Forest Lake

Chapter 63

Emma POV

I couldn’t move.

Why couldn’t I move?

I looked down and saw that my arms and legs were tied to a steel table I was laying on.

My heartbeat raced and my stomach twisted painfully. A wave of nausea hit me so hard that I thought I was going to pass out.

I looked around and saw that I was in a dark room. There was nothing here except the table I was laying on. The walls were gray and damp. I could even smell the humidity in the air.

Where was I?

How did I end up here?

What happened to me?

I couldn’t remember anything.

The last thing I remembered was eating dinner with Mason in our room. I didn’t know what happened after that, I had no idea how I ended up here.

I tried to fight the restraints binding me to the table, but they were too tight. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything except wait.

I heard the door open, and I looked up to see who had entered the room.

When my eyes met his, a small whimper escaped me.

“Hello, doll.” he said, smiling at me.

“No.” I mumbled, trying to force my body to move.

I was frozen and I couldn’t do anything.

He started walking closer, and I pulled on the restraints, trying to free myself. It was pointless. I was completely at his mercy.

“There is no point in doing that, doll.” he said, standing next to the steel table. “You can’t escape me this time. I have you now and I will never let you go.”

My body started shaking, and panic ripped through me. I felt tears falling from my eyes, down to the side of my face and into my hair. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

“This is impossible.” I cried out. “You are in jail. You can’t be here.”

I heard him laughing and a sob escaped me.

“I told you I wouldn’t be in jail for long, my doll.” he said. “Now, open those pretty eyes for me, will you? I miss them. I want to see them.”

I closed my eyes even tighter, praying to every deity that I could think of to help me. Tears kept streaming down my face, and I couldn’t do anything to stop them. I was so scared and all I wanted was my brother.

Where was Mason?

What happened to him?

Did he hurt Mason?

Oh, my God!

WHERE IS MASON?!

My eyes flew open, and I saw him smiling down at me.

“Where is Mason?!” I screamed at him. “I want my brother!”

“Shh, doll.” he said, placing his hand on my cheek. “Your brother won’t bother us again. Don’t worry about that. I took care of him.”

I froze and my heart broke inside of me. I could feel it shatter to a million tiny pieces. What did he mean by that? Did he hurt Mason? Did he kill Mason?

Oh, my God.

No, no, no, no, no.

Please, no!

Not Mason! Please not Mason!

“I missed your skin.” he mumbled as he slid his hand down to my neck.

“MASON!” I screamed as loud as I could.

He grabbed my shoulders and got in my face. He looked very angry, but I couldn’t even be afraid of him. All I felt was pain. All I could think about was my brother. He could kill me. I didn’t care anymore. All I wanted was for Mason to be okay.

“Stop calling that man!” he screamed at me. “You belong to me! You are not his! You are mine!”

The tiny pieces of my heart broke again. The pain was suffocating me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stop crying.

No, no, no, no.

Mason had to be okay.

He had to be okay!

“Mason!” I cried out, my voice breaking in pain and sadness.

My vision was completely blurred by my tears. I was shaking from top to bottom. My sobs became louder and more painful. My chest hurt terribly.

He got into my face and smiled. “My doll. Mine.”

I shut my eyes tightly. I didn’t want to see that man. I wanted my brother. I needed my brother.

I turned my head to the side, trying to get away from him. I started lifting my arms and legs, trying to get out of those restraints.

I wanted to go to Mason. I needed Mason. I wanted to make sure that he was okay.

The hands on my shoulders tightened.

“Emma!” I heard him call my name. “Open your eyes and look at me!”

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to!

I wanted Mason! I needed Mason!

Oh, God, what will I do if he is gone?!

No! Please, no! He can’t be gone! He has to be okay!

I continued trashing and sobbing, trying to free myself. I wanted the pain to go away. I couldn’t breathe. Something was sitting on my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. My body hurt, but I couldn’t do anything about it. All I could do was sob uncontrollably.

“Emma!” he called me again. “Open your eyes!”

No! I can’t see him again! I can’t!

“Emma!” he screamed at me.

“STOP!” I screamed back as I turned my head back toward him and opened my eyes.

A pair of blue eyes filled with concern were staring down at me.

I blinked, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

He had dark eyes.

Those blue eyes were the same as mine.

“Oh, my God, Emma!” the voice said. “I was so fucking scared!”

I blinked again and moved my eyes away from those blue ones. I looked around and saw that I was in my room.

I was in my room?

I looked back at the person holding my shoulders. He was sitting on the bed next to me, holding my shoulders in a tight grip.

If this was my room and this person had the same eyes as me, it had to be…

“Mason?” I called him, my voice breaking.

“Yes, Emmy, it’s me.” he said softly, letting go of my shoulders and caressing my cheek softly.

I broke down.

Something between a scream and a sob escaped my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed him to me as close as I possibly could.

“It was a dream, Emmy.” he said, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me up into his lap. “It’s okay. It was a dream.”

My body was in so much pain that I couldn’t even feel relieved. All I could do was sob and hold on to my brother.

He was alive.

He was okay.

It was a dream.

“Shh, Emmy.” Mason mumbled, holding me tighter and trying to stop my body from shaking uncontrollably. “It’s okay. I am here.”

“I thought…” I sobbed. “He was there…”

I couldn’t even finish a sentence. My tears were choking me.

“I know.” Mason mumbled, kissing the top of my head. “It’s okay.”

“I thought that he killed you.” I managed to say through my tears.

Mason’s arms around me tightened and I felt him take a deep breath.

“I am here.” he said softly. “He can’t take me away from you, Emma. No one can take me away from you. He is in jail, and he can’t hurt you or me or anyone else.”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it was impossible.

My heart was racing, and it felt like I would never be able to calm down.

“Breathe, Emmy.” Mason said softly. “I’m worried about your heart. You need to breathe. You need to try to calm down.”

I let go of him and leaned back so that I could look at him. I placed my hands on his face and took a deep breath.

He is okay. I can see him. I can touch him. He is alive.

“I am okay, Emmy.” he said as he caressed my cheek softly. “It was a dream.”

“It was so real.” I mumbled as I felt more tears fall on my cheeks. “I could feel his hands on me. I could feel the coldness of the table I was laying on. I could even smell the humidity in the air. I really thought that he hurt you.”

Mason’s jaw twitched and anger flashed in his eyes.

“He will never touch you again.” he said, gritting his teeth.

“I just need you to be okay.” I said, my voice breaking.

“I am okay.” he said as he pulled me back into his arms. “We are both okay.”

I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could.

This dream felt so real. I didn’t want to go back to sleep. I didn’t want to see him ever again.

Mason kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back soothingly. I relaxed slightly, but I knew that I would never forget this pain. I would never forget what it felt like to think that my brother was gone.