Chapter 14 Flood Warning #2
Because if he was being completely honest, part of him wanted that.
Not because he didn't care about Liam.
Because he cared too much.
The thought sounded pathetic even inside his own head.
Yet it remained.
Persistent.
Unwelcome.
True.
The call ended without a decision.
Tom sounded frustrated.
Mason couldn't blame him.
He was frustrated too.
Later that afternoon, he found himself parked outside a supply warehouse waiting for materials.
The delay should have annoyed him.
Instead, it gave him too much time to think.
A dangerous situation.
His phone rested in the cup holder.
A message from Liam sat unanswered.
Nothing dramatic.
Just a simple question about his day.
Three sentences.
Two jokes.
A smiley face he absolutely refused to admit he found charming.
The conversation should have been easy.
Instead, Mason stared at it for ten minutes.
Trying to decide whether responding immediately would somehow make everything harder.
The fact that he was even asking that question felt ridiculous.
Eventually he replied.
The answer arrived almost instantly.
Of course it did.
Liam always seemed happy to talk to him.
The realization hurt.
Because the more obvious Liam's feelings became, the more convinced Mason grew that he needed to step back.
A healthier person probably would've examined that logic.
Mason wasn't interested.
Not right now.
It felt easier to keep moving.
To keep working.
To keep convincing himself that sacrifice and wisdom were the same thing.
Unfortunately, life rarely cooperated with self-deception forever.
Sunday afternoon brought another reminder.
Liam called.
The sight of his name appearing on the screen immediately improved Mason's mood.
That alone should have been enough evidence.
Instead, he answered.
"Hey."
"Hey."
The younger man's voice carried a familiar warmth.
The kind that settled somewhere beneath Mason's ribs.
They talked for fifteen minutes.
Nothing important.
University frustrations.
Repair updates.
Weather warnings.
Ordinary things.
Yet when the call ended, Mason found himself smiling.
Again.
The reaction lingered long after the conversation finished.
And for the first time in days, he admitted something uncomfortable.
Distance wasn't helping.
Not really.
It wasn't making him care less.
Wasn't making Liam less important.
Wasn't making decisions easier.
All it accomplished was hurting both of them.
The realization followed him into Monday.
Then Tuesday.
Then Wednesday.
Each day brought another opportunity to reconsider.
Each day he ignored it.
Because the alternative felt terrifying.
Hope always did.
Especially after disappointment.
Especially after failure.
Especially after spending years rebuilding yourself from mistakes you still couldn't fully forgive.
The storm arrived Thursday evening.
Meteorologists had spent nearly a week warning everyone.
This time they were right.
Dark clouds swallowed the sky long before sunset.
Wind rattled windows.
Rain hammered rooftops with growing intensity.
By seven o'clock, most people had already retreated indoors.
Mason stood in his apartment watching water streak across the glass.
The storm should have commanded his full attention.
Instead, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Toward a large house across town.
Toward a nervous literature student who hated thunderstorms more than he admitted.
Toward someone currently sitting alone while rain pounded against the roof.
The realization came slowly.
Then all at once.
He was worried.
Not because Liam couldn't take care of himself.
The younger man had proven repeatedly that he was stronger than people assumed.
Mason knew that.
The concern ran deeper.
Instinctive.
Protective.
The kind that ignored logic entirely.
His phone remained silent on the counter.
Mason glanced at it anyway.
Then again.
Then a third time.
The behavior would've been embarrassing if anyone else had witnessed it.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Rain intensified.
The storm continued building.
And somehow every sound seemed to remind him of Liam.
Whether the younger man had remembered to secure outdoor furniture.
Whether he'd stocked emergency supplies.
Whether he was worrying alone.
The questions multiplied.
Along with the uncomfortable truth sitting beneath them.
He missed him.
Simple.
Undeniable.
Painfully obvious.
The distance hadn't changed that.
If anything, it had made the realization stronger.
Because every attempt to create space only highlighted how much of it Liam occupied.
The thought settled heavily inside his chest.
Outside, lightning illuminated the darkened sky.
Thunder followed seconds later.
The storm had finally arrived.
And despite partnership offers, logical arguments, and every excuse he'd spent weeks constructing, Mason found himself standing at the window thinking about only one thing.
Liam.
Not business opportunities.
Not future earnings.
Not responsible choices.
Just Liam.
The person who made empty houses feel less lonely.
The person who challenged him.
Listened to him.
Saw him.
The person he kept trying to walk away from despite never truly wanting to.
Another flash of lightning brightened the room.
Mason exhaled slowly.
The realization felt unavoidable now.
He could run from a relationship.
He could run from feelings.
He could even run toward a different town if he wanted.
None of that would change the truth.
Because as the storm raged outside and darkness settled across Oregon, one thing became painfully clear.
He wasn't running from a mistake.
He was running from happiness.
And for the first time, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to keep running.
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