A/N- It's been quite an age. How have you all been?
Here's a new update.
Cheers🥂
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"Mason, come over it's an emergency!" I hollered towards his balcony early in the morning.
"I'll be right there, just give me a minute." He hollered back.

I'm sure everyone in the neighborhood is pretty much tired of our hollering but are also used to it. I mean we've been at it for five years so this is pretty normal. I'm sure that when I finally die, everyone in this neighborhood will know 'cause there won't be any more hollering.

"You won't be right here if it's actually taking you a minute." I groaned.
After like fifteen minutes, not actually a minute like he said, Prince Mason finally swings in from his balcony. Cue eyeroll.

"How long did it actually take you to come here?" I complained as I tapped my foot in pretense anger.
"Forgive me your royal highness." He did a mock bow.
"Whatever, thank your stars I'm in a good mood else your head would be on the platter 'cause of your insurbordination."
"That's pretty gracious of your highness." He mocked barely hiding the smile forming on his lips.
"Whatever, peasant." I said in mock seriousness.

It wasn't long before we both burst into laughter.
"We are definitely not normal." Mason said in between laughter.
"Come on, normal is boring and overrated." I shrugged my shoulders.
After we reined our laughter in, we finally got down to business.

"So why did you call?"
"So I didn't know which dress to wear to church, so I brought out these gowns for you to pick from." I said, watching as Mason's eyes widened at the probably twenty gowns I brought out, okay honestly, bordering on fifty dresses. It's not like I went overboard or anything.

"I know you think it's a little over the top, but..." Mason cut me off, "No... No, change that statement to wayyyyyy over the top." He drawled the way so much that I couldn't help rolling my eyes.
"Stop exaggerating... It's just a little over the top. So I needed something that'll say holy, but not too slutty. Something that will say modest but not too modest. You know what I mean?" I asked Mason but he shook his head in reply, and actually looked totally cluelessly. Gosh! Guys never understand the need to make a good impression.

"Okay... In a simplified version, I need something that'll make me look good." I said.
"Okay... Go with that one." He pointed, without even thinking about it. Didn't he know dressing is an art and it's really important?
"You didn't even..." I stopped in mid-sentence when I saw the dress he chose, "Wow... That is definitely the right choice." I smiled and picked it off my couch.

"This is the part where you thank me and say you're the best Mason, I can't live without you 'cause you are my oxygen or you're my map 'cause without you I'll be lost. Come on, say it, don't be shy."
I shook my head in disagreement, "No, this is the part I kick you out so I can get ready. So off you go." I said, shooing him to the balcony.

"Remember to be done in thirty minutes, Okay?" He said, before I closed the door.
"Okay, boss. Bye." I said, finally shutting the door.

It took me less than thirty minutes to be done with everything. I wrote a quick note to let my mom or dad, anyone that gets in first, where I'm going to so they wouldn't be worried when they get back and don't see me. I was shutting my front door when I  looked over to my driveway and saw that Mason and his mom were already waiting for me.

"Good morning Mrs Lightning." I greeted immediately I entered the car.
"I've told you countless times to call me by my first name, but you've refused. Regardless, I'm super glad you're accompanying us to church. When Mason told me, I was super psyched. I hope you are?" She asked, smiling widely.

Mason groaned, " Mom, using words like psyched won't make you a teenager. You're trying too hard mom."
Mason's mom fake gasped, "Are you calling me old? Hailey, he's really calling me old."
I tsked, "You're so rude. You know that right?"
"And mean too." Mason's mom added.

Mason looked at the both of us and said, "This is why I hate the both of you together. You always gang up against me, and Hailey I'm your friend not my mom. You're supposed to have my back, not my mom's."
"I'm sorry Masey, whenever you're in the same equation with your mom, just know she's my to go fraction." I smirked.
"What does that even mean?" From the side mirror, I could see he was scrunching his brows in confusion.
"Meaning, I'll always be picking your mom over you whenever you're involved."

Mason's mom smiled and used her left hand to hold the steering wheel as she stretched her right hand to me for a high-five. It wasn't hard to accomplish since I was actually sitting in the middle. I have this weird thing where I always sit in the middle even though no one is sitting beside me.
"Girl power." I said while giving her a high five.

Mason had a sullen look on his face till we reached the church.
I was so tensed when we got to the church. I mean the friendly banter in the car took my mind off things, but as I was sitting on this pew I felt really uncomfortable. At first I was so tensed, but when they started singing hymns and all, I started feeling more at home. Plus everyone in the church made me feel welcome. During the visitors special time, I'm certain everyone came over to offer me a hug.

The highlight of my day in the church was during the divine service when the pastor preached. The title of his sermonette was 'Jesus take the wheel.' It felt like God was speaking to me, I could feel it in my heart. My eyes teared up, at a point Mason turned to stare at me but he didn't say anything 'cause he knew I was having a moment with God.

