Chapter 3

On the day the college decisions were released, Mason returned to school to pick up his diploma.

Samuel and I showed up at the school gate right on time to wait for him, while Kamryn was at home cooking up a meal, waiting for us to get back.

By five in the afternoon, students started streaming out of the school gates. Then Mason's message popped up.

He sent, [Audrey, she showed up again. Just wait with Dad a little longer, I'll be out in no time.]

But this time, Mason didn't come out. We waited and waited, but he never showed.

Twenty minutes later, a commotion broke out on campus. Security guards blocked the gates, not letting anyone in or out.

From the playground, I could vaguely hear students shouting, "Someone jumped off the building."

My heart skipped a beat. Something felt terribly wrong. I kept calling Mason, but I couldn't get through to him at all.

Just then, Samuel's phone rang. He glanced at the screen. It was Mason's homeroom teacher.

All the color drained from his face in an instant.

I supported Samuel, whose legs had gone weak beneath him, and together we stumbled to the foot of the building.

Mason was sprawled on the concrete, his limbs still twitching. Dark red blood slowly pooled beneath him, and pale brain matter was scattered around.

Sharon came over with a teacher, her face full of grief and sorrow. She couldn't stop sobbing in front of Samuel.

Sharon said, "Mason confessed to me, but I turned him down. I tried to talk him down for a long time. When he jumped, I rushed over, but... I'm so sorry, I couldn't save him."

Samuel collapsed unconscious right then and there.

Later, the police gave Samuel a wild rose brooch, saying Clifford had been gripping it in his hand the whole time when he jumped.

In the end, Mason's death was declared a suicide because of heartbreak.

Half a month after Mason was gone, Kamryn just couldn't take the grief of losing her son anymore. She jumped off the balcony at home.

Samuel, utterly broken by grief, didn't survive that winter. In the middle of a freezing night, he passed away in the hospital.

I always carried Mason's early acceptance letter from Rolyladie University's physics department with me, everywhere I went.

Mason should have had a bright future ahead of him.

Sharon didn't just ruin Mason. She tore apart a whole family, three lives lost because of her.

The Massy family was untouchable, and I was nothing but wild grass, barely worth a glance, crushed beneath their feet.

But the moment wild grass pushed through the dirt, gave it just a little nourishment, and it'd go crazy, growing out of control.

Until one day, it wrapped around and choked out that wild rose, so noble and out of reach, thriving in rich, fertile soil.

"Clifford, I'm going to go home and come clean to Mom about what's going on between us," Sharon said.

"Sharon," Clifford cut her off. "Seriously, you're drunk. Just go home."

"I won't," Sharon screamed.

Clifford finally snapped, "Get lost."

There was a loud bang, and then the sound of glass shattering everywhere.

Right after, the door flew open. Sharon stormed in, her face twisted with rage, right in front of me.

I jumped in surprise, clutching the cake, and instinctively stepped back, only to end up in another man's arms.

His large hand gripped my waist firmly, keeping me in place.

Flustered, I looked up, only to meet Arnold's eyes twinkling with mischief.

Arnold and Sharon were childhood friends, and their families had already paired them up for marriage. They got along well, but both of them did their own thing, never interfering with each other's business.

Flustered, I dropped my gaze, trying to wriggle free from his hold. But Arnold had no intention of letting go.

Arnold glanced at Sharon, then gripped me even harder, drawing me right up against him.

I struggled desperately, and in the scuffle, the cake tumbled to the floor.

Arnold just looked on, clearly enjoying the drama, and snickered as he leaned in close to my ear.

"Miss Garza, why aren't you calling for help?" Arnold whispered.