Masks by Evangeline Anderson Read Free Book Online

it,” Mark said at last. He reached up and slipped off the black leather mask, his gaze never leaving her face. “Well? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    Chloe bit back a little gasp as she realized for the first time why the mask had covered so much of his face, leaving only his nose and mouth free. The entire left side of his face was a twisted mass of red and white scar tissue, from his high forehead to the bottom of his square jaw.
    “Well?” he asked as she studied his face. The right side was completely normal—handsome, even. But the scars on the left were dramatic and hard not to look at. They looked old, as though they had happened a long time ago in a very painful accident.
    “I knew this was a bad idea.” Mark frowned and turned away from her when she didn’t answer him. “It’s always the same,” he muttered. “Don’t know why I thought you’d be any different.” He sat up abruptly and threw back the covers, obviously ready to go.
    “No—no, wait!” Chloe put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back around to face her. “Please,” she said softly. “You just…surprised me, that’s all.”
    “Yeah, it’s surprising all right, isn’t it?” He laughed bitterly. “Look, maybe I should just go.”
    “Please don’t.” Chloe moved closer to him, not wanting to lose him, especially over something as petty as this. “Stay,” she said softly. “I know we don’t have much in common, what with me being a morning person and all, but I want to get to know you a little better.”
    “Well, technically, we already ‘know’ each other in the biblical sense.” He laughed at her gently when she blushed. “C’mon now, that’s not exactly a bad thing, you know.”
    Chloe smiled at him, glad that her small joke had lightened the mood. “Come back to bed and let’s talk,” she urged.
    “You sure you want to?” There was hope in his deep blue eyes that almost broke her heart.
    “Of course I’m sure.” She scooted closer to where he was sitting on the side of the bed. “How did it happen?” she asked, sensing that they needed to get his history out of the way before they could go into anything else.
    Mark sighed heavily. “Fire when I was a kid. I was the only one home and it was some kind of electrical thing that started it—they’re still not sure what exactly. Anyway, I was trapped under a burning beam for a while—thought I was going to die. My clothes mostly protected my body, but my face…” He shook his head. “A fireman got me out just before the whole place collapsed.” He frowned. “I was grateful that he saved my life but at the same time, sometimes I wished he hadn’t.”
    “Why?” Chloe frowned. “How can you say something like that?”
    Mark gave her a crooked smile. “You sound like my mom now. I wished he hadn’t because of this, of course.” He gestured to the left side of his face. “I was just getting into high school and you know how kids can be.”
    “I know,” Chloe said. “I know I don’t have anything like…what you have, but high school wasn’t the best time for me either. See, I have this sister who’s always been the most popular and the best at everything. It was hard being in her shadow all the time. I guess I felt…invisible, most of the time.” She bit her lip after she said it, realizing that she had never admitted that before, not even to herself.
    “Yeah.” Mark sighed again. “I guess high school’s hard on everyone, huh? Anyway, they tried skin grafts and everything.” He gestured to his face again. “But nothing worked. Apparently I’m a ‘poor candidate for facial surgery’. So the surgeons told me I’d just have to live with it. So I do,” he said simply.
    “It’s not as bad as you think,” Chloe said. “I mean, it doesn’t bother me.”
    “No?” He turned to face her fully, showing both sides of his face, both ruined and handsome at the same time. Blue eyes searched hers, looking for the