Emma POV
Mason and I weren’t the most interesting topic in school anymore. Nobody cared if I was his sister, his cousin, or his ex-girlfriend.
Everybody talked about the missing girl.
It’s been four days since she went missing, and there were no leads. The police talked to the kids that were at the party with her, but nobody knew anything. Her friends couldn't remember the last time they saw her. They didn’t know if she left the party alone or if she went with someone else.
It was like she vanished into thin air.
Hazel sighed, and I turned my head to the right to look at her.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered.
“Haven’t you been listening?” she asked quietly, leaning toward me. “We have to do a group project.”
I turned my head back to look at Mr. Wilson. He was sitting at his desk with a piece of paper in front of him. I focused on what he was saying.
“I divided you into groups of five.” he said. “I don’t care if you like the people in your group or not. You can’t change groups.”
A couple of kids groaned. I hoped that at least Hazel and I would be in the same group.
“The topic is World War I.” Mr. Wilson continued. “Each group will have to talk about one of the effects that World War I had on our society. You will be given detailed instructions, so save all of your questions for after you’ve read through them.”
Mr. Wilson stood up, picking up the paper in front of him.
“Okay.” he said as he cleared his throat. “Group number one will be Rogers, Miller, Jones, Perez, and Walker. Your assignment is to talk about the social effects of World War I. Group number two will be Lewis, Brown, Johnson, Anderson, and Clark. Your assignment is to talk about the political effects of World War I. Group number three will be Wright, King, Richardson Mason, Harris, and Richardson Emma. Your assignment is to talk about the economic effects of World War I. And finally, group four…”
I stopped listening.
Shit.
I couldn’t look away from Mr. Wilson, but I tuned him out completely. I saw his lips moving, but I had no idea what he was talking about.
I will have to work with Mason. I could already picture his cold gaze on me. It made me shiver. It made my bones ache.
My heart was thumping in my chest, and I couldn’t look away from Mr. Wilson. He was done talking, and he walked over to his desk to pick up a stack of papers. He started handing them out.
“Em?” I heard Hazel’s quiet voice next to me.
I turned my head to look at her. She had a worried expression.
“Will you be okay?” she asked me quietly.
I simply nodded. I couldn’t formulate words right now.
Mr. Wilson walked past me and placed a paper on my desk. It was a paper with instructions about the project. I ignored it completely. I wouldn’t be able to understand anything right now anyway.
The bell rang and everyone stared leaving the classroom.
Someone cleared their throat, and when I looked up, I saw Chris and Jax standing next to my desk. I looked behind them and saw Mason still sitting at his desk, glaring at me. Hazel stood up and came to stand next to me. She smiled at the guys.
“Hey, girls.” Chris said, giving me a warm smile. “Should we get together later and talk about this project?”
“Sure.” Hazel answered. “Should we meet at the library around 6 pm?”
“That would be great.” Jax smiled at her before looking down at me. “Are you okay with that, Emma?”
“Yes.” I said quietly, trying to give him a smile that didn’t look forced.
“Great.” Jax smiled brightly. “We will see you girls later.”
Hazel smiled at them, and they started walking out of the classroom. I saw Mason standing up and following them outside.
He didn’t even look at me, and it made me want to cry.
I need to talk to him. I need him to tell me what I did to make him hate me this much.
The rest of the day flew by, and before I knew it, Hazel and I were walking toward the library.
“Are you okay, Emma?” Hazel asked me.
“I am.” I nodded with a small smile. “I am just a little bit nervous.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Hazel said. “This is a project for school. Mason knows that. There won’t be any issues, I am sure of it.”
I nodded and looked down at my feet. I wanted to talk to him, but I knew I was a big coward, and I would have a lot of trouble approaching him. Just one cold look from him and I would be ready to run away and hide.
We arrived at the library and Hazel opened the doors. The guys were already inside. Chris and Jax smiled, while Mason glared at us.
I sighed internally. I didn’t expect anything else from him.
Hazel and I approached the table and sat down. I was sitting between Hazel and Chris. Mason was opposite me, which gave him the perfect opportunity to glare at me constantly.
“Hey, girls.” Jax smiled. “How are you?”
“We are great, thank you for asking.” Hazel answered, smiling back at him.
“How are you liking the school, Emma?” Jax asked, moving his gaze from Hazel to me.
“It’s great.” I said, giving him a small smile. “I like it here.”
It could be better. My own twin brother could actually like me. But we can’t all get what we want.
“How come you came here in your senior year?” Jax asked again.
I gulped and bit my lower lip. I really didn’t want to talk about mom in front of Mason. But I had no choice.
“My mom and my stepfather moved to Europe for work.” I said quietly, trying my hardest not to look at Mason.
I could feel his eyes on me, though. My stomach twisted, making me want to throw up.
“Why didn’t they take you with them?” Chris asked, making me look at him.
Shit. What should I say? I twirled a strand of hair between my fingers. It was a nervous habit I had, and I only did it when I had to lie. I was a terrible liar, and I only made it worse with this habit. Anyone who knew about it could see right through my lie immediately. Fortunately for me, Chris, Jax, and Hazel didn’t know, and Mason didn’t remember.
“They work a lot, and they didn’t want me to be alone at home all the time.” I said, keeping my eyes firmly on Chris.
“What do they do?” Chris asked, giving me a warm smile.
I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was.
“They are financial consultants for large companies.” I answered, pushing the thought about Chris out of my mind.
“Where in Europe are they?” Jax asked.
“France.” I answered without thinking.
I realized my mistake immediately.
Shit.
“I thought you said that they were in Germany?” Hazel said, confused.
“Right.” I looked at her, trying to come up with a good lie. “Well, they are traveling between Germany and France.”
Hazel gave me a look I didn’t quite understand. My hair was getting completely tangled up in my fingers. I was sure there was a sign on my forehead, telling everyone that I was a liar.
Well, technically I am not a liar. I don’t even know where in Europe they are. For all I know, they could be in Germany or in France.
My eyes wandered around the room, hoping they wouldn’t ask any more questions. I don’t know how, but I found myself looking at the narrowed eyes of my twin brother. He was looking at me sternly before his gaze flew to the tangled strand of hair between my fingers. He looked back up at me and raised an eyebrow.
Shit.
He remembers.
Shit.
My heart started beating faster. I couldn’t look away from his stern gaze. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Holy fucking shit.” Jax mumbled suddenly.
I peeled my eyes away from Mason and looked at Jax. He was staring at his phone with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Chris asked him immediately.
“That girl who went missing, Melissa something.” Jax mumbled. “They found her.”
He never looked up from his phone.
“Is she okay?” I asked quietly.
Jax looked up at me, and I could see complete shock in his eyes.
“No.” he said quietly. “She is dead.”
Hazel gasped loudly. My eyes widened as I stared at Jax.
Dead?
“What the fuck?” Mason spoke for the first time.
Jax looked away from me and back at his phone.
“They found her in the woods, laying on the ground.” Jax mumbled. “She was wearing a white dress, and there was a note next to her.”
My heart thumped so loudly that I could barely hear Jax.
“What did it say?” Chris asked quietly.
Jax scrolled through his phone, gulping loudly.
“She is the first of many.” Jax said quietly. “It is time for my next victim.”
My eyes found Mason’s immediately. For the first time since I came to this school, I didn’t see any coldness in his eyes. I saw worry and fear. Mason clenched his fists and took a deep breath.
I looked back at Jax.
“Holy fucking shit.” Jax repeated, looking up and glancing at the four of us.