Let Me Go (26 page)

He stopped in front of her and paused to
catch his breath. And then she reached out to stroke his hair.
Mason’s heart wrenched from watching such an intimate caress. She
knew him, obviously. Mason didn’t want to watch anymore, but he
couldn’t look away. The guy then straightened and a few words were
exchanged between himself and Kat, and then she launched herself
into his arms.
Oh God, he was too late!
She had moved on. He
turned and walked away before anyone could see him.

He reached for his phone and called
Benny.

“I’m too late, man,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Benny asked.

“She’s moved on.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw her…I went to go see her, but I saw
her with someone else. She was hugging a guy and they obviously
know each other really well. She’s moved on while I sat around
doing nothing.”

“No, Mason. That can’t be right. I know she
loves you. I know it. She asks about you all the time. She even
tells me she misses you and how hard it is not being with you.”

“Because she’s a good person who has a
heart. Not because she loves me.”

“I’m telling you that’s not it.”

“You’re wrong. It doesn’t matter. I just
want her to be happy.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I might as well go check in with my parole
officer. I was supposed to see him later, but I guess I’ll see if
he can see me now.”

“All right, Mason, you do that. But I’m
telling you, you’re wrong about Kat.”

Even though Mason was broken hearted, he
knew there was nothing he could do. He wanted Kat to be happy, even
if she wasn’t with him.

*****

Benny knew that whatever Mason saw couldn’t
possibly be what he thought it was. He knew one hundred percent,
without a doubt, that Kat still loved Mason. He also knew she was
up to something, but whenever he would ask, she brushed him off and
told him he’d know when the time was right. He hadn’t mentioned
this to Mason because he really didn’t know anything and there was
no use getting his panties in more of a twist than they already
were. Whatever Mason saw, Benny was sure it had something to do
with that.

So Benny couldn’t sit back and watch Mason
and Kat make a train wreck out of whatever relationship they had.
Mason would back off because he thought it would be the right thing
to do. And then maybe Kat would feel like Mason didn’t care
anymore.
And what good would that do them?
Two love sick
fools not grasping the concept that they were truly loved by one
another.

Nope, Benny had to do something. And then it
hit him. He knew just what to do. Cupid might just be getting some
help from Benny. Hey, he could be cupid himself – Bupid.
Oh God,
that was horrible
. Thank God no one could hear his
thoughts.

*****

Kat was still hugging Trent when her phone
rang. It broke them out of their happy little reverie and she
pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was Benny. He was probably
checking in. She waited a few rings to allow herself to get back to
normal so he wouldn’t think anything was wrong. And then she picked
up.

“Hey Benny, what’s up?”

“It’s Mason!” he said in a panicked
voice.

“What’s wrong? Is he okay? Oh God, please
tell me he’s okay.”

“He’s fine, physically, but Kat, he’s going
to turn himself in.”

“What do you mean?”

“He feels like he needs to atone for what he
did to you, so he’s turning himself in. I know you don’t want that,
Kat. I tried to talk him out of it, but he seems to think it’s the
right thing to do to make you happy.”

“I have to stop him,” she yelled into the
phone.

“Yeah, you do.”

Benny gave her the address. She told Trent
briefly what was happening and then she headed to find Mason.

Ten minutes later, she was almost there, but
she couldn’t stop the pounding of her heart.
Was she too late?
Had he turned himself in? What was she going to do? Deny it and
tell them he was crazy?
She was trying to steady her heart
rate, telling herself she’d make it and stop him, and then she let
out a sigh of relief when she saw him heading into the building. Oh
God, he really was going to turn himself in.
That stupid
idiot!
But damn, did he look good. He looked sad and defeated,
but still good. His body was as perfect as ever and his face was
that of the gods, but his deep green eyes had lost their
luster.

“Mason!” she called out and he turned. She
could see the surprise behind his eyes. And then he smiled a sad
smile.

She ran up to him and stopped just inches
before him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Stopping you from making a big
mistake.”

“Huh? I don’t understand.”

