Forest Lake

Chapter 68

Mason POV

The dining hall door burst open, and Hazel ran inside.

My heart stopped beating.

Something was wrong.

“Mason!” Hazel shouted, running toward the table.

I was up on my feet in a second.

“The bathroom door is locked!” Hazel said, panicked. “Emma is inside. I heard voices, but I don’t know who it is.”

I rushed past her and ran toward the bathroom. I could hear Chris, Jax, and Hazel running after me.

“Emma?!” I screamed as soon as I was close enough.

I knocked on the door loudly, but she didn’t respond.

What the fuck was going on? Was she okay? Why didn’t she say something? I could hear muffled voices inside, but I wasn’t sure if it was Emma or someone else who was speaking. The voices were too fucking quiet.

“Why the fuck would you leave her alone?!” I screamed at Hazel.

“My mom called me.” she said, sobbing. “I stepped away for a second.”

“Just kick the door in!” Chris shouted, clenching his fists angrily.

I slammed my shoulder against the door, using my weight to break it open, but it didn’t budge.

“Fuck!” I screamed, placing my hands on the door and trying to hear what was going on inside. “Emma, can you hear me?! Say something!”

She didn’t answer me. Why wasn’t she fucking answering me?! My heart was beating a mile a minute and I felt like I was going to pass out.

“Let me try.” Chris said, gritting his teeth.

I moved away and he used his leg to try to get the door to open. Nothing happened.
I was ready to explode.

“Let’s try it together.” Chris mumbled. “Use your leg.”

I nodded and stood next to him. I was trying so fucking hard not to shake from top to bottom, but it was hard. I didn’t know what I would see behind this door, and I was scared shitless.

What if Emma wasn’t answering me because she was dead?

I pushed the thought out of my head because my heart almost stopped beating.

She was okay. She had to be okay.

“On three.” Chris said. “One, two, three.”

We slammed our legs against the door, and it finally burst open.

What I saw inside had me seeing fucking red.

“Emma!” Chris screamed and ran inside, grabbing the bitch who was sitting on top of Emma and had her arms around Emma’s throat.

I was right behind him, ready to kill.

But the first thing I had to do was to take Emma into my arms.

Chris lifted the bitch off of Emma and the bitch screamed.

I didn’t pay attention to her. I couldn’t. Not right now. I didn’t even see who the fuck it was.

I was on my knees next to my sister, picking her up into my arms.

“Emma!” I shouted, panicked.

Emma gasped, and her eyes opened. I sighed in relief, and I felt a tear drop on my cheek.

“Oh, thank you God.” I mumbled, pulling her to my chest and kissing the top of her head.

“Mason.” Emma mumbled, her voice raspy. “Where is she?”

I looked behind me and saw Jax and Chris holding a very pissed off…

Annie?

Holy fuck!

“Annie?!” I mumbled, shocked.

“She needs help, Mason.” Emma said, breathing heavily.

“I don’t need help!” Annie screamed and tried to get out of Jax’s and Chris’ hold. “I need you to die so that he can be all mine!”

My eyes widened. Who the fuck was she talking about? Jax, Chris, and Hazel were as confused as I was.

Hazel walked to the bathroom door and closed it. There were students outside, trying to take a look at what was going on in here.

“Call Peters.” I said, giving my phone to Hazel.

I looked down at Emma. Her neck was red, and she was breathing heavily. I was going to fucking kill Annie.

“We need to get you to the hospital.” I said as I stood up with Emma in my arms.

She wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. She leaned her head on my shoulder and took a deep breath. I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

“I am fine.” Emma mumbled. “Annie needs help.”

What the fuck was she talking about? Annie was the one who was trying to kill Emma!

“I don’t need help!” Annie screamed again. “I need you gone! Derek is mine!”

To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.

What the fuck did she say?!

Jax, Chris, and Hazel gasped loudly. Chris and Jax were so shocked that they almost let her go. She managed to wiggle out of their hold for a second, but they grabbed her even tighter.

“She put the dress in our room.” Emma said quietly. “She is in love with Derek.”

