Under the Christmas Star (Crossroads Collection)

by Amanda Tru

  Emma’s heart began pounding. The other car was too close.

  The tailgating car shifted a little, and Emma thought it would pass, but it didn’t. It stayed halfway in back and halfway on her left side, driving squarely down the middle of the road. If she braked, she would be rear-ended. With her foot instead pushing on the accelerator, she took her only option. She sped up.

  The tailgating car stayed with her, and Emma realized the truth: it was going to push her off the road. The realization came a half-second before the impact. The force pushed her to the side of the road, and still she fought, trying to keep the tires on the pavement.

  A phrase from one of Woong’s emails shot through her mind. “God won’t let you die until He’s ready for you to be with Him in heaven.”

  Dear Lord, is this my time?

  Her rear tires slid off the road.

  Emma hit the brakes and screamed. The car spun, and the world tumbled around in chaos. She remained conscious the whole time, expecting at any instant for everything to go black and wake up in heaven.

  Except it didn’t. With one last shudder, the car landed upright. Pain burst through Emma’s side with the door smashed against her.

  Emma gulped in a breath and immediately tried to open the door to get out. Orion whined from the backseat. Emma shot a glance over her shoulder, but couldn’t see him in the dark. Was he hurt?

  The door stuck and wouldn’t budge. Suddenly a shadow appeared on the other side, banging on her window and shouting. She heard the door handle being grabbed and pulled, the shadow trying to get inside. Orion barked and lunged viciously. Emma shrieked, trying to pull herself out of the driver’s seat and to the other side of the car, but her leg stuck fast.

  She reached out and grabbed hold of the passenger seat headrest with both hands. Pulling with her entire strength, she dragged her leg out with searing pain. Crawling to the other side, she grabbed the door handle, jerked the door open, and threw herself out of the car.

  She fell to the ground, picked herself up and started running. Something grabbed at her back, scratching her side but ripping away as she squirmed free.

  Shouts and footsteps pounded after her.

  Then she heard the ferocious barking of Orion, and the shouting turned to screams.

  Still Emma ran into the darkness, tripping over rocks and bushes only to pick herself back up out of the snow and keep running.

  Emma had no idea where she was or where she was going, but she ran until her legs collapsed in weakness and she fell without the strength to pull herself back up. She drew her legs up to her chin in a fetal position and lay with her head to the ground. With every one of her senses firing with danger, she moaned and rocked back and forth, tremors raking through her body.

  She tried to wrap herself in safe darkness, humming a high pitch and putting her hands over her ears to build a wall around her safety zone so nothing could get in. She felt Orion’s wet nose brushing against her arm and heard his sad whine.

  In her own world, she stretched the night sky over her vision and began naming all of the stars she knew, but the sensations were too overwhelming and ripped the sky from her grasp.

  She couldn’t get away, her senses overloading with endless assault. The nauseating taste of blood filled her mouth. She heard the noise, crashing footsteps and shouting, coming ever louder and closer. With every tickle of breeze, she expected to feel hands grab her. Everything was too much. The sounds too loud. The snow too cold. The fear too consuming.

  She lost control. Fear raged through her, plunging her into a horrible realm that was neither dark nor safe. Pain, deafening sounds, whirling sights, and sickening tastes and smells mixed with intense fear and magnified into sheer chaos. She couldn’t think, only feel as her emotions lifted her up into a tornado that took her feet off the ground and sucked all breath from her lungs.

  She had been here before. Though less often as an adult, the fear of it often plagued her nightmares and ruled her life. She’d never wanted to come back, and yet here she was, writhing to snatch for control that wasn’t within reach.

  The familiar monster inside her had come out to sweep her away, and she didn’t know if it would ever permit her to return.

  “Emma,” she heard her name spoken over and over, as if from a great distance. She held her hands tighter over her ears and hummed louder, trying to snatch at elusive control.

  “I found her!” came another shout.

  Orion growled and barked. Emma curled up tighter.

