ISOBEL
I turned on my around and had my back facing him, and I could feel my heart pounding so hard to the point that it was starting to hurt. "I'm done with this conversation."
I didn't wait for him to give me a response. I just wanted to get away from him, from his annoying words that made me angry, and from the way he made me feel things I didn't want to feel and wasn't supposed to feel. I tried to quickly get away from him, but before I could take more than a few steps forward, he reached for me and grabbed me, wrapping his fingers around my wrist.
He didn't grab me with force neither did it hurt, but when our skin met, it sent chills through my spine. I stopped even though I didn't want to, and I felt my breath get stuck in my throat, but I refused to turn around.
"Don't walk away," Mason said in a low voice. It didn't sound like he was demanding, neither did it sound like he was pleading with me. Instead it felt like it was something in between.
I swallowed hard and my body immediately became stiff. "And why shouldn't I walk away? What do you have to offer?"
He didn't give me an answer immediately but I felt his hold on my arm tighten for a second, and it felt like he wanted to hold on to me but knew he shouldn't. Then he let me go almost immediately. His touch was warm and when he pulled away, he took the warmth away with him but the feeling still lingered on my skin and it made me feel some kind of way.
I slowly turned around to face him and as usual, his expression was blank and unreadable, but his eyes were dark and it felt intimidating, but I wasn't going to let that make me back down. Not this time.
"You don't get to do this, Mason," I said and to my surprise, my voice sounded harsher than I meant for it to sound. "You don't get to act like you don't want me but then get angry when someone else does."
I saw something pass in his eyes, and it looked like a part of him that was vulnerable threatened to show up but just as usual, he quickly regained composure and his usual blank expression came back in place.
Mason clenched his jaw like he was barely controlling himself. "He doesn't care about you."
I laughed bitterly and humorlessly. "And what about you? Do you care about me?"
Because I was paying close attention to him, I noticed how he slightly flinched when he heard my words. I felt my chest tighten when I looked at him but I quickly pushed the feeling down before it could make my head spin. I wouldn't let him play with my emotions any longer.
"I never said that," he muttered so low that I could barely hear him.
I slowly nodded and forced out a smile, even though my chest felt heavy and it suddenly became so difficult to breathe. "Of course." I simply said because to be honest, there was nothing else I could say because my head was a mess.
A part of me had been hoping for something from him. I was hoping that he'd admit what he felt, even if it was small and he wasn't really sure of it but instead, all I got from him was him moving several steps backwards. It felt like he was hell bent on pretending like there was nothing between us.
But that wasn't what bothered me. What annoyed me was the fact that he gave me mixed signals. I wanted him to just stick to one thing. If he wanted to be with me or not.
I took a deep breath to try to calm down. Then, just as I turned away to leave, a thought came to my head and before I could stop myself, I blurted it out. "Maybe I should go back inside and find Francis."
I noticed how Mason immediately tensed up. He clenched his fists and his nostrils flared and his eyes darkened as he glared at me.
"At least he doesn't pretend that he doesn't care," I continued but my voice was lower now, but I refused to back down.
I noticed how a muscle in his jaw twitched like he was on the verge of losing it. He slowly took a step forward to close the space between us, crowding my space and making the air feel thick, and hard to breathe in.
"Do you think he's better for you?" He said in a very low voice that felt like he was barely holding back his anger.
I stood my ground and refused to look away. "I think he's honest."
Mason's breathing was heavy and his entire body was stiff like he was holding himself back. My chest felt tight as so many emotions passed through me at the same time.
None of us said a word. He just kept looking at me, maintaining eye contact, and for a moment, I thought he was going to say something reasonable and that he would finally let down his guard and stop pretending but just like I should have known, he didn't.
Instead, he let out a deep breath and took a step back. "Do whatever you want, Isobel," he said flatly and his voice had no hint of emotion in it.
I kept looking at him, refusing to show him any weakness as I swallowed hard. I clenched my fists, and forced myself to stay strong, even though his words hit me harder than it should have.
I turned away again, and started walking even though everything in me wanted me to stop. I tried my best to stop myself from looking back to see if he was still standing there and watching me leave or if he regretted what he just said.