Forever Tied to you

13

Sophie

I had spent all afternoon with Julie and honestly I was having a lot of fun. Somehow she managed to make planning a forced marriage enjoyable and so far we had already decided on the venue, flowers, and she had already organized a caterer.

She didn't push when I opted to only invite my parents, instead choosing to tell me all about Masons cousins, whom she said would make great friends if I decided I wanted some.

"So tomorrow we are going dress shopping. It doesn't have to be fancy, but I think you'll have fun." She smiled and I grinned back, knowing that internally
I was not even close to being able to enjoy trying on dresses.

Mason was doing strange things to me, things I couldn't explain or make sense of, and this forced marriage was just the tip of the ice burg.

I didn't want to say anything while mason was here, but I had overheard the last part of their conversation, the one about his Ex, and it had left me majorly confused about what had happened in his past that would make him act the way he does.

"Julie? Can I ask you something kind of personal? I just don't want to ask Mason incase it's a trigger point?"

"Sure Sophie, what is it?"

"Who is Sierra? And what happened with her and Mason? I heard you both talking as I was coming downstairs." I stated to clarify I wasn't trying to eavesdrop.

"Let go to the garden dear, this is a story best understood in the fresh air, it's less suffocating outside." She patted my shoulder before leading me outside.

We took a seat on the wicker style lounge furniture as I waited for her to give me any kind of information.

"I'm not usually one to gossip, especially when it comes to my son, but I can tell you some of it. The rest you would have to ask him about because it was a very personal and difficult time for him."

"I understand." I nodded.

"Mason met Sierra when they were in their senior year of high school. They were friends first and then they went to college together. They moved in with each other during their second year. She was a sweet girl, they got along great, barely ever fought..." she trailed off. "Mason had come home during Christmas break during their last year of college and said that he wanted to start a security company. One of Sierras friends had been stalked by some stranger online and he wanted to create something to prevent that happening to other girls."

I continued to listen as she explained.

"So they graduated and she moved back here to live with him while he started his company. After a while Mason said that he was going to propose and that she was everything to him, obviously I was ecstatic. I had always wanted a daughter and Sierra seemed like a great fit at the time. So anyway, Mason bought a ring, took her to dinner, but when he came home he was alone. He never explained what exactly happened but he said that his career had driven a wedge between them and that she wasn't coming back. He never dated after that. He would have a fling or two, but nothing committed, nothing that required anything more than physical attraction. Whatever she did, she broke him." Julie finished explaining.

"Wow, i erm, I don't know what to say." I struggled over my words.

"There's nothing too say. He knows I wanted him to get married, but he didn't believe in love. I think that's why he made that deal with your parents, but Sophie, Mason didn't have a father who really showed him how to be a husband. His father was a great man, he worked hard, but he wasn't the one at football games or graduations and while I'm proud that Mason got that drive, I worry that he got some of the same traits." She sighed.