With a huff, Kim threw the large bag of clothes into the donation bin and waited until she heard the thud. Wiping her hands off on her jeans she walked back to her car where she settled herself behind the wheel. She hadn’t gone to see Mason just yet since that day she met him. She knew she had to go see him of course in order to get the answers she wanted but he had made her so mad that day she wasn’t sure she could hold back from slapping him across the face if he spoke to her like that again. He was such a frustrating man.

Driving away from the donation center she wondered why she had let him affect her so much. Ever since he told her she dressed like an actress for whatever it was, she had changed her whole style. She was use to dressing in tailored clothes that looked fit for a well dressed business woman. She’d been raised to look good at all times because first impression was everything. If you didn’t give off a first impression, it would be rather hard to create one afterwards.

It seemed as though that did really matter, but this time around it was due to looking like some rich girl. It was true that was the sort of family her adoptive family was but what did that have to do with her? It wasn’t like she’d been raised to be a snob or look down on people with less than her. Though she figured if that guy had grown up on the poor side he must have a thing against those with more money. She supposed she could understand that.

Biting the corner of her bottom lip she wondered if it was the right time now to go see Mason. She was dressed more appropriately or at least she hoped so. Maybe this time he wouldn’t be so damn hostile toward her. She really wished that whatever it was he had a problem with about her, he would get over it rather quickly. He was the only person she could find that was remotely of any use to her regarding her mother.

Before she even knew it she was in front of that little auto body shop. Her eyes widened slightly because she was surprised she was able to function like that when she had one of those moments when you completely forget you even did something when it was clear you had. “Maybe if I just drive away really fast no one will know.” She muttered to herself as she put her car in reverse ready to back out.

Just as she was ready to though the door to the office opened making her press the break harder than she should making the car jerk. She hadn’t realized she’d been rolling slowly backwards. A tap on her window made her jump and whip her head toward the door to see a man standing there smiling at her as if he were amused.

Smiling back at him rather embarrassed with herself she put her car in park and shut it off. It was obvious this guy must know Mason and would tell him some weird woman had just been there. She may as well get things over with at this point since she was already there.

Getting out of the car she raised her hand slightly in greeting. That’s when she noticed the police badge hanging around his neck. Was this Mason guy actually some criminal or something? “You alright there? You seem a little…” he was cut off by another voice, “Abnormal? Don’t worry, that’s her personality apparently.”

Looking toward the office door Mason stood there leaning against the frame. “Maybe you should take her in for a drug screening, she’s probably on something.” Kim hoped the glare she was giving him would burn a hole through his forehead straight to his brain. A hand waving in front of her vision made her look at the officer who seemed more amused than earlier.

“Careful there, I might have to take you in for murdering stupid over there with that look.” He seemed rather nice and even made her laugh just a little. “Not like he wouldn’t deserve it though. Biggest jerk I know. Ah, anyways I’m Detective Adrian Lee.” She shook his outstretched hand that was just the right size to seem to engulf hers yet fit nicely.

“I’m Kimberly Kings, but call me Kim. So is Mason under arrest or am I allowed to question him now?” she smiled just before she heard a scoff come from the person she was referring to. Adrian looked toward him for a moment and then nodded, “Go ahead. If he gives you any trouble don’t hesitate to call me. In fact if you need anything… don’t hesitate to call me.” He pulled out his card with a sly smirk that let her know she was being hit on.

Taking the card from him she nodded slowly, “Alright I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Thanks.” Sliding the card into her back pocket she waved her goodbye as she watched him walk over to his now obviously out of place sleek black car. So it seemed he was the plain clothes detective that had connections like Mason around the city. What sort of connection was he exactly?

“Stop staring at his and get in here if you want me to tell you anything.” The words coming from that man made her want to yell something insulting back at him. Instead she slowly turned to face him with a sarcastic grin, “Oh I’m sorry. Were you jealous that his looks better than yours?” Mason rolled his eyes as he turned around heading into the office leaving the door open.

Raising her fist to shoulder height she acted as if she was going to punch his retreating back only to let her fist fall to her side. Following after him she closed the door behind her and walked passed a blonde woman that glared at her the entire time. She half wondered who that was but didn’t feel like questioning it because she wasn’t important to her.

Walking into the smaller room that was considered his personal office, she took a seat in a chair set in front of the desk. He was busy letting his feet rest on top of the desk while he played with a rubber band ball. Today his hair wasn’t pulled back in that odd ponytail but instead in a bit of a disarray.

She studied his face as he watched the rubber band ball intently as it flew up in the air from his hand. His skin looked nearly perfect and seemed as if it may feel like silk to the touch. His nose sat very straight on his face and complimented his lips that seemed a bit larger than most. He actually looked as if he had just became an adult not too long ago. He was indeed quite handsome.

“Why are you staring at me?” He sighed letting the rubber band ball drop on the desk. Blinking several times to clear her mind, Kim looked away from him. “Am I as good looking as Adrian? Is that why you can’t keep your eyes off me?” She pursed her lips while folding her arms under her chest. “No one said you were good looking.” She caught his smirk from the corner of her eye.

