Page 54 of Sapphire Spring

Naser had never admitted this tidbit aloud to anyone, nevershared with anyone the hours he’d spent reading and rereading its deceptivelanguage, wondering if their supposed solution might have worked for him. If itwould make him as happy as the models in the stock photographs looked. Histhinking becoming more and more contorted and destructive as he read—a teacherhad recommended it, after all, so maybe there’d been something to the idea.Something that would bring relief, something that would make it all stop. Thewhole thing, he could see now, had been its own form of suicidal ideation, adesire to destroy himself as a means of ending the harassment and the pain. Oncehe’d realized that, he’d picked up the phone and called the number on theOutlive poster he’d seen taped to the inside of the front window in hisfavorite coffee shop.

“It was either go there or call this place. At least that’show it felt. I made the right choice.”

Mason’s jaw quivered. He took in a long, slow breath thatlifted his chest. “Definitely coming back next Saturday then. Andhowevermany others it takes to finish the job.”

“I’m not sure I’m free next Saturday,” Naser lied.

“You don’t have to come. It’s my job to finish. Although I’dlove it if you did.”

“Did what?”

“Come.”

If the word was supposed to have a double meaning, Mason’sserious expression didn’t let on.

“You know, Mason, I’m not sure all of this was necessary.Honestly, most days, when I felt bad about high school all I had to do wasremember the look on your face that day you tripped when you guys were tryingtofuckup my model.”

“I didn’t trip,Nas.”

Naser was stunned silent.

“I knew what day it was. I’d overheard you in the library. Iknew you were making this big model of Persepolis, and I knew you’d do a greatjob of it, and I knew Chadwick and Tim wouldfuckitup if they saw it. All morning I’d been trying to distract them. I came up withthe hardest interval workout I could think of and made them meet me early so wecould do it on the field. But Chadwick knew about the model, too, and I had toget creative.SoI took a flying leap so you could getto class before they got to you. I hurt my arm so badly I couldn’t play the nextthree games. And we lost all three so…”

Naser was speechless.

Finally.

“At any rate, whether you come back with me next Saturday ornot, I wanted you to know that. I didn’t trip. I threw myself down the stairs.”

Naser couldn’t breathe.

When it came to their days at Laguna Mesa, letting go ofeven the slightest bit of anger toward Mason felt like it might drown him inoverwhelming feelings.

“Nas?”

“Yes.”

“Come back to my house.”

“For what?”

“Dinner.”

Naser frowned. “You can cook?”

“What, you’re surprised?”

“I just figured you were the order in and eat out type.”

“I’ve been known to order in for weeks at a time, but I alsogrill. You a vegetarian?”

“Hell, no.”

Mason headed for the storeroom door. “All right, then. Let’sgo. We’ll see if I’ve got everything you want. If not, I’ll get it delivered.”

“Mason, you’ve done your three hours. You’re off the hook.”

In the doorway, Mason stopped and turned. “I don’t want tobe off the hook.”

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