I don't even remember when the Hale mansion—that's what I call it, stopped feeling strange. It all just kind of… happened. One day it felt like this cold place I always wanted to see, and then next, it's somewhere I didn't mind being in. Well, actually it was Mason.
He always wanted me around. He had this way of making everything easier, I didn't overthink around him. It was like he could make silence feel full. And somehow, he made me feel like I belonged there, even though I didn't.
He would text, call and even make his driver come pick me up from school. Sometimes he would open the door before I even knocked, pretending to just happen to be there, but I knew that he was waiting, always waiting. And each time I walked into their home, he looked at me like I had just fixed something broken in him.
It was weird, sweet and dangerous all at once, and I loved it, or maybe it was the attention I loved.
With me, he talked about everything from school, to his favourite music and about people that I didn't know. I thought I was just keeping him company, but every time I put on my shoes and wanted to leave, he looked at me like I was taking something with me. Was I? Maybe I was, that's why I kept coming back.
We sat on his floor, with books and random snacks scattered around us, pretending to study when his parents passed by, but we mostly talked about other things. The window light hit his face just right sometimes, and I will have to look away before my thoughts got too loud.
"You are better than any tutor", he told me once. "Liar," I shouted, rolling my eyes. I haven't taught you anything in the last hour. But you listen Lyra, nobody else does, he said shyly. To be honest, I didn't know what to say, so I just smiled and pretended to write something so he wouldn't notice how fast my heart went.
That night, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing.
Mason: You home?
Mason: Come tomorrow
Mason: I hate when you leave
Mason: You're literally the only one who gets me
Mason: Don't ghost me. I know you're awake
I stared at the screen, then I bit my lips, half smiling, half tired.
Me: It's late. Sleep
Mason: Only if you dream about me
Me: You're ridiculous
Mason: Maybe. But I mean it
I kept smiling, before putting my phone down. But if course, I picked it up again, and I kept scrolling through all our messages until my battery died.
The days started moving too fast. I would go to school and forget half the things I was supposed to do, my head was always waiting for his messages.
I found myself smiling for no reason, like an idiot. It was so bad that teachers would call my name and I wouldn't even notice. At school, I got more messages from him.
Mason: I wish I was at your school
Me: Why?
Mason: So I could see you everyday
Me: That's not how it works
Mason: I'll convince Mom. Watch me
Well, he did try. I came over one afternoon and he was arguing with Aurora. You never let me choose anything for myself, he said. Mason, stop it, you are staying where you are and that's final, she replied angrily, yet her voice was still calm.
He slammed his door, I won't lie but as soon as he saw me he smile like it was funny. It was worthy a shot, he whispered.
But that night, more messages.
Mason: One day I'll be where you are
Mason: You'd like that, wouldn't you?
Me: Mason…
Mason: Say yes
Me: Goodnight
Mason: Don't lie. You want it too
Aurora started disappearing more, she was always busy with calls or work. And the house was slowly becoming just ours. Mason filled the house with his stories and jokes and encouraged it with my laughter I wasn't sure felt real.
But every time, I got too close to Mason, laughed at his jokes too loud or touched his hair. I could tell someone was watching, and it was Mr. Hale.
He didn't talk much, he just stared. It didn't feel like a father watching his son's friend, it felt like something else.
Even when I told myself I was being dramatic and imagining things, deep down I knew I wasn't.
Whenever we looked at each other, he never turned away. There was something in his eyes, it wasn't disapproval, it was real but wrong. Maybe, it was jealousy.
And right then I knew that if I wasn't careful I'd burn in it and take Mason with me.