“Holy fucking shit!” Jax shouted.

“He made me put it there!” Annie screamed. “I didn’t even want to give you the dress. You don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve him. But he told me that he would come back for me if I did it. I had to give it to you, even though that dress should be mine!”

My arms around Emma tightened even more.

Chris and Jax were glaring at Annie with a pissed-off look on their faces. Hazel was sobbing silently. She was holding my phone in a tight grip. I hoped that Peters answered his phone. I couldn’t even listen to anything that was going on around me. I was shocked, confused, angry, and, above all, so fucking worried about Emma. I needed to get her to the hospital. Now.

“She needs help.” Emma mumbled quietly.

I could tell that she was having trouble speaking. Did the bitch damage her throat?

I lifted Emma’s head off of my shoulder gently and looked at her neck again. It was red and it looked like it hurt.

My heart raced impossibly fast. She needed to see a doctor.

“Is it bad?” I heard Chris’ voice.

I looked at him. He was staring at Emma with a mixture of worry and anger.

“It’s not good.” I mumbled, placing my hand on her neck, wishing I could take the pain away.

I knew that there would be bruises left and I already knew how pissed off I would be each time I saw them.

“I am okay.” Emma said, quietly.

She leaned her head back on my shoulder and I kissed her temple.

Chris looked back down at Annie with a murderous look on his face.

The bathroom door burst open, and the principal ran inside. He looked around and furrowed his eyebrows.

“What happened here?” he asked, looking at Emma in my arms.

“Annie tried to kill my sister.” I said, trying to remain calm. “She is the one who put that dress in our room.”

The principal’s eyes widened. He gasped and looked at Annie, who didn’t stop trying to get out of Jax’s and Chris’ hold even for a minute. Luckily, both Jax and Chris were strong, and she didn’t have a chance to escape them.

“What?!” the principal mumbled, shocked.

“I did it for Derek!” Annie screamed again. “I love him!”

The principal’s eyes widened even more.

“Oh, my God.” he mumbled, staring at Annie with a saddened look on his face.

“We called the police.” I said, making him look at me.

He nodded and looked at Emma. “Is she okay?”

“Annie was strangling her.” I said, tightening my arms around Emma and reminding myself that she was alive. “We need to get her to the hospital.”

“Oh, God.” the principal mumbled, looking back at Annie.

The bathroom door opened again, and detectives Peters and Price walked inside.

They looked around the room, and their eyes stopped on Emma.

“Is she okay?” Peters asked worriedly, walking toward us.

He placed a hand on Emma’s back and leaned in to look at her face.

“She needs a doctor.” I said.

“Perry is waiting in the car.” Peters said, taking a step back. “Go to the hospital. We will come by later.”

I nodded and looked at my friends.

“I am coming with you.” Chris said immediately.

“We need you to stay.” Price said as he walked up to Chris and Jax. “We need to take your statements.”

Chris and Jax let go of Annie. Price grabbed her hands and put handcuffs on her. She never stopped trashing and mumbling something under her breath. She was staring at Emma with a murderous look on her face, and I couldn’t wait to get Emma out of here.

Chris looked at Emma and tightened his jaw. I could tell how much he wanted to come with us, but he nodded at Price and stood next to Hazel and Jax.

“We cleared the hallways.” Peters said. “There are no students. Two officers will escort you to the car.”

I nodded and started walking out of the bathroom. I didn’t even realize how badly my legs were shaking until I started moving. I left the bathroom, and I was followed by two officers.

“I love you, Emmy.” I said, kissing the top of her head. “I am taking you to the hospital. I will make the pain go away, I promise.”

“I love you too.” she mumbled quietly, burying her head in my neck.

My heart was beating a mile a minute. I was so fucking confused with everything that happened, and I couldn’t process it all. My emotions were a mess, and I couldn’t decide if I was angry or scared. I couldn’t decide what to do next. I couldn’t decide anything right now.

I needed to take care of Emma first. I would decide what to do after that. She was my priority. She would always be my priority.