Forest Lake

Chapter 7

Mason POV

My head was throbbing.

Fucking beer.

“You look like shit, man.” Jax said as he got up from his bed.

“Thank you.” I said sarcastically. “You are a wonderful friend.”

“I know.” Jax smirked, pulling on his sweats. “I would be a terrible friend if I lied to you and told you that you look great.”

I groaned and laid back down. I needed a shower, but I couldn’t force myself to move.

“Get up, man.” Jax’s annoying voice reached me. “Let’s go get coffee. It will help.”

I rolled out of my bed with a huff. I hate the day after. Especially when I drink as much as I did last night. I wouldn’t have done it, but I was pissed as fuck after I saw her there. Guys were staring at her, and I knew what they were thinking. I wanted to punch every single one of them until they understood that she was not to be touched.

But I couldn’t do that. Not just because it was against the fucking law, but because my mind was screaming at me that I didn’t care about her. I didn’t fucking care. She didn’t deserve my care.

I got into the bathroom and hopped in the shower. Warm water relaxed my muscles, and I felt better immediately.

After I finished showering, I brushed my teeth and put on my hoodie and my sweats.

I left the bathroom and sat on my bed, putting my shoes on. Jax was scrolling on his phone, waiting for me to finish so we could go downstairs and get coffee.

I was just about to tell Jax to get his ass off of the bed when I was interrupted with a knock on our door.

“Come in.” Jax shouted, not looking up from his phone.

The door opened, and Chris walked inside.

“Did you hear what happened?” Chris asked and closed the door quickly.

“We just woke up.” Jax answered, putting his phone on his nightstand.

“A girl went missing.” Chris said, sitting down at my desk.

A girl? Who?

My heartbeat picked up and I clenched my fists. I wanted to run to her dorm room to make sure that she is here.

“Who?” I asked through my teeth.

Chris turned to look at me. “A girl from the city. She was here at the party, and she went missing after. The police are coming here to talk to everyone.”

“She is probably in some dude’s bed.” Jax snorted. “I don’t know what the hype is about.”

“Because they found blood and a note.” Chris said.

I furrowed my eyebrows, and Jax looked at him wide-eyed.

“A note?” Jax asked, confused. “What did it say?”

“I don’t know.” Chris shrugged.

“Shit.” I mumbled, running my hand through my hair. “That’s messed up.”

“It’s probably a prank.” Jax said. “Somebody is going to get their ass thrown in jail because of it.”

“I don’t know, man.” Chris sighed. “The teachers seem pretty concerned.”

“They are always concerned.” Jax sighed, getting off of his bed.

Well, he is not wrong about that. It is probably just a stupid prank.

“I wonder what the note says.” Chris mumbled, looking lost in thought.

“Dude, this is a high school.” I said, standing up. “We will know before the breakfast ends.”

Chris looked at me and nodded. Nothing stays hidden in a high school.

“Speaking of breakfast, lets go eat.” Jax whined. “I’m starving.”

The three of us left the room, lost in our own thoughts.

I couldn’t help but think about yesterday. I’m so fucking glad I told her to go to her room. What if this isn’t a prank? What if somebody did something to that girl? Did they target her or was it random? If it was random, every girl in that party was in danger, which means she was in danger as well, which means that I did the right thing by sending her away.

We entered the dining hall and my eyes found her immediately.

She was talking to Hazel. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was solely focused on what Hazel was talking about. She didn’t even notice me.

“I can’t really decide if your sister is prettier in thigh-high boots or in a hoodie.” Jax said, as we were sitting down at our table.

My eyes snapped from her to him. The fucker was smirking and staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

Is he crazy? Does he really want me to beat the shit out of him?

“Do you have to do that, Jax?” Chris sighed. “I really wanted a peaceful breakfast.”

“I love to watch him freak out like this.” Jax snorted. “It’s funny to see how much he doesn’t care.”

He air-quoted ‘doesn’t care’, rolling his eyes while he did so.

I clenched my fists and narrowed my eyes at him. He was really pushing all the wrong buttons.

“Shut the fuck up, Jax.” I said through my teeth. “You are digging yourself a deep fucking grave.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Jax mumbled. “I’m getting coffee. Come help me, Chris.”

The two of them stood up and walked over to the counter. My eyes found her again. She was still talking to Hazel, but she seemed a little bit more relaxed now. She was sipping her coffee and nodding. Her eyes started roaming around the room until they found mine. She stiffened and her eyes widened slightly. I saw sadness in them, and it made my heart clench painfully. She broke the contact first and looked back at Hazel. She continued nodding, but I knew she was now sad and nervous because she started biting her lower lip.

I made her sad. I made her nervous. I should be happy. She deserves it.

I am happy.

Right?

The lump in my throat made it hard for me to swallow.

I am fucking happy.

“You were right.” Chris’ voice pulled me out of my thoughts and made me look away from her. “We did find out about the note before breakfast ended.”

“What does it say?” I asked, picking up my coffee from the tray.

“Well, you know how the high school gossip goes, so it’s probably not true, but some kids in line were saying that it said something like ‘she is the first one I will practice on’.” Chris said, taking a sip of his coffee.

My eyebrows furrowed. Practice what?

“That’s creepy.” I mumbled.

“It’s a prank.” Jax sighed. “She will show up by the end of the day.”

“Probably.” I mumbled, my eyes going back to her.

The sadness on her face wasn’t gone.

My heart tugged, and I clenched my fists.

It makes me happy that she is sad.

It should make me happy.