Anger

Mason felt empty inside.

He didn't know how long he'd been feeling this way or why he was.

Actually, he knew exactly why he couldn't feel anything. Amanda's arrival had messed with his thoughts and feelings. It was crazy for him to watch her move on when a part of him was still stuck on her. It was hard to just forget about a person that you'd been loving for the past two years.

He hadn't been good enough for her. Just like his mother had said all those years ago, he'd never amount to anything. That lingering thought was what was making it hard for him to keep his mask on.

The mask that didn't portray his true emotions and feelings and ultimately protected those who he loved and cared about. The last thing he wanted to do was to burden them with worry over his overly pessimistic mindset.

That's why he had plastered a fake smile on his face as he sat at the dinner table with his family. It was his monthly visit back home and it wasn't going the way he had imagined it would.

Diana and Sarah were asking him about college and how he was finding his A-Levels and he answered their questions easily. He'd always been gifted when it came to education, it was something that came to him naturally and if it wasn't for his rebellious ways he'd consider going to university. Both his foster parents had been nagging at him since high school to consider higher education but he was still yet to apply. He was feeling very unmotivated and with good reason.

Will was here too and he and Mason had a brief conversation about football discussing the possible outcomes of what may happen in the upcoming games.

Belle, however, didn't say much. At least, not to Mason but he didn't take any offence. It wasn't as if he was communicating much either. Still a little strange though.

He wondered what was up with her and decided to talk to her later.

He picked at his food uninterested and felt Sarah's eyes on him as he did so. She frowned at him a little and he offered her a little smile before eating once more. He wasn't hungry in the slightest though he hadn't been eating much these days anyway.

Silence soon invaded the room as no words were left to be said. It felt awkward because for once, no one had anything to say so they all ate in silence, thoughts running through their heads.

Feeling uncomfortable, Mason got up from his seat and grabbed a beer from the fridge. As he began to sip from the can, his eyes met Belle's and he could see the anger and annoyance in her face.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She glared at him and he didn't like her tone. It was almost as if she was trying to imply something though he wasn't sure what exactly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He responded, crushing the can slightly.

"I'm talking about your drinking problems." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't think that just because you've moved away that I don't know what you're up to."

All eyes then turned to him for an explanation behind Belle's words and he felt anger rise within him.

"Is this true, Mason?" Diana challenged.

"So what if it is?" He snapped. "You're not my parent so stop acting like it."

He watched both Sarah and Diana's faces drop at his words and he scoffed at them, leaving the table. He couldn't stand to be around any of them for another second.

Belle was supposed to be his sister. She was supposed to be on his side. Why was she so angry anyway? No one was being hurt and so what if he liked to drink every now and then?

Mason couldn't see any error in his actions.

He eventually made his way to his old bedroom, desperate for some sort of comfort. It had felt like a prison being in this room at the beginning but it had eventually become home.

However, he didn't know where he belonged anymore. It certainly wasn't here.

Failing to feel comforted, he left the room and a wave of curiosity hit him as he stared at the bedroom door belonging to his foster parents.

His mind was telling him to respect their privacy and that there would be nothing to be found but he couldn't stop himself from going in. What was there to lose?

He looked around for a while but just as he first suspected, there was nothing to be found. But before he could leave, a box he hadn't seen before with his name written on it caught his attention. He shook it a little to gather an idea of what was in it and all he could hear was the rustling of papers.

All the same, he opened it and he frowned in confusion. It was a box filled with letters. Letters that were left unopened and that had never been shown to him. What had they been hiding from him?

He opened the letter that looked the quite recent and as he began to read, angry tears filled his eyes. The box was filled to the brim with letters that Leo had written him in prison and even though he hadn't received a reply once, he'd still written to him. How could they keep this from him?

All this time, Mason had convinced himself that his only brother had forgotten about him when he had been thinking about him ever since he had been locked away.

Mason returned the letter into the box and took it with him. He needed answers and he was going to get them.

He threw the box of letters at Diana and it hit her straight in the face.

"Mason!" Sarah exclaimed.

"How could you keep this from me? He's my brother. My real family. And he's been writing to me for so long and you let me believe that he had forgotten about me. Why would you do that?" He raged.

Sarah couldn't meet his eyes and Diana looked red from where the box had hit her in the face.

"What were you doing in our bedroom?" She asked timidly.

"Tell me the truth!"

"We were getting along so well as a family and we thought that it was best that you didn't have any communication with anyone from your past. We were tying to help you move on. You didn't need him to bring you down again."

"Move on?" He was in disbelief at what he was hearing. " You don't understand. I can never move on from what we did that night. It'll haunt me as long as I live!" He yelled the last bit and wanted to break down as the words registered in his mind.

"You don't get to decide what's best for me. The least you could've done was to tell me instead of leaving me in the dark." He felt tired. He was so tired of being hurt over and over again.

He snatched the box out of Diana's hands who looked just as ashamed as Sarah did.

"We used to be a family but now I don't even know who either of you are."

He watched their eyes fill with tears and left the house clutching the box to his chest. He wiped the tears from his eyes and chucked the box into the boot of his car.

Before he was able to leave, he was stopped by Belle calling after him.

"Are you here to tell me that it was wrong of me to react like that?" His tone was uninterested and she picked up on it.

"Diana and Sarah have done so much for both of us. The least you could do is to understand where they were coming from. Yes, they shouldn't have hidden it from you but they only meant well." She argued.

He slammed the car door and towered over her, clenching his jaw and glaring straight into her eyes.

"He's the only family I've ever had and we've been through everything together. You may be my sister but you could never replace him. You don't know me. Nobody does." He seethed.

"Go do yourself a favour and go back to your family." He added.

She grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving.

"How could you say that about me? Do I not mean anything to you?" Her voice wobbled as she was struggling to keep her voice even and the tears from spilling.

If it wasn't for his anger, he would've never said those words but it was too late to take them back. He was too damaged to care about anyone else. Even his own sister.

"It's not nice is it? Finding out that you don't mean as much as you thought to someone. Welcome to my world." He said flatly.

He watched as realisation flooded her senses and he could see the pity in her eyes. He couldn't stand it.

"Mason, I-"

"Don't!" He cried, turning away from her. It didn't stop her from putting her arms around him and he couldn't help the tears from dropping.

It hurt. It all hurt so so much and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. The pain still hadn't left and it was evident in his muffled screams.

Belle was trying her best to hold onto him but he was crying so much that it was proving difficult.

"You'll be okay. It's okay." She said her voice shaking.

"No it isn't okay!" He pulled out of the embrace not wanting her to hold him any longer. "She's taken a part of me that I can never get back. And now I can't get Leo's face out of my head knowing just how lonely he's been."

She moved forward to hug him again but he put his hands up to keep a distance between them.

"Leave me alone." He said.

He didn't stay around any longer to see her form drop and the tears slide down her cheeks at the fact that he had pushed her away. All she wanted to do was to help him. To be there for her brother.

He didn't even say goodbye and was unaware of the hurt girl he had left behind.

Almost as if it had a magnetic pull, he soon found himself driving in the direction of the bar.

He seemed to be full of bad choices today.