  “Emma!” This time it was a deep, familiar voice. The sound of it sent waves of comfort over her battered nerves, and the chaos cleared just a little.

  Orion growled again.

  “Orion, it’s okay,” came the voice again. “It’s me. Let me help Emma.”

  Orion whined softly, and Emma felt the strong hands on her back.

  “Emma, it’s Leo. I’m here. You’re safe now. Come on, sweetheart. Talk to me. I need to know where you’re hurt.”

  Emma felt his hands probing her back and neck. Then he sat beside her and pulled her into his arms, murmuring words of comfort the entire time.

  “Emma, it’s ok. You’re safe.” Something warm and gentle pressed against her hair repeatedly, and Emma imagined it was his lips pressing soft kisses.

  At some point, she stopped humming, but the shaking continued. The cold snow seeped through her clothes along with the warmth of Leo holding her.

  “Heavy blanket,” Emma mumbled.

  Leo paused. “Yes, Emma, it’s me.”

  The chaos and fear receded like the tide. Emma slowly blinked open her eyes, looking up at Leo’s face. “You’re like a heavy blanket.”

  “Yes, I remember you telling me that before,” he said, his voice sounding shaky. “Emma, are you hurt?”

  “The ambulance is here, Chief,” another voice said. “Do you want them to come over with a gurney?”

  Emma looked around, seeing the faces of about eight other people gathered around them. She clutched Leo’s coat tightly, tempted to find her darkness and count her stars again.

  “No,” Leo answered. “I’ll carry her over there. She doesn’t seem to have a neck or back injury. She does have a gash on her leg and has probably lost some blood, but I’m afraid we’ll lose her again if a bunch of strange men come to load her on an unfamiliar contraption. Let me get her over there in some light first.”

  Emma clung to Leo as he carefully lifted her up and began walking. She buried her face in his chest, not wanting to see any of the lights and movement.

  “Emma, I’m going to lay you on this bed, and they’ll put you in the ambulance. You don’t need to worry, though. I’ll go with you, and your parents will meet you at the hospital.”

  “Orion?” Emma asked. “Is he okay?”

  “Yes, he seems fine, but I’ll check him over a bit after we get you settled. Orion can go in the ambulance as well.”

  “Chief, we don’t really allow—” a voice started.

  “You do tonight,” Leo said flatly. “That’s her service animal. He was guarding her out there, and you’re going to have a fight on your hands if you try to get him away from her side.”

  Emma closed her eyes against the flashing lights and blaring sounds as they loaded her into the ambulance.

  “That cut will need stitches,” she heard someone say.

  “She has another one on her arm here,” another voice observed.

  “Some bruising on her side.”

  “How long was she out there?”

  “We’re not sure,” Leo said tightly. “Her parents called me at 8:00 when they arrived home and she wasn’t there. It’s 8:30 now. It took us a while to find her. No one saw her go off the road. Even after we found her car, we didn’t know where she was.”

  “It’s cold out there. I’m surprised her body temperature isn’t lower.”

  “The officer who found her said that her dog was lying against her as if keeping her warm. The dog sat up and started growling wh
en he got close.”

  “Chief, Miss Sheldon didn’t have an accident,” another voice said, slightly breathless. “There is damage to the passenger side rear as if she was forced off the road.”

  “Emma, can you hear me?” Leo asked. “Did another car cause you to go off the road?”

  Emma opened her eyes slightly, the world whirling around dizzily. “Yes,” Emma replied hoarsely. “The car came up behind. So fast. Hit me off the road. Came after me. I ran away.”

  Leo’s face looked so pale in the ambulance lights, and the hand still holding hers tremored in its tight grip.

  “Chief, I’m not liking her numbers. We need to get her to the hospital right now.”

  Emma gripped Leo’s hand, raising her head and insisting urgently, “Leo, be careful.”

  “What’s wrong,” Leo asked in alarm.

  “Her body temperature isn’t warming up. Her blood pressure and pulse are off. She’s lost blood from the wound in her leg. With the bruising on her left side, I think she may have internal bleeding. She’ll lose consciousness quickly if we don’t move.”

