Not Another Cinderella Story (lxngdon & MaryGold)

M A S O N
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Mason's frown only deepened when Karoline strolled in ever so casually. He hadn't even seen her behind Harrison. Or maybe he had but was to focused on the real danger. Seeing had only proceeded to leave him confused. What the hell was she doing with Harrison? And why the hell was Harrison even here?

One thought passed through his mind. It was possible that he came to try and take Lainey back. Which would be absolutely preposterous of him to think he could do so.

"Holy shit ... " Harrison scoffed lightly, staring directly at the smaller woman, or to be more precised the round in her stomach. His jaw tightened, teeth gritted, fist clenched. "You! How dare you try to this from me!" He advanced toward her, presumably with ill intentions.

Mason grabbed his shoulder, halting him and pushing him back. "You can't be here. You have to leave." His voice was stern and hinted a warning. He was not afraid to call the police even if the media somehow did get a hold of it. He didn't know how Harrison figured out about Lainey's pregnancy but at the moment it did not matter.

"FUCK YOU!" Harrison threw Mason's hand off of his shoulder and shoved him away from himself. "You already took Lainey! Fine, you can have her, I don't give a fuck! But that is my fucking kid! And you can't have him! I have rights!"​
 
l a i n e y
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Lainey's heart was hammering in her chest and she felt like she was going to throw up. Shit shit shit shit shit -- Harrison was here and he was pissed. And he looked like he was ready to hit her, or even hit Mason. She couldn't let that happen, not when Mason was only trying to help her.

That was all he had ever tried to do. Help her.

Lainey sniffled and stepped forward, grabbing Harrison's arm and pulling him away from Mason, towards her, who he was truly angry at. There was a time in which Lainey would cower in fear away from an angry Harrison, there was a time in which Lainey would fall at his feet, beg for forgiveness and only be kicked in return. There was a time in which she was weak.

But now was not that time. She stared defiantly up at her ex-boyfriend, the father of the child growing in her womb.

"I didn't tell you because I'm giving the baby up for adoption," she said angrily. Karoline leaned forward, clearly entertained. "And even if I wasn't, I would have kept it from you because you didn't deserve to know. What good have you ever done me? What good would you have ever done a child?"

She dropped his arm and stepped away from him slightly, covering her bump with her arms so he'd hit her and not the baby in her stomach. "You don't have any rights in this situation, and if you want to try and find them, I'll just show them the pictures of the last bruises you left on me. Then you'll get sent to prison for battery, hm? As far as I'm concerned this child doesn't have a father until they're adopted by someone who will love them. You're incapable of doing that, Harrison."​
 
M A S O N
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Harrison scoffed, gnashing his teeth thought her little speech, He was quiet, working his jaw as she spoke/ However, the face he wore sent a different message. A message conveying he didn't care what she said or what she had to say. It meant nothing to him, it didn't change anything for him.

And he only went on to become more pissed. Though, he seemed surprisingly well at handling it. That, by no means, did not mean he wasn't a danger because he very much was. And Mason was still on alert, unsure of what the man would do.

"You are not putting my child up for adoption." He seethed, pointing a finger at her, taking a step forward. "I don't give a fuck what you have to say or do. It is not going to happen." He shoved the palm of his hand into her shoulder enough to knock her back a couple of steps.

"Excuse me, can you get the fuck out of my house?" Mason glared lasers into the other male's entire being, approaching the two. He didn't care of it was just between them, or that Lainey was only trying to focus Harrison on her so he wouldn't suffer anything from any of it. It didn't matter at all because, for starters, it was happening in his house.

Harrison snorted, working his jaw as if to try and calm himself. Mason could tell it must be difficult for him to not resort to violence. "I am not leaving. I am not getting kicked from my child's life. So, no. NO, I WON'T LEAVE!" He shouted, raising a fist, but fortunately did not hit him. He looked to be on the verge of it, though.​
 
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Lainey stumbled backwards when she was shoved by Harrison, though she caught herself on the bench and straightened up before she could fall and hurt herself or the infant. She looked at Harrison with rage in her eyes. Shoving her wasn't that alien, but shoving her when she was carrying his child? The child that he apparently wanted to know?

