After we were finished at the cemetery, we drove back to his house. His mom got out of the car first and headed into the house. As Mason and I got out of the car an idea popped into my head.

"Do you maybe want to go down to the beach near Hasting Mills Park?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied. It was one of the first places we hung out and hopefully for him a nice break from his house.

***

We parked by the curb on a little side street then walked down the stairs to the familiar rock-covered shore-line with the view of the city and mountains across the water. We sat down on the same massive, fallen tree trunk and stared out at the waves. The sound of the ocean lapping at the rocky shore made me feel calmer and I hoped that it was doing the same for Mason.

"Thanks for coming with us today," Mason said after a while, breaking the silence between us. "I hope it wasn't too much for you." It came out shyly, like he wasn't sure he wasn't going to say it, but wanted to make sure it was okay.

"Of course," I replied. "It wasn't at all. I'm always here for you. How was it for you?" I asked.

"I don't know. It was good to be there for my mom," he said.

"What about for you?" I pressed. I wanted him to stop deflecting to what his family's feelings were and feel whatever he was feeling.

"I...I don't know. Being there is always hard, but I think that I was so focused on being there for my mom that I didn't really think about what I was feeling," he explained. He stared into the water, fidgeting with his hands slightly.

"Do you think that's fair?" I asked softly. I knew I had to tread lightly, but I didn't think it was. Mason sucked in a breath and held it for a moment. Processing.

"No," he breathed. "My dad should have been there for her."

"For both of you," I corrected gently. Mason's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at me. "I love how there you are for your parents. But you're their kid. You all experienced a loss. They should be there for you too."

"They're already going through enough. I don't want them to worry about me," Mason insisted. "I'm surviving."

"I want more for you, than surviving... I want you to want to be here," I countered, taking his hand in mine. "You deserve to want to be here. You deserve not to feel this bad every single day and you don't deserve to go through it alone at home when you have two people who should be there for you."

I noticed unshed tears welling up in Mason's forest green eyes. He swallowed hard and brought his gaze back to the water.

"Would you consider... maybe talking to your mom about what you're going through?" I asked. He didn't look at me, but after a moment he spoke hesitantly.

"I just – I don't want to break her heart," he whispered.

"I think... Losing you would be worse," I replied as gently as I could. Mason looked at me and wiped away a tear from my cheek.

"Okay," he said. "I'll talk to her."

_____

Author's Note: Yay, seems like we're getting through to Mason! What do you think will happen next? Let me know in the comments! <3