Forest Lake

Chapter 29

Mason POV

“It’s about Cassie.” Chris said quietly as he sat down at Hazel’s desk.

He glanced toward the bathroom door.

Emma was still in the shower. I could hear the water running.

“What about her?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

I was sure he wanted to talk to me about Emma. I wanted to talk to him about Emma.

“I think you need to talk to her or Jax about the way she is talking to Emma.” Chris said, keeping his voice low.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

“Look, Cassie is a kid.” Chris sighed. “I know that she wasn’t doing it on purpose, but she hurt Emma.”

My eyes widened and my heartbeat quickened.

“She kept pulling you away from Emma.” Chris continued. “And when Cassie mentioned your mom, I could tell that Emma was hurt.”

Of course she was.

How the fuck did I not see that?!

Chris saw it and I didn’t?! Fuck!

“Cassie is a good kid.” Chris said when I remained silent. “She is just a little jealous. She will love Emma, I am sure of it. She just needs a little time. But she can’t continue hurting her because she is jealous. Even if it isn’t on purpose.”

“I know.” I mumbled, running my hand through my hair. “I will talk to her.”

“Okay.” Chris nodded. “Emma doesn’t deserve to be hurt. I don’t know what happened to her, but I can tell that she has been hurt enough.”

She has. She really has.

I wanted to cry again. I wanted to break something. I wanted to punch the shit out of anyone who ever thought about hurting her.

“I will deal with it, Chris.” I said, sitting down on Emma’s bed. “Thank you for telling me about it.”

“You are welcome.” Chris said, giving me a small smile. “I would do anything to help her.”

And now we are talking about what I’ve wanted to talk about.

I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him.

“Why?” I asked coldly.

Chris gave me a confused look.

“Why would you do anything to help her?” I specified my question.

Chris took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. He looked at me with guilt written all over his face.

“I think that you already know.” Chris mumbled.

“I do.” I nodded, staring at him, hoping that my glare would burn him. “I want you to tell me anyway.”

Chris sighed and clenched his jaw.

“I like her.” he said quietly. “I think she is an amazing person. The more I get to know her, the more I like her.”

Yeah… No.

“I’m glad you had the balls to tell me.” I said coldly. “But you need to back the fuck off.”

“I know that, Mason.” Chris sighed. “I know that you just got her back. I know that you are protective as fuck. I know that you are freaked out about what’s going on. I know that now is not the right time for me to do anything.”

I clenched my fists. It will never be the right time for him to do anything.

“I am your best friend, Mase.” Chris continued. “I would never hurt you or betray you like that. I just want you to know that you can count on me when it comes to her. I want to protect her too. I want her safe too.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to find a hint of a lie on his face. I couldn't see it, though. He was telling the truth.

“I am not taking her away from you, Mason.” Chris added before I could speak. “I won’t do anything until you tell me it’s okay. I will talk to you first, I promise. Until then, I am here to protect her and that’s it.”

Did he write this speech?

I didn’t like the thought of my sister having a boyfriend. I didn’t really give a shit if it was my friend or not. I just didn’t like the idea of men around her in general. I knew what they wanted from girls, and I would be damned if I let some fucker use my sister like that.

But I liked what Chris said. I knew him, and despite being an occasional man whore, he was a good guy. I knew that he would never hurt Emma, but I also knew that he knew what I would do to him if he did.

But it still wasn’t happening. I just got her back and I wasn’t going to share her with anyone. I needed time with her. We had to catch up on all the things we missed.

“Fine.” I said coldly. “You are right. I just got her back. I am protective. I will not let you near her right now. I am glad that you want to protect her and I am glad that I can count on you.”

I already knew that I would become even more protective after all the shit I found out earlier.

“But you need to stop with all the little touches and glances.” I continued, narrowing my eyes at him. “It’s annoying as fuck.”

Chris laughed and shook his head.

“Sorry, man.” he said, chuckling. “She is really fucking pretty.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck the hell off, but I heard the bathroom door open.

Emma stepped out and her eyes fell on Chris. She blushed, and I sighed internally. Fucking great. She liked Chris as well.

Too fucking bad. Nothing would happen between them. Not now.

“Hi, Chris.” Emma said, giving him a small smile. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course.” Chris smiled as he stood up. “I just came to check in on the two of you. You were gone for a while.”

“You can go back to my room, Chris.” I said, standing up and walking toward Emma. “We will be right there.”

Chris nodded and smiled at Emma again. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

“There is just one more thing I need to know, Emma.” I said as soon as Chris left the room.

“Okay.” she nodded and gave me a small smile.

I gulped, trying to stop myself from shaking. I wanted to ask her this earlier, but I was distracted by the things she told me.

I needed to know, though. I needed to know everything that happened to her.

“Did mom or your stepfather ever hit you?” I asked, clenching my fists. “Did your stepfather ever touch you? Did he ever do anything to make you feel uncomfortable around him?”

“No.” Emma said immediately, and I relaxed slightly.

I searched for a sign that she was lying to me, but I found nothing.

Thank fuck.

“They never hurt me, Mason.” Emma continued. “Not physically, at least.”

“Promise?” I asked, needing to check again.

“I promise.” she smiled. “They never hit me. My stepfather never touched me.”

“Okay.” I sighed in relief, pulling her to me.

She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I leaned my head on hers.

“Thank you, Mason.” Emma mumbled quietly, tightening her grip on me.

“What for?” I asked, confused.

I didn’t do shit for her. She should be mad at me, actually. I am mad at myself. I could have saved her from all that. If I just called her and asked her if what dad said was true, she would never have to go through what she did.

I am a fucking idiot!

“For being here.” she said. “For listening to me, for taking care of me.”

My heart tugged painfully. I wasn’t there when she needed me the most.

“Fuck, Emma.” I mumbled into her hair. “You don’t have to thank me for that. That is something that I should do. It is something that I should have done a long time ago. Maybe then you wouldn’t be hurt.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Massy.” she said, looking up at me. “I am so happy that you are here right now.”

“I am.” I smiled at her, trying so fucking hard to stop myself from crying again. “I am never leaving, Emma.”

“Good.” she smiled, and I kissed her forehead.

She let go of me and took my hand in hers.

“We need to go.” she said, pulling me out of the room. “Cassie won’t be happy if we miss the game.”

Right.

The game.

Cassie.

I needed to talk to her.