Bullshit.

Lainey was angry. She was hurt, she was sad, but she was mostly angry. So, for the first time in the years she had known Harrison Greyblood, she hit him back.

Well, no, she shoved him away from Mason, gave him a filthy look and snatched up the house phone from the bench before disappearing into her bedroom, making sure that Harrison would follow her. She licked the door and dialled the emergency number.

"Hello ... yes, I'm staying with my friend and my ex-boyfriend is here and he won't leave ... he's threatening violence, yes ... okay ..."

Lainey gave the address, hung up and leaned her head against the door to wait for the police to come and take Harrison away.
 
M A S O N
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Mason watched Lainey disappear down the hall with Harrison trailing after her just as speedily. He thought to follow them, to make sure Harrison wouldn't do anything, but he saw her shut the door and heard the click of the lock set in a place. Soon after came the hysterics of the brunette man as he went on banging his fist against the door.

"Lainey! Open the God damn door!" Harrison growled, slamming his fist against solid mahogany. He was wearing a somewhat confused frown as suspicion, or was it uncertainty that slipped into his tone. "Who the fuck was it that you called? Open the fucking door?"

He tried the knob once again. If it wasn't for the fact that the door was of such fine quality Mason was sure that he would have broken it by now. In that moment Mason was perplexed in what to do to help and resolve the situation, throwing Harrison out sounded perfect, bit it would be difficult and he would only come back.

Not too long after he thought that he heard a firm knock at the front door and only when he answered did he come to realize who she had called.

"We received a report of a man threatening violence here." The officer said to Mason, looking suspicious, eyes narrowed. He stood beside another officer who raised his eyebrow. It was only natural they'd appear so soon, the neighborhood they lived in was usually free of trouble with all the wealthy folks that lived in it. Mason moved to let them inside and gestured to Harrison down the hall.

"I believe that is the man you're looking for."

The two police officers walked inside without another word, approaching Harrison and grabbing his shoulders. "You're going to have come down to station with us, sir." The second officer spoke.

Harrison scoffed, shaking their hands off of him roughly. "Excuse me? What the fuck! You have no idea what's going on here?"
 
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Lainey only came out of her room when she heard the police. She stood up and carefully side-stepped around Harrison, making sure to keep her belly as far away from him as possible. She hugged her torso and stood beside Mason.

The second officer looked at Lainey. "Are you the woman who made the call?"

"Yes."

"Care to explain what happened?"

"He's my ex-boyfriend, he somehow found out I was pregnant and came to threaten me into keeping him in my child's life." Lainey spoke with a confidence incredibly uncharacteristic of her, surprising even herself. "He used to hit me almost every day when we were together and I wasn't going to let that happen to my baby."

The officer nodded. "You'll need to come down to the station to make a report. Can you make your own way?"

"Of course."

The officers escorted the struggling Harrison out and Lainey closed her eyes at his screams. Karoline trotted down the hall to where they were standing with a slight smirk on her lips.

"Funny how he just knew you were pregnant, right?"

Lainey frowned, then she realised what Karoline was saying. "You ... you told him?!" she half-screamed. She was bordering on tears. How could Karoline do that?

"Of course." Kari shrugged. "He deserved to know. It's his kid."
 
M A S O N
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Mason had never wanted to punch someone so much before, well, besides Harrison. He wished he could have said and thought that he couldn't believe her or that he was surprised, it he really wasn't. He was angry, he was sad, he was humiliated and he was hurt, all because if her. But what was new about that? She always made him feel that way.

The only reason he didn't punch her was because he wasn't the type to resort straight to violence, he wasn't going to become an domestic abuser like some people and simply because he was raised never to hit a woman under any circumstance. And there were cops outside. He clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to forget the pain in his chest, trying to breathe properly, trying not to freak the fuck out.

"You have to go." Mason started toward, neither frowning nor moping, but the look he gave was deadly. He wasn't just telling her this for Lainey, but himself too. "I don't mean just temporarily either. I don't want to see you again. Ever."

