Disabled.

Forty-Three

Previously

He stood up and picked up his jacket from where it was hung on his chair.

"I'll see you at school," he said before he began to walk away.

But before he could get far, he felt her holding him back. He turned slightly to look at her.

"Please let go," he said to her but she shook her head.

"I'm not letting you get away this time. Why are you so hung up on Nadia anyway? What's so special about her?! She just a handicap!" she yelled at him. He looked around to see that people had began to stare at them.

"Just let me go," he said, not wanting to answer her question.

"No! I'm not letting you go."

"Why are you suddenly acting like this?" he asked, his voice still calm.

"Because!"

She looked around and saw the people staring at them. But to his surprise that didn't stop her as she said to him,

"Because I like you, okay?"

And before he could say anything to her, she pulled him towards her and kissed him.

- - -

(unedited)

Forty-Three

The moment that Chris's lips touched Mason's, he felt his body freeze. To say that he was surprised in that moment would have been an understatement. But the moment that his mind registered that he was kissing Chris, he pushed her away. He looked at her for a few moments, wanting to say something but unsure of what to say. And so, without a word to her, he just left the restaurant.

As he walked towards the bus stop, he didn't look back for fear of Chris following him. Instead, he desperately wished that she had gotten the message from his reaction. 

Although he had initially thought of Chris as a tool to get Nadia back, he had began to think of her as a friend. And so this kiss felt like it had come out of nowhere, making it hard for him to decipher how he felt about it.

But one thing that he knew for sure was that the only person he was interested in was Nadia. And no matter what challenges came in the way of their relationship, his feelings for her would not change any time soon. 

Mason had been so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice where he had gotten off the bus until he stopped in front of a familiar house. As he looked at the door, a large part of him hoped that Nadia would open the door and look at him with the bright smile that he had grown to love. But to his disappointment, looking at the door did not grant his wish. 

He heaved a sigh as he turned around and instead, walked to a park that was close by. He walked over to a wooden bench and brushed some snow off before sitting down, the cool sensation of the bench hitting against his thigh through his jeans.

In his pocket, he felt his phone vibrate. But knowing that it was most likely Chris, he couldn't bring himself to take it out.

He looked up to the dark sky as a breeze blew past him, wondering why his life had to be so complicated. And just as he looked down, he made eye contact with the person he had wanted to see the most.

"Mason," Nadia said as she pushed herself towards him, "what are you doing here?" 

He opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. Instead, his vision blurred as tears formed.

"Is everything alrigh--"

And before she could finished her sentence, he pulled her chair towards him and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.