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Chapter 158 - The Lake House - Part 3
The night was quiet and peaceful but Mary somehow woke up and realized that she was alone in bed.
"Mason?" She called softly. But there was no answer.
After waiting a few minutes she got up, put her robe on and went to the door when suddenly her peripheral vision caught something though the window. She quickly looked out the empty garden. In the distance a surface of the lake glisten like silver... and was just kind of bumpy. It took her nearly half a minute to realize what is she sees, and the fear took her breath away.
She rushed downstairs, nearly thumbing down, barely managed to hold on the railing. Only one thought keeps flashing in her mind - hurry!
Mary ran out of the garden and rush down the lake, shouting Mason's name. But he apparently not heard her and keeps slowly walks into the water.
"No! Mason!" Mary flew into the lake's ice water and clutched his pajama jacket with both hands. "Don't!"
Mason almost fell down and confused looked at Mary. Then he looked around and finally looked down the water where he was knee-deep. Where Mary was the same.
"Mason, do you hear me?" Mary yanked him. "Don't dare!"
"W-what "don't dare"?" Mason sounded absolutely uncomprehendingly so Mary felt some relief. "What's going on?"
"That is precisely I wanted to ask you." Mason looked up him. "I woke up, and you were not here. And then I accidentally saw you here. You had entered into the lake as if you wanted..." Her voice was broken.
"So you thought that I'd going to commit suicide?" Mason shook his head, finally starting to put all together. "God, no! It not even occurred to me..."
"Then why you came here... and why you did not answer when I called you?"
"Let's go out, no point to be cold here," instead of answering Mason said and led Mary to the shore.
"Mason, are you alright?" Sophia ran to them and hugged him. CC Capwell briskly followed her. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Mason stepped awkwardly and pulled Mary closer. "You're shivering."
"It's more from fear than from cold," Mary pressed her face to his chest for a moment. "Do you remember how you got here? Why did you come here?"
Mason looked away.
"Mason..." Mary tugged his sleeve. "Were you already sleepwalking anytime earlier?"
"Do you think I'm a lunatic?" Mason smiled. "No, I never did."
"Apart your childhood," suddenly they heard CC Capwell's voice.
"What?" Mason was astonished. "It's ridiculous."
"I'm surprise that you do not remember this. Though you were quite a little boy back there."
"Me? Sleepwalking? God, I hope it will not be leaked to the press. Just imagine these juicy headlines: "The famous lawyer solves his best cases in a dream!", "Be careful not wake Mason Capwell at the courtroom!"
"Mason, stop it, this' not funny," Mary protested. "Let's go in the house, you need to keep warm. You chilled to the bone."
* * *
A quarter of an hour later they all were sitting in the living room and drinking a hot grog.
"Mason, so what happened to you?" Sophia finally broke the silence. "Do you remember how you're ended up in the lake?"
Mason did not answer. He sat on the couch, staring glumly at the floor.
"I think it's time to turn to professionals," CC Capwell snapped.
Mason looked up sharply and Mary caught a glimpse of pure horror in his eye. However, in a next second the mask's back in place.
"Do you think I'm crazy?" he asked his father with a mirthless laugh.
"Hopefully you're not, but I'm not going to risk anymore."
"CC!" Sophia was outraged. "What are you talking about!?"
"I talk about the fact that my son just nearly killed himself!"
"I was not going to kill myself!"
"Yeas, of course! You just decided to take a swim in your new pajamas tonight!"
"CC, stop it now! Mason, would you like to explain, please?" Sophia asked.
"Why? What is the point? I've already declared crazy! "Anything you say can be used against you." No, thanks."
"Mason, don't." Mary took his hand, and then frowned. "I remember you had a weird episode yesterday. You thought that you heard a woman's screaming."
Mason glared at her and pulled his hand out of her hands.
"You are in this with them too? Do you think I had hallucinations?"
"No, I do not think this," Mary shook her head. "But there's clearly something about you just now. What it is, Mason? What you saw today?"
"I do not sure," Mason admitted after a long pause. He got up, walked across the room and then leaned against the doorjamb. "But I'm sure that I'm sane."
"What. You. Saw."
"I saw that the sky went black like during a thunderstorm. I heard a woman's scream. Or I thought that I did."
