Page 113 of Escape Velocity
Callum opens and closes his mouth like a fish underwater as he looks between Mason, Tammy, and Mr. Brown.
Mason wipes away at a tear. He desperately wants Callum to stand up for him. He’s at his lowest right now, and he just needs someone to tell him that everything will be okay.
That he’s been making the right decisions.
“No, Dad. Mason was just saying goodbye.”
Mason’s heart decelerates to a halt. His jaw slackens as he stares at Callum.
Callum’s eyes are wide as he looks at Mason, his eyes full of panic and regret.
Tammy furrows her eyebrows at Callum, like she’s watching someone unfamiliar to her. The feeling is mutual for Mason.
“I think it’s best you leave now, Mason,” Mr. Brown says, crossing his arms and staring Mason down like he’s a burglar on their property.
A slight croak escapes Mason’s throat. Icy wind blows through them, and Mason stares at Callum.
“Cal—”
“Just go, Mason,” Callum interrupts. He puts his hands in his pockets and studies the floor of the porch as if it’s suddenly very interesting, averting his eyes from Mason completely.
Mason could burn a hole through Callum with the way he’s staring at him.
After all this time. Everything they’ve been through.
All of the apologies and the make-ups.
All of the times Callum stood up for Mason.
It’s all washed away. Callum can’t stand up for him when it really matters.
In his darkest moment, Callum is telling him to leave. He’s choosing his father and football over him. Just like he always knew Callum would.
“Fine. Goodbye, Callum. Have a nice life.”
Mason sniffles and storms off the porch, not daring to look over his shoulder back at Callum and his dejected disposition.
He sobs as he trudges aimlessly down the roads of Northwood, with nowhere to go and nowhere to call home.
He made Montgomery his home, and now he’s paid the price.
He would have stayed forever if Callum had just stood up to his father. If he said that Mason was one of the best things that ever happened to him. That Mason understood him and wanted him to succeed.
But Callum didn’t. And he never would.
34
MASON
Nothing’s right anymore.He has no way to escape in Northwood anymore. His home is a nuclear bomb.
Callum’s place is now officially off limits for the time being.
Jenna’s too busy.
He has no one to blame but himself. He knew exactly what he was getting into by lying to everyone about what he really wanted.
Maybe if he told his parents he was applying to physics and kept trying to convince them to let him do it, then things would be different. Maybe if he never tried getting involved with Callum again, then he wouldn’t have let his heart get shattered again.
