Forest Lake

Chapter 21

Emma POV

The day flew by.

I spent it trying to figure out what I was going to say to Mason. I couldn’t tell him the truth. It was completely irrational, and I have no idea why what Jax and Chris said hurt me so much.

Mason never let my hand go, not even in class. He made me sit close to him, and he always made sure that my hand was in his. Mr. Wilson eyed us suspiciously during our history class, but he let it go and didn’t say anything. He did praise us for our work on the project so far, and it made me happy. But when he smiled at me, I was so distracted that I couldn’t return the smile. I was hoping that one of my friends did smile back at him so that he wouldn’t be offended.

Mason never stopped staring at me. He didn’t say anything else about our talk later, but it still made me nervous. He remembered a lot more about me than I thought he would, which wasn’t really surprising. I remembered everything about him.

I saw Chris eyeing me worriedly a couple of times, but he didn’t say anything. Jax and Hazel bickered back and forth the entire day, and they didn’t pay much attention to anyone other than each other.

When class was finally over, I really wanted to take a nice, hot, long shower, put on my coziest PJs, and sleep.

“I will see you later, guys.” Mason said as he started pulling me toward my bedroom.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked behind us. Hazel was walking away with Jax, rolling her eyes at something he was saying. Chris was following them, shaking his head and chuckling.

“Where is Hazel going?” I asked, turning to look at Mason.

“With Jax.” Mason said. “She will be back later.”

Shit. I thought that maybe I could avoid talking to Mason if Hazel was there. But he thought of that. I was sure that Mason was the one who told Hazel to spend some time with Jax.

We arrived in front of my room, and Mason waited for me to unlock the door. We walked inside, and I placed my books on my desk. I heard the door locking, and I turned around to see Mason leaning on the door with his hands crossed over his chest.

“Talk.” he said softly.

I gulped and my heartbeat quickened. I spent the whole day thinking about what I was going to tell him, but I couldn’t think of anything good. I needed more time.

“Can I shower first?” I asked quietly.

“No.” Mason shook his head. “I’ve spent the entire day worrying about you. I’m not spending another minute like that.”

I leaned on my desk, gripping the edges tightly and taking a deep breath.

“I’m okay, Mason.” I said. “There is nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t lie to me, Emma.” Mason said sternly. “I know when you are lying. Always remember that.”

I wasn’t going to get out of this, was I?

“I’m worried about those girls.” I mumbled quietly.

It wasn’t a complete lie. I was worried about them. I was hoping that they were okay. I couldn’t even imagine what their families and friends were going through.

“Okay.” Mason nodded, stepping away from the door. “I believe you. I am worried about that too. I am worried about you mostly. But that is not why you are sad and hurt.”

I gulped and looked down at my feet.

“Whatever it is Emma, I will fix it.” Mason said as he stopped in front of me.

“You can’t fix it.” I mumbled quietly.

“Why?” he asked softly.

“Because it’s irrational and stupid.” I sighed, looking up at him. “I shouldn’t even be sad about it. I don’t know why I was hurt by it.”

“Okay.” Mason nodded. “I still want to know, Emma.”

I grunted and covered my face with my hands.

“It’s embarrassing.” I mumbled.

Mason sighed, picked me up, and sat me on my desk. He moved my hands away from my face. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

“You threw up on me when we were eight.” he said teasingly. “If that didn’t embarrass you, nothing should.”

I chuckled. He was right. I did throw up on him. I had a terrible flu, and I woke up feeling very sick. I didn’t make it to the bathroom, though. I didn’t even make it out of bed. Mason always insisted on sleeping with me, so he was right where he shouldn’t have been when the dam broke.

“You still went back to my bed after you showered and changed, and after mom changed the sheets.” I said, smiling.

“Of course I did.” Mason smiled back. “As if I would have left you alone. You were sick.”

A warm feeling spread through my chest. He was always my biggest protector. I missed him. I missed having a brother. Maybe that’s why it hurt so much to hear that nobody knew about me. He hated me so much that he didn’t even acknowledge my existence. But it wasn’t his fault. It still didn’t stop the tears from falling.

Mason’s eyes widened, and his arms were wrapped around me in a second.

“Fuck, Emma, talk.” he said, panicked, rubbing my back soothingly.

“I know it’s stupid, but I got so hurt when Jax said that they didn’t know about me and that there was another little girl you called your sister.” I said quietly. “I never realized that you hated me so much that you never told them about me before.”

Mason froze, and I could hear him cursing quietly.

“It wasn’t your fault Mason, I know that.” I said, trying to stop the tears falling from my eyes. “I don’t even know why I’m sad about it. It’s stupid. We shouldn’t even talk about it.”

Mason pulled back, placing his hands on my shoulder. He looked at me sternly.

“It’s not stupid, Emma.” he said. “I am an idiot. It was my fault. I should have told them about you. They should have known who you were even before you arrived here. I messed up badly and I am so fucking sorry.”

He wrapped his arms back around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“You are the best thing in my life.” Mason mumbled. “I can’t believe that they took you away from me. I can’t believe that I let it happen.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” I said, rubbing his back. “You were a kid.”

Mason sighed, kissing the top of my head.

“Can I go shower now?” I asked, feeling very relieved after I’d told him the truth, and after he hugged me.

All I really needed was to be comforted by him. He couldn’t change what happened, but he could be here for me now. And he was. Just like I will always be here for him. I would do anything for my brother. He is the most important person in my life.

“Sure.” Mason said softly, letting me go.

He didn’t step away, though. He placed his hands on the desk, caging me in. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I told him everything. What else did he want to talk about?

“I can’t wait for you to meet Cassie.” he said. “I can’t wait to tell her that she isn’t the most important girl in my life.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “That probably won’t go well, based on what I’ve heard about the two of you.”

“She won’t mind.” Mason shrugged. “She really only cares about Jax. It’s funny, you will see. They are like twins.”

“Will he let her come?” I asked.

“Probably.” Mason nodded. “He misses her a lot. They are inseparable.”

I smiled and nodded. I would really like to meet her. She seems like a sweet girl.

“I love you, Emmy.” Mason said softly, pulling me back into his arms.

“I love you too, Massy.” I said, smiling and leaning my head on his chest.

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Hello, my dear readers! 😄

Thank you for reading and I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. 😊

Cassie will come to visit soon, but I can't decide if she should be bad or good. 😅 I have a plan for both, but I just can't decide. 🤔

What do you think? What would you like to happen when Cassie arrives? 😊