“We used to be together all the time,” he confesses. “But things were rough at home. My dad . . . he was a piece of shit. He didn’t treat us like he should’ve. I loved him, though.”

“Of course,” I say, my heart already sinking.

“Then he left,” he says simply. “Moved out one day and never came back. He sends me cards on my birthday, but I haven’t seen him in years. I was crushed, you know? I was just a kid. I wanted him to want me.”

Mason shifts his position, folding his arms over his chest, and I mirror his pose, another lump forming in my throat.

“I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I pushed everyone away,” he remarks. “I told you I didn’t want to see you anymore. I didn’t see the point of letting anyone get close to me if they were just going to leave one day too.”

“I get it.”

His eyes flicker to mine again, and I can see the remorse swirling within them as they take in the details of my face. No doubt both of us are thinking about how different things could’ve been if we hadn’t drifted apart.

“I’m sorry,” he says gently.

“It’s okay.” I shake my head. “My dad left us too. I think I probably had the same fears you did. It would explain my choice of friends, at least. The way I treated other people. If I didn’t let anyone see the real me, maybe I thought it wouldn’t hurt when they left.”

“It’s a lonely way to live.”

Hearing Mason’s story and the breakdown of our friendship makes me feel as though I truly do understand the old Allie a bit better. Maybe at the end of the day, she was also misunderstood and scared of letting people in.

“What were things like between us before my accident?” I ask.

“You and me?”

“Yeah.” I tuck my legs up onto the stool, wrapping my arms around them. “Did we really not talk at all?”

“We might as well have been strangers,” he admits. “It makes sense, though. What I did to you was a low blow. And once you and Zoe found each other in middle school, I didn’t think you’d want anything to do with me. I would never fit in with your circle.”

“Consider yourself lucky,” I remark. “It’s not a good circle to be in.”

“I don’t understand your dynamic,” he says, looking bemused. “Damien was such a crybaby in elementary. Zoe and James went to the school across town, but Damien was in our class. I’m not sure how he became so popular in high school.”

I grunt in amusement. “He’s a crybaby now too.”

Mason cracks a grin, watching me intently. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to get to know you again.”