Me, You, and Mason

5

She didn't have to say anything more.

He trailed her to one of the only parks in town, overgrown and unkept.

When the moon ran high, half of the park was used for drug sellin' and smokin', hence the street lights being shot out.

But the other half was undisturbed. The perfect place to get lost.

With so much of Mason being built out and so many businesses springing up, Darcy loved that Mason still had its own little jungle amidst the growing concrete.

Sometimes, she would park just to watch the trees wave their arms in the wind.

Other times, she'd come here to stargaze. It was the only place left in town, where you could still kinda' see 'em.

She invited Sage to sit as a passenger in her car. Upon adjusting the seat, he settled in.

"I used to come here all the time," he said, "when they had the wood chips instead of the pebbles on the playground."

"Oh, my— yeah! I remember that! My mama was happy as hell they got rid of them wood chips."

"Mine was too. I used to stay with a splinter."

"Mane!" She giggled in agreement.

She relaxed in her seat, a smile still tinting her lips as she made his silhouette out of the darkness.

"Why I ain't never met'chu until now?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I'on know. Guess God ordered it that way."

"Guess so."

"I used to be all over the city."

"Used to be," he repeated.

"Yeah... Parties and clubs and lil' town-wide celebrations. Open mic nights. I stayed goin' somewhere just to enjoy the atmosphere."

"What happened?"

"I... uh... I don't know... I lost somebody, and then I just got lost myself."

"Yeah... I know what you mean."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... One of my best friends got killed a while back and, uh... I got so caught up just workin' and movin' that I didn't even recognize myself. Like, I ain't know who I was anymore because I wasn't myself...

"But once you see that— that person that's not you— you gotta make the choice of whether you're gonna stay where you at or elevate."

"Yeah," she'd never resonated so deeply with words not coming from a preacher.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she added.

"I'm sorry for yours too... while you might've lost somebody, the one thing about losing yourself is that you can always find 'em again."

She found comfort in that.

She reached out her hand, searching for his in the dark. "Where are you? Can I hold your hand?"

"Yes. I'm right here for you," his hand found hers as if he knew exactly where she was. As if there was never any doubt of where she'd be, where she'd be reaching, how she'd need him at this moment.

She laced her fingers with his and held on tight.

Her other hand ran over the back of his, the smoothness that contrasted greatly with his textured palms. She found a vein, dragging a fingertip up and down his vessel, from his hand and down his forearm and back again.

"Right here," she whispered his last words.

"For as long as you'll have me," he said.

"What about leaving Mason?" She was almost scared to ask.