The shrill sound of cars honking on both sides of the teal colored SUV irritated Emerald to no end. She stared out of the tinted windows, eyes glued to the slowly moving traffic they were currently stuck in, but her mind far away from her consciousness.
When the recollection of where they were currently headed struck across her mind again, not that she ever forgot, Emerald dug her nails into her left thigh, trying to use the sting from the self infliction to distract herself from the jitters she felt.
Her breathing increased, almost coming out in pants as her heart rate spiked. Her chest constricted and she could feel the familiar violent waves of a panic attack drowning her. Shutting her eyes, she tried to control her breathing, but found it near impossible as hot tears began to race down her cheeks.
Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms lift her off the leather seat of the car and into their lap, familiar warmth and scent caressing her and acting like a shield against every single thing that threatened her safety.
“Gem, breathe, please.”
Jordan’s soft voice wafted into her ears, coaxing her to breathe. He fondled her hair, running his fingers through her unruly strands in an attempt to calm her down. Moving closer enough until he made sure she could feel his warm breath on the skin behind her ear, Jordan began murmuring sweet words into her ear, hoping to distract her.
“Focus on my voice, my love. Feel my warm breath hitting the back of your ears. I want you to focus on my words, on my presence. Focus solely on me, Gem. Okay, sweetheart?” he asked, running one of his hands through her hair while the other carefully stroked the skin of her arms.
Emerald nodded stiffly, shaky pants still escaping her lips as she kept her eyes tightly shut.
“Good. Now what do you feel me doing? What are my hands doing?” he asked, his voice ever soft and gentle.
“M–my hair. Your h–hands are s–stroking my hair a–and arms,” she stuttered in response.
“Excellent, baby,” he praised before moving his hand which was previously stroking her hair to her ear, feeling the artistic indentations of the organ. “Now what do you feel?”
“My right e–ear. You’re m–massaging it.” Her stutters were less now, tears had stopped their trails down her face and her breaths were starting to stabilize.
“That’s my Gem. I’m proud of you, baby.” He whispered in her ears before sneakily trailing his hand down her neck, arm and making a beeline for her waist.
Emerald’s breaths were now regular, but she still had her eyes closed to see the little mischievous smile lurking around Jordan’s lips. “Now,” he trailed off, “what am I doing?” he began to tickle her, earning a surprised squeal from her.
Jordan laughed along with her, proud of himself when he saw her emerald green orbs sparkle with that familiar joyful glint – one that had seemed lost these past days. He brought his torture to a stop, the gloomy aura that had previously been heavy in the car, now reduced significantly.
Emerald caught her breath, her face flushed with residuum of the happy glint still in her eyes as she playfully slapped Jordan across the chest, eliciting a low chuckle from him.
She huffed and pouted, but regardless, there were traces of a smile lingering on her face. Jordan reciprocated her smile, proud of himself for calming her, before pressing a firm kiss to her temple.
He tucked her body into his, resting his chin which was now covered in a little layer of stubble on her head. Wordlessly, he held her to him and she wrapped her arms around him, grateful for the silent comfort he provided.
They both looked out the window and Emerald finally noticed that the traffic had somehow cleared up and as they continued to move, the number of residential areas, shops and commercial buildings in Opelousas were starting to dwindle; they were slowly leaving civilization behind again.
The second letter that had come from Carl had been filled with taunts and underlying threats, but at the end of it, he had clarified that the only person he wanted was Emerald, but that he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt everyone she cared about just to ruin her.
He had written that she was the only one he had scores to settle with and just to keep everyone on edge even further, he had ended the letter with a simple sentence of hoping to see her soon right after he had scribbled a cryptic address – one Jordan had been quick to decode but was not closely familiar with.
“It’s Louisiana,” Jordan had explained, “he’s holding Armani captive in Louisiana. Somewhere near Opelousas to be specific.”
After letting everyone know of their plans and finally explaining everything to Emerald’s mother, Maggie, who immediately broke down at the reality of her ex-husband returning to harm her family and daughter again, Emerald and Jordan set out to find Carl after every single one of their friends and family had pleaded with them to be careful.
