Forest Lake

Chapter 65

Emma POV

“Sit down, please.” I heard detective Peters say as Mason and I walked inside the principal’s office.

Mason and I walked toward the two chairs in front of the desk.

I sat down and only then noticed detectives Price and Perry. They were smiling at me, but I was too tired to smile back.

“How are you, Emma?” I heard a voice ask me.

I looked around, trying to figure out who was speaking.

“She is tired.” Mason sighed. “She is having trouble sleeping.”

“Nightmares?” someone asked.

“Yes.” Mason nodded.

I looked at him and followed his gaze. He was talking to detective Price.

“Did you consider therapy?” detective Price asked Mason, looking at me worriedly.

Therapy? As in talking to a stranger about what happened? What if that stranger wanted to hurt me as well? What if that stranger worked for Derek Willson?

“No.” I mumbled, making Mason look at me. “I don’t want to talk to anybody.”

“It’s not that bad, Emma.” detective Price said. “It could help you.”

I nodded and looked away. I was too tired to argue.

“I am going to talk to doctor Chase about it.” I heard Mason say.

“Do that.” one of the detectives said. “Therapy could really help her.”

Mason said something else, but I just couldn’t focus. The only thing I wanted was to go to sleep. But, at the same time, I was terrified of closing my eyes. Every time I did, I would see his face. Every time I closed my eyes, I would hear his voice, and he would tell me that Mason was dead. A huge part of me knew it was a dream, but in that moment, I just couldn’t escape the pain I felt hearing that my brother was gone.

“Emma?” I heard Mason’s voice.

I turned to look at him. He was looking at me worriedly.

“Sorry.” I mumbled. “What did you ask me?”

“Detective Peters asked if we were ready to talk about Monica.” Mason said, taking my hand in his.

I turned to look at detective Peters. I forced myself to stay focused on him.

“I am sorry.” I said, trying to give him a small smile. “I am ready.”

I didn’t know what detective Peters saw on my face, but he glanced at Mason worriedly. Mason sighed, picked me up, and placed me on his lap.

“Come on, Emmy.” he said as he kissed my temple. “Try to focus for just a little bit, okay? It will be over soon.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes on detective Peters.

“We’ve talked to Monica.” detective Peters started talking, looking from me to Mason. “She denied having anything to do with Derek Willson.”

“Of course she did!” Mason exclaimed loudly. “You didn’t believe her, did you?!”

“It’s not about believing her.” detective Peters sighed. “It’s about being able to prove that she is guilty. Unfortunately, we can’t prove that she was involved.”

I could feel Mason tense up. His fists clenched and his body became rigid.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” he yelled, making me flinch. “You put my sister through that crap, only to tell me that you can’t find the fucking bitch who did it?!”

My head was hurting terribly, and Mason’s yelling wasn’t helping.

“It’s okay, Mason.” I said quietly as I placed my hands on top of his fists. “They are doing everything they can.”

Mason looked at me. He was really pissed off.

“Are you kidding me, Emma?!” he shouted. “They are not doing everything they can! You had to talk to that bastard, and they’ve found nothing!”

Derek’s face appeared in front of me, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“I am not saying that we are done looking for that woman.” detective Peters said, making Mason look at him. “I am just saying that we can’t prove that it was Monica.”

“Who was it then?!” Mason said, gritting his teeth. “You have no fucking idea, do you?!”

“Not at the moment.” detective Peters sighed.

“Can you remember any incidents with other girls, Emma?” one of the other detectives asked.

I was confused about who was speaking again. I was having trouble keeping up with the conversation. I looked from detective Price to detective Perry and furrowed my eyebrows.

Detective Perry raised his hand, and I looked at him.

“I asked you that question, Emma.” he said softly.

He was looking at me worriedly, but I tried to ignore that.

“Monica was the only girl who ever approached me.” I said quietly.

Detective Perry nodded and I looked back at detective Peters.

“We will continue searching for that woman.” detective Peters said, crossing his arms over his chest. “We won’t stop until we find her.”

“Did you talk to that motherfucker again?” Mason asked angrily. “Did he say anything else that could lead you to her?”

“Derek is…” detective Peters started saying, glancing from Mason to me. “Unresponsive.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Mason asked, tightening his arms around me.

“He hasn’t talked much since the day he saw Emma.” detective Peters said. “He is constantly repeating only a few words, but that’s it.”

“What words?” Mason asked, tightening his hands aroun me even more.

Detective Peters looked at me and tightened his jaw.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to say them in front of Emma.” detective Peters said. “She doesn’t need another thing to worry about.”

My stomach twisted painfully. I could imagine the words he was repeating.

Mason mumbled a few curses under his breath. He could imagine the words too.

“You should go get some sleep, Emma.” detective Peters told me. “I know that you are afraid, but there is nothing to be afraid of. Derek is in jail, and he won’t leave anytime soon. Your brother is with you, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not worried about myself.” I mumbled. “I keep having the same nightmare where Derek tells me that he killed Mason.”

Mason’s hands around me tightened again, and he pressed a kiss on my temple.

“I am here, Emmy.” he said quietly. “He won’t take me away from you.”

“Mason is right.” detective Peters said, giving me a small smile. “Your brother will always be with you. We would never let anything happen to him or you.”

I knew that. I just wished that I could remember that in my dreams. They felt so real. I felt like I was dying from pain each time it happened. I felt like my heart had shattered into a million tiny pieces. I felt like my chest was being squeezed and I couldn’t breathe. Just thinking about Mason dying had me broken in so many ways. I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without him again. I didn’t know how I survived it the first time, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it again.

“What are your next steps?” Mason asked, taking a deep breath.

“We will do another sweep of the room.” detective Peters said. “Maybe there is something that we missed.”

“We will talk to Monica’s friends as well.” detective Price added. “She is still a suspect. We just can’t prove that she is guilty at the moment.”

“Fine.” Mason mumbled angrily. “I am taking Emma to our room now. Call me when you find something out.”

Mason let me go so that I could stand up.

“We will, Mason.” detective Peters smiled at him. “Try not to worry, okay?”

“That’s not going to happen.” Mason said as he stood up and took my hand in his.

Peters ignored Mason and looked at me. He gave me a small smile. I tried to smile back, but I was even having trouble with keeping my eyes open. Everything else was just too much.

“Get some sleep, Emma.” Peters said softly.

“I will.” I mumbled and followed Mason out of the principal’s office.

“Can you walk?” Mason asked me as he closed the door behind us. “I can carry you.”

“I am fine.” I mumbled.

Mason sighed and pulled me closer to him. He placed an arm over my shoulder and kissed the top of my head.

“We are going to our room, and you are going to sleep.” he said sternly. “I will be next to you, okay? Nothing bad will happen.”

“But…” I tried to argue, but Mason interrupted me.

“No, Emma.” he said. “You are barely functioning. You can’t keep your eyes open. I am done watching you struggle like that. You are sleeping. I will be next to you the whole time so that you can see that I am okay if you wake up from a nightmare.”

“Okay.” I mumbled, trying to focus on walking.

Mason tightened his hold on me, and I was very thankful to him. Walking in this sleep-deprived state was hard for me to do. Mason was right. I needed sleep. I just hoped that I wouldn’t see his face again. I couldn’t do it again. I just couldn’t.