Emma POV

“Thank you, detective.” Mason said as he paced back and forth around the room. “Yes, I will.”

His face was a mixture of anger, sadness, and confusion. It made me nervous, and I couldn’t wait for him to hang up and tell me what detective Peters told him.

“What’s wrong, Em?” Chris asked softly as he placed his hand on my back.

“I’m nervous.” I mumbled, keeping my eyes on Mason, who was nodding his head at something that the detective was telling him.

Chris took my hand in his, lifted it up, and placed a small kiss on my knuckles.

It definitely distracted me.

I looked at Chris, and I felt all the blood in my body rush to my cheeks. He was smiling at me.

“Don’t be nervous.” he said softly.

I think I forgot how to breathe.

Jax’s and Hazel’s chuckles broke me out of the trance I was in. I looked at them. They were staring at Chris with small smirks on their faces.

“Okay.” I heard Mason sigh, making me look back at him.

He just ended the call, and he was placing his phone in his back pocket.

“What did he say?” Chris asked, tightening his hold on my hand.

“Annie is going to the psychiatric hospital.” Mason said as he sat down at his desk and reached out for me.

I stood up, let Chris’ hand go, and walked over to my brother. I sat on his lap, and he wrapped his arm around me. He lifted my head and looked at my neck.

“It’s not going to go away in two days, Mason.” I said softly.

“I know.” he mumbled angrily. “I wish it would, though.”

I looked at him and gave him a small smile. He was checking on my neck every couple of hours. He hoped that the bruises would just disappear.

I understood him. If he was hurt, I would want the wound to go away as soon as possible.

“So, Annie?” Jax asked, clearing his throat.

“Well, Peters said that they couldn’t talk to Annie.” Mason sighed. “She was too distraught to talk. They talked to her parents and her brother. Annie had a cousin who died when she was a child. They were really close, and she always said that no one loved her like he did.”

My heart clenched painfully. Poor Annie.

“When they rescued Annie, she told them that she tried to play his game at the beginning.” Mason continued. “She told them that she tried to get him to like her so that he wouldn’t hurt her. They think that he did or said something that reminded her of her cousin, and she lost it. The childhood trauma of losing her cousin, combined with the fear and the instinct to survive, made her believe that she loved Derek and that he should love her back.”

I felt a tear fall on my cheek. I couldn’t even imagine what she went through. I couldn’t even imagine how scared she must have been. I couldn’t even imagine the pain she felt when she lost her cousin.

“Oh, my God.” Hazel mumbled, leaning her head on Jax’s shoulder. “Poor Annie.”

Mason looked at me and sighed quietly when he saw that I was crying. He lifted his hand and wiped my tears away.

“I am glad that she is getting the help she needs.” I said quietly. “She deserves to get better.”

“She will get better.” Chris said, making me look at him. “And she has you to thank for that. You could have insisted on sending her to jail, but you didn’t. You are an amazing person, Emma.”

“Chris is right, Em.” Hazel said softly, giving me a small smile. “You are amazing. We are lucky to have you in our lives.”

I really wasn’t amazing. Everyone would do what I did. It was clear that Annie wasn’t the one to blame for what had happened.

Mason tightened his arms around me and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“Hey, Chris, do you remember when Emma first came to the school and Mason was pissed as fuck and tried to ignore her?” Jax asked, smirking.

“How could I forget?” Chris laughed.

“He kept staring at her, and he was going insane when he couldn’t see her or when he didn’t know where she was.” Jax added, making Chris laugh even harder.

I chuckled and looked at Mason. He was staring at his friends murderously.

“I knew that he would cave, though.” Chris said, looking at Mason. “How many times did we tell you to just talk to her?”

“Enough.” Mason said sternly. “I was an idiot. I don’t need a reminder.”

“Oh, but that’s what friends are for.” Jax laughed. “To remind you that you were an idiot.”

