Chapter 6 Stories in the Walls #2
The repairs had reached the stage where most of the major problems were visible.
Damage that had remained hidden for months now sat exposed.
Wooden supports.
Water stains.
Cracked sections behind the drywall.
The house had stopped pretending to be perfect.
Mason found himself thinking about that while removing damaged material from the wall.
Sometimes things looked fine until you saw what was hidden underneath.
People weren't much different.
The thought lingered.
Especially when he glanced toward Liam.
The younger man sat cross-legged on the floor nearby with a laptop balanced on his knees.
Studying.
At least pretending to study.
Every few minutes his attention wandered toward Mason instead.
Not that Mason noticed.
Much.
Eventually Liam sighed loudly.
Mason looked over.
"What?"
The younger man shut his laptop.
"I hate group projects."
The declaration arrived with surprising force.
Mason laughed.
"That bad?"
"One person disappeared completely."
Liam held up a finger.
"Another hasn't answered messages in four days."
A second finger joined the first.
"The third thinks deadlines are optional."
Mason nodded solemnly.
"Sounds promising."
"I know."
Liam dropped his head back dramatically.
"I'm doomed."
The performance earned another laugh.
For a while, the conversation remained light.
University frustrations.
Work stories.
Minor complaints about life.
The kind of comfortable conversation they'd become increasingly good at having.
Then something shifted.
Not suddenly.
Gradually.
Mason wasn't entirely sure how it happened.
One moment they were discussing class assignments.
The next they were talking about confidence.
More specifically, the lack of it.
The change started when Liam made an offhand comment.
"I'm not exactly the kind of person people listen to."
The statement caught Mason's attention immediately.
"What does that mean?"
Liam shrugged.
His focus remained on the floor.
"I don't know."
The answer sounded casual.
The expression on his face didn't.
Mason set down his tools.
The instinctive movement surprised him.
"Yeah, you do."
Silence followed.
The younger man remained quiet.
For a moment, Mason considered dropping the subject.
Then Liam sighed.
The sound carried more exhaustion than frustration.
"My ex used to say things."
The words arrived softly.
Carefully.
Mason felt something tighten inside his chest.
Immediately.
The younger man's gaze remained fixed on the floor.
"He always had opinions."
A humorless smile appeared.
"About everything."
The smile disappeared just as quickly.
"Mostly about me."
The room suddenly felt quieter.
Mason didn't interrupt.
Didn't push.
Didn't offer advice.
He simply listened.
Something told him that was what Liam needed.
"My clothes."
Liam laughed softly.
Without humor.
"My voice."
Another pause.
"The way I acted."
The words came slowly now.
As though each one required effort.
"He thought I was too sensitive."
Mason's jaw tightened.
Liam didn't seem to notice.
"Too emotional."
A shrug.
"Too soft."
The final word lingered.
Heavy.
Painful.
Real.
Mason had heard enough.
Not because the story was finished.
Because he already understood.
Maybe not every detail.
Enough.
The signs were familiar.
The damage too.
Not physical.
The other kind.
The kind that settled beneath skin and stayed there.
"That's bullshit."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Liam blinked.
"What?"
Mason met his gaze.
"All of it."
The younger man stared.
As though nobody had ever responded that way before.
The realization made something inside Mason twist painfully.
"He wasn't always mean."
The defense arrived automatically.
Predictably.
Mason hated hearing it.
Not because it was unusual.
Because it was.
People always defended the people who hurt them.
Especially when they loved them.
"He didn't have to be."
Liam frowned slightly.
Mason leaned back against the wall.
"You know what I hear?"
The younger man looked uncertain.
"What?"
"I hear someone who spent years trying to make you smaller."
The words settled heavily between them.
Liam immediately looked away.
Which told Mason everything.
Silence stretched.
Long.
Uncomfortable.
Necessary.
Eventually Liam spoke again.
"I started believing him."
The confession landed quietly.
Far quieter than it deserved.
Yet it hit harder than anything else he'd said.
The younger man laughed softly.
Embarrassed.
Ashamed.
"As stupid as that sounds."
"It doesn't."
The answer came immediately.
Firmly.
Liam looked up.
Mason continued before he could stop himself.
"When enough people tell you something, you start wondering if it's true."
The younger man's expression shifted.
Recognition.
Understanding.
Relief.
All appearing at once.
For a moment neither spoke.
The conversation had moved beyond casual territory.
Far beyond.
Yet neither seemed eager to retreat.
Maybe because honesty felt easier now.
Or maybe because both of them were tired of pretending certain wounds didn't exist.
Liam stared toward the partially repaired wall.
"I still hear it sometimes."
The admission sounded almost reluctant.
"The comments."
His fingers tightened slightly around the edge of his laptop.
"I know they're not true."
A pause.
"Most days."
The vulnerability in those two words hit harder than anything before.
Most days.
Meaning some days were different.
Some days the damage still won.
Mason understood that feeling better than he wanted to.
Without thinking, he crossed the room.
The movement happened naturally.
Instinctively.
One moment he stood near the wall.
The next he stood beside Liam.
The younger man looked up.
Surprised.
Questioning.
Neither spoke.
Words suddenly seemed inadequate.
Mason understood tools.
Repairs.
Solutions.
This wasn't any of those things.
Yet for once, fixing something wasn't the goal.
Being there was.
Slowly, carefully, he opened his arms.
The invitation remained silent.
Liam stared for a moment.
Then something in his expression softened.
A second later, he moved forward.
The hug happened naturally.
Like a sigh finally released.
Mason wrapped his arms around him.
The younger man fit there far too easily.
Warm.
Solid.
Real.
For a long moment neither spoke.
Neither moved.
The quiet comfort felt surprisingly powerful.
Mason could feel tension gradually leaving Liam's body.
Could feel the younger man relaxing.
Trusting.
The realization carried dangerous weight.
Because Mason liked it.
Far too much.
He liked being the person Liam leaned on.
The person he trusted.
The person who made things feel safer.
That should have worried him more than it did.
Eventually reality began creeping back in.
The house.
The repairs.
The complicated situation neither of them had addressed.
None of it disappeared simply because they wanted comfort.
Yet neither moved immediately.
Neither seemed eager to break the moment.
The silence remained.
Gentle.
Warm.
Necessary.
And for one impossible moment, Mason considered holding on a little longer.
Just a few seconds more.
Long enough to pretend things weren't complicated.
Long enough to forget the age difference.
The professional boundaries.
The growing feelings.
Unfortunately, reality had a way of returning.
Eventually Liam shifted slightly.
Not away.
Just enough to remind them both where they were.
And what this was.
Mason loosened his hold reluctantly.
The younger man remained close for another heartbeat.
Maybe two.
Then finally stepped back.
Neither looked entirely unaffected.
Neither looked entirely ready to let go.
Which was exactly the problem.
Because standing there in the half-repaired living room, surrounded by exposed walls and old damage, Mason realized something dangerous.
The attraction was no longer the biggest issue.
The real problem was how much he cared.
And judging by the look in Liam's eyes, the feeling wasn't one-sided anymore.
That realization stayed between them long after the hug ended.
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