Only after he said it did he realize what he was doing. Dumping Karoline. It was foreign that he was the one doing the dumping this time, but everything still remained the same, his words were truth.
 
l a i n e y​

A look of genuine shock crossed Karoline's face when she registered Mason's words. That look was replaced by minute anger, then terror, then sadnesses. But Lainey could tell that the sadness was fake. Everything about Karoline was fake. Not physically, she was naturally beautiful, but mentally? The facade she had up for everyone around her was one hundred percent fake.

"Mace," she said softly, taking a couple of steps forward and putting her hands on his chest. "You're just emotional right now, come on, I love you. You know that, right? I love you so much."

Lainey audibly scoffed and turned to go into her bedroom. She closed the door but didn't lock it and crossed to her drawers to find an outfit to wear to the police station since she sure as hell wasn't going in her work clothes. She could still hear Karoline pleading beyond the door, though.

"You wouldn't like it if I was pregnant and I kept it from you, would you? I only told Harrison because of that, because I thought he deserved to know. I never meant any harm."

Absolute bullshit.

"C'mon, Mace, we've been together for years and years. You can't just end all that now over a silly mistake. Come on. I love you."
 
M A S O N
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"Karoline, out of all the lies you've told me that one is the worst."

Mason knocked her hands off of him and took a step back, away from her. He pinched the bridge if his nose and breathed in and out carefully. As much as she angered him he did not want to go off on her, if he did he would have a lot to say and what he truly wanted was for to disappear from his sight.

"You don't love me. You don't care about anyone but yourself and I was stupid enough to think otherwise." How many times had he lied to himself, made excuses and apologized for other because of her? He didn't know nor did he care anymore because he was done with her. Mason was done with Karoline and her bullshit. It was time he opened his eyes and faced the music.

"Just take your stuff and go. You're not welcomed here anymore. And I don't feel like arguing either." He shook his head at her and focused on leveling his breathing.
 
l a i n e y​

Karoline's lip quivered and she burst into tears. Lainey listened and expected her to actually drop to her knees and beg for Mason to take her back but she knew Karoline thought that was above her. When Lainey came out of her room, Karoline turned and made her way down the hall and to Mason's bedroom, where her clothes were kept.

Lainey didn't know what to say. She had always knew Karoline was only interested in herself and was using Mason but she had never said anything because it wasn't her place to do so. And it still wasn't. She was just Mason's friend. She wasn't going to overstep her boundaries.

"I --"

Lainey was cut off by Karoline's reappearance. She carried a suitcase and her purse, and had tears running down her cheeks. She gave Mason a lingering, miserable look, before she turned and left the Wagner household for the last time.

Lainey was quiet. She looked up at Mason and tried to read his expression. She didn't know what to say or do.

"Um ... I'll catch a taxi to the station so you can have some time to yourself," she said, picking up her own purse.
 
M A S O N
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Mason glanced at Lainey, blinking once. He had almost forgotten she was around and near to hear everything between him and Karoline. He felt awful for many reasons, one being because of the troubles and hurt Karoline had 'caused and inflicted on Lainey. He wanted to apologize in her stead, though, he didn't have to do that anymore. They were no longer together.

"Will you be okay?" He asked, running his fingers through his blonde locks.

More than anything, he wanted to take her, to save her the trouble. He felt as if he owed her for all of the problems she had while staying in his home. And if he was to be honest he did not feel comfortable letting her to off to do anything involving Harrison, especially with her being pregnant now. However, it was stupid of him to worry since she was literally walking into a police station.

And, besides, he was totally drained in that moment. When was the last time he truly had time to himself? He definitely needed it now.

He leaned against the stair railway, still uncomfortable with the idea of her going by herself. But there was no point in him saying anything else. "Be careful, yeah?"
 
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"I'll be fine," Lainey assured Mason. She came up to him to give him a loose hug around the middle and stand on her tiptoes to softly kiss him on the cheek. It wasn't a romantic gesture, just a friendly one. Because they were friends.

"Thank you, Mason. Thank you for everything. I'll be back soon."

Lainey went to the police station and was taken into a small room, where she told a nice lady officer everything that had happened at Mason's place, and also how long Harrison had been abusing her. She answered with one year, the entire course of their relationship. She showed her the pictures of the last bruises she had received.