"It was yesterday," Mary stood up and walked over to him, took his fingers. "But today?"
Mason shrugged, then moved his eyes to his father and frowned. Sophia talks to CC very quietly. CC kept silent grimly.
"I do not remember how I woke up," Mason said reluctantly. "Probably I was awakened by a sound or something like that. And then I heard it again."
"What exactly?" Sophia asked intensely.
"The female scream. It sounded like yesterday but louder, more hysterical. Like someone called for help. I followed the scream... it came from the lake. As I approached as screams become even louder and... Then I barely remember something. I followed the screaming... almost like under hypnosis. Then Mary grabbed my back and I just woke up. The end of story."
"CC..." Sophia's voice sounded clearly angry.
"Not now!" patriarch growled.
"Now! Tell him or I will! For God's sake, CC! You just can not leave it as it is! It's so cruel!"
Mason suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"What it does mean? What, did I miss something? Sophia?" He turned to her. "Care to explain what is going on here?"
"You do not dare!" CC roared. "You have no right!"
"YOU have no right to do this with your own son! Mason," Sophia looked at him. "I know that you are not insane. This is not a mental illness or hallucinations."
"So what is then?" Mason cannot help but felt relieved. No matter how he tried to hide it but these "episodes" greatly undermined his confidence in health of his own mind.
There was a tense pause. Sophia looked expectantly at CC Capwell whose eyes darted flashes of anger. Then something felt like broken, and Sophia sighed bitterly.
"You're making me to do it myself, CC," she moved her eyes to Mason's face. "It's not delirium, it's your memories. Being a little boy you witnessed... one... unpleasant scene. There was the midnight, the lake and woman's screaming. The staying in my house probably reminded you about the event. I'm sorry, Mason. I'm truly sorry."
"You don't need to blame yourself," he said absently, trying somehow to put together his running thoughts. So if it's just memories, then why all the fuss? Why his father did not want him to know about it? And he made it clear that he thought about Mason as about an insane person. Yes, and how Sophia found out all of this? The answer came like cold water.
"Mason?" Mary felt the large tremor shook Mason from head to foot. "Are you cold?"
"No, I'm not. Father, she was my mother? She was Pamela?" Pronouncing the name made like a dam burst. Suddenly Mason was plunged into a host of memories. Cold, fear, confusion. And Mom, Mommy who almost disappears in dark waters and calls him to come. He terrified but he comes closer, hoping that may be now they would come home where quiet and dry, where the clock strikes and curtains' flapping in a familiar way. But Mom painfully pressing his ribs and pulls into black icy waters. No...
"Mason!" The strong jerk tore him from a horror of black waters. "Snap out of it!"
Mason gasped as surfacing to the surface. He was not there, he doesn't drowning, and nobody pulls him into waters...
"She wanted to drown me." He said blankly. "She... she called me to come into..."
"Mason, it happened a long time ago," Sophia somehow was here. "And this is not your mother's guilt, she was very ill."
Mason flinched. Suddenly the last piece of the puzzle fell in place, and he finally saw the whole picture.
"That's why..." He muttered in disbelief and looked up his father. "That's why you think that I'm crazy. My mother was mentally ill. And you thought that I'm too."
"What else could I think?" Strangely enough CC Capwell looked almost apologetic. "You did almost the same thing that she did back then."
Mason shook his head. It was too much for him. His Mom! His own mother wanted to get rid of him even when he was a little boy. He realized that Mary clung to him, pressing her whole body to his one as if trying to take away his pain and shock.
"I think we're all better off for our beds." He abruptly pushed himself away from the doorjamb and headed to the stairs. Mary followed him step for step. Although she doubted she could sleep now. The horror of the story's still presents in her mind, all her attempts to convince herself that it was just a disease of Mason's mother did fail.
"Sophia..." CC started but Sophia holds her hand up.
"Not now. I'm going to bed."
CC Capwell followed her with his eyes for a long moment. He hated to admit even to himself but Sophia was right today. A thousand times. And he just succumbed to the fear which suddenly arisen from the depths of his heart that his oldest son followed his mother's insane condition. CC always afraid of this. Always. Because he's not sure if he able to go though a nightmare of changing personality like he did with his first wife. The same thing could happen to Mason. But it did not. Thank God, there was absolutely nothing. Just Mason's old memories...
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