Somebody I Used to Know

09 | playground roof

Last time I agreed to meet this boy at the park, he was late. But, he had reason to be, and this time he didn't. So I was fully expecting him to be on time. But was he? 

Nope.

So, when I saw his car pull up 15 minutes after our set time, I was a little disappointed. 

"What's your reason this time, Mr. Carter?" I teased as he jogged up to me, a cup in each hand.

"Well, what's it look like?" He replied, handing me one of them.  I took it and examined the label on the side.

 I tilted my head, "You got me a coffee without even knowing if I liked it or not?" 

"You're not even gonna thank me, huh? Wow," He joked, taking a sip from the cup. 

"Thanks. I appreciate it," 

"Yes ma'am," Mason said, walking towards the sidewalk that ran beside the river. I followed him and waited for him to say something.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked, breaking the silence.

He took another sip, "Maddie's pretty ticked,"

"Im sorry," I apologized, walking beside him. The sun was about to set, but not quite, which caused the sky to be a funky orange color.

"It's fine. I just couldn't do it anymore, you know? I feel bad about it," He admitted, taking a left onto the bridge.

"You don't have to feel bad about it, Mason. You did what you felt was right, and that's what matters," 

He paused, resting his arms on part of the bridge and overlooking the river. Everything reflected off of it so beautifully, the water laying calm.

He then turned and made eye contact with me. In this moment, his eyes felt so deep and full, almost as if their depth could fill me in on all of his darkest secrets. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but instead shook his head and broke eye contact. 

Adjusting his stare back out over the river, he sighed. 

"Half of me feels bad, the other half feels relieved I don't have to deal with that toxic mess anymore,"  

Toxic mess? It was that bad? 

I can't say I'm completely surprised, I mean, look at her. 

"And that's okay," I nudged him, "girls can be kinda crazy sometimes,"

"Crazy's her middle name," He mumbled at first, then spoke up, "I'm sorry for mentioning your mom the other day, I didn't know," 

I was stood beside him, same pose, looking into the distance.

"Like I said, it's fine. It's just not something I share a lot,"

He looked at me, a small breeze messing up his hair. In an attempt to rake his fingers through it and fix it, he messed it up even more. 

"If you don't mind me asking, how'd she pass?"

I'd never had anyone ask before. When people find out she died, they don't take it any further.

"Uh, uhm, a drunk driver hit her one night after her and my dad got into an argument," I choked on my words, having not said them in a long time.

"Im sorry, Jess," He apologized, his eyes focused on the cup in his hands, "I can't imagine what that's like, losing a parent,"

"Don't try to imagine it. Just cherish every day you have with them. There might not always be a tomorrow, and I learned that the hard way," 

Mason nodded and swallowed so hard I could hear it. I wondered what he was thinking about.