“Mason, don’t do it. I don’t want you to
turn yourself in.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I know you think you need to do something
to prove how sorry you are for taking me but you don’t. I love you,
Mase. I want to be with you, and I can’t do that if you are behind
bars. But I need to do something first. Please, just don’t turn
yourself in. Please, if you care about me, give me a little more
time. I’m almost there; I just need a little more time to get it
right. Okay? Please promise you won’t turn yourself in.”

Mason had looked at her with a completely
puzzled expression and then he asked, “How did you know where I’d
be?” Before she could answer, he answered himself, “Benny.” She
nodded and he muttered, “Of course, Benny.”

And then he looked into her eyes and asked,
“You love me?”

“Yes, yes I do. Now promise.”

“I promise,” he answered without
hesitation.

“Good!” She should have turned and walked
away. But being this close to him and not being able to touch him
was torture. Before she could even process what was happening, she
pulled him toward her and kissed him with all the passion she had
been holding back for the past month. If he didn’t believe she
loved him when she said the words, he had to believe her now. It
was hard to break away, but she had work to do. And the faster she
could do it, the faster she could be in Mason’s arms for good.

She broke away and before he could pull her
back, she turned and walked away.

He called out, “Kat, wait.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Time,
please.”

He nodded, and that made it all okay. She
walked away knowing she would be walking back soon. She was so
close. It was all coming together, finally. Just a little more and
she and Mason would be together.

Chapter 39

Kat took the
rest of the day to collect herself and her thoughts. She needed to
get over the rush of knowing Trent found her sister and hoped that
after some talking with her, she’d convince her, and be able to
free Mason. She had a good feeling. It would happen. It had to. But
she still had butterflies in her stomach, and then her little
situation with Mason had shaken her up as well. Knowing that he
almost turned himself in made the situation almost dire. She needed
to settle things quickly and once and for all. And of course, being
near him was doing things to her mind and body that she couldn’t
control.
Damn, she was lost without him
. She had to remind
herself that this separation was only temporary and as soon as
everything was out in the open, everything would be okay. It had to
be.

Trent offered to go with her, but she wanted
to do it alone. She made her way to the debilitated apartment
building and found her way inside. She knocked softly at first on
the door whose number matched that on the paper she held so
fiercely. Nothing happened. She found courage somewhere inside
herself and pounded on the door. She heard some noises and suddenly
the door flew open. She stood facing an African America teenage
boy. He looked slightly stunned when he saw her, but then composed
himself quickly. His clothes were old and worn, and he looked
tired, not in the no-sleep kind of way, but in the way that he was
much older than his years. Something in Kat made her want to reach
out and touch him, draw him to her, and comfort him, but she didn’t
dare.

“Can I help you?” he asked, properly. She
studied him a moment before answering. He wasn’t a druggie, at
least he didn’t look like one. He didn’t belong here. She could
help him.
Oh, wait. She couldn’t. Not anymore.
She no longer
worked for social services.

“Ma’am?” he asked again. And she pulled
herself from her thoughts.

“Oh, uh, yes, is there a Kat or Katherine
here?”

“Figured you were looking for her, but I had
to ask just in case.”

He stepped aside. “First door on the right.
Don’t mind the mess. I try to clean up as best as I can, but it’s
usually no use.” He was sad when he spoke, and Kat wondered how he
had ended up here.

She thanked him and made her way to the
first door. She knocked and waited and when the door flew open
abruptly, she gasped. Staring at her was a mirror image of herself,
but not quite. The woman staring at her was somehow older, tired,
and more ragged. She looked lackluster, like her skin and hair and
even her dull eyes had lost their shine.

“Well, well, well, I knew I’d see you one
day sister dear,” Katherine broke the silence, her voice dripping
with disdain.

“What? You know me? You knew about me?” Kat
asked, shocked.

“Oh yes, mommy dearest spilled her guts
about you when I was still a kid. It was one of her ‘clear’
moments, when she was between drugs or booze.”

