Forest Lake

Chapter 55

Mason POV

I was freaking out.

I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I didn’t know anything about periods, and girls on periods.

Okay, I knew something. I knew that it could hurt and that heat could help with the pain. Besides the pills, of course. We’ve learned something else in school, but I couldn’t remember anything for the life of me.

The only thing that came to mind was chocolate. Should I get her some chocolate? Girls on their periods crave chocolate. Right? Was that even true? I saw it in movies and on social media, so it could be completely wrong.

Shit. I should have been paying more attention in class.

My hatred toward my parents grew even bigger at that moment. If they didn’t separate us, this wouldn’t be my first time being with Emma while she was on her period, and I would have some fucking clue about what to do.

I rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the top of her head. She was sobbing on my shoulder and not answering me.

Why the hell would she miss me? I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Emmy.” I called her softly. “Can you tell me what’s wrong, please? Why would you miss me?”

Emma lifted her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I am sorry.” she mumbled. “I get crazy emotional when I’m on my period.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that.” I said as I removed the towel from her head. “It’s normal.”

I started drying her hair with the towel, eyeing her up and down.

Something wasn’t okay.

“Why would you miss me, Emma?” I asked again, looking her in the eyes.

Her eyes widened a little, and she bit her lip instinctively.

Oh, yes. I was right. Something was off.

“I don’t know.” she mumbled, looking away from me.

“I’m not buying that crap.” I said as I placed the towel down on the bed. “Something is wrong, and you are going to tell me what it is.”

Emma sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Are you hiding something from me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

She looked up, panicked.

“No, I promise!” she said, grabbing my hand. “I’m not hiding anything. I was going to talk to you about it, but I wanted to do it tomorrow. You know, after I calmed down a bit and slept. I knew I would be a crying mess if I did it tonight.”

“I don’t care.” I said, shaking my head. “You are talking to me about it now.”

As if I would have been able to sleep after hearing her say that there was something she needed to talk to me about. I wanted to hear it now. I needed to hear it now. She could cry as much as she wanted to. I would wipe all the tears away and hold her for as long as we both needed it.

Emma took a deep breath and squeezed my hand tighter.

“It’s about us leaving.” she said, looking at her hand in mine.

“Okay.” I nodded. “You don’t want to leave? I don’t want to leave either, but I think it’s for the best, Emmy. At least for a little while.”

“I agree.” she nodded, and a tear fell on her cheek. “But I was thinking about how unfair it would be to you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

“You would have to leave your friends.” she sobbed, looking up at me. “You would have to leave the school and you wouldn’t be able to go to college next year. This person could follow us, and you would never be safe.”

She was sobbing and shaking, and it was breaking my heart. I wiped her tears away and pulled her into my arms.

“I don’t care about that.” I said softly, kissing the top of her head. “Jax and Chris would stay my friends if I moved to the Moon. College can wait. Nothing is more important than your safety, Emmy.”

“But I don’t want you to miss out because of me.” she sobbed, holding onto me even tighter. “I already messed up your life so much.”

My heart clenched painfully. She didn’t mess up my life. She fixed it.

I knew she couldn’t see that right now. I knew she felt guilty about everything that happened. I knew how hard all of this was on her, and I admired her for how strong she was through it all.

I knew that I would have to repeat that to her for a while. I knew it would take time until she realized I was telling her the truth. I knew she needed time to heal from everything.

And she couldn’t even start to heal because this wasn’t over yet. That fucker had help. Someone was still after her.

“You didn’t mess it up.” I said, rubbing her back gently. “You made my life a million times better, Emmy.”

“I didn’t.” she sobbed. “I put you in danger. You were scared and hurt because of me. Your senior year should have been spent drinking and partying, not taking care of me. And if you left the school because of me, it would mess your life up even more.”

Suddenly, her words made sense.

I will miss you.

My stomach twisted and I almost threw up. I pushed her away from me gently, so that I could look into her eyes.

“You were thinking about leaving without me.” I said, holding her tighter.

I didn’t ask her. It was a statement.

“I did.” she sobbed, making my heart stop beating. “I want to protect you. I want to take care of you the way you have been taking care of me.”

Was she insane? Was it the hormones?

I suddenly remembered a tiktok video I saw of a guy throwing chocolate at his girlfriend, pretending to be scared of her because she was on her period. I knew it was a joke when I watched it, but I wasn’t sure at this point. Can your period really mess up your brain so much that you stop making sense? Can it mess with your brain so much that your boyfriend has to throw chocolate at you or that you suddenly have stupid ideas that could give your brother a heart attack?

“Are you crazy?” I asked her, tightening my hold on her. “You are not leaving this school without me. Hell, you are not leaving this room without me.”

“But what if…” she sobbed, but I stopped her.

“We are either leaving together or staying together.” I said, pulling her to me. “Stop saying stuff like that unless you want me to have a heart attack.”

“I am sorry.” she mumbled.

“Don’t apologize.” I sighed, kissing the top of her head. “I understand why you thought it would be best to leave alone. But that won’t happen, Emma, and you can stop thinking about it.”

I understood her reasoning. But the idea was crazy. As if I would let it happen.

“I love you.” she mumbled.

“I love you too.” I said, hugging her tighter.

She relaxed into me, and it made my heart grow double.

“Are you always this irrational when you are on your period?” I teased her. “Should I expect more of this or?”

She let go of me and rolled her eyes. I laughed.

“I am not irrational.” she sighed. “It was a genuine idea.”

“It was a crazy idea.” I said sternly. “And you will not repeat it ever again. Promise me.”

“I promise.” she said with a small smile.

I pulled her back to me. I needed this. I needed to hug her. It was a long fucking day.

“We should eat something.” I said, reaching out for my phone with one hand and holding onto her with the other. “I will text Chris. What do you want?”

“I’m not hungry.” she mumbled.

“You need to eat.” I said as I opened the chat with Chris. “At least something small.”

“Fine.” she sighed. “I want a pizza.”

“Okay.” I said as I typed the message to Chris.

I placed my phone back on the bed when I finished typing.

I buried my nose in Emma’s hair and took a deep breath.

She is not leaving me. Not now, not ever.