Riley's Ending: One Shot to Riley's Tale on the Opposite Gender

One Shot

Hi! This is my one shot entry for the contest. This is dedicated to Cappuccinos for her amazing story.  For some reason, the first version posted of this was the not edited and wrong version of the story I wanted to write. This is the right version.

One Week Later

Thrid Person Point of View

        They say heartbreak was the feeling of your heart getting ripped out of your chest, torn to pieces and then having a herd of a thousand elephants stomp all over it.  For Mason, however, it was the feeling of numbness. It was the feeling of getting caught in a straightjacket, and everytime he took a breath, a jolting amount of pain hit him.  

        Mason thought he knew what heartbreak was when his first girlfriend left him but this was nothing compared to that. It was ten times worse since it was his fault; he had pushed Riley away and guilt was an impending weight on his shoulders.

        Mason couldn’t help but smile to himself. Nobody would believe that a Freeman had fallen head over heels for a girl.  But it wasn’t just a girl. It was Riley.

        Mason leaned back it the booth, his messy hair falling into his eyes.  Dark circles were visible from under his eyes from the long, sleepless night before on his motorcycle. There was hardly anyone else in the small cafe, besides Mason and he liked that it was two hours from Vancouver.  It stood at the end of town, surrounded by tall trees with small clearings of grass.  Mason always seemed to drift here everytime he felt trapped and needed to leave all of the pain and memories.  He grimaced at the thought of his family worrying over him at home, but he couldn’t stand the looks of pity they were giving him.  Everyone missed Riley, but Mason was the only one whose heart shattered when she left. He tried to act normal, ever since Riley left Vancouver, but he had felt deflated.  His facade just seemed to worry people more and  the looks had multiplied until Mason couldn’t stand it anymore. His thoughts drifted to that night.

        Mason clutched the handle of his blue motorcycle and it hummed alive. His only thoughts centered around leaving as cold wind of the night blew on his face.

        “Wait!” Sawyer ran onto the driveway, running  his hand through his once perfect, but now disheveled hair. "I can't let you do this again, Mason.”

        “You don’t have to let me do anything, Sawyer. I will do what I want.” Mason’s hands curled into fists. He wanted to fix things with Sawyer, he really did, but Sawyer kept coming at the wrong time.

        “Not when you’re acting stupid,” Sawyer said, with his hands down by his sides. “And for once, I’m not going to let  you.” he said coolly, “What is wrong with you, Mason?”

        “Nothing is wrong with me! I’m fine.”

        “Stop it, Mason. Stop denying it. This is about Riley, isn’t it? Peyton told me. She left because you, didn’t she. You know that she liked you!”

        Mason didn’t say a word. Though Riley didn’t say it, he knew that he was a big part of the reason she left.

        “You know that she liked you. And you liked her.  Still, being the asshole you are, you still rejected her. She gave you her heart and you crushed it.  You are an idiot!”  Sawyer screeched breaking from his usual, normal calm demeanor.

        Mason’s fist started shaking. Mason reeled it back and swung it hard, colliding it with Sawyer’s jaw. He knew what he did was wrong, but he hated how Sawyer threw it in his face, like it was his fault. Sawyer wiped the blood of his jaw, but stayed put.  Mason wouldn’t talk unless he got his temper out and Sawyer would hold it in until he did.  Mason took a step back, surprised when Sawyer didn’t retaliate.