timeless | mason mount

prologue

**a/n: this is a sequel to my first book, midnight rain. please read that first :) 



APRIL 28, 2023
AUTHOR POV. 

Phil had gotten wind of what had happened between the two of them. He couldn't get in touch with Charlotte, either. No one could. If Phil, her best friend of 23 years, couldn't get in touch with her— she was ignoring everyone on purpose. 

She had just left him one very long text in the middle of the night that he had only seen in the morning— long after she was gone. 

Dear Phil, 

I'm leaving England for a while. I don't know when I'll come back. And I know you— you're going to try and come find me, but I'm asking you not to. I need space and time. Time alone. I've lost sight of who I am. I want to enter a new chapter of my life, as a new person. 

Losing my parents, Henry, Mason, my career— it's made me realize that you are the one thing that has always been there for me. I will never be able to thank you enough for that. 

But that doesn't change the fact that I need to leave and spend time alone. I wish I could tell you more, but I'm about to board my flight right now. Please don't come looking for me. But please know that I love and care about you. I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you as much as you've been there for me. 

Being in England, seeing you, all of it just reminds me of everything I've lost. And you're not to blame for that... but I still want to forget and get a fresh start. And a fresh start means a completely blank slate. 

Lots of love, 

Lottie. 

Phil could find her if he wanted to— but a part of him knew that he should respect her wishes. She would come back to him. He knew it. 

~

Mason was still in denial. It wasn't possible. How could she just disappear like that? 

There was no trace of her... Almost.

The bathroom had two toothbrushes. The fridge contained tubs of icecream that Charlotte would eat every movie night. There were two pairs of slippers at the entrance. Their bedroom was adorned with the pictures of the two of them. One half of the closet was empty, but it still smelled like her perfume. Peanut circled the spot on the bed where Charlotte used to sleep, wondering where she was. 

But other than that,

She was really gone. 

He spent his days filling in the void that she had left in his life. Nothing real could fill the empty space in his heart, so he substituted it with material and temporary pleasures. Anything to forget the pain.