Pause (Published)

Chapter 23: You'd Be Surprised

Chapter 23: You'd Be Surprised

"Why are you being so quiet?" Mason asks me as he hands me a cup of hot chocolate that I had not so politely requested.

"I'm just..." I trail off weakly, unsure.

"You can tell me," Mason assures me with gentleness, "I've changed."

It's only been a few days...

"I just feel lost at times," I confess the truth aloud to someone for the first time ever. I never thought it would be to my arch-nemesis of all people. Nonetheless, life is too short to hold grudges.

Mason nods understandingly. "Been there."

His sentence hangs in the air, creating a thick atmosphere between us. There's a moment of silence as I contemplate his words. I impulsively rupture the moment, "Mason? When you told me it's always been me, what exactly did you mean by that?" I ask bluntly.

He remains silent and I somehow feel like I've just trodden onto desolate grounds. 

"We were six and you were sitting in the sandbox. You were trying to create a 'sandman' along with sand angels," he eventually summons the courage to speak.

I smile, vaguely remembering it.

"You were wearing a green dress and you had your hair up. I was only six but I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I couldn't find any solid reason to start talking to you so I approached you in an unorthodox manner. I broke your sandman and wiped out your sand angels like the immature kid I was and still am. You were furious and when you looked up at me for the first time with those big hazel eyes, I knew that I was a goner. It was the first day I met you."

My head snaps up in a rush at hearing Mason's confession. My eyes meet his chocolate brown ones, his gaze filled with sincerity. I open my mouth to speak only to come up short. It takes me a couple of seconds to readjust and find words. "Mason..." I make an attempt to speak, "I-I didn't realize...I...." I falter, unable to come up with a coherent sentence.

"I treated you like garbage and bullied you relentlessly for your entire childhood. It's my fault," he admits softly, finally telling me how he feels. "Over the years I thought I'd get over you, but the more I was around you, the harder I fell. When we were thirteen I came up with a solution to be closer to you-"

I cut him off as it dawns on me. "Bells," I finish for him. "You hurt her, Mason, you really hurt her. You led her on for years," I mumble, annoyed.

"I know. I was stupid but I'm trying to change now. Besides, I didn't lead Bells on for five years. Somewhere along the line, I grew to like her. She made me forget about you for a long time and I was happy, but then Jay came into the picture and when you started gushing about him it just reopened everything I tried to bury. That's when I realized I had to break it off with Bells," Mason carefully elaborates.

"Mase, you should have told me," I tell him sternly.

He shrugs. "I was a coward. Last year at junior prom, I almost manned up and told you. I was with Bells when you made your entrance alone, dateless-"

I narrow my eyes at him. "Yeah, I know. You made fun of me for a week straight for going by myself when I was only trying to insert female independence."

He merely continues, "Anyway, you stood out, at least to me you did. You took my breath away and for a moment I swear my heart stopped beating." 

Cheesy!

He flashes me a cheeky smile, distracting me. "Why do you think I wanted to dance with you that night? I was going to tell you everything, but then..." he swallows and averts his gaze.