Everything & More (Book 1 in the E.C.N Series)

Chapter 27-Ryan

This is fucking amazing.... So fucking good

A moan slipped from my mouth as I swallowed. "Do I need to leave the room?"

I opened my eyes to Mason who stopped eating his sandwich and was now staring at me with wide eyes. "What? I haven't eaten all day."

"Yea, you sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you haven't been laid in God knows how long."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He chuckled, shaking his head going back to his sandwich. As I returned to mine, I heard him stop eating. I looked up to find him staring at me again. "What?"

"When are you going to tell me man?'

"Tell you what?"

"I don't know, maybe what you've been hiding." Not anytime soon

I shrugged and decided to act dumb, "I haven't been hiding anything."

"Yea okay." He went to scarf his food down as did I. Mason had come to visit me on my lunch break and brought food from one of our favorite sandwich places, SAL'S. Usually Mason would let me know when he was gonna stop by but today was different, something seemed off. Soon I made my way back to the garage area and started working on a truck that was hanging above. There were a few workers around but most of them were in the front dealing with possible customers. Back here it was mechanics only, others were either taking care of the new shipment of parts that came in or working on other cars. I was scanning the paperwork when Mason walked in from the office like he owned the place, casually sitting in one of the chairs on the side. "What are you doing?"

"What? I can't watch my man work?" he winked.

"No you can't... and aren't you a doctor. Go save a life or something." I rolled my eyes and turned away.

As I continued to go over the maintenance that needed to be done, I heard him. "I lost a patient the other day."

I stopped what I was doing and turned around. Mason wasn't looking at me, he was looking in the distance, probably remembering the incident. I knew this was part of his job, I knew he struggled when it came to not being able to save everyone. Especially when it was a child that was supposed to have so much time ahead of them. "Oh man I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. Just been trying to get out of my head."

"I just remember the last time when it started getting to you and you were on the other side of the country." It wasn't pretty, with him being so far away I wasn't able to be there for him like he needed. Though that's not my story to tell.

"Yea it was rough. I didn't exactly have the support system that I needed." He gave a small fake smile.

I cleared my throat as I moved around grabbing specific tools that I needed, "Have you spoken to anyone at the hospital about this?"

"Martha, but I don't want to bother her with all the crap she's already going through."

"You and Martha talk... often?" I knew they worked at the hospital together and that they might run into each other occasionally. Hell, I even suggested that Martha go to him about being divorced but yet something about them just hanging out bothered me.

"Yea we usually grab coffee on our breaks from time to time or lunch. Ever since she asked for my advice we've been hanging out more." He explained casually.

Pressing my lips together, I nodded, "Cool." I lowered the car down before I laid on the car creeper and slid under.

Footsteps were coming closer to me. When I looked at my feet Mason bent down and looked under, "Relax, I don't see her that way, you have nothing to worry about."

"Why would I have anything to worry about?" I shrugged.

"Oh come on, I have seen the way you look at this woman. I've seen it since we were kids. I don't know how long you're going to deny it."

There's no fucking way I'm talking about this right now.

This wasn't the first time Mason bothered me about Martha. Every few years he'd annoy me about it. Like always I had the same response. I pushed so that I would slide from underneath the car. Once I was upright I saw the pain in my existence, "Mason, look I don't know what to tell you but it's not like that, okay? And since you're so interested in my crap, what about you?"

He glanced down quickly at himself as if there was nothing wrong and shrugged, "What about me?"

"When are you going to put this divorce behind you and move on?"

He stood up from the chair, "First of all, I have moved on, okay? I have slept with plenty of other women. Am I looking to settle down? No, but I have moved on. Which is more than I can say for you? You're like a lost little puppy dog when it comes to her, always have been."

Now I'm getting annoyed, "What the fuck did I say? It's not like that." I tossed the tools I had in my hand down in the box on the side and moved around him to the other side of the car.

"And how long are you going to keep lying? How long are you gonna keep denying it everytime I ask? Like what's the damn problem with you admitting that you like —"

"Mason." I quickly cut him off, not wanting to hear it.

He threw his hands up, "Seriously, it's getting fucking pathetic. You would think that you would have grown a pair by now, but instead you're still sitting idly by and not saying shit."

"Mason." I warned again.

"Come on, I bet if Garrett was here he would agree because he knows what you're hiding and I know it has something to do with her. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is watching you play this dancing game because you're too fucking afraid to say something."

"Mason I'm fucking serious!"

"What?! Are you mad? Are you mad that I'm telling you the truth or are you mad at yourself for being the architect of your own misery." I was fuming, I was two seconds away from punching something. "So just tell me why, why have been sitting on your ass, why haven't you admitted it, why are you letting everything you want slip out of your fucking fingers."

"Because she's still married to him!" I looked around at the unwanted attention I gained. After seeing my glare they all went back to their jobs. Mason seemed completely unfazed and waited for me to continue, I sighed as I leaned against the car with my hands, "Who the fuck would I be if I was the reason why it all actually ended? I don't want to be that guy."

"So you rather suffer in silence."

"Mason, that's all I can do." There was a pause before I spoke again, "Now I'm telling you to let it the fuck go."

He looked at me and nodded, "For now."