P.O.V Mason:
While I'm at work, focused on my tasks, I receive a call from the house manager.
"Mr. Mason, Miss Paige has been in the bathroom of her room for several hours, and I tried speaking to her from the door, but I didn't get a response," she says, sounding distressed.
"How many hours has it been?" I ask, paying attention to what she's saying.
"About two and a little more," she replies nervously.
"Alright, I'm on my way there," I end the call, feeling worried and confused.
As I make my way home, I call my mother and ask her if everything went well when they met, as they spent the whole morning together.
"We talked about what we'll be doing these days before the trip. We coordinated the day and time to start doing everything we need to do, and everything went fine, son. Is everything alright?" she asks, concerned.
"Yes, Mom, everything's fine. I'll call you later, I'm driving right now," I reply, feeling nervous.
"Alright, take care, love you," she says, ending the call after I tell her that I love her too.
I get home in less time than I always do, go downstairs, and leave the car parked in the driveway. I enter and go straight to her room.
At the bathroom door I find Simba and the house manager, the latter smiles when she sees me and nervously takes Simba to the yard.
I knock on the door, and I hear no answer, I repeat the same procedure more than four times and I still don't get an answer. I step back and think about what could have happened to him. In this kind of things, I am a little exaggerated, well not a little, quite a lot. A thousand possible scenarios run through my mind. From a fainting spell to death from a fall and hitting his head.
I can't take the worry anymore and end up breaking down the door. As I finish knocking on it once more. When I open the door I see her in the bathtub with a drowsy face, my heart improves a little the fast beats I had of worry. It doesn't last long, because when I see her naked, my pulse increases as if she had run a marathon. The water covers her body; however, I can appreciate her whole figure, she notices that and covers herself with her hands.
She asks me to close my eyes, when I expected her to tell me to get out of the bathroom, I do as she tells me and stand still. I wait patiently for her to be ready, when she tells me she is I leave her room and go straight to mine.
I close the door and close my eyes, the image of Paige in the tub comes back to my mind. I open my eyes and go to the bathroom, I wet my face to clear my mind. I can't manage to do anything but think about her, which has me frustrated. I haven't left my room again, so I don't see her, at least for now. I am more than sure that if I see her, the image of when I saw her in the bathroom will come to my mind. This takes days to get out of my mind,
let alone not seeing Peyton. Maybe if I see her, even if it's by video I can change or forget about today with Paige.
I pick up my phone and call Peyton on call, usually at this time I'm always busy and don't call her, so she must be surprised. I wait patiently and she answers I think just before she goes to the mailbox.
"Hello," she greets, sounding out of breath.
"Hey, are you busy?" I ask, curious.
"No, my love, I just had my phone at the other end of the apartment and had to run to grab it before it went to voicemail," she says, laughing.
"I see. How have you been? How was your day?" I inquire, sitting on my bed.
"I'm fine, darling. I did a bit of exercise to get back into my routine. You know I was cleared from the virus and need to return to normal life," she comments, sighing.
I continue to notice her restlessness. Perhaps this isn't the best moment. She tells me about her day, and I listen, feigning interest because the truth is that I'm not paying much attention to what she's saying. Paige's image is stuck in my mind.
She asks me something, and I don't even know how to respond. Seeing my lack of attention, she says,
"Would it be better if we talk later? I know you're working at this time, and I don't want to bother you." I sigh upon hearing her words.
"You're right. I apologize for not paying attention to what you're saying. Let's talk tonight. I love you and miss you," I say, feeling guilty for my lack of attention.
"Don't worry, I understand, my love. I love you too, and I miss you. The good thing is that we're getting closer to being together, and I'm excited for that moment to come," she says, filled with excitement and joy.
"I'm also counting down the days for that to happen, for us to be together. We'll talk tonight," I say, ending the call.
I sigh because I can't stop thinking about Paige. I don't know what she's doing to me, but I can't get her out of my mind.
Paige narrates:
After she was left alone in my room, I put my toy away and quickly get dressed to go downstairs to the dining room to ask Mason the reason for his early arrival.
When I get downstairs I can't find him, so I go upstairs to his room to look for him, which is where the housekeeper tells me he is. Standing in the doorway of his room she hears him talking on the phone,
I'm also counting the days until that happens, and we can be together, I'll talk to you in the evening," says Mason.
He's talking to his beloved, he's counting the days until our marriage is over. I can't deny that hurts, a lot.
I go back down to the first level of the house, I go out to the yard to play with Simba, it's the best thing to relax my mind and make my heart turn back to stone regarding Mason.
I stay playing with the ball and my baby, who happily runs for his ball and brings it back for me to throw again. It's a simple game that he loves.
I'm smiling and laughing at his desperate running when I feel a presence behind me. I don't need to turn around to know who is behind me.
"He never gets bored of that game," says Mason sighing.
"Never," I reply without another word.
We both stay in silence playing with Simba, until dinner we both do it in silence.