Mason’s last message was still open.
I typed:
Rowan:
That’s what I’m worried about.
Then stopped.
Deleted it.
Typed again.
Rowan:
Same.
Sent.
Because that was simpler.
Less honest in a way.
But still true.
My phone buzzed almost instantly.
Mason.
Mason:
Yeah.
No extra words.
No joke.
No distance.
Just agreement again.
And somehow that felt like the most unstable thing of all.
Fifty Two
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
MASON
Coach called it “simulation week.”
Which meant everything was now treated like NYC had already started.
No warmups.
No easing in.
Just pressure.
