Chapter 53
Mason stood inside Damon’s living room, glancing at the suitcases packed near the doorway. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on. He knew that Damon had originally intended to leave for Australia if things didn’t work out with Julie, but leaving like this was not a good idea. He couldn’t leave when he was so upset when things between him and Julie were so… damaged.
Julie was already devastated that she thought Damon, who she had known almost all her life, was disgusted by her. He couldn’t leave without talking to her, it wasn’t right, and Mason was determined to protect both his sister and his friend.
Damon would regret leaving Julie behind like this.
When Damon came downstairs, his expression hardened when he saw Mason.
"What are you doing here, Mason?"
Mason glanced at the luggage.
"Going somewhere?"
"I'm leaving for Australia tomorrow." Damon sighed as he sat down.
"And you weren't going to tell me?" Mason frowned.
Damon shrugged. "It's not like you've been keeping me in the loop either."
Mason joined him at the table across from where Damon sat.
“We need to talk.”
Damon stood up, folding his arms.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Look, I get you're upset with me, and I'm sorry-"
"You don't get it," Damon’s jaw tightened as he finally spoke, but he didn’t look at him. He couldn’t bring himself to. "You could have told me about Julie being a lesbian, but you didn't. Why would you do that?"
Mason was silent.
Damon shook his head, continuing. "You could have said something when I told you I had feelings for her. Instead, you let me think there was a chance. Was it just fun for you? Watching me make a fool of myself."
Mason let out a heavy breath, running a hand through his hair. "I was going to tell you, Damon, I just didn’t know how.”
“So, instead you let me… It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“You’re not exactly the kind of guy who gets feelings for a girl. You've always been the no-strings-attached kind of guy, and hearing you admit you had feelings for my sister, I just… I didn’t know what to say."
“How about I say, ‘I have feelings for Julie and want to see if we have a chance before I decide whether to leave the country,’… and then you say, ‘She’s a lesbian’… see how easy that was? Damon clenched his fists. "Well, you didn’t do me any favors by staying quiet. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. Maybe this is my karma for being such a player for so long."
Mason sighed again, leaning back in his chair and fixing his gaze on Damon, wishing there was something he could say that would make things better.
"It's got nothing to do with karma. I know I can’t say anything to convince you to stay or to stop you from hurting, but I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner." Mason said, shaking his head. "You have to talk to her before you go… Julie thinks you’re disgusted by her."
Damon shook his head, clearly frustrated.
“I wasn't. I’m not. I just couldn’t process it all. I couldn’t stay and watch them together. I want her to be happy, I just… I couldn’t breathe, I had to go. I didn’t mean to make her feel that way.
"So you're still leaving for Australia?"
Damon nodded.
"That was always the plan. I was only going to stay if Julie... but that’s not possible anymore. I've always wanted to settle over there. If I stay here, I'll just be reminded of how I got my heart broken by the only woman I ever loved."
Mason nodded in understanding.
“Believe me, I understand… and I can't blame you for wanting to leave. Honestly, if I had a way out of New York, I’d take it too."
“You could leave New York. Hell, come with me to Australia! It’s beautiful over there… you could come.”
Mason shook his head, no.
“You know I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Candice-”
“Candice? Are you serious???”
Mason dropped his eyes to his hands.
“I can’t just leave her after everything-”
“Why not? She’s not pregnant anymore, and that was the only reason you were staying in the first place. You gave Raven up for her, was it worth it? Don’t you regret letting the woman you love go for the sake of the cheating bitch that was using pregnancy as an excuse to guilt you into getting back with her?”
“You know I do, but that doesn’t mean I can just up and leave.”
Damon sat back on the couch.
“You can’t spend the rest of your life with that woman. Besides, you haven’t stopped looking for Raven, even though you signed the divorce papers like an idiot.”
“I’m an idiot? You’re leaving the country to get away from the woman you love-”
“Yeah, but I have no chance to be with her. You could have chosen Raven, but instead, you chose to be miserable with Candice. Why did you sign the papers?”
“Because… she deserves to be happy.”
“And you don’t think she could be happy with you?”
“Not if you ask everyone else. Dad and Julie said I wasn’t good enough for her so… so, I let her go.”
“Then why are you still looking for her if you’re letting her go – like an idiot.”
“Hey, you’ve called me an idiot twice!”
“I get a get out of jail free card coz you didn’t tell me about Julie.”
Mason chuckled.
“Yeah, you have a point… You have a point about Raven, too. Are you at least going to see Julie before you go?"
"Wait, you told her?"
"I had to."
"Fuck! Why did you tell her? Letting me think I had a chance with her wasn’t enough for you Watching me get crushed was enough?" Damon groaned.
"What were you expecting me to do after you stormed out like that?"
Damon shook his head. "I don't think I can handle seeing her right now."
"Fine, I'll tell her something came up and you needed to leave," Mason said. "I feel bad for you, but I'm also glad."
"What do you mean by that?"
"At least now I don't have to worry that you're incapable of loving someone."
"Yeah, don't get your hopes up, I'm not letting this happen again."
Mason chuckled. "You can't choose not to fall in love."
"Can you stop talking like you're my dad? You're not an expert on love yourself."
"You should learn to respect me more, I'm older than you, you know?"
"You're just a year older, Mason. Give it a rest."
The both of them chuckled softly, Mason relieved to know that his friend was handling this better than he thought.
\~~~~
The next morning, Damon was at the airport, ready to board the flight when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. He closed his eyes wishing he could disappear – or that thing that kids who think there’s a monster under their be – if they can’t see the monster, the monster can’t see them. But Damon knew he wasn’t that lucky.
And Julie wasn’t a monster.
"Damon!"