the other side of us | ✓

2.9 | cup of ambition

Present Day

The dull whispers around Mason faded into the background as he stood in front of the podium of the Thursday night meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. He made eye contact with Kendrick and it calmed his nerves to see a friend in the crowd.

Mason took a deep breath and introduced himself, smiling when the room greeted him with a monotonous "Hi, Mason".

"I've done some bad stuff. I've lied. I've cheated. I've hurt people." He cleared his throat. "I justified it, because my life fell apart, all at once."

Mason's throat constricted slightly, and he swallowed thickly. "Um, I thought that because I was getting sober, I was getting better. But I saw someone the other day that I hurt. I wasn't drinking when it happened, but remembering how much I hurt he- them, it made me realize that maybe I wasn't at my worst when I was using, and maybe I still have a long way to go before I'm okay. I'm glad I get to come here and share all this with someone, because I think Adam's getting tired of my rambling." There were a few chuckles as Mason smirked and became serious again. "Seriously though, Adam moved with me from New York and I'm not easy to put up with."

The room laughed and Adam shot Mason a wide grin as he murmured a thanks and took his seat again in the crowd.

When Mason had told him about seeing Charlotte again, Adam had encouraged him to apologize to her, and Kendrick had chimed in by telling him to grow a pair. Mason had been terrified at the prospect of seeing her again. From the way that she'd run away from him the first time, it was clear that she was angry of him, and he didn't blame her. After the way that he'd left, he didn't deserve to talk to her again.

But Mason couldn't ignore the painful squeeze that his heart had given when he'd seen her. He'd decided that Adam was right – he needed to make things right.

When the meeting ended at eight o'clock, Mason declined his friend's customary invitation for coffee. Kendrick raised an eyebrow.

"Gonna grow a pair?"

Mason threw back his head and laughed as Adam shook his head.

"About time," Kendrick said.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't wait up." Mason said as he tugged on his jacket and made his way to the door.

He was going to see Charlotte, and he was going to do it today before he could chicken out.

*

Mason could see Charlotte behind the counter through the window and he shook out his hands nervously.

Poppy's was mostly empty, unsurprising for a Thursday evening, and he didn't recognize the patrons as regulars from when he'd used to work there.

Charlotte had her hair swept up into a ponytail and was wiping down the back counters. Mason couldn't see Devin or Ash and assumed that they were either in the back or not working. God, he hoped Devin wasn't working.

When he'd gone to Devin's house a few weeks ago, it had been as awkward as he'd expected. She'd nearly broken his nose when she'd slammed the door in his face the first time.

Mason had knocked for what felt like ten minutes before she'd opened the door again, a sour look on her face.

"You shouldn't be here. What do you want?" She asked warily, one hand still behind the door.

"To explain. Please."

The desperation in his voice caught her attention and he saw her hesitate.

"You have five minutes, Carlyle. Make it fast."

And Mason had told her everything – Tara's death, the move to New York, his mother's suicide, his addiction. By the time he was done, it was well past his five minutes. The two had moved to sit on the front steps leading up to the wraparound porch.