Page 97 of Escape Velocity
Mason puts his hands out in front of him, trying to stop Callum from his spiral. “I get it.”
He really does. He knows Callum wouldn’t cheat on him, he knows it’s all for show. That’s what Callum does. All to get away from his father.
“Can you come back to the party, please? I actuallyhatethese things when you’re not here, I only want to be with you.”
Mason shakes his head. “No. I want to go back to my dorm. I have homework to catch up on.”
He tries to storm past Callum, but Callum stops him.
“Mason, what—what is it? I told you about this. Do you not believe me?”
Mason nods. “I believe you, Cal. Of course I do. But…”
“But what?”
Mason sighs and the tears come back. “It shouldn’t be like this. You’re—you’re always going to pick your dad over me. It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it? Finding fake partners to pretend you’re dating just to appease him? To appease Joel? The team?”
Callum blinks. “What? No, I—it doesn’t have to be like that?—”
Mason shakes his head. “But it does. I think we’ve always known, that, Callum.”
Callum puts his hands on Mason’s shoulders. “Hey,” hesays so gently like he’s talking to a spooked animal. “We can get through this, okay? We have so much time still to figure things out.”
Mason sighs and nods.
He doesn’t want to give up so easily. He only just got Callum back, and it’s always been like this for them. People don’t want to see them together. They’re not meant to be together. But wouldn’t things be easier if he stopped lying? Just lived like he wants to?
“Just got back to the party, okay? I want to go home,” Mason mutters.
Callum grabs him tighter, like Mason’s about to disappear or float away from him.
“Mase. Just—give me a minute, okay? Giveusa minute. Remember what I said? I’m trying to figure this out.”
Mason nods. “I know. Me too.”
Callum stares at Mason, his expression resolute. “Iwillfigure it out.”
“Okay,” Mason whispers.
Callum hugs him, fully enveloping Mason in his embrace, getting some black feathers tickling his cheeks.
Mason stands there, hoping for a glimmer of hope in the pitch blackness. Hoping that there is some way out for them where they can both be happy.
Callum releases him and walks back to the party, staring at Mason with adoration. Mason smiles weakly and turns away to walk across the grass back to the front yard.
He trudges through the grass, thinking back to when he was last in this yard. When he and Callum last confronted each other. How he threw up in the bushes. That Callum chose football over him.
He knows they’re past it now, but Mason isn’t so sure what’s behind them is fully in their rearview mirror.
Like a defensive linesman, there’s always going to be someone tailing them, and maybe they’ll have the game turned over before they score their touchdown.
29
MASON
Like a wilting rose,October falls away into November and frost covers every layer of Montgomery.
It encrusts the glass windows of the library, occluding the darkening clouds that are poised to invoke snow down upon the campus at any second.