“So what do you want to know?” He was no longer looking at her but at his feet that still rested on his desk. Where to start first with all those questions? Shuffling through her cluttered mind she came to one that seemed like it would be good enough to start with. “How long did you know my mother?” Quickly she averted her gaze onto his face to catch any emotion that may flicker across it.

Instead not one twitch even lit up his face and his eyes didn’t even move from the place they stared at. He had the absolute perfect poker face which she was jealous of. If she could do that with herself she would surely stay out of plenty of trouble that she knew she was digging herself into at the moment. Letting his feet drop from the desk he finally looked up at her in a way that made her gaze fall to a spot on the wall off to the side.

“I knew her since I was six. She helped my father remove me from North Korea after he was taken to prison for something someone else did. She got me here so that I could live with a relative that had escaped long before that. Since then she kept an eye on me as I grew up. She pretty much taught me everything that I know and got me my citizenship here.”

Kim couldn’t help staring at him now with that story he just told. It seemed hard to believe but the way he spoke made it impossible not to believe. She felt like she wanted to hate him for what he said though. After all, her mother had given her up but gladly helped another child get into the country and then stayed by his side as he grew up into a man? Why couldn’t she have done that for her? She just couldn’t understand it.

“Was she the one that told you about me?” She wondered if she was ever brought up in a conversation to anyone. Did her mother think about her at all? He shook his head, “No. When ever you were mentioned she would disappear for several days and return as if nothing happened. I heard about you from someone else but we did our best not to allow her to hear talk about the child she had to give up. You may not believe it but she did actually care about you a lot. It broke her heart every day that she didn’t get to spend with you. So never for one second do I ever want to hear you bad mouthing her for having to do the right thing for you.”

She felt like telling him to shut his mouth and not order her around but instead she gritted her teeth. At least she knew now that Sophia did care enough about her. Calming herself from his words she went on to her next question. “Were you there the day she passed away?” She wanted to know first hand what had happened on that fateful day that seemed to end so much yet open so many doors.

Mason’s entire attitude seemed to change at the mention of her mothers death. He seemed almost uncomfortable to be sitting there. “I was.” He spoke no more and it frustrated her. He gladly gave details she didn’t ask for but he couldn’t speak when a question like that was asked? Rolling her eyes as she moved forward in her chair, “Well? Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“No.” His voice was very firm with plenty of authority. She felt the frustration from him building up within her. He was definitely someone she was going to have a hard time getting along with if she had to continue to deal with him. “Why? I want to know what happened exactly. Those newspapers and crap don’t tell me anything other than that it was some horrible accident because you were all acting like idiots by racing your cars and-”

She gasped when he suddenly jumped out of his chair slamming his fists onto his desk. His face was twisted into rage she’d never seen on anyone before. “Don’t you ever say that! I told you to never bad mouth your mother and you say we were acting like idiots?! That was her life and she died because of it. She died because the real idiot, the one who wanted you dead but couldn’t find you took her life. Do you realize what she did to save your pathetic existence?!”

That was it, Kim could no longer take it. She stood up from her chair and glared right back at him. “Pathetic?! I just met you last week and you’re calling me pathetic? I came here to find out about the woman who gave birth to me and the reason for her giving me up to another family. You obviously don’t know what it’s like to have no one in the world that even remotely looks like you, that understands anything about you, that can even be on the same page as you. Yet you call me pathetic?”

Running a hand through her hair she scoffed at the whole matter. Here she was trying to find out information from this idiot and he was yelling at her for something she had no control over. It wasn’t her fault that they chose to race in those cars. She understood that obviously her mother liked it from the way he spoke, but what did that have to do with her?

“Leave.” His voice was low but it had an edge to it his words before didn’t even hold. “Excuse me?” She had obviously heard what he said but she didn’t understand why he was asking her to leave. “I said, leave. I’m not going to sit here speaking to you when you have absolutely no idea about anything. When you have some common sense you can come back, but not until then. Leave.”

Kim wanted to reach out and hit him but she didn’t. Straightening out her cotton shirt she turned away from him as she muttered under her breath. Obviously everything involving Mason was not going to work out whatsoever. She had no idea what it was he had against her but he was going to find any reason to yell at her and make her feel as small as an ant.

Leaving the building she stopped at her car door to imagine it burning down from laser beams that shot out of her eyes. Sadly this was not an X-man comic book or movie. Getting in her car she quickly turned it on and drove away from that building as fast the speed limit would allow. Why did he have to be such a jerk?

As she drove she felt something poking her  from her pocket. Reaching into her pocket with one hand still on the wheel she produced the card that the detective had given her. He obviously knew Mason, so maybe he would also know something about what happened to her mother. Maybe he was the person she needed to get her answers from. Whatever she did there was no way she’d return to Mason to speak to him again. Though that definitely hindered her personal investigation. Either way it didn’t matter, she had to figure out other ways to solve this mystery.