Forest Lake

Chapter 57

Emma POV

I struggled to keep up with Mason. He was dragging me toward our room with no intention of slowing down.

“Emma?” I heard my name being called, and I looked to my left.

Chris and Jax were staring at us wide-eyed. We flew past them so fast that I was surprised that I even noticed them.

They started following us. I turned around and saw Chris looking at me worriedly.

“Mase!” I heard Jax yell after us.

Mason didn’t slow down.

We arrived in front of our bedroom door. Mason took the keys out of his pocket and tried to unlock the door. He was so angry that his hands were shaking and he couldn’t put the key inside the lock.

“Let me.” I said softly as I took the key out of his hand.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Guys!” Jax exclaimed when he and Chris reached us. “What the fuck happened?”

I unlocked the door and Mason ran inside the room. Chris, Jax, and I followed him inside. I closed the door behind us and turned around to see Mason grabbing our bags. He opened the closet and started throwing our clothes on the bed.

“What are you doing?” Chris gasped, trying to stop Mason.

He grabbed his arms and Mason dropped the clothes on the floor.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Mason shouted as he got out of Chris’ grip.

Mason was so angry that I was afraid he was going to punch Chris.

I ran and pushed past Chris to get to Mason. I put myself between them and grabbed Mason’s hands in mine.

Chris grabbed my upper arm and tried to pull me away. I didn’t let him.

“Massy, look at me.” I said softly. “It’s okay. Take a deep breath.”

Mason was glaring at Chris murderously. I just wanted him to look down at me.

“Massy.” I called him again. “Look at me, please.”

He finally did. His eyes softened immediately, and I gave him a small smile.

“It’s okay.” I said. “Come on, sit down for a bit.”

“We need to pack our bags.” he said quietly, staring down at me.

“We can do that a little bit later.” I said. “Sit down and breathe, okay?”

Thankfully, he listened to me and sat down. He made me stand between his legs as he leaned his forehead on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around me.

I ran my fingers through his hair, and I felt him relax a little.

“Can someone explain what happened, please?” Jax asked silently.

“We talked to the detectives.” I said, looking up at Jax and Chris.

Their eyes widened, and they glanced at Mason.

“Do they know who did it?” Chris asked, clenching his fists.

“No.” I said, shaking my head. “They weren’t able to find anything. Whoever did it was very careful.”

I kept running my fingers through Mason’s hair.

“Shit.” Jax mumbled, looking at Mason with a saddened look on his face.

“Is that why you are so angry, Mase?” Chris asked. "Because the police doesn't have any leads?"

Mason’s grip on me tightened, but he didn’t respond.

“No.” I answered for him. “The detectives talked to Mr. Wilson. He said that he wanted to see me. He said that he would tell me who put the dress in our room.”

“Fuck!” Chris and Jax shouted at the same time.

Chris ran his hand through his hair and mumbled something I couldn’t hear. Jax started biting his nails as he stared at Mason.

“Fucker!” Chris shouted as he started to pace around the room.

“Judging by the way Mason ran toward the room, you said no.” Jax said.

“Of course I said no!” Mason said, raising his head abruptly. “The last time she helped the police, Derek almost killed her. I am not letting it happen again!”

Jax glanced at me and furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you want to do, Emma?” he asked me quietly.

Mason looked at me so abruptly that I was afraid he would snap his neck.

“She wants to leave.” he said, staring at me. “She doesn’t want to help them.”

I took a deep breath and gripped Mason’s upper arms tightly.

“Mason...” I said, but he interrupted me.

“No.” he said angrily. “You don’t want to do it!”

He was right. I didn’t want to do it. Just thinking about seeing Mr. Wilson again was making me sick. I never wanted to hear his voice again. I never wanted to be near him again. I already had nightmares about him taking me away. I dreamt about him every night since it happened. I woke up covered in sweat more times than I could count. I didn’t want to see him again.

But I had to.

For Mason.

What if that person followed us? What if that person was even worse than Mr. Wilson ever was? What if that person hurt Mason?

I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let Mason get hurt.

I needed to put a stop to all of this. I needed to talk to Mr. Wilson and make him tell me who did it.

I needed to keep Mason safe.

“You are right, Massy.” I said softly. “I don’t want to do it.”

Mason sighed in relief and gripped me tighter.

“But I have to.” I continued quietly. “I can’t run away from this. That person could follow us. That person could be even worse than Mr. Wilson. That person could hurt you. I can’t let anyone hurt you.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed at me and his anger came back even worse than before.

His hands on me tightened, and I felt like I was being held by two steel rods.

“No.” Mason said through his teeth.

“She is right, Mase.” Jax said, making Mason look at him.

If looks could kill, Jax would be buried way deeper than just six feet.

“I know that you are terrified, but Emma is right.” Jax sighed. “This could go on indefinitely if you don’t do anything you can to stop it now. I am sure that Derek will be heavily chained and that he won’t be able to move a pinkie.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Mason said angrily. “They could cover him in chains. He is not laying his eyes on her ever again.”

Jax sighed and ran his hand through his hair. I glanced at Chris. He was leaning against the wall, looking at Mason with an unreadable expression on his face.

“I am taking her somewhere safe.” Mason continued. “Nobody will be able to find us there. We won’t be in danger.”

“Do you plan to hide for the rest of your lives?” Chris asked. “Because this obsession they have with Emma won’t just go away. They are sick and they are willing to do fucked up shit to get her.”

“What if it was just someone random?” Mason asked. “What if he paid a student to do it? What if this new fucker isn’t even obsessed with Emma like fucking Derek is?”

“That’s also a possibility.” Chris nodded. “But it could be an obsessed fucker and he could follow you.”

“Think about it, Mase.” Jax added. “You have an opportunity to end this once and for all. If you left, you would have to worry about Emma all the time. You would always have to look behind your shoulder, and you would never be able to relax. Let Emma do this. She is a badass, and she can handle it.”

I chuckled and smiled at Jax.

I wasn’t a badass, but it made me happy that he thought I was.

Mason looked back at me, and I could see how badly he struggled. I gave him a small smile and caressed his cheek.

“I can’t let you do this.” Mason mumbled, burying his nose in my neck. “I just can’t. I need to take you away from here.”

“I know.” I mumbled, kissing the top of his head. “I know you need to protect me, but I need to protect you too. I can’t let anyone hurt you to get to me. I can’t and I won’t let that happen, Massy.”

I had to do it.

I was brave enough to do it.

I would end this once for all. Mr. Wilson would go to jail. The person who helped him would go to jail. We would be able to stay and finish school. Mason would be able to relax and act like a normal high school boy. The nightmares would eventually go away. I would tell Mason about them and he would help me. We would be able to move on from all of this.

I would never be able to move on if something happened to Mason. I wouldn’t be able to live without him again.

I needed to do this.

I knew that I would be okay. Mason needed me as much as I needed him. I promised him that I wouldn’t leave him, and nothing could make me break that promise.