  Leo barked some orders, and those around Emma sped into fast forward.

  She’d felt cold before. Now a warmth spread over her, and she liked it. It felt almost fuzzy. She heard sirens, but they didn’t bother her. They seemed a long way away.

  She looked up at Leo, wondering about those strange lines on his face. She’d never seen that expression on him before. If Emma labeled it, she would call it fear. But Leo was so strong and brave. What would make him afraid?

  Soon, a warm current came along, and Emma relaxed, letting it carry her away. The last thing she remembered was Leo’s panicked voice begging her to stay with him.

  “Are you sure she’ll be okay?” Leo’s voice was the first sound Emma heard as she struggled out of the pit of nothingness.

  “No. The doctors said she had a ruptured spleen. The surgery was successful, but she lost a significant amount of blood between the internal bleeding and the cut to her leg. She’ll be here at the hospital for a few days, at least, and then she’ll be very weak until she can fully recover.”

  It was her mother’s voice that explained, sounding upset and close to tears.

  “I can’t get over how close we came to losing her,” Cindy continued brokenly. I’m just so thankful to God that Robert and I changed our plans at the last minute. We were supposed to go shopping and eat dinner, but we decided instead to grab some dinner in a drive-thru and rent a movie to watch at home with Emma. If we hadn’t been only twenty minutes behind Emma, it would have been too late once we realized she was gone. She wouldn’t have survived long in the cold.”

  “Trust me, I know,” Leo said quietly. “I can’t stop thinking how close it was, and she isn’t out of the woods yet.” Leo paused, then gasped brokenly, “It’s my fault!”

  “How is it your fault?” Cindy asked. “You didn’t know she’d be run off the road any more than I did. If you look at it that way, Robert and I are more at fault than you for letting her drive home alone. No one could have known this would happen.”

  “But I should have suspected. Cindy, there is no way that what happened last night was random, especially not when considered with the assault a few weeks ago. Emma tried to tell me something a few days ago, and I wouldn’t listen. I’d decided she was wrong, and I wrote her off. Cindy, I said awful things to her and pretty much told her to get out of my life. If I had done my job, I would have investigated every angle and figured out there had to be more going on. If I were a decent human being, I wouldn’t have hurt her just because I was scared.”

  “You’re in luck, then,” Cindy said. “Emma is the most forgiving person I know. And now you have the chance to find out who did this to her.”

  “I will,” Leo said flatly, steel in his voice.

  Silence stretched through the room, and Emma worked to lift her heavy eyelids.

  “Chief Jacobs, I’m curious,” Cindy finally broached cautiously. “You said you hurt her because you were scared. Why is that?”

  Silence met her question.

  Emma moaned.

  “Oh, she’s waking up!” Cindy said.

  Emma felt her mother’s hands on her face. “It’s okay, honey,” she crooned. “You’re all done with surgery. Just relax. They said the anesthesia would wear off.”

  Emma’s eye blinked open, and she found Leo anxiously watching from the foot of her bed.

  “How are you feeling, Emma?” Cindy asked.

  “Sore,” she responded, her throat dry.

  “Let me call the nurse. Maybe they can give you some pain medicine.” Cindy pushed the nurse call button and bustled around propping up pillows and adjusting the blankets.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and a man in a uniform stepped into the room. However, it wasn’t a nurse; it was an officer.

  “Chief, we have some news that needs your attention,” the officer reported.

  Leo turned to Cindy. “I’m leaving an officer here to guard the door until we figure out what’s going on. Please keep me updated on how she’s doing.”

  Cindy nodded. “I will. Thank you, Chief Jacobs. Robert should be back soon from the vet with Orion. It sounds like he got a few cuts but will be eager to get back with Emma. Both will be here to watch after her.”

  Leo turned to Emma. “I’ll be back later to talk to you about last night,” he said softly.