Now almost twenty-four hours later, they were still in the car with Owen driving them to their destination. Although they could have easily flown to Louisiana, Emerald had refused, wanting to delay her encounter with her father as much as she could.
But now as she watched the noon slowly drift into the eve and the passing sceneries slowly morph into nothing but thick, overshadowing forest on both sides of the road, her anxiety, which Jordan had previously calmed, began to grow within her again.
There was no delaying the inevitable.
Feeling Emerald’s soft body suddenly grow tense in his arms, Jordan opened his eyes, from where he had shut them while resting his face in her hair, and looked down at her, watching her inhale and exhale deeply as she tried to control her breathing.
“What is wrong, my love?” he asked just as she exhaled a shuddering breath and opened her eyes. She met his eyes before voicing her thoughts.
“I’m scared, Cal,” she whispered. “I’m not sure I’m ready to face him yet.”
Jordan nodded, lacing his fingers through hers which laid against his chest. “We don’t have to meet him today if you don’t want to.” He suggested but Emerald was quick to shake her head.
“No, we can’t put off meeting him any longer. He gave us an ultimatum and we have to honour it. Only God knows what he’d do to Armani if we don’t.”
“I know, Gem, I do. I’m as worried for Armani as you are, but I’m also concerned about you. If you’re not ready to meet him, I can’t force you to, but you’ve already said it. We do have an ultimatum to meet and sooner or later, you would have to meet him.
And to get things over with, Gem, I’d advise you to meet him sooner, before things escalate more than they currently are,” he reasoned.
Emerald swallowed and nodded stiffly. Jordan was right, she had to meet him someday, and she would prefer it to be sooner rather than later. She wanted Carl gotten rid of as soon as possible, so she and her entire family could finally live in peace again.
“Ok,” she whispered.
▬▬▬▬▬
Fallen dried leaves crunched loudly on the forest floor beneath their feet as they walked. Jordan had his arms wrapped around Emerald’s shivering frame as the autumn wind blew past them. Owen walked closely in front of them, his form rigid and alert as he surveyed the forest grounds.
Night was fast approaching, the evidence being the view of the setting sun peaking behind the array of tall trees. If it had been in a different circumstance, Emerald knew she would’ve appreciated the grand view nature displayed, but right now, all it gave her were eerie vibes.
They continued to walk for a bit until Owen came to a sudden halt, causing Emerald to jolt subconsciously. Jordan’s hold on her tightened and she was almost completely molded into his side.
With his eyes glued to the floor, the burly man in front of them took a step back before shifting his leg. He raised his heel and stumped on the ground softly. He continued to do that in a circle, before tilting his head and turning around to face Jordan.
They exchanged a knowing gaze before Owen nodded. Emerald watched on, confused as the man crouched down and brushed away a small heap of dried leaves. A small gasp escaped her lips when a seemingly wooden door was revealed beneath the fallen leaves.
Jordan took a step back, pulling Emerald with him as Owen listened for a moment longer before pulling open the door, which creaked loudly against the silence of the forest, unveiling a dark and ostensibly bottomless pit.
Jordan and Owen pulled out their phones, putting on their flashlights at the same time and directing it towards the pit to disclose the flight of stairs preceding an underground tunnel. A gentle hum came from Jordan as he surveyed the space for anything out of the ordinary – more out of the ordinary than this all already was.
“Cal,” Emerald whispered, her gaze glued to the pit. “D–don’t you think that maybe you should s–stay behind?”
Jordan frowned, holding onto her even tighter, if possible. He looked down at her just as she looked up at him. “What?”
“I-I just. . . He clearly stated that I’m the only one he wants and I just d–don’t want you to get h–hurt-”
“Mera,” Jordan interrupted, his expression serious and voice firm. “there is nothing in this world that could make me abandon you and there is no one in this universe that could keep me from following you down this tunnel. I would risk my life for you a million times.”
He took her hands in his. “We’re here now and we will do this together. Okay, Gem?” Emerald stared into his eyes for a second before nodding firmly.
“Good.” He kissed her forehead and then took her hand. “Let’s get this over with.”