Fate is a Funny Thing

Typical Mason

Wrong.

Not only has he not forgotten it, but he's also made it his life's mission to squeeze all the information he can out of me.

All week he's been asking questions I can't answer and I'm running out of ways to avoid it. First, it was questions like 'why did your dad leave?' but since then it's turned into questions like 'how did your mum take it?' and 'was it when you lived in the UK or after you moved here?'.

God, help me! I don't know what to do.

His latest, 'do you still talk to your paternal cousins?' question is driving me crazy. At the start of the week, I opted for just giving vague answers but as the questions got more personal, I've decided to stick to avoiding him. Let me tell you, avoiding someone who lives with you is a whole other level of difficult. Somehow, he's always just popping up. You'd think I'd be an expert by now considering I've spent so long avoiding him, even since I met him, but no. It doesn't help that a part of me doesn't want to avoid him. That stupid side of my brain is messing up the clearly more sensible side.

Brownie points for you, sensible side.

Stupid side, I expected more from you. You're letting the team down and you should be ashamed of yourself.

It's official: Rafael's inquisition has driven me mad.

It's Wednesday afternoon. I'm quietly sitting in the office, munching on my lunch and mentally preparing myself for battle. Lunchtime is the only escape I have. Two tiny hours a day, when I am free from the questions. We usually take our lunch at the same time but this week I insisted on taking lunch later than usual, just so I could get away. Rafael had his lunch break at 12 and I started mine at 1. I can't help but give myself a pat on the back for expertly using my brain to maximise our time apart.

"What are you smiling at?" a voice asks making me jump.

"It's not against the law to smile, is it?" I quip, before devouring the rest of my lunch.

"Usually no," Asher laughs, "but a goofy smile like that could start a revolution and next thing you know... BOOM... smiling like that is illegal."

"You're crazy," I shake my head amusedly.

"And charming, and funny, and dashingly good looking," he winks, making me burst out laughing.

"You mixed up your words, I think you meant to say funny-looking," I roll my eyes.

Feigning hurt, he gasps dramatically and places a hand on his chest, making me laugh even harder. I hand him the last bite of my cookie, throw the waste in the bin and wash my hands before getting back to work.

Rafael's attention is immediately on me as I enter, and I remember why I'm avoiding him, so I turn on my heels and walk back out of the gym. Back at the reception, I plead with Asher to swap with me. He gives me a questioning look but nods and agrees anyway. Sighing in relief, I plop down on the chair and relax. Luckily for me, Wednesday is the busiest day of the week, so there is plenty of work to do, which should hopefully keep him occupied.

"Hey," Rafael says, taking a seat next to me. Or not.

"Hi," I sigh, getting ready to run away.

"It's quiet in there," he informs me, making himself comfortable.

"For now," I add with a smile glancing at the clock, "give it an hour and we'll be rushed off our feet."

"I know right," he sighs in content. "What are you reading?" he asks looking at my phone screen.

"The last Harry Potter book," I reply with a smile.

I instantly regret telling him, because as soon as I say it he starts a heated debate about Severus Snape and whether he was good or bad. He's insistent that Snape could have done things so much differently than he did, which annoys me because, yes Snape may have had his controversial moments, but he was a hero at the end of the day.