Faking Perfection

9|Flirt

𝟿|𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚛𝚝

I should have known better than to try and sneak out. Of course, the day I decide to go out with Mason my Mom actually gets home early from work. She's been doing that a lot recently to try and get the house cleaner than the maid can since my Dad is coming home next week, which is impossible. I don't know why she worries so much when my Dad is literally obsessed with her. She can do no wrong in his eyes.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" She has her hands on her hips with an eyebrow raised, scanning over my outfit. Mason has never cared what I looked like, and I'm not trying to impress him. After our kiss, it would make it too obvious that I haven't been able to stop thinking about him if I tried too hard, so I'm wearing a pair of jeans, a pink blouse, and some white sneakers. Nothing grungy like I normally would choose. This is a basic choice for me. A safe one.

"Christy's," I lie. She'd never let me go since she's not exactly fond of Willow, but she loves Christy. "I'm just going over to study for an English test next week. I was on my way down to ask you before I left."

My mother purses her lips as she contemplates, but she has no reason not to trust me. Well, not that she knows of. In her eyes, I'm the perfect daughter who has the best grades and the best friends and never does anything wrong. I'm the good child.

As if proving my point, Everett bounds down the steps behind me wearing a Nike sweatsuit and a backward ballcap. "I'm going out," he says, not even bothering to ask for permission.

My mother quickly steps in front of him, placing a hand on his chest. "With who, Ev?"

"Friends," he says. "I'll be back before midnight."

There is so much to teach my younger brother. He's so naive to think he'll get his way by handling Mom this way. She's not stupid, and she especially doesn't like to be treated with disrespect like that. I bite back a laugh when she ushers him to go back upstairs. "You can tell your friends that you'll miss out on whatever activities you planned tonight because you have to learn how to ask first like your sister here."

I internally grin.

Sucker.

He mutters a stream of cuss words as he pounds his feet back upstairs, slamming his door shut loudly behind him. My mother winces and steps aside to let me pass. "Be back before midnight, please," she says softly. I don't have to ask if she's hurt by Everett's outburst because it's written all over her face. She's trying to blink away the tears.

"He'll get over it," I reassure her, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. "You're a great mom. The best one."

With a squeeze to my hand, she gives me a sad smile and strides off to the kitchen.

***

I pull up to Mason's house with the address he gave me and blink a few times up at the enormous mansion in front of me. I'm in front of a set of large gates, and it's not like I haven't been to gigantic houses like this before, but holy hell. This puts all of the homes I've seen to shame.

The house in front of me is modern, almost completely made of glass as I drive up the long, winding driveway. There's a pond in front of the front door with stone steps going across it—lily pads and fish swimming below. I peer down to try and inspect a tiny turtle when the door opens and Mason steps out.

Holy shit.

He's wearing a black turtleneck with a gold chain around his neck. His jeans fit him snugly and he's got a tan peacoat overtop. His shoes are rich and sleek, made perfectly for the nephew of the man who owns the Mercedes Benz Group.