Emma POV

I finally managed to convince Mason to take a shower and relax a bit.

Seeing him upset broke my heart. He looked so scared and lost, and I just wanted to take it all away. I just wanted him to be happy and safe.

I sighed and stood up. I walked to the door and opened it. My friends were standing outside, talking quietly among themselves.

“Emma!” Hazel exclaimed as soon as she saw me. “Are you okay? Where is Mason?”

“In the shower.” I said as I stepped aside so they could walk past me. “He is okay. A little bit shaken up, but okay.”

Chris closed the door behind him and touched my arm softly.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked me quietly.

My arms did hurt a little bit, but it was nothing serious. Mason didn’t mean to do it.

“I am fine.” I said, giving him a small smile.

Chris nodded and let my arm go. He didn’t move away from me, though. I could feel the warmth of his body and smell his perfume. It made my legs feel like jelly.

“Who do you think left the dress here?” Jax asked, sitting down on Mason’s bed.

I sighed and glanced toward the bathroom door. I could hear the shower running. I guess it was safe to talk to my friends. I didn’t want to say anything to Mason because I didn’t want him to be scared even more. The fear and the desperation I saw in his eyes almost killed me. I needed to protect him. Everything that happened affected him a lot. From me coming to this school, to finding out about what our parents did, to what happened with Mr. Wilson, Mason just had enough. And I wasn’t going to make him worry even more.

“Where is the dress?” I asked, looking back at Hazel.

“In my room.” she responded. “What do I do with it?”

“Maybe it would be beneficial for Mason to burn it.” Jax said. “He would really enjoy watching it burn.”

He couldn’t do that. We needed to give that dress to the police.

I gulped and took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come after my next sentence.

“That was not my dress.” I said quietly, looking at Jax.

His eyes widened. I could hear Hazel gasp. From the corner of my eye, I saw Chris clench his fists.

“What?” Chris asked, gritting his teeth.

“My dress had a small stain on the bottom.” I said quietly. “I was eating a donut and the chocolate fell on the dress and I could never wash it out completely. It wasn’t visible if you didn’t know it was there. But I knew. And each time I saw that dress, my eyes fell on the stain. I did the same when I saw that dress and the stain wasn’t there.”

The silence that followed made me nervous. I started to fidget with my fingers, glancing from Jax to Hazel to Chris repeatedly. They looked confused and shocked. In addition to that, Chris looked murderous.

“Are you sure?” Hazel asked quietly, breaking the tense silence. “You saw it for a second or two. Maybe you missed the stain?”

I didn’t. I looked at the place immediately, like I always do. It wasn’t there.

“I didn’t.” I said, shaking my head. “Unless someone washed it and managed to get the stain out, that wasn’t my dress.”

“Fuck!” Chris shouted, running his hand through his hair.

“Shh.” I shushed him. “I don’t want Mason to know.”

“Are you crazy?!” Jax exclaimed, making me look at him. “You have to tell him. He will freak the fuck out if you keep this from him.”

“Did you see how scared he was earlier?” I sighed. “I am not putting him through more fear and pain. I am protecting him from this. We will give the dress to the police and they will deal with it. Mason doesn’t need to know anything.”

“You are not protecting him, Emma” Chris said sternly. “If that really isn’t your dress, it is probably the dress that fucker was making. He is in fucking jail, so he couldn’t have brought it here. That means that he had help. If something happened to you and Mason didn’t know about this, he would freak out. Not to mention what he would do to us if he found out that we knew and didn’t tell him.”

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. A part of me knew that Chris was right. But another, bigger part, wanted to protect Mason. I couldn’t watch him be scared. I couldn’t watch him be in pain. I was his sister. I needed to protect him. I needed him to be happy and safe. I was as protective of him as he was of me.

“Chris is right, Em.” Jax said softly. “Mason would want to know about this.”

“You will probably be under police protection again.” Hazel added. “How will you explain that to him?”

I sighed and leaned against the wall. They were right. I knew they were right. But I couldn’t watch Mason’s face when he found out about this. I could see that fear and desperation again. I just couldn’t.

“I can’t tell him.” I mumbled quietly. “I can’t see the fear in his eyes again. I just can’t. He is my brother. He did everything to protect me. I need to do the same.”

“This is not the way, Em.” Chris said, placing his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it lightly. “You know that we are right.”

I looked up at him and took a deep breath. I did know that.

“I know.” I mumbled quietly. “I don’t want to hurt him again.”

“When did you hurt him, Em?” Chris asked softly.

I looked down at my feet and gulped. I hurt him when I came here. I hurt him when I had to tell him about mom. I hurt him when I decided to help the police. I couldn’t do it again.

“Emma?” Jax called me.

“Everything that has happened since I came here has hurt him.” I said, keeping my gaze on my feet. “I hurt him by coming here. I can’t do it again.”

Chris pulled me into a hug. He placed a hand on my head and held me close to his chest.

“No, Em.” Chris said softly. “Your parents hurt him. Derek hurt him. You are not responsible for that.”

I felt a lump forming in my throat and a tear fell on my cheek.

What Chris said made sense, but I still felt guilty. If I never came here, Mason wouldn’t have to go through this. If I just fought my mom harder and stayed home, Mason would never be scared or in pain.

I started all of this.

Chris leaned his head on mine and rubbed my back softly. His fingers tangled in my hair, and he pressed me closer.

“It’s not your fault.” Chris said softly.

I wanted to believe him, I really did.

“Em?” Hazel called me, and I looked up.

Chris never moved his arms away from me.

“How about we go to my room and you look at the dress again?” she said, standing up from the bed. “If you are right, we need to tell the police right now.”

I nodded and stepped away from Chris.

“Will you tell Mason that I am just next door?” I asked Jax and Chris.

They both nodded, giving me a small smile.

“We will wait for you to tell him, though.” Chris said, running his fingers through my hair. “I know he will want you close when we tell him.”

I nodded and followed Hazel. I heard the shower stop just as we stepped outside of our bedroom. Mason was done showering. We needed to hurry up.

Hazel unlocked the door and we entered her room.

The dress was laying on the bed.

My stomach twisted and I felt bile rising. I took a deep breath and stepped closer.

I looked at the spot at the bottom of the dress, where the stain should have been. It wasn’t there. The dress was completely clean.

But I noticed something else as well.

My old dress had two rows of lace on the bottom. This dress had only one.

I was completely sure that it wasn’t mine.

“So?” I heard Hazel ask.

“This isn’t mine.” I mumbled as I turned to look at her. “We need to call the police.”