Page 128 of Mason

Not since I found her in that godforsaken place, bleeding out under the overpass, her body so cold, so fucking still in my arms that I thought I’d already lost her.

I grip her hand, the only part of her that doesn’t look broken, and squeeze.

“Come back to me, baby.”

She doesn’t move.

She doesn’t squeeze back.

The anger I’ve been clenching in my teeth threatens to crack wide open.

I could’ve lost her.

I still might.

The thought alone guts me.

I hear movement behind me, soft murmurs, the weight of watchful eyes.

Friends. Family.

They’re here—rallying around me, around her, filling the hospital hallways like a silent fucking army.

Mia hasn’t left.

Neither has Maxine.

Kanyan, Scar, and Brando move through the room in turns, watching me like they’re afraid I’m going to snap at any second. And maybe I am.

Because I’ve never been good at waiting.

At feeling powerless.

But sitting here, watching Shelby’s chest rise and fall with the help of machines, I realize something I’ve never let myself think about before.

I can’t fucking lose her.

I rub a hand over my face, exhaling slow, feeling like a man who’s run out of fucking road.

I’ve spent so long thinking I had time.

That there would always be another day to fix the mistakes I’ve made, to mend the shit I broke.

But life isn’t like that.

Most people don’t get second chances.

And I know that better than anyone.

Because I already had one shot at something real.

And I fucking let it go.

Mia’s mother.

I haven’t thought about her in years, but now she seeps into my mind, ghosting around the edges of my thoughts like she always does when I get too quiet.

She was married to my best friend. And somehow, we made it work.

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