Collide

~~

I look at the time on my phone; 15:45 it's been about an hour and I'm still waiting for Mason to pitch. This is weird; I order another cup of coffee and tap randomly on my phone to pass the time. Maybe he finally forgot about me, but that does not seem like Mason at all.

I pull my trench coat tighter around my neck, oh well; I think I've just been stood up for the very first time. I call for Thando and ask for a huge slice of caramel cake they have to soothe my sadness. Ouch, who knew getting heartbroken hurt this bad.

"Sitting alone today hey?" Thando asks as she brings my cake.

"I guess so..."I sigh

"Well, enjoy it" She starts to walk away but stops and comes back as if she left something important.

"I'm so sorry. I was meant to give this to you as soon as you came in but it slipped my mind." She slides a small note onto the table

"Who's it from?"

"The guy you're always here with; he came a few hours before you did."

"Oh." Slightly relieved that he actually did leave a note at least "Thank you; don't worry about it."

I open the roughly folded paper:

I hope you got this letter as soon as you got there 'cause I don't want you to want for me.

I have something I need to tell you, meet me at the beach where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean. At 16:30

It's important.

~Mason

I look at the time; 16:00, I know something is up.

I check my phone once again for the time as I take a seat on the sand. Just to make sure I'm here on time. I look up to take in this calming scene. The waves crash onto one another as they fell onto the shore. The sun's rays trickling through the clouds that hid it today; this is what I call lovely weather.

"Hey" I turn to see Mason also looking at the horizon.

"Hi, I didn't notice you're already here"

"I didn't want to disturb you until I could think of the right words to say to you today." His distant tone was unusual to me.

"You're worrying me Mason. What's going on?"
Both of us staring at the sea, the tension between us growing as neither one of us says anything.

Then Mason sighs as if expecting the worst. "I need to tell you something. You'll either want to walk out of here, from this, from me and nothing will happen to you; sort of like a 'no strings attached' type of thing and you'll just carry on with your life in peace." He stopped to let that sink in.

Walk away from what?
Why would I walk away from him?
What will happen if I don't?

"Or you'll choose to put yourself in danger by staying by my side and you'll be exposed to bad people that have the power to hurt you and I don't want that to happen; especially to you."

I turn Mason to see his bright emerald eyes fixed on the seagulls flying by unwilling to look me in the eyes.

"Mason, you're really scaring me now. Tell me what's going on"

"Nolwandle, my family have a lot of enemies. Enemies that will grab any chance they'll get to hurt anyone of us. That's why you're in danger and as much as I'd love to have you in my life I'll understand if you walk away. Heck; I even recommend it but it's really up to you."

We sit in silence as I make the hardest decision I never dreamed I'd even be forced to choose from: My life, safe from his family's enemies but without him in it in any way. Or to risk my life just to be with him, the man I'm falling too hard and too fast for.

Damn love.

I let out a breath I'd been holding in.

"Oh my God, I'm not even sure if what I'm about to do is right. Please protect me in the road I'm about take" I pray out loud and look into Mason deep green eyes. "If I walk away right now, I bet you I'm going to right back here in a few weeks, wishing I never let you go so easily... So I'm saving myself from the guilt."

"Lwandi, so you're saying you're okay with dying – by that I mean murdered – and risking your life just to have me in your life?" he frowns with confusion.

"As crazy as that sounds, yes. As a friend, a coffee-drinking buddy or whatever we are..." I look away from his gaze because I'm kinda confessing everything I feel for him without making that obvious.

Mason cups my face in his hands and turns my head to face him. "I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to protect you. You mean a lot to me because you've changed me for the better without me even noticing you do it."

Feeling speechless from hearing that I could my eyes tearing up and I look down to let the stray tears fall onto the sand.
"I'm sorry, I'm an emotional wreck" I laugh in between the crying.

Mason starts laughing as well "yeah well I'm a mess as well, join the club"