The Road to Quinn Lake (book 1)

Chapter 5

     Over the next few days, Emma didn't eat or sleep and everyone was growing weary of reports asking for interviews. " Emma please come down stairs and eat!", she would hear her mom call about every hour that the whole family just watched tick by. Any kind of food sounded awful at the moment and very seldom did sleep come without the haunting voices in her head. Seeing things that could never be unseen and not being able to describe them to anyone made everything seem even worst. Luke was standing in her doorway and stared down at her with a twinkle in his eyes. " How are you feeling?" Luke asked as he sat on the edge of her bed.

         " I feel as if I'm stuck in what happened. I can't sleep or eat, Luke." Tears ran down her face. Crying had become one of the most normal noises in the Carter household. She couldn't help it. " Everything will get better; I can promise you that." He was so sure when he said it like he could see the future. The weeks followed, including therapist visits, doctor appointments, and not being able to find the kidnapper. Would they ever find him? "Don't worry he will be caught." Everyone reassured her, but she wasn't so sure. Nothing seemed right anymore. Days grew long and nothing changed. Emma read, attempted to sleep and eat, and visitors came. Luke tried to come around as often as he could, but he never came soon enough to Emma. There was a knock on the door one day that changed everything. Emma answered the door and saw the same investigator that was in the hospital so long ago. " Hello, Mrs. Carter can I talk to you for a moment." He talk as if something was wrong. "Of course, is something wrong?" Emma was so worried. "We figured out why you don't remember most of what happened when you were kidnapped." He pulled a yellow envelope with lab results in it. 

         Just then her mom came out of the kitchen. "Hi, I heard you have lab results." She said softly sitting next to Emma. "What does it say?" "Well there is a type sleeping medicine that if mix it with another drug it makes you black out and not remember anything." Emma was extremely confused and upset. "What, how did you figure that out?" He continued " It was in the blood test we took about a month ago." The room was spinning and Emma suddenly felt sick. She ran upstairs as fast as she could. Falling on her bed when she felt an emotional breakdown coming on and panic settled in. Her mom followed behind her trying to comfort Emma, but it was too late. 

     She was so upset she got sick and would not get out of bed. " Em, please get out of bed." Luke whispered in her ear as he wiped the hair out of her face. "I can't go on any more, Luke..... I'm so sorry." Her eyes red and puffy from crying. "You can not let go now! You can't leave me here on this messed up place we call Earth alone! I told you that I wouldn't let you go and I'm not going back on it now!" Luke put his fingers through her hair and pulled her in closer to him. After that incident, more therapist sessions had been scheduled making her feel even worst. Thought after thought ran through her mind. What happened that year? Why can't I remember much of anything anymore? What the lab workers didn't know is that it would keep effecting her memory. To the point where she couldn't remember names and dates. Even times for that matter! A month had past on, when one night at 3:00 a.m the phone rang. 

     " Hello, this is the Carter house" Emma's dad said half asleep.  " This is the police station, we just got an message that Adam Ross might have something to do with the kidnapping of your daughter." The investigator on the other side of the line spoke with sympathy. " We need you and your daughter to come down to the station as soon as possible." "We are on our way." He hung up the phone and ran to wake Emma and her mother. "What's going on?" Emma demanded. '' Just get in the car please." He said lowering his voice so that Emma would be less alarmed. They raced to the station and got there around 3:50.

   " Emma, do you remember a man named Adam Ross?" "Yes, we used to date ,but he was strange acting like he was obsessed with me or something" "We think he might have kidnapped you." "What are you talking about? Who told you that?" " Did he?" Her mind was spinning and she couldn't remember anything. "Emma, you need to calm down please." " We talked to people at your school and they said that Adam still liked you." He still likes me.....  " Our problem is now that we can't find him." "Do you have any idea where he is?" " No, I have no clue where he is. I don't even talk to him anymore!" " I can't remember... I can't remember anything."  Within the next few hours Emma sat there with a blank expression on her face. 

    No one could get her to talk or even look at them. She looked up at the clock to see it was 5:30 a.m. Her dad left for work already and her mom left to get Emma something to eat. Sitting in the waiting room of the police station was Luke and Emma just waiting for any news. Hours later...                

       Luke and Emma sat on the couch in her living room and turned on the news. Nothing good ever came from watching the news especially when you see your own and your crazy ex- boyfriend's face on it. They laid there with Luke stroking her hair and Emma half way falling asleep. For once in a long time things were peaceful; the peace was suddenly broken by a smashing sound coming from upstairs. " Luke, what was that!" Emma screamed even though he was right next to her. "Em, just stay down here and I'll go see what it was." Luke softly placed his hand on her shoulder.

    He walked up the stairs careful to not make much noise. There in Emma's room was a brick laying on the ground and the window smashed into pieces. " Call your parents and the police!" he yelled to Emma who was shaking with fear. " Dad, someone threw a brick through my window!" Emma called at him as he pulled up the driveway along with her mother and the police. They all ran into the house and went upstairs to find a note attached to the brick. The note was on baby blue parchment paper with Emma's name on the outside. The sheriff went directly to give it to Emma after she read it all she could say was "Adam kidnapped me."