Chapter Four

When Mum sat the food down in front of us all, I noticed the strong glare that I was receiving from Mason. His eyes were fixated on me, and I couldn't work out why he was staring at me with such intensity. The thought made my stomach do summer saults.

"Dig in, everyone!" My Mum said in her most cheerful voice. And so they did.

"When are you going to Anne's darling?" My Mother asked my Father casually. He looked up and looked at her as if he had suddenly acknowledged her existence.

"Um, well...I haven't quite made my decision on that yet, love. Anne is a little pushed for time, considering it's coming towards her birthday and having to cope with her rent."

Anne was my Dad's sister, and I hated her. My Mother admired her so much because she was described as "the most beautiful woman in town". I strongly disagree, considering she had quite a large nose and great bulging eyes. Some people would say those words come from jealousy...I only wish that is what it was. To me, she had the face of a...dead dog.

"Mum?" Mason's voice broke the short pause of silence. For some reason, I froze and my right hand which held my folk suddenly began to tremble.

"Yes, love?" Mum's voice piped up like a happy tune from Cbeebies.

"I was wondering if maybe me and Alana can go camping this summer?" My heart stopped. We had never been camping together. Mason usually always went with his group of mates...and this time he was taking me?

"What, you and your sister?" My Mother said in a surprised tone. I know how she felt, I was just as confused. "You're going to bring your sister along with your friends?"

Mason shook his head with a look of disgust, "Na. Just me and Alana."

What the f....

"Why?" I ask in a small voice. Mason looked at the corner of his eye and we locked gaze. I could tell he was trying to pretend I wasn't in the room. Was he embarrassed? Or maybe, Dad had prompted him to take me just so I get out of the house. I never left the house, I always stayed in. That's when I clicked. "It'll be fun?" Mason said in a questioning tone, as if he wasn't quite sure himself.

"Is this Dad's idea?" I ask, glaring over at Dad. My Father just looked at me with wide eyes as if he had been caught committing a crime. I tilted my head in expectance and folded my arms as if I was the adult and he was the out of control child. I could her my Mother smirking from beside me and Mason shared his own little snigger in the background, as I continued to interrogate my Father.

"Well, you do need to get out more. And if you must know, it was Mason's idea."

I snapped my head round to my brother then and glared at him with my best angry look. He just sat there and smiled as if butter wouldn't melt. "It is a good idea, darling." My Mum spoke up, breaking up the tension between me and Mason.

"How can it be so 'good', when I don't even want to do it?" I say in my voice of logical terms. I dread to think that Mason actually wanted to take me anywhere with him. It was awkward enough after all the stuff which had previously been going on between us.

"Don't speak to your Mother like that, An'." My Father says in a stern voice.

I sigh, "Well, I'm sorry. I don't like camping."

"But you've never been." Mason says in a soft voice, and my eyes are immediately pinned on his confident face.

"I don't care. I don't want to go."

"Please?" He says, pursing his lips and giving me those puppy eyes he always gives me just so he can get his own way. "I said, NO!" I leap up and bang my fists against the surface of the table.

"I DON'T WANT TO GO!" With that, I turn on my heels and ran out of the room. I could feel both Mum and Dad's eyes watching me the entire session, second by second. My heart banged violently in my chest. I had never acted like that before. I knew myself that it was very out of character for me to do, but the awkwardness which was building between me and Mason was near enough hopeless to put up with. Whenever he was around me, it was as if I didn't know what was real anymore.