Tempted by love

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Today I looked out of the window longingly.   

I watch the birds soar into the sky, free without any restraints. I sigh onto the window pane watching my warm breath frost over in a circle. My little chores are done for the day and Mason is silently cleaning his gun while sitting on one of the marble steps of the staircase. He holds the gun lightly, experienced and well learned on how to use the weapon. I nearly forget that he is a deadly killer built and trained to fight till the death, a pure warrior. His wounds are almost non-existent, but the scars mark him like a proud wound. Though I know they’ll fade away with time. Mason has also begun training, exerting himself to push to the limits of his strength that he once achieved when he wasn’t crippled by his injuries. I’ve watched him like a curiously fascinated child when he did.   

I have never seen someone so dedicated as him. Not even Ronald Junior and Matt Tyler were able to exert themselves the way he did when working out. They were devoted football players in the All Star squad back where home used to be. I remember how all the girls in my high school fantasized about being their girlfriends and how their natural athletic capabilities earned them a full scholarship to NYU. But if there was one thing those boys had in common with Mason, it was their deep addiction for the adrenaline rush that soared through their fit bodies after a good work out session.                            

I leaned my head against the cold glass at the same time Mason had tucked his gun away in the back of his trousers. He looked up and watched me for a moment before returning his gaze down to his hands and I returned mine to the white snow outside.           

“Were you watching over me that day?” I asked nervously, cupping the peppermint schnapps-spiked hot cocoa tighter in my hands. My gaze remained fixed out the window and I hadn’t even turned around to see his face. I knew Mason was listening. He was proving to be a very attentive listener. I liked to think that it was my voice that drew him in to hear me across the distance.    

“Which day was that?” he replies.  

“When I was outside building the snowman.”  

I quickly turn around to catch him contemplating an answer in his head.     

“Yes, I was.”   

“Why?” I asked. My fifth sense had guessed correctly then and I smiled to myself, knowingly. “Do you like watching me?”

I could hear him sigh heavily. He didn’t want to tell me his answer. Mason stared blankly at the wall, looking at the colorful paintings hung above. “I felt uncomfortable with you being outside, that’s all, Ari.” 

“Don’t you long to smell the fresh air, feel the cold rush of wind blow of your face and to experience the soft ground beneath your feet?” I piped up.  I thought about all the possible sensations I missed when I was outside. “I don’t think it would be that bad to feel it again. Do you really think it’s really dangerous if we stepped outside for just a moment?”  

“A threat strikes at any moment and any given time. The variables of it not happening are less if we stay indoors, Ari.”  

“Variables?” I scoffed. “Variables are what make life shorter and unlived. At the end of this life, Mason, if we had to look back and think about how we’ve lived. All we ever find were the amount of variables we had instead of enjoying the things around us.”         

“You see too much color in life.” he stated it out. Mason tucked his gun away and walked over to me, standing about an inch away from me. He gazed out the window almost sad.