Forest Lake

Chapter 69

Mason POV

“Okay, Emma.” doctor Chase said as he wrote something down in her chart. “There is no serious damage. Your throat will hurt, and there will be some bruising, but it should go away in a couple of days.”

“What about her heart?” I asked nervously.

“Her heart is okay.” doctor Chase smiled as he turned around to look at me. “She is perfectly healthy. There is nothing to worry about.”

“And what about her neck?” I asked, clenching my fists. “Is there something she should do? Something that she…”

“Breathe, Mason.” doctor Chase stopped me. “There isn’t much that we can do about that. Her esophagus isn’t damaged, and that is the most important thing. The soreness in her throat and the bruises on her neck will heal on their own in a couple of days.”

“I am okay, Massy.” Emma said quietly.

She was having trouble speaking, and each time I heard her quiet, raspy voice, I wanted to burn the world down.

I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair.

“You are doing an amazing job keeping her healthy, Mason.” doctor Chase said as he stood up and walked over to me.

I wasn’t doing an amazing job. She almost got killed.

“I will go prepare her discharge papers.” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You can leave after I’m done.”

I nodded and watched him as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

“Mason.” Emma called me, and I turned back to look at her.

She opened her arms, and I walked over to her immediately. She wrapped her arms around me, and I leaned my head on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked me softly, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

I raised my head to look at her. Was she seriously asking if I was okay? She was the one who was almost killed.

“Are you really asking me that?” I mumbled, furrowing my eyebrows. “You are the one laying in a hospital bed, not me.”

She sighed and ran her fingers through my hair.

“You are hurt too, Mason.” she said softly. “Everything that happened hurt you too. Of course I’m asking. I will always ask. I will always check up on you. You don’t need to be laying in a hospital bed for me to do so.”

I gulped down the lump that formed in my throat.

“You are my brother.” she continued, giving me a small smile. “You are my twin. I will always make sure that you are okay. I will always need to make sure that you are okay physically, emotionally, mentally, and in every other form there is.”

“I love you.” I mumbled, tightening my arms around her.

It was the only thing I could say. The lump in my throat was way too big for me to speak. And I couldn’t even say anything else. What do you even say when someone who is sitting on a hospital bed because they were almost killed asks you if you are doing okay? What do you even say when they tell you that they will always check up on you?

Nothing, except that you fucking love them.

And I do love her. More than anything in the world.

“I know.” she said, giving me a huge smile. “I love you too.”

I smiled back, and my eyes fell on her neck. It was red, and I could see the bruises that had started to form. My smile disappeared immediately.

Emma placed a hand on my cheek and lifted my head, making me look up at her.

“It will go away.” she said softly. “It’s not that bad.”

I tightened my jaw and clenched my fists.

A quiet knock on the door made me look away from her.

The door opened, and Peters peeked inside.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

Emma and I nodded at the same time.

Peters opened the door wider and walked inside. He closed the door behind him and walked to the chair next to the bed. He sat down and gave us a small smile.

“How are you, Emma?” he asked.

“I’m okay.” she said. “My throat hurts a little, but it’s not that bad.”

“I talked to the doctor.” Peters said. “He said that there was no serious damage.”

“I would disagree.” I mumbled angrily. “There are bruises.”

Emma placed her hand on my back and rubbed small, soothing circles.

“Where is Annie?” Emma asked, and I tensed up.

“At the station.” detective Peters said. “She was upset, and we couldn’t talk to her. The doctor had to give her something to calm down first.”

“I don’t want her to go to jail.” Emma said, shaking her head.

My eyes widened, and I looked at her, shocked.

“She tried to kill you!” I exclaimed.

“She needs help, Mason.” Emma said quietly. “Going to jail won’t help her. She needs doctors and medicine. He did something to her. She wouldn’t do this if he hadn’t taken her away.”

“Emma is right.” Peters said. “Annie is not well. She will probably have to go to a psychiatric hospital. Whatever he did or said to her made a huge impact on her mental state. We will take her statement, and she will have to go to trial, but I think that Emma is right. She needs help.”

What they said made sense, but I wanted Annie to pay. She hurt my sister. She almost killed my sister. She deserved to go to jail.
I clenched my fists and narrowed my eyes at Peters. It felt wrong. It felt like she wouldn’t get what she deserved.

“You knew Annie before, Mason.” Emma said, running her fingers through my hair. “Was she ever aggressive? Would she ever do something like this before?”

I didn’t know her that well, but no. I would never even consider the possibility that Annie would try to kill someone.

“No.” I mumbled, looking down at my lap.

“He did something to her.” Emma said, her voice breaking. “He made her do this. It’s not her fault. She deserves to get help. What happened to her happened because of me, and I will fight hard to get her the help she deserves.”

I looked back up at Peters, who was looking at my sister with admiration.

She deserved to have people admire her. How the hell did she have so much compassion for the person who almost killed her?

“You are an amazing person, Emma.” Peters said, giving her a small smile. “I’ve been doing this job for a while, and it’s rare to see someone so understanding.”

I looked at my sister and saw tears running down her face. I lifted my hand and used my thumb to wipe them away.

“She didn’t deserve what happened to her.” Emma said. “It wasn’t her fault.”

“It wasn’t yours either, Emma.” Peters said softly.

Emma looked at me, and I could tell that she felt guilty. I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head.

“It wasn’t your fault.” I told her softly. “The only one to blame is Derek.”

And Annie. But I didn’t want to say it out loud. I knew that Emma disagreed with me. I knew that Annie suffered. I knew that Derek had hurt her. But Annie tried to kill my sister. She almost took her from me. She hurt her. I would always blame her for that.

Emma wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head on my chest.

I looked up at Peters, who was looking at us with a small smile on his face.

“Okay, kids.” he said as he stood up. “I will leave you to rest. We will talk to Annie as soon as possible. I will call to let you know what will happen next.”

“Thank you.” I said, running my fingers through Emma’s hair.

“I am really glad that you are okay, Emma.” Peters said, making Emma look up at him.

“Thank you, detective.” Emma said, giving him a small smile. “Thank you for everything.”

“I am the one who should be thanking you.” Peters said. “You helped us a lot. You saved a lot of lives. You are an amazing young girl, Emma. I’m glad that I’ve met you. I wish it was under different circumstances, though.”

“Me too.” Emma chuckled.

Peters smiled and looked up at me. “You are an amazing brother, Mason. Never stop taking care of her.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” I said as I tightened my hold on Emma.

Peters smiled and started walking away. He opened the door and turned around to look at us.

“I will call you as soon as I know something.” he said.

I nodded and watched as he walked out and closed the door behind him.

“Are you tired?” I asked Emma as soon as the door closed.

“A little bit.” she nodded, leaning her head back on my chest.

“You can sleep.” I said, kissing the top of her head. “I will wait for the discharge papers.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, yawning.

“Of course.” I chuckled, running my fingers through her hair.

Emma got comfortable in my arms, and I leaned my head on hers.

She was alive. She was safe. This whole fucking thing was finally over.