Forever Tied to you

27

Sophie

The day was a huge success and if the steamy hot tub sex was anything to go off, Mason was more than thankful for our fishing trip. Not that I didn't see it coming, he had been smiling all day, a sight that you didn't experience too much when back in the real world.

There was a lighter side of him, one that I had been fortunate to see when he pulled out a small shark from the ocean. It could have been a starfish for all it actually mattered since he released it once he had taken a picture. All I wanted was to see him happy and thanks to Julie I had succeeded.

It wasn't until we were finishing up our latest hot tub round of honeymooning that he truly vocalized just how much it meant to him.

"Soph, today was perfect. I know my mom helped, but I also know that you asked her for help because we are still essentially strangers to each other. No one, I mean, I don't think," he rubbed his jaw, "shit, no one has ever done something like that for me, so thank you." He spoke softly as his thumb traced a small circle on my cheek as I remained straddled above him.

"Don't thank me. You've been spoiling me this whole time. It kind of sucks to know we have to go home in a couple of days." I sighed.

"Yep , back to the real world." He replied with a distant look on his face.

"On the bright side, as far as the real world is concerned we are just as married and happy as we are now. We don't have to change it if we don't want to." I offered up, hoping that somehow we may be lucky enough to pull through this.

"We will see." He muttered as his eyes left my face and scanned over to the waves lapping the shoreline.

I was just about to offer my ultimate plan of continuing a friends with benefits type deal, even though we were married, when his cell phone began ringing.

"I should get that, everyone knows we are on our honeymoon so it's probably important. I'll be back soon." He kissed my cheek and walked into the house as he answered whoever called him.

I finished the glass of wine on the side of the hot tub and waited for what seemed like forever. Mason didn't return to the hot tub and so I got out and made my way inside to dry off and change.

I put on my pajamas and went looking for him, only to find him nose deep in his computer. I guess it wasn't a secret that his job took priority and this was the only side that he had warned me about, that I hadn't witnessed for myself.

Mason- the workaholic.

"Hey." I smiled softly as I stood in the doorway of the living area. "You coming up to bed soon?"

"Sorry Soph," he glanced up at me. "I forgot I left you out there. One of the servers crashed and the team can't do anything until I fix it. Go get you some rest, I'll be up as soon as I get it handled." He gave me a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

I could tell he was upset to be working, but at the same time he looked almost peaceful as he worked. Perhaps that's why he liked it so much. He had the job that hit all the bases, a job that took the top priority on his list. Me, I was just someone he married to help out his mother and no matter what I thought I felt, he had told me himself that his work came first.

I don't know if Mason had even came to bed that night because he was still working when I got up. In fact he spent the next two days of our honeymoon working to fix whatever problem it was. As annoying as it was, it gave me some time to figure out what I was going to do when I got back.

I was essentially his until he decided otherwise and if this trip was anything to go off, we were essentially just going to be married roommates who occasionally slept together, if that would even continue after the trip.

When we got to the last day of the trip, I woke up early to walk on the beach as the sun rose. I loved the pastel colors of the sky early in the morning, and here, on a clear beach, it really was the most serene and beautiful experience.

"Hey." He smiled as he approached me a few feet from where the water broke against the shore.

"Hey." I smiled back as I turned to face the horizon, feeling his arms snake around my waist.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was going to take that long. I really thought I could get it fixed without cutting into our time too much." He apologized and while I wanted to let it go, a part of me, a small part, was fighting for the hope that somehow I would be someone he wanted to change his ways for.

"It's okay." I half accepted his apology in a way devoid of emotions. "I mean you warned me from the start that work always comes first. You sure you're done though? I mean I can just hang on the beach? We leave tomorrow anyway so I didn't have anything planned."

I slowly pulled out of his grasp and began walking back towards the house. I had no reason to be mad at him, this wasn't real, this marriage, our relationship, none of it, and I knew it.  Still I couldn't help but feel upset by his actions.

"Soph, please don't be mad. I really didn't think it would take that long." He reassured me as i began to step away.

"I'm not mad, I just, well  I don't even know what I was expecting. I just could really use some space to think." I replied before walking away from him and back to the house.

My head knew better than to trust the glimmer of hope that said I was enough for him. My body and my mind were already his and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It was an internal war that was ultimately going to end badly for me one way or the other.

I sucked in a deep breath and reminded myself not to look back at him as I stepped into the house and made my way to the bathroom. He had been nothing but forthcoming about his view on actual relationships, and as such it was irrational for me to be mad that he was exactly how he told me he was.

I splashed some water on my face and took a few moments to remind myself that soon enough he would be tired of me, he would find someone else to amuse him, and then I would be free, back to my life of studies and work.

My parents were safe and that's all that mattered. Hopefully the other problem would've disappeared too, because going into the past was a place in my life I didn't want to return too.

A light tapping on the door has me breaking from my thoughts, revealing a worried looking Mason.

"You need to pack, we gotta leave as soon as possible." He was talking a mile a minute and I thought it was a work thing.

"Mason it's our last day..." I began when he pulled me to his chest.

"Soph it's your parents, there's been an accident." He said and I was glad he was holding me up because my knees buckled.