⌗ 53; third person ✎ᝰ

It's been several weeks since Mason's last check up. She'd grown familiar of the Hospital. Nurses and Doctors had become familiar. Mason would greet them kindly and thank them for their hard work. It brought a smile to her face whenever she saw all their familiar faces. Mara pushed the wheelchair towards the exit, her head hanging low as Mason looked forward.

"Babi, can I ask you something?" Mara gulped.

Mason nods. "Of course. What is it?" She looks over at Mara's reflection on the clear sliding doors. A look full of anxiousness and worry.

"Do you think you're getting better?" The older girl muttered. "Have you noticed any changes?"

Mason sighed deeply. "Babi, have you not been listening?" Her voice firm. The Doctor had referred a combination of several antibiotics when her diagnosis had been confirmed many months ago. She would make frequent visits to the Hospital to monitor her condition. Mara had been kind to offer her assistance, it was more than clear that the woman would give up her time without question. "You're doing it again."

Mara had been on edge since the afternoon of that incident. She couldn't help but worry. The love she had for Mason was unparalleled. Though of course, even that was not enough.

"Well what am I supposed to feel?" She holds back her tears as best as she can. Mara would hate to cry in such a public space. "You know that I worry about you. I'm terrified of.." Her voice fades into nothingness. Her heart ached.

"That won't happen, Babi." Mason assured. She'd lost count of how ever so often those three words slip past her tongue. "It won't help if you worry like this. You should stop here." She motions her best friend to come to a brief stop. "Sit down. I think we need to talk."

Mara sits on the bench. "You're scaring me."

Mason holds on her hand, quivering. "I may be a little weak right now, maybe a little fragile too. But I'm not going anywhere, Babi." Mara takes her hand and intertwines their fingers.

"I'm so scared of losing you." Mara trembled.

They both knew what she meant. This was more than just Mason's condition. This was about Mara being worried over her own feelings.

Mason brings her right hand to Mara's cheek. "I will say it a million times over if I have to."She smiles softly. "You'll always have me, Babi."

The tears Mara tried so hard to hold back were now seamlessly flowing down her face. There were so many things she wished to tell her. But she couldn't risk it. Not now. Not ever. She would rather keep it all in than let fate tear them apart over her silly little feelings.

The universe let her down once when Mavis left. The universe might just let her down once more. Mara was at a standstill—unsure of whether she deserved happiness or a happy ending. All she knew was the one all consuming feeling that blossomed in her heart and spread through her like a river emptying itself into the ocean.

"You may not believe me." Mason murmured. "But if you happen to, even in the slightest, then please know that there is nothing you could do that could ever make you lose me. Nothing."

Mara felt hopeful. Even for a mere moment. Hopeful that the universe could possibly be in her favour—just this once. That's all she could ever ask for after all. To have one chance.

That hope was buried beneath the surface of all the more probable scenarios. Part of her held secrets she knew Mason wouldn't be happy with. Renz, for instance. A little birdie had happened to notify the girl of the model's whereabouts. She disappeared from the family home with little to no warning, found in another country across the Pacific Ocean if no one other than Riley Marsh herself. Even the sources were well aware of the 'unknown girl found leaving Sydney's International Airport' with the young and full spirited model who will take over the industry with her beauty and talents.

The headlines were almost everywhere. Mara and Mika tried their hardest to keep it away from the youngest. 'Mason would throw a fit if she found out'. Mika's firm tone stood out the night she received a phone call from the latter.

She'd hate for Mason to find herself revisiting those wounds; barely healed. It took her months to finally find herself living life without the mere thought nor reminder of her ex haunting her throughout the day—making it unbearable.

"You say that now but what if—" Mara's words are replaced with the feeling of Mason's strawberry flavoured lips pressed against her own. She feels the heaviness evaporate into thin air—like it was never there to begin with.

She shouldn't get used to this. Mara knew that her time would come where these intimate moments would cease to exist. But right now, she couldn't help but beg for more. She's never craved something more than she does right now. All she could ever want was her,

Mason, in all her glory.

The kiss ends and reality begins again. The kiss was as real as ever, but deep down, that kiss was a mere fantasy that she will soon wake up from; leaving her disheartened and broken.

"I love you." The words slip away like it's meant to be. Her doe like eyes tell what her mere lips could not. She looked deep into Mason's eyes.

"I love you too, Babi." Mason smiled. It was warm and oh so beautiful. A smile that could heal any wound, but one. Three words that meant the world to Mara. Three words that held meaning. Three words that were no more than a way to express her endearment to the latter.

Three words that meant differently to someone else. Three words Mara wished were more than what they were now. She smiled nonetheless. All she could do was smile and act like she wasn't breaking inside. Like her world was not falling apart and crumbling. It was just sad.

'I love you'. It echoed through the deepest parts of her mind. Her amygdala was working overtime. It produced fear and sadness. She could feel her heart break for the millionth time. She'd grown tired of picking up the pieces and mending them, only for it to repeat in an endless cycle. 'I love you' but never in that way.