Mason POV
“Do you know what I find funniest about what people have been talking about you?” Jax spoke as he wrote down another note.
“What?” I sighed, running my hand through Emma’s hair.
God, I missed her so fucking much. I can’t believe I have her back. I can’t believe I didn’t do shit sooner. I really am a complete idiot.
“That none of those who said that she was your ex-girlfriend figured out that you have the same last name.” Jax chuckled. “How stupid are they?”
Emma and Chris laughed. I rolled my eyes.
“I was thinking the same thing.” Hazel said, shaking her head and smiling.
“Well, to be fair, it was mostly girls who were saying that.” Emma said, underlining something in her book. “I guess they were to jealous to actually listen to me when I said my last name.”
“Bitches be crazy.” Jax mumbled, making the rest of my friends laugh.
I wasn’t in the mood to joke around. I wanted to call my dad and ask him why the fuck did he tell me that she didn’t want me. I wanted to call mom and ask her why the fuck she hadn’t brought Emma to see me.
I also wanted to punch the fucking wall repeatedly. I can’t believe that I trusted dad. How the hell could I have trusted him over Emma? I know her like the back of my hand. I should have known that something was off. I should have known that my dad was lying.
“Mason?” I heard my name being called.
I looked around and everyone was staring at me.
“Are you okay?” Emma asked me. “Chris has been calling you.”
“I’m fine.” I gave her a small smile. “I got lost in thought.”
She placed a hand on my back and rubbed small soothing circles. I focused on her touch, letting it calm me down, and looked at Chris.
“What’s up?” I asked him.
“We were saying that we could finish this up.” Chris said as he pointed at our books scattered across the table. “We’ve done enough for today.”
I glanced at my watch. It was 8 pm. Great. It wasn’t too late to call my dad. I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I agree.” I said as I looked back up. “There is something I need to do anyway.”
“What?” Chris asked, but I ignored him.
“Jax, could you spend some time with Chris?” I asked, looking at him. “I need the room for about an hour.”
Jax furrowed his eyebrows and gave me a questioning look. I sighed, making him roll his eyes. I knew he wanted to know why I needed the room, but I wasn’t going to tell him. He nodded and started picking up his stuff.
“Awesome.” I said as I threw my books and pens into my backpack. “You two escort Hazel back to her room, please. I will bring Emma when we are done.”
Emma gave me a confused look. I waited for her to take her stuff before I took her hand in mine and started pulling her out of the library.
“What are we doing?” Emma asked as soon as we left the library.
“Calling dad.” I said. “I can’t wait any longer.”
Emma didn’t respond, but I could feel her hand squeezing mine tighter. She was nervous. I wasn’t nervous. I was pissed off and ready to bite my dad’s head off. He was lucky I wasn’t home. He was lucky I wasn’t going to leave Emma just to go beat the shit out of him.
We arrived in front of my room, and I pulled out the key.
“Please don’t judge me.” I said to Emma. “Jax is the pig. I am the clean one.”
Emma chuckled, and I opened the door.
We stepped inside, and I turned the light on. Emma looked around the room before sitting down at my desk.
I took the phone out of my pocket, and walked to where Emma was sitting.
“Get up.” I said, taking her hand in mine and pulling her up.
“Why?” she asked, confused.
I ignored her question, sat down and pulled her onto my lap. I needed to hold on to her because I knew that Jax wouldn’t be pleased if I destroyed our bedroom. And I kind of knew that I would do just that after talking to my dad. Having Emma close meant that I would have her to lean on instead of my fists.
She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek.
“Are you ready?” I asked her quietly.
“No.” she shook her head.
I sighed and unlocked my phone. I searched for my dad’s number and called him. I put the phone on speaker and waited.
“Mase!” I heard my dad’s excited voice after a few rings. “It’s so good to hear from you, buddy. What is going on? Is everything okay?”
Emma tensed up in my arms. It was probably the first time she heard dad’s voice ever since she and mom left.
I clenched my fists and tightened my jaw.
“We have to talk, dad.” I said coldly.
“Is everything okay?” my dad asked worriedly. “I’ve heard about the disappearances, but I thought it was only girls.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. My dad was the kind of person that didn’t worry unless it was absolutely necessary. Of course he didn’t worry about the disappearances. He would only care if it was boys who were disappearing. I wondered if he'd be concerned once he found out Emma was here.
“It’s not about the disappearances, dad.” I said. “It’s about Emma.”
My dad went silent. I glanced at Emma. She was staring at the phone with sadness on her face. I hugged her tighter.
“Emma?” my dad repeated after a few moments of silence.
“Yes.” I said. “My twin sister.”
I heard dad taking a deep breath. “What about her?”
“She is here.” I said. “She joined the school this year.”
Dad gasped, but stayed silent.
“I know that you lied.” I said, clenching my fists. “I know that she tried to call me. I know about the letters.”
I heard dad’s deep breaths through the phone.
“I just want to know why?” I continued angrily. “Why would you hurt us like that, dad? Why would you do something like that to your own children?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Mason.” dad said, his voice raspy. “What calls? What letters? She didn’t want to see you or talk to you. Why would she call or send letters?”
Emma sobbed quietly and buried her head in my neck. The anger made me see red. I placed my hand on her head, holding her close to me.
“I saw the letters, dad.” I said, gritting my teeth. “I saw they were rejected by the recipient. I had never seen any of them before Emma showed them to me when she came here. So it was you who rejected them.”
Dad was silent. I could hear him breathing, but he never said anything.
“Why?” I asked angrily.
“It was what your mother and I agreed on.” dad sighed.
Emma raised her head and looked at the phone. I furrowed my eyebrows.
“Explain.” I said coldly.
“Your mother and I never wanted to see each other again.” dad started talking. “We knew that we would have to if the two of you continued to talk and wanted to visit each other. So we decided to tell you she didn’t want to see you anymore. We blocked her number from your phone so her calls and texts wouldn’t come through. It was the best decision for everyone.”
I was shocked.
I was completely speechless.
The best decision for everyone?
Emma was quietly sobbing on my shoulder. It broke my heart to hear her cry.
“I don’t want to talk to you ever again.” I said quietly, my voice raspy. “Don’t call me, don’t text me. We are done.”
“Mason...” my dad started speaking, but I ended the call.
I wrapped my arms around Emma and pressed her closer to me.
I couldn’t believe what they had done. She was hurt because of it. I was hurt because of it. They would pay for what they’ve done to her, for what they’ve done to us.