  Emma nodded, wishing he would stay now and talk to her. She didn’t even care what he talked about or if he asked her a zillion questions she couldn’t answer. She just wanted him to stay.

  He shut the door behind him, and Emma looked forward to his promise to come back.

  The problem was he never did.

  “Miss Sheldon, are you sure there is nothing else you remember?” Officer Kirk asked, worry lines making canyons in his forehead. “Chief wanted me to be sure to get your full statement.”

  “I’ve told you everything,” Emma said wearily. “If Chief Jacobs has further questions, I’m sure he can come by himself.” That was Emma’s fondest wish, but so far, she’d been home from the hospital two days, which meant it was a full week since she’d been run off the road. She hadn’t seen Leo since that first day in the hospital. Instead of coming himself, he’d sent Officer Kirk twice to ask her questions, and it was disappointing every time the wrong man in uniform showed up.

  “That probably won’t be happening,” Kirk said with a scowl. “He’s been extremely busy and stressed. I don’t want to risk upsetting him, so I need to get this right the first time.”

  “Why is he so busy and stressed?” Emma said.

  Kirk shrugged. “This time of year is always busy, but I think it must bother him that he hasn’t solved your case. I don’t know that he’s been going home or sleeping. He’s there when I leave at night and there when I arrive in the morning. He hasn’t been the same since you got hurt last Thursday. I’ve never seen him like that.”

  “What do you mean?” Emma asked.

  Officer Kirk scratched his head and scowled as he talked but continued to study the paper in front of him. “Your parents called the station frantic that they got home and couldn’t find you. The chief took off in a panic and immediately ordered every single officer to look for you. I don’t think we’ve ever had the law enforcement response that he ordered. Brighton Falls officers were alerted and on their way as well when someone spotted your car. Chief was a basket case when we couldn’t find you there, yelling orders, some that made sense and others that didn’t. Everyone is still talking about watching him find you and carry you back to the ambulance. None of us have ever seen the chief react like that. It’s obvious Chief Jacobs cares for you a great deal, Miss Sheldon. That’s why all of us are bending over backward to keep you safe, and it’s why I can’t screw up with reporting to him what you say.”

  Everyone else, including her mother, seemed to agree that Leo cared deeply for her. If he did, then why did he not come see her or even t
alk to her? Emma heard him call and talk to her mom or dad every evening, asking for an update on how she was doing. However, he never actually spoke to her directly. It was maddening!

  Officer Kirk finished up quickly since Emma had no more information to add. He left, and Emma was thankful they had finally scaled back their watch over her. Her parents never left her alone in the house, but at least there was no longer an officer stationed out front.

  As soon as the door closed, Emma’s mom appeared beside the couch, her hands on her hips. “Did Chief Jacobs send that other officer again instead of coming himself?”

  “Officer Kirk said the chief was busy,” Emma explained.

  “Hmph!” Cindy said disapprovingly. “I’ll have your dad give Chief Jacobs a call and invite him to dinner. Surely the man eats sometime!”

  “Why would you do that?” Emma asked, struggling to sit up in her alarm. If Leo didn’t want to come see her, she certainly didn’t want her mom forcing him to.

  Cindy gently pushed Emma back down on the fluffy pillows on the couch and pulled the blanket up to her chin as if she was a child. “Sweetheart, sometimes romance needs a little shove in the right direction.”

  Emma bolted upright. “No, Mom! Please don’t! Leo isn’t interested in me romantically. You’ll make everything worse if you don’t just leave him alone.”

  “Well, of course he’s interested in you, sweetheart!” Cindy laughed as if Emma carried the silliest notions. “You don’t see the way he looks at you!”

  Emma groaned. “Mom, he very explicitly told me that he was not interested in me romantically. He doesn’t even want me as a friend.”

  “Now, Emma, you don’t always read things right. He probably didn’t mean—”

  “Mom, he told me he only showed interest in me because he felt sorry for me,” Emma confessed, thoroughly exasperated. “I didn’t interpret anything. That’s what he said to my face. Trust me, there was no room for misinterpretation.”