Previously
"What happened to the person in the other car?" Mason's uncle asked as he hugged his wife tightly.
"The people in the other car were a young couple around his age," he pointed to Mason before continuing, "unfortunately, the driver, the male, passed away shortly after the accident. And according to our sources, his girlfriend survived but she has been paralyzed as a result of the accident. Because of that, she now uses a wheelchair."
As soon as Nadia heard that, she began to suspect that they were talking about her and Jackson. After all, what were the chances that another couple had gotten into an accident in Rome where the guy passed away and the girl became paralyzed?
"Do you know where the survivor is? Could we possibly meet with her and apologize or something?" Mason's aunt asked as she wiped away her tears.
"Yes I have information on her but according to my sources, apparently you are already familiar with her. I believe you know someone by the name of--"
"Nadia Portman."
Everyone's eyes turned to look at Nadia as she entered the living room.
"Yes, that's right. How did you know--"
The stranger stopped speaking as soon as he looked at her.
And in that moment, the tension in the air was so thick that Nadia felt as if she was going to get suffocated by it.
- - -
"Nadia."
Mason was the first to speak as he stood up from where he sat on the couch. He took a step towards Nadia but she stopped him by holding out her hand, saying,
"Don't come any closer, please."
She registered the hurt expression on his face as she turned her attention to the man who had just delivered the devastating news.
"Mason's dad is the reason why Jackson died? He's the one who crashed into our car?" Nadia asked, her hand balling into a fist as she was suddenly overcome with anger.
The man nodded and Nadia felt as if someone had taken a knife and stabbed her heart with it.
"His dad is the reason why," she was now looking at Mason, "why I'm stuck in a wheelchair?"
There was a short moment of silence before the man said,
"Yes."
And as soon as Nadia heard that one word, she felt a few stray tears run down her cheeks. She furiously wiped them away as she continued to look at Mason.
What were the chances that the guy she had developed feelings for was related to the man who had caused the death of the first guy she had ever loved?
Nadia continued to wipe away the tears as they continued to fall. She heard footsteps and looked up to find Mason walking towards her.
"Nadia," he said her name but she shook her head.
"Please, don't say my name. I can't even stand to look at you right now," she said between tears. A pained expression painted over his face at her words. She pushed herself to the door and opened it before showing herself out.
As she pushed herself home, she couldn't stop crying. But she didn't get far before someone held onto the push handles, stopping her. She turned around to find Mason holding onto the push handles as he looked down at her. The night sky was suddenly illuminated by fireworks for the new year.
"Nadia, I'm really sorry. I know that's not going to make a difference but I'm really sor--"
"Don't--just don't," she said with the little strength that she had left.
"Nadi--"
"Stop it! Nothing you say is going to change anything so please, just leave me alone. I don't want to see you right now."
The moment she finished speaking, he released the grip he had on the push handles, allowing her to continue pushing herself. But after a few moments, she heard him say,
"Fine! Leave! That's all you're good at anyway--running away. If you don't want to listen to what I have to say, then don't! But the moment you leave, we'll never speak to each other again! We're done!!"
Nadia hesitated for a moment. But the anger in his voice was transferred to her as she replayed the most painful parts of what he had just said.
That's all you're good at anyway--running way.
We'll never speak to each other again!
We're done!!
Her tears returned as she was finally able to continue pushing herself, the sky still lighting up with the fireworks but she was unable to take in their beauty since she was preoccupied. But as she made her way home, she could no longer tell whether she was crying because of the fact that she now knew who caused Jackson's death or if it was because her friendship with Mason had just ended.
---
Nadia arrived home thirty minutes later with tears still in her eyes as she unlocked the door. She pushed herself inside and closed the door before allowing herself to continue crying.
"Happy New Ye--"
Her parents stopped as soon as they took in her appearance. Her father immediately walked up to her and knelt in front of her, gently placing his hands on her cheeks as he wiped away her tears with his thumb.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked as he looked at her. But she couldn't say anything.