“Then, what…how…why didn’t you find me? Why
didn’t I know about you? Why didn’t you look for me so I knew I had
family?” Kat stood in the doorway of the bedroom trying to find her
voice and collect her thoughts. The realization that this was her
sister and she knew about her and never cared was too
overwhelming.

“Why the hell should I have? You were living
your damn charmed life, while I got to slum it with our mother, if
you could call it that.”

That got Kat’s attention and she pushed past
her sister and stepped into the sparse room. “Charmed life? Charmed
life?” she screeched. “I was abandoned as a baby in a fucking gas
station bathroom and then bounced from one foster home to another.
No one gave a damn about me. At least you had our mom.”

“Yeah, well, I never saw you looking for
us.”

“And how the hell was I supposed to do that?
I didn’t know the first thing about myself, not to mention the
little fact that I already said – I wasn’t wanted!”

“Yeah, well, technically, neither was I,”
replied Katherine, and the way she said it, with a hint of sadness,
made Kat draw back her claws a bit.

“Mom? We have a mom?” Kat asked, the fact
that her sister knew their mom finally sinking in.

“Yeah, maybe…I don’t know. Haven’t seen her
in years. Maybe she’s around, maybe she’s dead. Fuck if I
know.”

“But…” Kat struggled to find the words. “But
she kept you, all those years ago, she kept you with her. That must
have meant something.” She had so many questions all of a sudden
that she didn’t have before. Sure, yes, she wanted to know about
their mom, and even about her sister.
Did she have any family?
Anywhere, somewhere? Could this woman be a sister to her? Even
after all these years?
She forgot her purpose for being here.
She needed to know about her own past.

Katherine snorted, a short bitter laugh. “Oh
yeah, she kept me all right…for her own purposes.”

“I don’t understand,” Kat added softly,
taking a seat on the small bed, not caring how dirty it looked. She
needed to sit.

“Of course you wouldn’t. Look, our mom was
always high on something. Alcohol, drugs, sex, partying, at least
as far as I can remember. Somewhere along the lines, she got
pregnant with us and thanks to her haze, she didn’t even realize
she was pregnant until it was too late. And then out we come, twin
girls. She didn’t want us, either of us, and she sure as hell
didn’t know what to do with us. And before you ask, no, I don’t
know who our father is and I don’t think she did either. In all
honesty, it’s a wonder we were born healthy. And yes, I was a
normal baby too. So mom kept us for a little bit while trying to
figure out what the hell to do with two babies. And then, somehow,
she had the crazy idea that having a baby and then a little kid
would get sympathy and sympathy meant money and easily conning
people. She could use us to get her everything she needed if she
could play it right. Frankly, I’m surprised she was sober enough to
figure out such an ingenious plan. Apparently she was even smarter
than that. She realized that she really only needed one kid to do
her dirty work and taking care of two would be too much of a
hassle. So, she flipped a coin and I was in and you were out.”

Kat’s mouth hung open, taking it all in. So
it was true, her mom didn’t want her. Hell, her mom didn’t even
want her sister. Suddenly she felt sorry for the woman standing
before her. She hadn’t asked to be a part of this life, she was
thrown into it.

“Just like that?” Kat asked
incredulously.

“Well, it was more like apparently you cried
more than I did, so because I happened to be the better kid, I got
screwed.”

“Oh God,” Kat cried out. “I’m so sorry. I’m
so sorry.” And she meant it. She saw Katherine stiffen at her
words. Yes, there was some compassion, some hope this woman wasn’t
as horrible as she thought.

“But if you saw what was happening to your
mom, how could you…you’re an addict.” It wasn’t a question, but
more of a statement.

Katherine laughed tightly. “I haven’t done
the hard shit in years. I just need a pick-me-up every now and then
to function. And you know what they say, if you can admit you’re an
addict, you ain’t one. So there. And fuck you and your judgmental
high horse. You didn’t live the life I did. You didn’t have to see
your mom comatose or fucking someone who she didn’t know right in
front of you for some blow. You didn’t have pills shoved down your
throat when you didn’t want them. You didn’t turn to them to cope
from the crap going on around you. So, if I need a little something
now and then, I take it.”