Forest Lake

Chapter 37

Emma POV

To say that I was terrified would be an understatement.

I will have to be alone with him. I will have to look him in the eyes and talk to him. I will have to stand in front of a man who killed two girls. I will have to stand in front of a man who wants to take me and kill me.

My heart was beating impossibly fast, and my stomach kept trying to make me throw up.

But I will do it. I will be brave. I have to be brave. Annie is counting on me.

“Can you guys give us a few minutes alone?” Mason said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

“Of course.” Hazel said as she stood up and pulled Jax with her.

Chris gave me a worried look before he followed Hazel and Jax out of the room.

“I am scared.” Mason mumbled as soon as the door closed.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and turned to look at him. It was the best I could do considering that he was holding me too tightly to move from his lap or turn around to face him.

“I know.” I said softly. “I am scared too.”

“Then don’t do it, Emma.” he said, looking down at me.

“I have to.” I said. “You know that I do. You know me, Mason. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I ran away when there was something I could have done to help her.”

Mason studied my face for a second. He sighed and leaned his head on mine, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“I can’t lose you again.” he said softly. “I turned all the sadness and pain that I felt after you left into hatred. I turned it into anger, because that is all I know how to do. In reality, I was completely broken. I can’t even tell you the number of times I cried myself to sleep. I can’t tell you the number of times I wanted to run to you and beg you to talk to me.”

My heart broke, and I felt a tear fall on my cheek.

“I lost you once, and I know that pain.” he continued. “I can’t go through that again. Especially now that I just got you back and that I know that our separation wasn’t our fault. I can’t watch him hurt you. I can’t watch him take you away from me. You are my best friend. You are the other half of my heart. I don’t know how I lived without you before, but I am so fucking sure that I can’t do it again.”

I was full on sobbing when he finished talking. He never spoke much about his emotions, but when he did, it was overwhelming.

I somehow managed to wiggle my way out of his grip. I turned around in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I love you so much, Massy.” I said, crying my eyes out. “You will never lose me again. I will never leave you again. You will never have to go through something like that again. I promise.”

I was so focused on my pain, and I never thought about his. He was hurt too. He was in pain too. He suffered too.

Mason buried his head in my neck and wrapped his arms around me as tightly as he could.

I don’t know how long we were sitting like that, holding each other, but I eventually ran out of tears.

I had to say something. I had to explain to him why I needed to do this.

“He will never stop, Mason.” I said, making him lift his head and look down at me, confused.

His eyebrows were furrowed, and I could feel how tense he was.

“You heard the detectives.” I said. “He will follow me. He will never leave me alone. This is the best and safest chance we have of catching him.”

“He would never be able to get to you.” Mason said sternly. “I wouldn’t let him.”

“I know that.” I nodded. “But what if he hurt you trying to get to me?”

My heart clenched painfully, and my stomach twisted just thinking about Mason being hurt.

“If what the detectives have said is true and he is deeply obsessed with me, that means that you are the biggest threat to him.” I continued, trying to stop my voice from shaking. “That means that he could be planning to hurt you to get to me. I can’t let that happen. I will never let that happen.”

I cupped his face and looked him in the eyes.

“You are not the only one who lived without their other half.” I said sternly. “I know what that’s like, and I am not doing it again. Not now that I just got you back and found out that you never hated me. I will not let him hurt you.”

“I am the one who is supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around.” Mason mumbled, his words coming out funny because I was squishing his cheeks.

“Is there a law that says that?” I chuckled. “We are siblings. We protect each other. I’m not as tall and as strong as you, but I can still kick some ass. Especially if that ass decided to hurt my brother.”

Mason chuckled and moved my hands from his cheeks.

“Don’t tell that to Jax.” he said. “He loves to watch chicks fight.”

I laughed, and Mason smiled. The serious look came right back, though.

“Okay, Emmy.” Mason said softly. “We will do this together.”

My eyes widened, and if I wasn’t as afraid as I was, I would have smiled.

“Really?” I asked, surprised that he agreed.

“Yes.” Mason nodded, caressing my cheek with his thumb. “But if at any point you change your mind, you will tell me, and we are going to leave. If at any point I decide it’s not safe, I will be throwing you over my shoulder and getting you the fuck away from here. Understood?”

“Yes.” I nodded, still surprised.

“Okay.” Mason said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone.

I watched him as he typed a message to detective Peters. When he finished, he placed the phone on the bed next to us and hugged me tightly.

“You will not leave me for a second from now until tomorrow before lunch.” Mason said.

I nodded just as we heard a knock on the door.

“Shit.” Mason mumbled. “I forgot about them.”

Honestly, I did too. I didn’t even know how long it’d been since Mason asked them to leave the room.

“Come in.” Mason said loudly.

The door opened and our friends walked back inside. I couldn’t see them because I was turned toward Mason and my head was buried in his chest.

“What did you decide?” Chris asked, closing the door behind him.

“She will do it.” Mason said, running his hand through my hair.

Jax and Hazel gasped quietly.

“Are you fucking insane, Mason?!” Chris shouted. “You can’t let her do that!”

“Enough, Chris.” Mason sighed. “We talked about it, and we made a decision.”

Chris mumbled something under his breath, but I didn’t hear what he said.

“Did you eat something today?” Hazel asked, changing the subject.

“No.” Mason shook his head.

“Hazel and I will go get you something from the dining hall.” Jax said.

Mason nodded, and I heard Jax and Hazel leave the room.

Chris sat next to me and Mason. He placed an arm on my leg, making me turn my head and look at him.

“Are you sure about this, Emma?” Chris asked me softly. “You don’t have to do it. You know that, right?”

“I know, Chris.” I said quietly. “I am going to do it, though. I will help Annie.”

Mason moved Chris’ arm from my leg before wrapping his arms back around me and burying his head into my neck.