Forest Lake

Chapter 45

Mason POV

Emma’s head was on my chest, and my hands were wrapped around her tightly. I wasn’t letting go of her anytime soon.

She fell asleep, but I couldn’t.

I was too fucking scared to sleep. I kept checking her pulse and making sure she was breathing. She was still hooked up to a bunch of machines, but I didn’t trust them to show me if she was okay. What if one of them broke down? I had to be sure. I had to check myself.

What happened earlier was the scariest fucking thing that ever happened to me. I thought that the pain would kill me. I thought that I would just stop breathing. I couldn’t lose her. She meant more to me than anything else in the world.

I lowered my head and kissed her cheek gently. I didn’t want to wake her up.

The doctor came to check in on her a few minutes ago. She was okay, but he said that she would need sleep.

Someone knocked on the door gently.

Who the fuck was that?! I told everyone to leave. I didn’t want anyone in here.

I wanted to shout and tell whoever it was to leave, but I wasn’t going to wake Emma up. I didn’t want to leave the bed and walk to the door because I was too fucking scared to let her go.

There was another gentle knock, and now I was pissed the fuck off. I wanted them to leave. I was hoping that they would leave if I just didn’t respond.

My hope went down the drain when the door opened slowly.

My anger rose rapidly when I saw who it was.

My father.

His eyes were on Emma as he stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him gently.

I told him to leave. I told my mother to leave. What the fuck did he want?!

I wrapped my arms around Emma tighter and hid her face in my neck. He wasn’t going to see her. He wasn’t taking her away from me.

Thankfully, I was laying on the side closer to the door. If he wanted to get her, he would have to move past me. And that would never happen.

“Leave.” I said coldly.

“Mason, please.” he said quietly, stepping closer to the bed. “She is my child.”

“Since when?” I laughed darkly. “You left her to that bitch. You took her brother away from her. You took her father away from her. Last time I checked, fathers aren’t supposed to do shit like that to their own children.”

“I made a mistake.” he sighed, taking another step closer to us.

His eyes were glued to her. I tried my best to shield her from his gaze, but I didn’t want to move too much. I didn’t want to wake her up.

“She is beautiful.” my dad mumbled quietly.

“Don’t come any closer.” I said, raising my hand. “You don’t deserve her.”

“You are right.” he sighed. “I don’t. I wasn’t a good father to her.”

“And to me.” I added. “You took my twin away from me. You watched me suffer for years. You knew how much she meant to me. You knew how much I loved her, and you still did it. You put yourself and your needs before us, and that is not what good parents do.”

My fists were clenched when I finished talking. I wanted to get up and punch him.

But Emma came first.

I looked down at her and checked her pulse. Her heart was beating. She was breathing. She was okay.

I looked back up at my father. He had tears in his eyes. Good. Too fucking late, though.

“I thought that you would be okay after a while.” my father mumbled. “I thought that you would forget about her after a while.”

My eyes widened. Was he fucking serious?!

“You thought that I would forget about her?!” I repeated, trying to stop myself from shouting.

Emma stirred, and I looked down at her. I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. Thankfully, she didn’t wake up.

My father was looking at us with a small smile on his face. Fucker.

“Well, not really forget.” dad continued. “I thought that you would learn to live without her after a while. You were a child. I didn’t think it would be as hard for you as it was.”

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth when you saw how hard it was for me?” I asked, clenching my fists.

“Because your mother and I agreed we wouldn’t visit.” he mumbled, looking down at his feet.

I chuckled darkly, trying very hard to stop myself from getting up and punching the shit out of him.

“Like I said, you were thinking about yourself and what you wanted.” I said coldly. “You never thought about us.”

My father sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked back up, and his eyes landed on Emma again. I placed my hand on her cheek, shielding her from his gaze. He didn’t deserve to see her.

“For the record, I could never forget her.” I continued, making him look away from her and back at me. “No matter how many days or years passed. We were born together. She is my first memory. We learned how to walk and talk together. We were sick together. We cried and laughed together. We did everything together until you separated us. I would never be able to forget her. The pain of losing her would never stop. I would always remember every little detail about her. She is my twin. My sister. My best friend. And I will never let you take her away from me again. I will never forgive you for what you did.”

My father stared at me wide-eyed for a few moments. He nodded and looked away.

“What about her?” he asked. “What if she wants me in her life? What if she forgives me?”

I clenched my fists for a millionth time since he walked into the room.

I didn’t want her to talk to him. I didn’t want him near her. But I knew that it wasn’t my decision to make. I knew I had to let her decide.

“I will honor her decision.” I said. “If she wants you in her life, you can be in her life, but never without my supervision. If you hurt her again, I will become your worst fucking nightmare.”

My father nodded and took a deep breath.

“Did Patricia really neglect her?” he mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers.

My anger increased upon hearing that bitch’s name. I saw fucking red when I saw her standing in the waiting room.

How the fuck did she come all the way from Europe on such short notice?!

I sighed internally. I will ask her once I sit down with her and demand Emma’s money back.

I nodded in response to my father’s question. I looked down at Emma, and checked her pulse and breathing again. She was okay.

“If I knew…” my father said, and my eyes snapped to him.

“You would know if you bothered to check on your child.” I said angrily.

“Did she hit her?” my father asked. “Did her new husband hit her?”

I shook my head, and my father sighed in relief.

“Thank you for letting me see her.” my father said.

“If I could get out of this bed, you wouldn’t see her.” I chuckled darkly. “The only reason you are standing here is because I am not planning on leaving her anytime soon.”

“You are a good brother.” my father said.

“She deserves at least one good family member.” I said coldly, making my father flinch.

Actually, she deserves the whole fucking world. She deserves a shitload of people who would love her and take care of her. But let’s be honest, even if they existed, I wouldn’t let them near her.

“Will you call me when she wakes up?” my dad asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “I will tell her that you are here. I will call you if she wants to see you.”

“Okay.” my father nodded and turned around to leave the room.

He opened the door and looked at Emma again before leaving the room.

Fucker.

I buried my nose in Emma’s hair and tried to fight off sleep. I had to stay awake and make sure that she was okay.