Forest Lake

Chapter 46

Mason POV

Something was digging into my hip, and my hand felt a little bit numb. I grunted and made myself more comfortable.

It was annoying, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

I felt fingers running through my hair, and I sighed contently. It calmed me down instantly.

I snuggled closer to someone warm lying next to me, and I was ready to fall asleep again.

Wait…

I was sleeping?

I shouldn’t have been sleeping.

O, my God! Emma!

My eyes flew open, and I jumped up.

I looked to my right and saw her staring at me wide-eyed.

My heart was racing like crazy. I grabbed her face and looked her up and down.

“Mason.” she said my name softly. “What’s wrong?”

“I fell asleep.” I mumbled, moving my fingers to check her pulse.

It was normal. She was talking. She was breathing.

She grabbed my hands and pulled me back next to her. I leaned my head on her shoulder, and she kissed my forehead.

“I am okay, Mason.” she said. “You can sleep. You have to sleep.”

“What if something happens?” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her. “What if your heart stops again?”

My voice cracked at the end of the sentence. The fear almost choked me.

“The doctors are here, Massy.” she said, kissing my forehead again. “I will be okay.”

I held her tighter and took a deep breath.

“And for the record, my heart didn’t stop.” she added, running her hand through my hair. “The rhythm was going crazy.”

I looked up at her and rolled my eyes. She chuckled.

“I saw them use a defibrillator on you.” I said. “That fear almost killed me. I don’t give a shit about terminology.”

“You saw that?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“I did.” I nodded. “They threw me out of the room, but I did see the first time they shocked you.”

She was staring at me wide-eyed, unable to say a word.

“It was terrifying.” I mumbled.

“I am so sorry.” she said, pulling me into a hug. “I am so sorry that you had to see that.”

I hugged her tightly and took a deep breath.

A knock on the door made us break the hug.

If that was my father again, I was going to punch him this time.

“Come in.” Emma said.

The door opened, and detective Peters walked inside.

I saw fucking red.

She was in this bed because of him. She almost died because of him.

“Did you find Annie?” Emma asked him immediately. “Is she okay?”

“Hi, Emma.” Peters said instead of answering her. “How are you? I heard that you had trouble with your heart.”

“She did.” I said coldly. “We have you to thank for that.”

“Mason.” Emma scolded me quietly.

I ignored her and continued to glare at Peters.

“I am so sorry about that.” Peters said as he pulled up a chair to sit next to the bed. “We failed to protect her.”

“You did.” I said coldly.

“Did you find Annie?” Emma repeated her question.

“We did.” Peters nodded. “She is okay.”

“Oh, thank God.” Emma sighed, leaning her head on my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“You were very brave, Emma.” Peters smiled at her. “I am so sorry this happened to you.”

“Sorry won’t fix her heart.” I said, clenching my fists.

“Mason.” Emma sighed. “It wasn’t their fault. No one could see it coming.”

Peters smiled at her and took a deep breath.

“I came here to see how you are, but also to ask you if there is anything you want to know about Derek Wilson.” Peters said.

Emma tensed up, and I pressed her closer to me.

“He will never hurt you again.” I said quietly, kissing the top of her head.

“Where is he?” Emma asked quietly.

“He is in jail.” Peters answered. “We are still taking his statement.”

“Why did he do it?” I asked, trying to stop myself from tearing the room down.

I wasn’t able to process my anger yet. A lot has happened, and I still didn’t have time to sit down and think about what I was going to do to that fucker.

He touched my sister. He almost killed her. He deserved the worst of my rage.

“Do you want to hear what we found out?” Peters asked Emma.

She nodded, pressing herself closer to me and gripping the front of my hoodie tightly.

“I am right here.” I told her. “I won’t leave you.”

“If you need me to stop, tell me.” Peters said. “You don’t have to listen if it’s too much.”

“I want to know.” Emma said quietly.

I tightened my grip on her. I needed support as well. I knew that I would be pissed the fuck off with what we were about to hear.

Peters studied Emma’s face for a moment. He nodded and took a deep breath.

“Derek’s mother had a mental illness.” he started explaining. “She had a doll, and she was convinced that the doll was her child. Derek was raised believing that the doll was his sister. When Derek was about 10 years old, the doll got lost. His mother believed that the doll died. She ended up in a psychiatric hospital after that. She died there a few years later. She blamed him for losing the doll, and she told him that he should have died with the doll.”

My stomach twisted, and I felt bile rising. Emma was trembling. I kissed the top of her head repeatedly, trying to show her that I was right here.

“Are you okay?” Peters asked. “Should I continue?”

Emma nodded.

“Okay.” Peters said. “Derek developed an obsession with the doll. He searched for it for a very long time. He eventually started seeing the doll in the women and the girls he encountered. He even engaged in romantic relationships with some of the women who looked like the doll, but they left him pretty soon because of his behavior. We talked to some of them, and they said that he always tried to make them wear white dresses. We believe that the guilt his mother made him feel and the constant rejection of the women he was with led him to this. He wanted to create his own doll and die with her, just like his mother told him to.”

“Oh, my God.” Emma mumbled.

“Sick fucker.” I said at the same time.

“We found a picture of the doll in his hideout.” Peters continued. “From all the girls Derek encountered, Emma really does look the most like that doll.”

I kissed the top of Emma’s head again. She wasn’t his fucking doll.

“The interrogation is still going on.” Peters added. “I am sure that he has a lot to say.”

“He is sick.” I mumbled, burying my nose in Emma’s hair.

Peters nodded and sighed.

“He did mention that he tried to separate the two of you.” Peters said, and I looked up at him.

I furrowed my eyebrows. He never approached me. He never did anything to separate us. What the hell?

“How?” Emma asked.

“He said that Mason hated you when you first came here.” Peters said, looking at me. “He put you in the same group for a project, hoping that would create even more tension between you and Mason. He was hoping that Mason would bully you and isolate you. It would help him take you.”

My heart was beating a mile a minute.

Holy fuck.

What if I actually did that? What if my stubborn ass refused to talk to Emma that day? What if I actually helped him take her away from me?

My stomach turned, and I almost threw up.

“I am glad he wasn’t successful.” Peters said.

“He wasn’t.” Emma mumbled. “He actually helped us a lot. We talked and worked through the problem.”

We almost didn’t.

Because of me.

Fuck!

Peters smiled and stood up. “I am glad you are okay, Emma. I will let you rest. I will inform you of everything else we find out during our investigation.”

“Thank you, detective.” Emma said with a small smile.

Peters smiled at her and gave me a small nod before walking out of the room.

Emma turned to look at me and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked me.

“I almost helped him take you.” I said quietly. “I didn’t want to talk to you.”

Emma sighed and pulled me into a hug. She kissed my temple and ran her hand through my hair. I relaxed immediately.

“You did talk to me.” she said. “You didn’t help him.”

“But I almost…” I started speaking, but she interrupted me.

“You talked to me, Mason.” she said, tightening her grip on me. “You saved me.”

I buried my face into her neck and took a deep breath.

“I love you.” I mumbled.

“I love you too.” she said, kissing my temple again.