Mason had always been pretty distant and not the best at expressing his feelings, but I convinced myself he was doing alright by me. Then I saw how he treated Naomi and I realized just how unfair he was.
There I was, with my knees bleeding. Naomi helped me with a tissue to stop the bleeding but then suddenly claimed she needed to buy medicine. A moment later, she pretended to be dizzy and collapsed. Mason rushed to her side, holding her gently and brushing her hair away from her face with a look of genuine concern.
“Where’s the nearest pharmacy? You’ve been walking in high heels—your feet must be sore,” he said, his voice full of worry.
Then he turned to me, dismissing my pain. “Jessica’s fine. It’s just a little bleeding. She can manage.”
He even told Naomi to stay away from me, as if I might somehow hurt her. Even though I had made up my mind to end things, his words made me feel like I was falling into an icy void.
My palm was deeply cut, with shell fragments still stuck in it. My knee was a mess, with blood streaming down my calf and staining the sand. The rest of my exposed skin was covered in large bruises. To Mason, though, it was just “a little bleeding.”
A passerby, clearly moved by my state, helped me to a chair and went off to get iodine and gauze.
Naomi shot Mason a look and said sarcastically, “The nearest pharmacy is just 200 meters away. It should take less than five minutes to get there and back. You’re a big guy—don’t tell me you can’t walk there?!”
Mason realized he had overstepped but couldn’t bring himself to apologize. With a cold expression, he grabbed the cotton swab from a young lady’s hand and pressed it against my knee, applying way too much pressure.
I flinched and tried to pull away and he gave me this look as if to say, “See, she doesn’t want me to touch it.” It was like he was waiting for me to prove him right.
I quickly cleaned the wound and managed to stop the bleeding. I was about to call a taxi to the hospital when I noticed Naomi running over, excitedly holding a camera.
“Jessica, don’t be upset! At least we got some great photos!” she chirped.
Mason chimed in, “Yeah, Jessica, you’ve always wanted to be my model. Now it’s finally happening!”