The officer asked what she was planning to do with Harrison's child. Lainey told her she would be giving the baby up for adoption. She then asked if Harrison had the right to fight for his child. The officer replied that Harrison was most likely be spending a few years in prison.

Lainey didn't know how to feel about that.

An order was put into place, forbidding Harrison to come near Lainey, Mason or Mason's home for the next two years, and they would have to get it remade if Harrison wasn't incarcerated.

Lainey came back to Mason's house at around nine in the evening. She told him what had happened and then said goodnight.

For the first time in forever, she felt completely safe.
 
M A S O N
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Month after month after month had passed until approximately it had been four months in total since Mason and Lainey both had last seen Harrison and Karoline. And God, was it a breath of fresh. Lainey was officially free from her ex's grip and Mason? He was too, and he enjoyed every moment if it.

He hadn't realized how much he was suffocating when he was with Karoline, or to be more precise, he refused to acknowledge it. He deluded himself too much to let himself believe that she was a good person and that she loved him. That was all a big pot of bullshit, of course. Truthfully, he wasn't even sure that he was in love with her anymore before he dumped her. The first thing he felt was relief instead if pain when it happened.

So, when he was all rested and organized his thoughts, he had posted on his Twitter, alerting his fans and of their break up formally. It was absolutely sweet reading their comments of solace and absolutely humorous reading text messages from his family and friends, including some of his ex's telling him 'it was about time'. He was able to get on with his life with ease.

And during that month, he had, of course, spent plenty of time with the woman staying inside his house, who seemed to be growing bigger everyday with her child inside. While that happened, he went on working with his music until he was finally finished with the song he had been working on for the past few months. After going through the tedious progress for it to released, he was able to go home with a satisfied feeling settling over him and wait for the response. Or more importantly, until a special someone listened to it.
 
l a i n e y​

The last four months had been some of the best Lainey had experienced in a while. She was free of Harrison, free of the torment of Karoline and she had been spending a lot of time with Mason, which she liked, because she thoroughly enjoyed his company.

And she felt something else, though, she wasn't sure if she should share it. She was his housekeeper and she was moving out when she recovered from giving birth. He was a rock star and rich and famous and had prettier girls lining up for him around the block. Why would Mason Wagner want her?

But she had pushed those thoughts from her mind and had enjoyed the time she was having with her.

She was listening to Mason's new song on YouTube as she cooked in the kitchen. She was making steak and spicy fries, one of her favourites. She found that she had to stand a little away from the bench due to her definite and rounded bump, the one containing her small child in her belly. But she didn't mind. She wasn't that big yet, though it had been five months.

Mason came home and Lainey gave him a genuine smile. "Hey." She leaned over the bench to hand him one of the fries she had made to try before she cooked the rest.

"I love your new song," she said honestly. It was great. A love song with lots of beautiful language like the rest of his music had. He was an artist. "Who's it about?"
 
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Mason smiled slightly, leaning over the bench and digging into the fries she had set out for him. "It's not very obvious then."

He moved away to dig into the fridge for a drink and pulled out a water bottle. Twisting open the bottle, he wondered whether or not to tell her because he surely didn't want to make things awkward for her. Or for him.

He didn't expect it to be obvious for the public, anyway. The only other person who actually knew who the song was written about was Ted, the reason being was because he was best friend and partner in one. They had talked countless hours, Mason doing most of the talking, and worked on it afterward.

"Well, it originally wasn't supposed to be a love song, but it turned out that way." It had turned out that way because it came from him, conveying his feelings. Though one little song couldn't possibly hold all that he felt. If he had somehow managed to put it all in a song, it would be long and messy. He was a believer in which where words failed, music speaks. However, sometime music failed too.

"It's about you."​
 
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Mason's words shocked Lainey so much that she dropped the pair of tongs she had been holding and they clattered to the floor. She ignored them, though, her wide eyes widening even further and looking up to face Mason. Was she drunk? Or had he just said what she thought he had just said?

Well, she was pregnant and hadn't been drinking so there was no way she was drunk. Which meant ... Mason had just told her his song was about her.

