The Stars Are Fading Away

Save yourself from everything that you have learned

I widened my eyes at Mason, then quickly looked down and stared at the carpet. After a few seconds, I responded.

"No."

"You have a very slow reaction time."

I met his eyes again and they were angry.

"How did you know?" I asked quietly. I snuggled back into the couch and put my arms around myself, looking at my knees and biting my lip.

Mason sighed. "I've known Wren for awhile. He can get… violent when he's angry. And he gets really jealous."

"Over nothing." I nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said after a few seconds of silence.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but I couldn't and tears leaked out. Mason put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

"What if he comes back?" I asked through my sobs. I was still clinging onto the hope that he wouldn't hit me again, and I didn't want to provoke him.

"I'll hit him twice as hard as he hit you. Why haven't you left him yet?"

"Has he done this before?" I asked, avoiding Mason's question.

"No. Not to a girl. He gets really mad at bars and stuff and looks for a fight, but we usually drag him off before he can get himself hurt. Shouldn't have bothered." He muttered the last part. I leaned my head against his chest. He tipped my face up and turned it to the side, looking at my bruise.

"Bastard," I heard him mutter. "You didn't answer my question earlier." Hid hand was still on my chin, but this time it was forcing me to look at him.

I answered reluctantly. "I don't know," I whispered.

"What do you mean? He punched you in the face, don't you hate him?" His eyes burned with anger again.

I winced at it being put so bluntly. "I wish you wouldn't be so mad," I said, avoiding the question again.

"I'm not mad," he said, looking confused.

"Yes you are. You look mad, at least."

"I'm mad at him. How could he do this to you? He just hit you, for no reason! What kind of person would do something like that? He deserves to be in jail!" Mason's volume rose and I cringed. "Sorry," he said, lowering his voice again.

I wiped my eyes and pulled out of his embrace. I pulled my knees up to my chest again, resting my chin on them.

"You're good at side-tracking me. You still haven't answered," he said, raising one eyebrow.

"It's private."

"Going to shut me out again?"

"Yes."

"Amber, come on. Tell me."

"Why, so you can go to the police with details? I'm not telling you! It's none of your business. None of this is your business."

"You don't want him turned in?" He was floored at that.

"No.

"Why?"

I glared at Mason. "I love him," I said, in a soft voice that didn't match the look I was giving him.

His mouth dropped open. "But he–"

"I know what he did! Better than you do! But I also realize I love him too much to leave him."

"He hit you! You should hate him!"

"I know," I said simply.

"You can't just give up!" His face looked so confused and outraged. He couldn't comprehend why I couldn't just get away from Wren. No one would understand.

I sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

"I would! I–"

"No. You wouldn't. I can tell. You already don't get it. You don't know."

Mason bit his lip and sat back on the couch. "He's going to do it again. What happens when it gets bad?"

"You don't know that."

At that moment the garage door slammed open against the wall and all the guys came back in. Mason quickly grabbed the remote and turned it to some football game. I stroked Dodger absentmindedly.

Wren came in and sat down beside me. He stared at the wall, above the TV. He didn't seem interested in the game. Wren didn't much like football. He seemed angry again, and I was a little scared.

"Wren?" I asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

His eyes flashed over to my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mason's did the same.

"No. Everything is fine," he said in a strange tone. My eyebrows pulled together and tried to decipher his expression, but he was looking back at the wall intently. Mason's eyes returned to the TV, but I could tell he wasn't really paying attention.

After a few minutes of no one paying attention to the TV, Wren got up suddenly, muttering about the bathroom.

Mason quickly pulled a phone out of his pocket and pushed it towards me. I stared at it, then looked back at him.

"Please," he said.

I slowly took out my phone and handed it to him. I took his phone from the couch and added my number to the contact list. I slid it back across the couch and he did the same, just as Wren came back down the hall.

"Let's go, Amber."

I gave Dodger a final pat and followed Wren out the door to his car.