chandler knows what’s allowed and what’s not.  He won’t do anything he shouldn’t.  You don’t have anything to worry about as far as that’s concerned.”

Mason runs his fingers through his hair and I can tell he’s still frustrated by the whole situation.  I go to him.

“I don’t think it’ll be for much longer,” I tell him, placing a comforting hand on his chest.

Mason places one of his hands over mine and squeezes gently.  “I know.  And I’m glad about that and scared by it all at the same time.”

“Why scared?” I ask, tilting my head as I see the worry in his eyes.  “Don’t you think we’ll win?”

“I’m scared about the cost of that win,” he tells me and I can hear the dread in his voice.

I smile reassuringly at him.  “Everything will be fine.  Don’t worry.”

He squeezes my hand even tighter.  “If anything happened to you…”

I see him swallow hard, not able to continue his thought.  For some reason he seems fixated on the idea that something will happen to me.

Dusty or not, I move in closer to him and touch the side of his face which still holds the mark of what remains of his scar.  He closes his eyes, enjoying my caress.

“Please, stop thinking that I’m going to get hurt. Nothing will happen to me.”

“You keep saying that but you don’t know that for sure.  You can’t promise me nothing will happen to you,” he says, opening his eyes to look at me.  “You’re going up against seven archangels, Jess.  You can’t say anything for certain.”

“Then it’s an even match, Mason.”

“But Lucifer is strong.  He was always one of the strongest.”

“So was Michael right?”

“He was the only one stronger than Lucifer.”

“Then don’t worry,” I say.  “Michael won’t let me fail.  Or is it me you don’t have enough faith in?”

“Of course I have faith in you, but Lucifer plays dirty and you don’t.  How do we know this friendship he’s been playing at with you is even real?  Maybe he’s using it to make you pity him and lower your guard so he can strike when you least expect it.”

“No, I don’t believe he’s playing that sort of game with me.  He sees me as a friend, as close as he can get to one anyway.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game with him, Jess.”

“I know.  I’m not that naïve, Mason.  I realize he’s like a rabid dog who could turn on me at any moment and try to bite my hand off.  I’m fully aware of that possibility.  But, I also think he just needs someone to have a little faith in him, a little trust.  It’s just like Malcolm in the alternate world.  All he needed was for someone to believe he could be a better person.  I think that’s all Lucifer needs.  I don’t have any illusions that he’ll change his ways overnight, but all I need right now is for him to believe in himself enough that he can become more than he is.  If I can help give him the courage to try, maybe he will.”

Mason cups my face with both his hands.

“Be careful,” he tells me.  “He won’t just bite your hand off if he turns on you, Jess.  He’ll kill you because you’ll be a reminder to him that he can never change.”

“But I believe he can.”

“And I don’t believe he will.”

“Then on this one point we’ll just have to disagree.”

Mason sighs and leans into me, kissing me softly on the lips, making me feel cherished and loved by the simple action.

“Please be careful,” he begs, resting his forehead against mine.

“I will.  I have too much to live for.”

Mason smiles.

Mason changes into some clothes I didn’t even realize he’d placed in my closet.

“You don’t mind do you?” He asks.  “I thought it would be easier to just have clothes here when I need them.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” I tell him, watching him from the doorway of my bedroom.  “I’ve always liked you thinking of my house as your home too.”

Mason smiles.  “You know I have six homes around the world but your house has always felt more like home than any of them.”

“Then you have seven homes,” I tell him which makes him smile even wider.

I raise an eyebrow at him as he stands in just his underwear.

“Stop smiling or I may not let you put those cloths on,” I tell him.

Mason promptly pulls his underwear down and throws them on the floor.  When he turns to face me again, he smiles and winks.

“Oh,” I say reaching for the bottom of my shirt and swiftly removing it as I walk towards him, “you’re asking for it now.”

“Why I believe I am,” he says innocently.

I punish Mason for a good hour and feel sure afterwards that he’ll always smile and wink at me for as long as we both shall live.

When we arrive at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center, an older nurse in pink scrubs is in Zack’s room checking his vitals. 

“You’re like the poster child for coma patient recovery, sweetie” the nurse tells Zack, taking his temperature with a temporal thermometer across his forehead.

“Just got lucky,” Zack tells her with a smile.

When we walk further into the room, Zack’s eyes immediately settle on me and he smiles.

“I was wondering when you would come back,” he says, sitting up straighter in his hospital bed.

“Sorry I had to leave so suddenly yesterday.  Things got a little crazy,” I tell him, coming to stand by his bed.

The nurse looks up at me.

“I know you, don’t I?” she questions.

“I don’t think we’ve ever met,” I say, trying to remember if I might met her the day before when we came to find Zack.

“Oh, now I remember.  You’re Chandler Cain’s fiancé!  Congratulations on the engagement.  I can’t tell you how many ladies around here are completely heartbroken that he’s off the market.  Not like any of them ever had a chance mind you,” she laughs.

I smile brightly at the woman but am cringing for all I’m worth on the inside.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mason’s scowling face.

“Thank you for your well wishes,” I say.  “I’ll be sure to pass them on to Chandler.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two to visit,” the nurse says.  “I’ll be back in a little while to check on you Zack.”

“When do you think the doctor will let me go?” Zack asks.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, sweetie.  Like I said, you’re a miracle.  But, if you remain stable, I don’t see why he wouldn’t let you out in a couple of days.”

Zack nods.  “Ok, thanks.”

After the nurse leaves the room, Zack pats the side of his bed indicating I should have a seat.

When I do, he tentatively reaches for one of my hands.

I hear him sigh contentedly as our skin touches.

“Your hands are a lot nicer to hold than Rafe’s,” Zack says with a small laugh.

I smile because I enjoy the contact too.  “Did he explain everything to you yesterday after we left?” I ask.

Zack nods.  “Yes.  Honestly, I can’t believe someone like me is involved in something so monumental.”

“What do you do for a living?” I ask him.

“I run a charity organization for abused children,” he tells me.  “We’re small but we do good work for the kids who come through.  I’m a child psychologist so I help them cope with their feelings and attempt to get them past what’s been done to them.”

“That sounds like a worth while endeavor,” I tell him, wishing someone like Zack had been around when I was a child going through my own abuse.

“Rafe said I would need to find my crown and talisman,” Zack says.

“As soon as you awaken whatever power it is you possess, your crown will send out a beacon of sorts for us to find it.”

“Isaiah took Rafe to get his crown this morning,” Mason tells me. “I meant to tell you earlier but we got preoccupied with getting those matches.”

I look over at him because he’s standing on the other side of Zack’s bed now and find myself completely unable to prevent a huge smile from appearing on my face.

“The never ending quest for matches,” I tell him with a sigh.  “I don’t think we’ll ever get enough.”

Zack looks confused by our conversation and I decide he needs to stay that way.

Mason’s phone buzzes and he walks away from the bed to answer it.

“So,” Zack says, “tell me what the deal is with Chandler Cain.  Are you really engaged to him?  I know Rafe said he was one of the seven.”

I begin to tell Zack everything he needs to know about me, Mason and how my relationship with Chandler is simply a cover story to prevent anyone from asking too many questions when he needs to disappear for a while.