Those deeply personal lyrics, those wonderfully romantic words, were about her. Lainey.

Lainey picked up the tongs, set them in the sink and hugged her swollen belly as she bit back the smile on her face. "I ... I'd been hoping it was about me," she confessed, her voice quiet as she looked up at Mason with the tiniest smile on her lips. "But, well, I couldn't afford to get my hopes up."

Why would he like her? She was so plain, so plain next to Karoline and him. But ... he did. And it was the best feeling in the world.

"I ... I love you, too. You saved me."​
 
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Mason jumped a little, hearing the clatter of metal against the hard floor of the kitchen. He didn't know what her reaction would be like but he certainly wasn't expecting that. Was it really that surprising?

"Me? Saved you?" He smiled softly, a light chuckle escaping his mouth as he shook he shook his head. Carefully, he reached and took her hand in his own, running his thumb over her fingers affectionately. "Lainey, I did not save you. I only opened a door do you could save yourself, which you did."

He kissed the back of her hand and in one swift movement, pulled her close to him so that he could wrap her in his. "That ridiculous thinking of yours, that you couldn't afford to get your hopes up, is what ultimately 'caused me to write that song. Lainey, you're beautiful."
 
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Lainey let out a genuine chuckle and it was a beautiful sound. She was not the happiest of women most times, but now, in Mason Wagner's arms, she couldn't be more delighted. He cared for her. He'd written a song about her, expressed his feelings in the most beautiful way. And she had loved it.

Lainey stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her bump was small enough so it didn't get in the way yet. "Thank you," she whispered, a true smile on her face. "Thank you for everything."

And with that, Lainey leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Immediately, she was on fire. She hadn't kissed anyone like this since Tristan -- kissed someone and knew they loved her, and they didn't think of her as a burden or not worthy. Mason thought she was worthy, which she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Lainey only pulled away when she felt a kick in her stomach, the first of its kind. She pulled back but with her arms still around Mason, and looked down at her slightly swollen belly with surprise. The baby had never kicked before, and she was so close to Mason that he would have been able to feel it, too.​
 
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Simultaneously as Lainey, Mason moved a step back when feeling the kick against his body coming from her belly. He had been so involved in Lainey's kiss and warmth that he hadn't even remembered the small bump between them. He blinked once or twice, and smiled, almost laughing. The touch wasn't foreign to him, but it always made him feel the same. "I will not lie, that wigged me out for a bit." He brushed his fingers through his hair.

Reaching out, he felt her bump through the layers on her clothes where the baby resided. He pulled his hand back after feeling the movement again. Babies in the womb had always been weird to him, strange, they looked like aliens until they came out. Still, they were somehow the precious things.

His eyes wandered back to his new lover's face and he kissed her forehead tenderly. She was absolutely beautiful and he was absolutely happy. Anyone who thought otherwise was a complete idiot and if he ever talked to them he would tell them so.

"We should take things slow and steady."He told her rubbing her upper arms slightly, his thumbs rubbing circles into her shoulders."Your pregnant and we both just got out of bad relationship fairly recently."

Or maybe it only felt recent to him. Either way, he did not want to just jump into it all at once. They needed time, to enjoy everything at their own pace.
 
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Lainey nodded in agreement. She was so happy to be with Mason, as unexpected as it was. She was in a good place for the first time in forever. But she didn't want to rush things and especially not so soon after them both leaving incredibly toxic people behind them. She wouldn't be like Karoline, or Harrison.

Harrison. Lainey realised something and she dropped back to her feet, moving her arms so they were now laced around his waist and not his shoulders. She looked up at Mason with the smallest frown on her face.

"You ... you don't mind me being pregnant?" she asked even though she knew it was a dumb question. He wouldn't have written that song if he had minded. But, she needed to ask or it would nag her mind for the rest of time.

"I mean, I know I'm giving the baby up for adoption but I've never met a guy who's comfortable with their girlfriend being pregnant with someone else's kid." Girlfriend. She liked to be able to call herself his girlfriend. "I just ... I know you're not going to leave me over it but I want to know what you're thinking."

Since that was what relationships were about. Communication.​
 
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