Picking up the clothes off the bathroom floor, and sticking them into a bag, I slipped into a bathrobe, readying myself for what was expecting me beyond the bathroom door.
Heaving out a heartfelt sigh, I opened the door, only to find him sitting on the bed with his head resting in the palm of his hand, and eyes on the door.
My gaze met his, and I froze. The silence was suffocating me, my heart drummed in my chest, and in my head, a million questions popped one after another at dizzying speed.
My heart squeezed when he dropped his head down and heaved a heavy sigh," I don't want to fight you, Lily," He quietly said, and slowly raised his head to look at me. I swallowed the knot in my throat and closed my eyes. I didn't want to fight either.
" Well, you fooled me" I whispered, and opened my eyes, to find him staring at me.
" Come, have some breakfast," He said as he stood, up and waved me at the small desk in the corner, where a tray with fresh toast and coffee waited for me.
" What time is it?" I asked over my shoulder before I took a seat, and felt his hand on the small of my back.
" It's almost half past eleven," He said as he made his way to the dressing table, to bring the chair over.
" Aren't you supposed to be in some fancy restaurant waiting for Miss Morston?" I sarcastically asked as I took a bite of my plain toast. Someone had done their homework. My stomach was in knots, churning, and I wouldn't have been able to stomach proper food.
Mason closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh " I have to, please. Just let it go," He breathed the words and I couldn't quite understand why he had to.
" Why? " I bearly squeezed out those three letters, at the mere thought of Ava throwing herself at him, and touching him made my blood boil. Her, in his vicinity, made me break out in hives.
" I need to settle some things. Something is off. Ava has always pursued me, as a love interest but never as persistently as she is now. I need to know why," He paused, stood up, and made his way towards the french doors. His pensive expression worried me. Mason being worried about something, frightened me to my core. He was always calm and collected. Not very much fazed him.
" I don't understand," I whispered, " What are you afraid of?" I asked the question that seemed more pertinent. If he was letting himself be manipulated by Ava, then what did she know that I didn't?
" Nothing much, I just need to find out what she knows or at least get an idea of what she has in mind. She is too bold, brazen. As if, it is a given. Enid has informed me of her most recent visit, and what was spoken during her visit. That worries me, Lily since I have no interest in the girl, and I have made it pretty clear to her and to you," That put a smile on my face. Then, why did he say those things to me the day before? I was confused again when that thought popped into my head.
" Mason," I cleared my throat, " About yesterday and what you said," I took a deep breath when he didn't look at me. I wasn't sure if he was listening.
" I'm listening Lily," He said without taking his eyes off the glass. Was he looking at his reflection? I briefly wondered.
" What was that about?" That question made him smile for some odd reason.
" Just something that had been on my mind for some time," He heaved a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. I wondered if he knew, that I was in love with him. Otherwise, I couldn't explain his reaction.
" What now?" He wanted to have a civilised conversation. I wanted answers, so tit for tat.
" I don't know. I need time to think, Lily. What you are asking, is something that I'm not sure I can give you. This, " He shook his head in disapproval " It's bad," Well, that was old news. What else was new? It took him two months to realise it was bad.
" We need to stop," He calmly gave his decision, and finally turned to look at me. It was difficult to hear, but then again I couldn't fault him, since he was right. It went down like a led balloon.
" Alright," I hesitantly agreed and subsequently deflated. To my dismay, our affair had come to an end.
We both fell silent and locked eyes. I didn't want it to be over, and judging by the deep crinkles on his forehead and the longing in his eyes, nor did he.
" I should go," He broke the silence, as he peeled himself off the door.
" I will see you later," He said as he made his way to the door and with each step he took, I felt my soul tear into a million pieces and a part of me died in that very same moment. I wanted to tell him to stay, but to what end?
The warm teardrop falling on my hand made me tear my eyes off the closing door. My heart sank when the door clicked, and that sound alone was my undoing. There was no stopping what was coming next, and the dam broke.
I found solace in the memories of those brief stolen moments that we shared. I was frozen inside, my heart was numb, I felt lost.
The beautifully blue-coloured wings of a monarch butterfly resting on the table, put a smile on my lips, even though it was a pained one.
" Hello, little fella," I greeted him and reached to touch him, but broke into shimmering dust right before my eyes the moment my finger touched its wing. I blinked a few times, convinced that my eyes were deceiving me. Mason said that the drink I had had been spiked. I brushed it off as a side effect of the drugs, that maybe still lingered in my body. Over the years, I had taken every medication under the sun, trying to cure my affliction, which still remained a mystery. The list was getting longer each day.
I didn't ponder any longer and pushed myself to stand up, only to go back to bed and wallow in misery.