Mason listened to his sister tell him about somebody named Josiah as she drove them home.

Apparently he was having dinner with them tonight so that they could meet. Mason didn't exactly care to meet anybody, but would do it if it made Grace happy.

"I swear he's the nicest person I've ever met." Grace babbled, "And I think he actually likes me. Not just for sex, but like, actually."

"Jaxon proposed to you. Is that not actually liking you?"

"Yeah but... I didn't like him back so it doesn't count."

Mason nodded and let her talk some more about Josiah until he was sure it was no point in meeting the guy because he knew everything there was to know about him.

His phone vibrated in his lap, Allison texting him to tell him she was looking forward to seeing him tonight.

Mason: Can't make it. Grace has something planned for us.

Allison: It can't wait?

Mason: Not for you.

That wasn't a rude response, just an honest one. There weren't a lot of people that Mason would put before Grace.

In fact, there wasn't anybody that he could think of.

"You should ask dad if you can work at the office too." Grace stated while changing the song, "It's really not that bad."

"Isiah can suck my dick."

At no point during the months that he was in rehab did Isiah make an attempt to come see him, or even call him. Mason didn't want to think about it, so he'd made up in his mind that he'd just cut ties with him.

Grace stayed quiet for the rest of the drive.

• • •

For some reason, Grace never seems to think anything through.

No one knew exactly why she'd bring Josiah over the same night Mason came home from rehab, but they all assumed it was because she was excited for them to meet.

Even Josiah had asked if that was a good idea, to which Grace assured him it was.

Of course it wasn't.

They all sat there at the table, looking at the food Celina had prepared for dinner. It was good as always, but everyone seemed nervous to eat.

Except for Isiah who was eating without a care in the world.

Samantha tried to start a conversation looking at Josiah, "You should've cooked dinner Josiah. I miss your food and you've only cooked for me once."

It was a joke so he laughed, but it sounded... weird.

"Did you go to school for it?" Isiah asked, not looking up from his plate.

Josiah was surprised he was talking to him, "I didn't finish."

"Because of your situation?"

He was trying to determine if the question was genuine or not, and decided to assume it was until he felt otherwise, "Yeah."

Isiah nodded, continuing to eat, "It wasn't a drug conviction though. It shouldn't have affected your financial aid."

"I had a scholarship before. I really wasn't tryna take out loans and not be able to pay it back."

The more they talked, the angrier Mason grew. He didn't know if Isiah was talking to Josiah to spite him, or if he was actually interested.

Either way, he was mad about it.

"I know of a few companies that give scholarships despite your record. I'll have Grace email you a list."

Josiah thought that Isiah meant exactly what he said, and would direct him to companies with whom he'd have a chance of getting a scholarship from.

Grace, as well as Mason, knew Isiah would be the one to give him the 'scholarship', which would really just be him paying his tuition. He'd done it before with Brielle, though she didn't continue going.

Neither Celina nor Brielle knew it was him.

In this case though, there was another reason he was offering to help.

Mason sighed, rubbing a hand across his head. Grace hadn't told him about any 'situation' pertaining to Josiah and he wanted to know.

He'd decided he would just wait until later to ask, when the doorbell rang.

"Are you expecting someone?" Samantha asked Isiah.

"Haiden stayed in the guest house last night." He answered with a shrug, "Maybe it's her."

They'd asked Celina to stay later, so she was the one who opened the door, not even pretending to be excited to see the girl on the door step.

She turned around and Haiden followed her to the kitchen where she smiled brightly at everyone, "Hi guys."

Josiah wasn't about to speak to her, so he kept eating, Mason only glanced at her in acknowledgment, and Grace asked, "Did you need something Haiden?"

"I thought I'd join you guys for dinner. Will you tell your housekeeper to make me a plate?"

Haiden knew Celina's name but she never called her by it, always referring to her as the housekeeper.

"Dinner is actually just for family tonight." Grace replied, wanting her to leave, "Try again tomorrow."

Mason smirked slightly at how his sister was talking to her. He didn't know what had happened, but he was here for it.

"Was there a marriage I missed?" Haiden asked sarcastically, "When did he become more family than I am?"

Josiah sighed in irritation. He couldn't understand why Grace even put up with this shit, "We can just go."

He said 'we' because he wanted Grace to know that he wanted her with him.

"Or." Samantha began, "Haiden can leave as Grace suggested."

"She always has the best ideas." Mason agreed after taking a drink from his glass.

For some reason, Haiden looked to Isiah to see if he would take up for her.

He sat there and ate his food.

It was amazing really, how Haiden was able to start crying at the drop of a dime.

That got Isiah's attention, as he again waited to see how Grace would respond to her manipulation tactics. He began chewing with a smile when she looked at Haiden with no sign of sympathy.

"It's just that." Haiden paused to sniff, "This family is all that I have. Grace I told you about my mom, you know how my dad is."

"What's wrong with your mom?" Mason asked curiously.

"She's sick."

Samantha looked towards Haiden as she again explained that her mother had HIV.

Mason's face changed more with every growing second and he abruptly stood from the table, "I'- I'm- I'll be back." He stuttered as he left in a hurry.

Isiah took note of this display, and since he was a man himself, he knew exactly what it meant.

• • •

Mason never returned that night, but Isiah stood on Allison's front porch, obnoxiously ringing the door bell.

"You touched my fucking son?!" He yelled in Allison's face as soon as she opened the door, "You'd stoop that low to get back at me?"

This was the first time she'd seen Isiah in person, in years. His scent invaded her nose, reminding her of the times she'd fallen asleep on his chest. The mornings when he woke her up with his face in between her legs.

"Allison!" His voice boomed, snapping her from her memories.

There was no point in lying about sleeping with Mason since Isiah clearly already knew, "Mason is a handsome man. It was never about you."

That was both the truth and a lie.

"You're sick." He accused quietly, "Disgusting."

"And what does that make you, Isiah?" She watched his face go blank, and smiled, "What do you think'll happen if I tell Samantha that you that you're fucking her daughter's best friend?"

"The same thing that happened when I fucked her best friend. Nothing."

Allison shook her head, "She's always been stupid."

"That doesn't matter. You better hope Mason doesn't have that shit, or you'll pay for it."

"Why would I ruin his life? You're doing a fine job of that yourself."

The ending of her sentence meant nothing to him. Isiah knew he wasn't the best father, but he cared for his children.

And that's all he was concerned with.

Allison closed the door, locking it before she made her way back into the kitchen where her guest was finishing off a glass of wine.

"I'm sorry about that." She said, wondering what she'd heard, "You know how men can be."

The woman nodded her head, "At least I know how Isiah can be."

Reaching for the bottle, Allison refilled both of their glasses, "Let's talk about how we can help each other Celina."

It had taken a lot of time for Celina to convince herself to come to Allison for help.

She was doing whatever she could to prevent the Simmons family from falling apart.

But events were already in motion.

And the surface was beginning to crack.

_______

love all the theories ab why lia doesn't want my sis with josiah. they're all wrong, but i still love them lol

thanks for reading 💕