Sorry for the big break between chapters guys! I hope this makes up for it! Love you all!!!!
Stepping onto the gravel out the front of the house Masons reaction was exactly the same as last time; a little bewildered and a little awestruck.
He quickly regained his composure, however, and helped the driver take our bags out from the boot while I ran up the stairs and knocked on the door consistently until someone answered.
"Ashley! So good to see you!" Pamela, dads assistant, opened the door and enveloped me in a hug.
Weird, I thought, that dad should be doing business on the weekend we'd scheduled for birthdays... maybe he forgot about it.
"Yeah good to see you too... is dad around?" In answer to my question a chime of laughter came from the living room and I smiled at her. Her face dropped slightly in awe as her eyes left my face and Masons hand found its way to its place on my lower back letting me know if his presence that seemed to shock Pamela - a forty-eight year old woman might I add.
"Hi, I'm Mason." He smiled, shaking her hand and her own smile beamed as soon as they touched. I narrowed my eyes.
"Pamela," she returned, her face flushing slightly. "well, you're very handsome... your father was right, Ashley." She laughed and I gripped Mason's waist nice and tight wth my hand as I let my tight lipped smile all but crack my face.
"Thanks Pamela, yeah, MY man is pretty great. Excuse us." Mason smirked down at me as we pushed past her and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
"Aw, aren't we the little jealous type."
"Shut up, asshole." I muttered.
We stalked into the living room and were met with screams of excitement - mainly from the ladies.
"Ashley," Aunty Edith cooed as she walked over to me, her arms outstretched and awaiting a hug. I held her tightly as she spoke in my ear, her breath tickling my ear. "So good to see you."
Aunty Edith was that Aunty I could speak to about anything. I remember when I found my ex cheating on me I went straight to her house and she force fed me home made choc chip cookies and milk until I was so full I blacked out on the couch. She was a small and slight lady who looked young for her age of 50. Her husband, uncle Ralph, died four years ago in a car accident, she dealt with it really well, I mean, as well as one could. But, at that point Kate was 16 and still in high school, and I knew she put on a brave face for her. She was sort of a replacement for when Mum left, she became my rock and I think it helped her fill the void, even if only slightly, that the death of uncle Ralph left.
"It's good to see you too, Aunty Edith." I squeezed her and she pulled away to greet Mason who was surprisingly looking comfortable though from the slight widening of his eyes I knew he was trying his hardest to not look panicked.
Everyone greeted the both of us with hugs and kisses and I noticed my fifteen year old cousin making eyes at him and I had to hold back a laugh.
Aunty Carol blessed both Mason and I with some Hindu blessing that neither of us could understand then resumed her position on a cushion on the floor.
We were bombarded with question after question after question and were left very little room to actually reply. When it all became too much I held up my hands in surrender.
"Okay, we're gonna put our things in our room, get changed and come back down." I yelled to everyone over the noise of a thousand questions being thrown at us.
I grabbed Mason by the hand and pulled him along behind me to collect our bags from the front door and take them up stairs.
"See what I mean? And that's only saying hi." I sighed and slumped onto the bed. This was going to be a long weekend.
"They love you, that's more than what I had." He stood at the foot of the bed and smiled lightly down at me. I crawled over to him and pulled him down to me by the hem of his shirt.
"My family is your family and I love you more than anyone else ever will." I said softly and he gave a sad chuckle.
We skipped down the stairs and into the living room where dad and his assistant had joined us. He gave me a kiss and hug hello before announcing that the gift unwrapping would begin.
As per usual it was the occasional gift voucher, the hippy scarf and headband from Aunty Carol, a good old book from grandma Trudy, hand painted posters from my youngest cousin and a new pair of nikes from dad.
Dad even got Mason a gift, much to Mason's chagrin, though he accepted it and we all laughed when his face lit up in shock.
"We all put in." Said Aunty Edith her motherly grin filling her face.
Mason pulled out two paper tickets with pictures of a helicopter on them then beamed as he showed them to me.
"Oh my god. You didn't." I stared at dad in disbelief and could feel my own excitement bubbling up. Dad had bought him tickets for Mason to have a helicopter scenic tour over the mountains.
"I did, and I hope you like it Mason." Dad rested his hand on Pamela's knee and I zeroed in on it. What the hell is going on right now!?
"Thank you so much, Mr. Anderson." He was good at hiding it, but I could see that there was a sadness in Masons eyes but his voice didn't betray him.
Family festivities carried on throughout the afternoon and as I had warned, Aunty Carol did in fact give Mason a private tarot reading to which he came out looking rather shaken and disturbed. When I asked him about it he just grunted and avoided eye contact. I just shrugged it off as one of Carols 'things'.
Whilst I was in the midst of a conversation with my younger cousin Amy and my pregnant cousin Michelle, dad pulled Mason and I into the study on the pretence he wanted to discuss the helicopter ride.
Closing the double doors behind us, he told us to sit down which made me increasingly concerned.
"Now, I've pulled you in here on the matter of settling a legal obligation - that obligation being Lucas." He said, sitting in his business chair and folding his hands formally on the desk.
"I didn't want to bring this up in front of the family," he continued as Mason and I exchanged grim looks, "so I've pulled you in to tell you that this matter has be dealt with."
I was confused. Dealt with? He makes it seem like he's had him taken round the back and... well, I suppose the rest is self explanatory.
"What do you mean?" Questioned Mason. He gently took his hand in mine and rested them on the arm of my chair.
"I mean, I've had an intervention order against him due to harassment. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you, but soon after you left last time I had a visit from him."
I felt my face pale and I'm sure mason's would've too. So he did find us, only we weren't there to be found. Shit.
"This harassment meant I was forced to call the police who escorted him from my property. This harassment continued for a long time a- phone calls, physical abuse, online trolling - and so I had an intervention order drawn out."
I was breathing heavily and Mason gripped my hand slightly.
"Now, you're probably wondering what that has to do with anything. Well, he has breached that intervention three times already. The law isn't as lenient when you break it, and he turned up on my property as of three hours ago while we were all talking. I called the police and they informed me that Lucas will be held in remand, dealt with in court and the likelihood of him going to jail for at least 3-4 years is likely. He's gone."
LUCAS IS GONE! woohoo!!!! He certainly is the villain of this story!