The Separation Situation: Sequel to The Renovation Complication

12. The Call

                  

Mason

"Did I say you could stop?" The coach blows hard on his whistle as the rain pelts down. Forget football practice; I feel like I'm on the swim team.

Not even the good kind of wet, dammit.

I pull my helmet down, trying to catch my breath as much as possible whilst sprinting down a slippery field. Not happening. Training has become a thousand times more intense since I graduated and I'm not exactly sure why. It's not like I want to pursue a career in football. I don't think they really expect me to either, just put me into cardiac arrest because that's what it says on my scholarship.

For: football. So I play football.

For me it's mostly just sprint training, being the quarterback, but that doesn't mean my new coach doesn't like to bust out the weights thrice a week. Asshole. I think he enjoys other people's pain.

"I'm going to get pneumonia." Alex gasps beside me, in our approximate four second rest before the whistle gets blown again. I don't even know why he comes to practice. It's hell. And he's a volunteer on the team. I guess the coach thinks he's good enough to drag out of bed at four in the morning and waste his afternoons six days a week.

Get out while you still can, Aspen.

"Come on, girls!" The man snaps for the millionth time tonight. I mean, really; what does he expect from us? We've been slaving away for the past two hours and I think I speak for everyone when I say we're exhausted. And sick of that whistle.

"What did you do?" Alex raises his eyebrows at me, shaking some remaining water from his hair. In all honesty I find it a little weird to look at the guy directly in the eyes, they're too much like Tori's. Honey brown, golden.

"Well, I found out that I did nothing." I shake my head in frustration, before adding, "Well, aside from being a douche bag in a pretty drunk state, but nothing real. She's just still ignoring me."

"You want me to call her?" He smirks in challenge and I punch him in the shoulder. With a little more force than just a friendly hit. Funnily enough, Alex is probably the most bearable person around nowadays. I can only take Max in small portions, and turns out Alex and I have quite a bit in common (as Tori keeps telling me). He's got a temper, too.

"No. Definitely not." I can't even imagine Tori's exasperation if I got her brother to tell her to stop sulking. She'd never forgive me. Probably catch a plane down here just to slap me.

At least she'd be here.

It has been three days of radio silence from her end. I think she just ended up turning off her phone, so I stopped texting. I still call twice a day, though, just to make sure she hasn't thought the coast was clear. She'd probably hang up on me anyway.

Fighting with your girlfriend sucks. This sucks. My classes suck. Atlanta sucks. Everything sucks.

"See you Monday morning, o'four hundred hours!" Coach bellows before turning and exiting the locker room.

My coach sucks.

"Dude, your phone is ringing." Alex comments, nodding his head over to my gym bag. I jump on it.

You see, for the past three days I have been awaiting Vic's call of apology or greeting or even argument. I don't even really care at this point. I just want to hear her voice. She wants me to apologise? Fine. She wants me to beg on my knees? Done. I'm honestly not all that sure if I have anything to apologise for. Once I explain to her the mix up, it should be fine, right?

I pray with every cell of my being as I search for the slim cell, and when I find it, I practically cheer.

Victoria Aspen.

"Tori," I rush as soon as the speaker is near my ear. "You called."

From the background Alex calls, "Catch you later, man. Good luck." I think I hear him laugh, but I'm busy trying to focus on my girlfriend that has put me on hold for three days.

"Hey," She breathes quietly and I almost sigh in relief. My eyes shut at her voice. "How are you?"

I laugh humourlessly, "Are you kidding?"

"I am the prankster," Her attempt at joking is forced and I almost cringe. Is she going to ask me what she wants to? "Mason, what happened?"

I haul up my bag and head for the oval outside, where it's probably stopped raining. "I'm so confused, Tori, I didn't mean –"

"Please don't say that." She says quickly, clearly terrified. Shit. Double shit, that probably sounds really bad.

"No, nothing happened." I rush the words, because she needs to hear them and I need her to hear them. "I don't know what you think happened, but it didn't. I promise."

"Who's Alice?" She mutters, and I want to punch myself in the face for being such an idiot. If I had never agreed to go to that stupid party, this wouldn't have happened. I'm a moron. Tori wouldn't ever do anything like that.

"She's no one. I swear to you." I say truthfully, trying to make my words as sincere as possible. The last thing either of us needs is to think there is some other girl when there isn't. There is no one but Tori. Ever.

"Are you lying to me, Macey Mouse?" She whispers, sounding a little broken. The kind of broken that splinters off through the line and spears me in the chest. Macey Mouse. When she says that, she's either very happy or very sad.

What the hell have I done?

"Never, V. You know nothing happened. Now I'm just telling you."

The grass is glowing under the bright LED spotlights of the field. I sit down on one of the damp benches surrounding the oval. I really need a shower, but I need to talk to Tori more. Far more. I won't shower until midnight if I get to talk to her until then.

"I miss you." Tori's voice croaks through the phone and I'm hoping that she's not crying. She's gotten too good at hiding it from me. That's the last thing I want. I want her to never be hurting again, not be afraid to be upset around me.

"I miss you so much." And with the words, something squeezes in my chest.

"I'm sorry, Mason."

"Ditto, babe." And I grin even though she can't see it. She'll laugh at that, easy.

She scoffs, "You know I hate that."

I do. "Ah, but I've got to remind you why you hate it sometimes though, right?"

"God, you're the worst." She teases and relief washes through me. Everything is going to be okay.

"So," I drawl, "What have you been up to?"

There's a pause and a chuckle and I'm a little fearful when she says, "Well..."

And that's how the night begins. Or ends. I don't really mind.

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Hey y'all, sorry it's been so long since I updated, I have been uper busy and just aaahhhh. I'm pretty stumped for inspiration right now... Suggestions? Mason isn't having all that much fun and it's kind of killing me. He needs to have some fun. Maybe...