display, they had never witnessed this before and seemed confused, I was usually more reserved in showing my feelings, especially about somebody who had shown me no emotion except contempt, anger and hatred. So when I looked up again, the only person I saw was Mason who had reached out to me and started to pull me into his arms, I felt an amazing amount of gratitude at that point and something else stirring inside which I had never felt before, and couldn’t understand now. When I felt calm enough to look up we were alone, Mason looked murderous when he suddenly asked
‘What did he do to you Summer?’ I had never gone into details about my past with anybody not even my closest friends had all the facts but for some reason as soon as he asked me I felt the need to spill everything that had happened to, from my first smack, to the last time my so called husband had raped me and all the shitty details in between, by the time I finished talking, it was nearly midnight and I felt as light as air although Mason hadn’t said a word throughout my ramblings. When he did speak it was the most comforting feeling I had ever experienced.
‘He can never hurt you again, nobody will ever hurt you again, I’m so sorry you had to live through that shit, but you’ve come out the other end and I’ll make sure you keep moving forward. Whatever it takes’
A strange feeling came over while I listened to him comfort me, it was an urge to lean into him and take all the warmth he offered. He just kept surprising me, I was finding it difficult to pull away from the embrace we were in so Mason took the first step, he looked down into my eyes and the emotions I saw there were so different to what I was used to seeing. I couldn ’t distinguish them, but the warmth in his eyes was shining bright.
‘I haven’t talked about any of this stuff with anybody. Lys and John have some details but I have tried to keep most of it to myself, I’m sorry to have unloaded everything onto you, I mean you don’t even know me.’
He smiled and just pulled me in closer, then said
‘I’m glad you told me, it answers so many questions I have in my head, but most of all it shows me what an amazing woman you are, to have been subjected to that and maintained your sanity is proof enough’
‘I have Lily to thank for my sanity, without her I don’t think I would have carried on. She gave me everything I needed to keep trying’ Mason looked at me then smiled.
‘She is a little angel, I guess she takes after her Mom’ his eyebrow lifted and I couldn’t help but smile. When I eventually pulled away, Mason decided that he should leave before it got any later, I saw him to the door, and he left after kissing my cheek. It was a strange feeling but not unwelcome, I actually smiled as I watched him walk away, but held my cheek savouring the feeling he left behind.
The next day I slept in while Lys and John helped Lily get ready for the day, John then came into the bedroom and sat on the end of the bed looking at me.
‘What’ I asked
‘It’s nothing I just wanted to ask you about Mason’ Ok, I thought ‘You know….he looks at you like something he needs to protect and treasure’
‘Shut up, he just feels obliged to help out of some misguided notion that I saved him, that’s all. There is nothing more to it’ I was trying really hard not to let him see how this conversation was effecting me but I wasn’t sure why. Dam my emotions were all over the place.
‘Yea, yea that’s just what you think, you’re not used to a guy feeling anything toward you and you don’t recognise it when a guy shows any interest in you. Trust me sweetie he wants you’ I was stunned
‘Don’t be stupid, he just met me and I unloaded a shit storm on him last night which would make a monk run for the hills, there is no interest there, he was just being nice.’ That’s it right, he was just
Bill Pronzini, Barry N. Malzberg