Lost and Found

Chapter 25 | Find me

Collecting her courage, Julia rolls out of bed. She takes her blanket and pillow and drags them behind her down the stairs. Comfort is what she needs. Comfort and distractions.

After fixing breakfast–tea, toast, and a fruit bowl–she closes all the curtains. "It's time for her new favourite supernatural horror series. She lifts the hood with bunny ears off her onesie over her head, her blanket wrapped around her. No one can take this comfy blessing away from her.

Normally, she doesn't watch horror alone. She has too big of an imagination, but this will take her mind off things. Hmmm, maybe she shouldn't have made the room so dark. At least she has enough pillows and blankets to hide behind. Nestled on the ground, she watches her series.

"No, no, no. No clown monsters," she whispers at the TV as a clown from her nightmares walks around the haunted house. The clown walks through a wall. "Of course, it's a ghost clown. Because why not make it worse?" Julia finches behind the blanket. The clown's arms come through the wall and take one of the male leads. "No! He was cute."

"Who is?"

Julia's heart leaps out of her chest. Screaming at the sudden voice, her body jerks so hard she falls back on the blanket and pillows. "I do not give consent to monsters," Julia says, hiding behind her blanket of safety.

The lights turn on, and her series is paused. A soft chuckle comes from behind the other side of her blanket. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I would scare you," Mason says. Crouching down in front of her, he pulls the blanket away from her face. She blinks at him. His soft finger caresses her cheek. "Are you okay?"

The feeling in her body returns, and she pushes against his chest. "You scared me to death," she says. Mason falls backwards and laughs. "I always knew you were a psychopath murderer." She laughs as she watches him act hurt.

"Hey, I was the one who got attacked in the forest. And now I'm being attacked again," Mason says.

"Oh, no. You were going to be the bigger person and take the blame, remember?" Smiling at each other, they hold each other's gaze.

"Must've been your pretty brown eyes manipulating me."

Why is it so easy to be around him until things get screwed up and complicated?

Mason's broad smile turns into a thoughtful frown, and he sits next to her. He opens his mouth, only to close it again. His eyes hold a kindness she doesn't see often. After a moment of silence, his face cracks. "I'm so sorry, Julia."

The apology actually sounds sincere. There's no pity in Mason's voice or eyes. Her lips quiver as tears form in her eyes. She dives into Mason's arms. His arms fall around her, pulling her to his safety. He holds Julia's head against his chest, and his fingers dig into her hair. As his scent calms her down, his heartbeat tells her how her heartbeat should beat.

They sit there in silence in each other's warm embrace, exactly like Julia needed. Even though she didn't know it yet. When the silence makes place for awkwardness, Julia pulls away.

One ear of her bunny onesie fell in front of her face. Her cheeks turn red. Domoor. Literally. Julia hides her face in her hands. Now he has seen her in her onesie. What will everyone think?

His fingers brush her skin as he nudges the ear out of her face. "I like your onesie. You make a cute bunny."

She peeks through her fingers to watch his face. Is Mason making fun of her? If he is, it doesn't show on his face or in his eyes.

Julia's stomach twists as everything she was trying to ignore comes back. "You were right. No one can like me," Julia sniffs as she averts Mason's eyes.

"That's not what I said, and that's not true. I like you," Mason says. "I'm really sorry. Ash is an A-hole to do this to you. You're way too good for him." Julia blinks at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "And I'm sorry about what I said and how I behaved. Even though I had all the right intentions, everything came out wrong," Mason continues.

She nods her head slowly, not quite grasping what Mason is saying. They stare at each other. Not sure how to continue. One side of the corner of Mason's mouth twitches upwards. He averts his eyes and stares at the TV. "I heard you're moving to the same street as me," Mason says. Julia watches his face glow up. "That's great, right?"

She tilts her head and stays quiet until he meets her eyes. "You like me," she says.

"Yeah."

A warm glow grows inside of her. Mason does. For some reason, he told her the truth. Mason likes her. Even after everything that has happened, there isn't a part of her that doubts him. Okay, there were some small parts that were doubting. Maybe she can melt those away with this new-found warmth?

Something crosses his eyes, and he stares at his own hands. "I know things are hard right now, but you're not alone. And if you want, we can hang out more. We could go on hikes. Or watch TV."

She leans her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you always find me."

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Translation:
Domoor, meaning stupid, can be literally translated to Dumb-ear

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I kind of want to build a blanket fort and watch some horror movies

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