Disabled.

Fifty-Three

Fifty-Three

Nadia

An hour had passed since Mason's aunt had left and Nadia still could not find the strength within her to leave the cafe. Just as his aunt had left her, she was still crying as her eyes seemed glued to the door.

A worker at the cafe walked to her and tapped her shoulder, breaking her out of the trance.

"Are you okay? I noticed that you haven't moved for an hour. Is there anything I can do to help?" 

Nadia shook her head before taking off the brakes of her wheelchair and thanking the worker before leaving the cafe.

And the moment that she got outside, she felt a sharp breeze blow past her, so sharp that it felt as if someone had slapped her. She felt her phone vibrate and she took it from her bag to find a message from Mason.

How did it go? - Mason

And with those short four words, she felt her eyes stinging as she remembered everything that his aunt had said to her.

I just want Mason to be happy

I can't see that happening with you

She was tempted to ignore his message, thinking that would hurt less than telling him the truth. But for some reason, she couldn't do that. Instead, she replied to his message before getting on the bus.

I'll meet you at the park in 20 mins - Nadia 

Exactly twenty minutes later, she was at the park and she was watching him as he seemed to pace back and forth. She smiled slightly as she watched him, thinking that she was so lucky to have met someone who cared so much about her after everything that had happened to her, regardless of how little time they had spent together as an actual couple. 

She pushed herself towards him.

"Hey," she said when she was close enough.

Mason whipped around and smiled once he saw her face. She bit the inside of her lower lip as she forced a smile.

"How did meeting my aunt go?" he immediately asked.

"It was good."

"What did you guys talk about?" he asked. 

"Why don't you sit down first?" she asked, chuckling slightly as she watched him rush to the bench. She quickly pushed herself closer to him as she felt her eyes stinging once again. She held out one of her hands and he grabbed it, intertwining their fingers. She gently squeezed his hand as she asked him,

"Are you happy?" 

She looked up to find him looking at her, taken aback by her question.

"What?"

"Are you happy? I know we just started dating but are you happy being with me?"

"Nadia—"

"Just answer the question, please." She whispered the last word as she suddenly began to doubt herself.

Mason let go of her hand, causing her to quickly look up as tears suddenly began to stream down her face. She watched as Mason walked around in a few tight circles, running his hands through his hair before walking back to her.

"Did my aunt say something?"

She quickly shook her head.

"She didn't have to say anything—"

"Nadia, tell me the truth. Please don't feel like you have to defend my aunt if she said something that hurt your feelings," he told her as he knelt down before her, placing his hands on either side of her face.

"Nadia look at me and tell me what happened."

Mason 

Mason was beyond angry once he got home after Nadia had told him everything that his aunt had said to her. He couldn't stop beating himself up for giving her Nadia's number when she had told him that she wanted to get to know Nadia. He should've suspected something especially considering the fact that she had clearly expressed how much she didn't like him being with her.

He walked into the house and immediately began searching for his aunt. To his relief, he found her alone in the kitchen. She turned around the moment that he entered the kitchen as if she had sensed his presence.

"Hi Mason, how was your talk with Nadia?" 

"I need to talk to you," he said to her sternly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking as if she hadn't said any of the things she had said to Nadia. He watched her as she wiped her hands on a dry towel before walking towards the dining table.

"Let's sit and talk, Mason."

He begrudgingly did as he was told before asking her,

"What did you talk to Nadia about?" 

"She didn't tell you?" his aunt asked.

"I just want to hear it from you," Mason replied, trying with every fiber of his being not to lash out at her. His aunt sighed before saying,

"I just told her to break up with you."

He felt his hands balling into fists.

"Why did you say that to her? She didn't do anything to you."

"No, you're right. But as your aunt," she placed a hand on one of his fists, "your happiness and well-being is one of my responsibilities. I want you to be with someone that you're happy with—"

"I am happy with Nadia—"

"You say that now but you don't know what will happen later, Mason. You've been through a lot recently and because she was with you as you went through those things, you think you like her as more than a friend. I don't want you to realize later on that she was only friend and risk hurting both of you. That's why it's better to end it now."

And the moment that she finished speaking, Mason shook her hand off of his.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" 

"Mason—"

"I know that you see me as just a kid but I know that this isn't some temporary thing or something that I'm confused about. I've had feelings for Nadia for a while and I didn't act on them because I was afraid that she would turn me down. But when she actually accepted my feelings, you have no idea how great that felt. And I know you've had a lot more experiences than me, but trust me when I say that I'm not confused about my feelings for her."

"Mason, I'm not going to sit back and watch as you waste your time with her."

"You know," he trailed off, as he looked up at his aunt, "after my mom abandoned me, I didn't think I'd ever find anyone that would make me feel like I deserve to be loved—until I met Nadia. You and uncle have always been great and I'm forever grateful for everything that you've both done for me. But please, don't let me lose this. Because if you keep pushing, I can't promise that I'll stay here and I don't want to have to push you away like my mom did to me."

* * *

A/N:

Hello dear readers!

Thank you once again for checking out another chapter! I can't believe we're already in March! January felt like it took forever and now we're already in the third month, crazy! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I was trying something new by having both Nadia and Mason's points of view, so what did you guys think about this format? I don't think I'll be using it too often but I have a feeling I'll use it again at least once (lol) Like always, let me know your thoughts/comments/concerns!

Also, with everything that has been going on since the beginning of this year, I hope you're all doing well. I hope 2020 has been treating you better than it has a lot of people.

Thank you once again for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!

~candysweet101