"Did it not go well with Mason?" her mother asked. She nodded her head subconsciously as her father wrapped her in a hug. She continued to cry as she rested her forehead against her father's shoulder.
Her mother gently rubbed her back as she said,
"It's okay sweetie. Everything is going to be okay."
But suddenly, hearing that word okay annoyed her. She pulled away and faced her mother as she shook her head.
"Everything is not going to be okay! Mason's dad--he," she suddenly found it hard to complete her sentence.
"What's wrong with his dad?" her mother asked, looking at her with furrowed brows.
"He's the one that crashed into the car that I was in with Jackson! He's the reason why Jackson is dead and I'm in this stupid wheelchair!"
And the moment she finished speaking, she broke down once again.
---
January
In the first week of the new year, Nadia hadn't been able to attend school. She couldn't even bear the thought of having to face Mason after what had happened on the night of New Year's Eve.
Already, the new year had started out terribly.
She had spent the week mostly in her bed, only finding the strength to get out when she had to eat and when it was time for her to use the washroom.
But now, as she sat behind the dining table, looking at her scrambled eggs and toast, she found herself still trying to convince herself to return to school. She only had six months of senior year left and she had already missed too many days.
"Everything alright?" she heard her mother ask as she gently touched her hand. She looked up at her and nodded her head, offering a small smile. Her mother smiled back slightly.
"Finish your breakfast and I'll drop you off at school."
She nodded her head.
To her disappointment, the ride to school had been shorter than usual, despite the snow which had fallen over the past week. She found herself staring at the school from the window as her heart beat quickly.
What was she supposed to do if she saw Mason?
Just like he had said, they hadn't spoke since what happened.
"Hey sweetheart," she heard her mother say. She turned to face her.
"You'll be alright. I know it's going to be hard but just take it one day at a time, okay?"
She slowly nodded her head before saying her goodbye and her mother helped her out of the car.
She entered the school shortly after and began making her way to her locker. But as she was going, the sound of someone laughing caught her attention. She turned to look in the direction where it had come from to find Chris laughing as she gently hit Mason. Unlike her though, he looked at Chris with a blank expression before looking at Nadia. And as soon as their eyes met, he coldly turned away from her.
Nadia felt her eyes sting as she looked away, feeling the tears begin to fall.
They really weren't going to be friends anymore. That was it--they were done.
By the time she reached her locker, she was fully crying, no longer caring what other people would say about her. She attempted to open her locker several times but she found it hard to open the lock, her vision blurred by her tears. When she had tried for the fifth time, she banged her locker in frustration before putting her face in her hands.
Nothing was going well for her.
No matter what she did, there was always something that went wrong.
She pulled out her phone and unlocked it. And through her blurry vision, she was able to open her contacts list. She searched for Mason's name before pressing the option to delete.
Are you sure you want to delete this contact?
Yes No
She stared at the screen for several moments, finding it hard to move her fingers. And when she was finally able to delete the number, she couldn't ignore the painful expression in her chest as she continued to cry.
"Nadia?" she barely heard her name as someone called her. Attempting to wipe her tears away, she turned around to find Mandy standing there with a concerned expression.
"Are you okay?" Mandy asked as she walked closer. And before Nadia could even say anything, she began to cry again. Mandy rushed to her and knelt in front of her, wrapping her in a tight hug. Nadia wrapped her arms around her ex-best friend as she allowed her to be a source of comfort.
"Why is life so unfair?" she found herself asking,
"Why is my life so hard?"
***
A/N:
As promised, I have updated as soon as I was able to. Thank you to everyone of you who have been reading and enjoying the story so far! We're finally getting to the juicy parts (lol) so I hope you'll continue to enjoy it. As always, please let me know your thoughts/comments/concerns!
And also, I've noticed a few new people voting recently. Welcome aboard the crazy ride that is this story (lol) and I hope like everyone else, you're also enjoying it!
Once again, thank you everyone (whether you're new or have been around for a while)! I truly truly appreciate every single one of you!!
See you in the next update (hoping to complete it soon too)!
~candysweet101