The pastor spoke about situations where things looked bleak and like God didn't care, but how we should learn to stand with Christ. He gave his own story of when two gangs were involved in a shoot out and a stray bullet hit his daughter who was playing right in the living room and she died on the spot. He felt heartbroken and like God had forsaken him. It took him time before his daughter's death started hurting less and he could finally talk about her in two sentences without bursting into tears. He hung back all her pictures he removed when she died.

He ended with, 'Life is full of challenges and sometimes you just want to ask God, why me? But the question is, if not you, who else? We should learn to stop trying to take the wheel everytime and ask Jesus to take the wheel. You may be suffering from a terminal illness and you feel like God has left you. You feel like everyone is having fun and your body's idea of fun is keeping you in the hospital. Just remember that a long life isn't how many years you spend on earth but actually how well you spend the years God has gifted to you. Maranatha.'

Do you see why I felt like God was speaking directly to me. The pastor knew just exactly how I felt. His sermonette hit home that all I did on the ride home was to meditate. When we got back, I mumbled a goodbye to Mason and his mom as I stepped out the car, after which I proceeded to thank his mom for letting me tag along.

I opened the door and discovered that no one was back, which was even better. I climbed the stairs to my room. When I got to the room, I shut all the curtains and decided to do something I haven't done in a while. I decided to go on my knees and pray to God.

I said, "Dear God, I am scared, and although I act like I'm not to everyone around me, I'm really scared. For so many years I've been really bitter and always asking 'why me?' but I finally understand now that we're all on earth for a purpose and living a long life doesn't entail a fulfilled life. Let your will be done in my life. Amen."
Immediately I finished praying, I felt a sense of peace that I haven't felt before. Now I understand why the pastor said to let Jesus take the wheel. It actually comes with a sense of peace and tranquility.
                 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hails, you up for an ice-cream?" Mason hollered.
I thought about it for a minute. Okay, I'm lying, more like a second before I replied. After all, it was saturday night and what better way to spend it than actually in an ice-cream parlor.

"Most certainly. Give me a minute." I hollered back.
I was already dressed comfy so I decided to go that way.
"You're ready?" Mason said popping in from my balcony.
"Yeah... Let's go."
We went downstairs and met my parents watching a show.
"Hey Mom and Dad, we're going out to have ice-cream." I said, pausing at the door.

"Mason, it's been quite an age. Next time you show up, although that's hard to determine due the the balcony friendship you and my daughter share but still, don't be a stranger, okay?" My mum said smiling.
"Take care of my daughter, okay?" My dad chipped in.
"Chill parentals, you both know Mason rather well. So I don't think there's need for all these instructions, plus he's my close friend not boyfriend. So chill." I cautioned 'cause I can see Mason was smiling sheepishly. A sign that he's getting embarrassed.

The thing is Mason and my parents used to be close but after the whole drifting apart between I and my parents, the family dinner with Mason and his mom stopped. I feel like my parents felt that I wasn't ready for outside interaction, but to me I felt like my mom couldn't go a minute without mentioning the surgery. She knew mentioning my situation to either Mason or his mom would make my relationship with her pretty much non-existent 'cause I wasn't ready to tell anyone outside the family just yet.
Now that I've apologized to my parents, yeah I have also apologized to my dad. Although, it was less emotional than that of my mom 'cause my dad never pushed me to do the surgery. I only apologized for being a brat and he just said, 'You're my daughter Hailey and trust me, I understand you better than you think.' We hugged after that and we've been cool since then. Since I'm cool with both my parents, I know family dinner with Mason and his mom will soon become a thing again.

"Okay... We'll be on our way." I announced as I started shutting the door.
"Be careful Hailey." Dad said with an underlying tone of 'Remember you are sick. Don't do anything stressful. Don't walk a long distance. In summary, don't die now.'
"Yes Dad... I pretty much understand how my body works." I smiled.
Mason and I decided to walk to the ice-cream parlor for a bit of fresh air. After bickering on the way and during our ice-cream. We were still at it even on our way back.

"I can't believe you were blushing when my dad was talking to you." I teased him. I've been teasing him about this since we left the house..
"And I've told you for the zillionth time, I wasn't."
"You were..." I was saying but I stopped mid-sentence 'cause I felt black dots clouding my vision.
"What is it Hailey? Are you okay?" Mason asked when he noticed my sudden stop while we were walking.

"I don't understand what's..." I couldn't finish my statement when I felt myself falling but I was caught by Mason before I could reach the floor.

"Someone call 911." I heard Mason yell before I finally blacked out.

A/N- Is this the moment of truth for Hailey?

Till the next update
Bye🚶