Guardian (The Guardian Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

been…difficult.”
    Tears
stream down my face in silence.  “ I’m so sorry!” my brain screams at
them, hoping they will hear it telepathically.  I want to go back to my room
and hide but it’s as if my arms and legs have forgotten how to move.  I am a
statue, sitting on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.
    I don’t
know how long it takes my mother to find me frozen on the landing.
    “Oh! 
Emma!  What’s wrong?  Are you okay?” she asks panicked, kneeling down to take
my face in her hands.
    I look
through her.  I can barely speak.  “It’s my fault.”
    “What? 
What’s your fault?”
    Silence.
    “Honey? 
Did you hear our conversation with the Davis’?”
    Silence.
    “You
did, didn’t you?  Damn them.”  She’s angry.  “Listen to me, Emma, they didn’t
mean what they said.  They are in mourning.  People say things they normally
wouldn’t when they are hurting.  They are trying to make sense of something
that doesn’t make sense.”
    “It’s
my fault.”
    “No,
sweetie, believe me it’s not.”
    My eyes
focus on hers.  I find my voice, stronger now, determined.  “It’s my fault!”
    “What
is?  What is your fault?”
    I
snap.  “The accident!” I yell.  I yank my head free of her grasp.  “The
accident is my fault!”
    I land
on my stomach, arms in front of me from my attempt to catch myself.  I open my
eyes and look around, letting my eyes adjust and trying to catch my breath.  It’s
dark.  Night time.  I can feel frost on the grass beneath my fingertips; the cool
spring air bites my skin.  I can hear the sounds of passing cars.  I am
outside.
    I
glance around to get my bearings and see it.  The Jeep is off to my right,
upside down, the front end crushed against a tree.  The radiator hisses and one
back tire spins.  Just beyond the truck is a small embankment; beyond that a two
lane highway.  I immediately know where I am.
    I start
running.  I have to get him out!  But no matter how fast I run, no
matter how much adrenaline pumps through my veins, the further the vehicle seems
to get.  I can feel my lungs burning as I push my body to move faster.  I start
to panic.  Get him out!  My legs are starting to wobble beneath me,
turning into Jello.
    “NO!” I
scream as I fall to the ground, unable to run any farther.  My legs will not
cooperate anymore.  I stare at the ground as I grab handful after handful of
grass, grabbing and then pulling, grabbing and pulling, my legs dead behind
me.  Mercifully, I reach out again and see the Jeep just beyond my reach.  My
adrenaline soars as I realize that I’m close.  I manage to get up on my hands
and knees and crawl the rest of the way to the truck.
    “JAMES!” I
scream his name.
    I make it
to the side of the vehicle and look through the jagged glass where the window
used to be.  I see blood.  Gallons of blood.  All over the seats, on the dash,
on the windshield, the floorboards – it’s as if the entire inside of the car is
made of blood.  I gag at the sight and the smell and cover my nose with my wrist. 
James is not inside.  Why can’t I see him?  Where is he?  I know he’s here!
    Panicked,
I half-walk, half-crawl my way around the Jeep searching for him.  I step in
something wet.  Blood is starting to seep out of the truck on to the grass. 
It’s as if the truck itself is bleeding.
    “JAMES!”
I scream over and over, my throat growing raw.  I circle the Jeep again and
again, searching.  I cannot find him.  Exhausted, my body threatens to give out
on me entirely.
    Eventually
I collapse, sobbing, next to the bleeding truck.  I cover my face with my hands
and realize they are sticky, covered in blood.
    “You!”
I hear a female voice snarl at me.
    I look
up and see Mrs. Davis coming from the embankment by the road.  She’s headed
straight for me; her face is twisted into a murderous expression.  In accusation. 
I am terrified of her but my body will not move.
    When