Mason sighed and rolled his eyes. Hazel and Chris laughed. I chuckled, leaning my head on Mason’s shoulder.

He wasn’t an idiot. He did it because he thought that I didn’t want him.

“As much as I would like to stay and annoy Mason a little bit more, I think we should leave.” Chris said, glancing down at the watch on his hand. “The ferryboat will be here in half an hour. We have to go get Cassie.”

“Right.” Jax said as he stood up and pulled Hazel with him. “We will continue to annoy him later.”

Hazel chuckled and shook her head. Chris fist bumped Jax, making Mason sigh and roll his eyes.

“You guys coming?” Chris asked us as they started to leave the room.

I wanted to get up, but Mason stopped me.

“I need to talk to Emma alone.” he said. “We will stay.”

Hazel and Jax nodded and smiled at us. Chris looked at me in a way that made my heart flutter.

“Okay.” he said, giving me a breathtaking smile. “I will see you later, Emma.”

“Sure.” I said, smiling back at him.

He left the room behind Hazel and Jax, closing the door behind him.

I looked at my brother and smiled.

“What do you need to talk to me about?” I asked him, running my fingers through his hair.

I still felt the need to make sure that he was really here. I couldn’t believe I had him back in my life. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. He was the best brother in the world, and I would never stop telling him that. I would never stop telling him how much I loved him and how happy I was to have him back in my life. He was my twin, my other half, and no one could ever replace him.

_______________

Mason POV

I caressed Emma’s cheek and smiled at her.

I wanted to spend a few minutes alone with her before Cassie came here. Jax had big plans for this weekend, and I knew that I wouldn’t get to spend some alone time with my sister.

Also, I needed to talk to her about school.

“So, are we transferring schools?” I asked her.

We talked about leaving because neither she nor I felt comfortable here after everything that happened, but we haven’t decided yet. We said that we would take a few days to think about it.

“I am not sure.” Emma sighed, furrowing her eyebrows. “There are so many reasons to stay and so many reasons to go.”

“I know.” I mumbled, running my fingers through her hair.

“How about we just enjoy this weekend with Cassie?” Emma said. “We can talk about transferring schools on Monday. Maybe by then we will know what we would like to do.”

“Deal.” I said, smiling at her.

“Are you happy that you get to spend time with Cassie?” Emma asked, smiling at me.

“I am.” I nodded. “I would like it better if you and I could spend some time together. The only thing we did since you came here was trying to catch the fuckers who wanted to hurt you. I feel like we didn’t get to spend enough time together. I wanted to spend time talking about us, not about who the killer is.”

Emma chuckled and nodded.

“I know.” Emma smiled. “But we will catch up, Massy. Don’t worry. You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Really?” I said, deciding to mess with her a little bit. “And here I am, thinking that I’m done with you now that we found all the bitches trying to hurt you.”

Emma gasped and slapped my shoulder.

“Hey!” she complained, making me laugh.

“I’m kidding, Em.” I said, kissing her forehead. “I am not letting you go. I can’t wait to be clingy as fuck.”

“You weren’t clingy until now?” Emma asked, chuckling.

“I was clingy as shit.” I explained. “Now I will be clingy as fuck. I’m kicking it up a notch.”

Emma laughed, making my heart grow double.

“I love you, Emmy.” I told her, wrapping her up in a tight hug.

“I love you too, Massy.” she said, hugging me back as tightly as she could.

I finally had her back. I finally had my twin, my best friend, back in my arms. She was safe, and I would make sure that she would never be in danger again. No one will take her away from me ever again. No one will hurt her ever again.

I fucked up big time nine years ago. It made me cold and filled with hate. There was darkness inside of me. But I was a different person now that I had my sister back. I couldn’t even recognize the man I was just two months ago, and I never wanted to go back and be that man again. I had a pretty big reason not to become that man again. That reason was wrapped up securely in my arms. Emma was the only one who could keep the darkness away, and I wasn’t giving her up.

Not now, not ever.