Previously
They said their goodbyes before Nadia pushed herself towards her house, opening the door once she was close enough before entering. As soon as she entered, she heard the voice of her parents as well as an unfamiliar voice.
She quietly made her way to the living room to find her parents speaking to a stranger as they each had a cup of tea before them. Her father's head turned towards her as soon as she entered.
"Hello sweetheart, how was school today?"
She forced a smile as she lied, saying,
"It was okay."
Her eyes moved away from her father and focused on the back of the stranger they were talking to.
"Who's this?" she asked.
And as soon as the person turned around, she felt as if she had the wind knocked out of her, as she found her mind going back to the night of New Year's Eve. The man stood up and walked towards her, a small smile on his face.
"We already met before but I don't think I formally introduced myself."
He reached out his hand.
"Hello Nadia, my name is Clive Archer and I am the detective who has been assigned to the case of your accident."
- - -
Thirty-Seven
Nadia couldn't find the strength within her to reach out her hand to shake the detective's hand. All she could do was continue to look at his outstretched hand, her mind going back to when she had first learned that Mason's dad was responsible for the accident.
When she saw the detective returning his hand to his side, that was when she was finally able to say something.
"Why are you here?" she asked, looking at him. He opened his mouth to answer her question but her mother interrupted him.
"Why don't you have a seat Mr. Archer? And Nadia, come and join us."
Nadia watched the detective return to his seat before she pushed herself further into the living room, positioning herself beside the couch, beside her mother.
"Now, can you please tell us why you're here?" her mother asked. The detective nodded his head before leaning forward.
"About a month after the accident happened, I was assigned to the case. And after several months, we have been able to piece everything together. We were able to determine that a Michael Simmons was responsible for the accident. He had been driving under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of his car and unfortunately," he turned to look at Nadia, "crashed into the vehicle that you and Mr Cooper were in."
Nadia felt her eyes sting as she heard Jackson's name.
"He was drunk driving--some people are unbelievable. How could he do that to someone else's child? And he's going to get away with it because he's dead," she heard her father say as he shook his head as a pained expression covered his face.
"That's not completely the case as you are eligible to take his family to court in his place. Of course you can't sue them for what happened to Mr Cooper but you can sue for the paralysis that occurred to your daughter as a result."
"How can we when we don't know anything about them? For all we know, they may live in a completely different country," her father said.
"Actually, Nadia knows them quite well," the detective said.
"What does he mean?" her mother was the first to speak now. Nadia swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the lump which had suddenly formed.
"Remember when I came home crying on New Year's Eve?" she said and both of her parents nodded before they realized what she was saying.
"You said that Mason's dad was the one who--"
"Crashed into your car," her mother finished her father's sentence.
"Is that why Mason approached you? Did he already know? Was he trying to be your friend so that we wouldn't sue his family?" her father asked as he began to look angry. But Nadia held up her hand as she shook her head, feeling the need to defend Mason. Even if they were no longer friends, he didn't deserve to be wrongly accused of something so malicious.
"That day when I went to Mason's house, Mr Archer was there and I heard him tell them so they didn't know. He didn't even know that his father had passed away," she explained.
"But after finding out, they haven't even made an attempt to reach out to us," her father said. Nadia noticed as his left hand balled into a fist.
"I don't want it to seem like I am encouraging you to not to take action against the Simmons family but I suggest that you take your time and carefully consider what you will do from here on out. If you do decide to take them to court," the detective reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a card, placing it on the coffee table before saying, "you can call this number and they will help you to find a lawyer."
---
Nadia pushed herself into the school the next morning, dreading the fact that she would have to see Mason in her first class; especially after hearing what the detective had to say. She kept her eyes as close to the ground as she could, in an attempt to avoid seeing him with Chris again but she was forced to look up when someone bumped into her chair.
"Sorry," the person apologized immediately before walking off. And in the few moments that she had looked up at the person, she saw Mason behind him, looking at his phone as he leaned against a locker beside Chris's. She was saying something to him but he appeared uninterested.
She didn't notice that she had been staring at him until he looked up and made eye contact with her. And when she saw the cold expression which took over his face, she felt a pang in her chest as if someone had stabbed her heart once again. Her vision blurred as tears began to surround her eyes.
But before the tears could fall, she heard someone call her name. She turned around to find Mandy waving at her as she smiled at her. She slowly pushed herself towards her.
"Thanks, I needed that," she said to Mandy. With a tight-lipped smile, she said,
"No worries; what are friends for."
Nadia felt her lips turn up slightly when she heard her words. But she couldn't ignore the pain that she still felt in her chest.
"I'll see you later at lunch, I need to go to the washroom before class," she said before excusing herself, making her way towards the washroom.
And once she was inside, she found herself stopping in front of the mirror as she looked at herself, the image of the look Mason had given her imprinted in her mind. It was then that she finally felt the tears fall.
Why did it seem like someone was purposely messing with her life, she thought to herself as she continued to cry.
She remained in the washroom crying until she heard the bell ring. She then took a few paper towels and dried her eyes before looking at her reflection once again. She took in a deep breath and slowly released it before repeating her mother's words to herself,
Take it one day at a time.
Nadia attempted to quickly push herself to her classroom. And as she got closer to the class, a lady bumped into her chair, causing her to stop and look at her. The lady looked down at her with a disgusted expression, as if she was the one who had bumped into her when there was so much space in the hallway.
"Watch where you're going," she said to Nadia. And before she could apologize for something she didn't do, the lady walked to her classroom and knocked on the door. Nadia watched as the door opened to reveal her teacher. A few words were exchanged between them before Mason left the class with his bag.
Nadia noticed Mason freeze as he saw the lady. But within moments, he grabbed onto her arm and dragged her away from the class.
"Stop dragging me away, we need to talk," the lady said. Mason stopped and turned his head around, causing Nadia to quickly push herself behind a row of lockers.
"Not here," was all Mason said before they continued walking.
Nadia quietly followed them, trying her hardest not to get caught. She knew that it wasn't a good idea for her to skip class to follow Mason and the lady but she couldn't fight the curiosity she felt.
She followed them to a secluded area of the school before she hid just far enough to hear what they were saying.
"Why are you here?" Mason asked harshly.
"Nice to see you too, Mason," the lady said sarcastically.
"What, did you expect me to be happy to see you? Why are you here?" Mason asked, his voice laced with anger.
There was a moment of silence between them until Mason spoke again.
"If you don't have anything important to say, then leave me alone. I need to get back to class."
Mason took a few steps towards where Nadia was hiding. And as she realized this, she began to panic as there was nowhere else she could hide. She remained in her spot as her grip on the push ring tightened, her palms beginning to dampen.
She heard his steps as they got closer. She prayed in her mind that he wouldn't see her. And just as his foot came into view, the lady pulled him back. Nadia listened with bated breath as the lady said,
"Listen to me when I talk to you. You may not like me but I'm all you've got now. After all, I'm your mother."
Nadia's eyes widened as she heard what the lady had said.
That lady was Mason's mother?
* * *
A/N:
Thank you very much for checking out another chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! So what do you think about what happened? Do you Nadia's family should sue Mason's family? And what do you think about Mason's mom so far? Let me know all of your thoughts/comments/concerns!
~candysweet101
P.S. The next will not be in Nadia's POV