Page 1 of Annika's Aurora

Chapter 1

AnnikascreamedLogan’snameonesecondbeforethediscordantcrunchofmetal,butbythen,itwastoolate.

Annika Northrup could only sit helplessly as the world went into slow motion. Logan wrenched the steering wheel hard, and she hoped they would swerve enough that the collision didn’t kill them all as the eighteen-wheeler drifted into the oncoming lanes. The clank and clatter of metal annihilating metal reverberated in Annika’s ears. A piercing scream echoed in the air, which she belatedly recognized as her own.

Annika prayed. Prayed for the lives of her two best friends. Jamie, her twin brother, and Logan were the most important people in her life. She’d never survive if she lost them. Especially Logan, the boy she’d been in love with since fifth grade when he made rainbows for her using a glass prism ruler. The man she ached for with hope that one day would see her as more than a best friend.

This was not how it was going to end for them. It just couldn’t. As the jeep rolled, metal crunched, and glass pinged, the last hours of their idyllic day together rushed through her mind before her head was slammed into the doorframe, and darkness consumed her.

Earlier

The trio of friends had been enjoying their last bit of freedom together. It was the summer after high school graduation, before they all headed their separate ways. With the top of the Jeep Wrangler removed, they were flying down the old farm road loving the late summer breeze as it whipped through the open vehicle.

In just a few short days, Annika would be heading off to college with her twin brother Jamison, who sat up front in the passenger seat. Annika sat in the back behind Logan Cain, the driver and their best friend. His eyes, Annika noticed, constantly searched for her in the rearview mirror as he drove. Each time their eyes met, an electric shock shot through her system, causing her heart to pound erratically in her chest.

The three had been nearly inseparable since elementary school when a skinny kid asked if he could sit with the twins at lunch one day. Their bond had been instant, and they often joked that Logan’s presence in the Northrup family turned the twins into triplets.

All the Northrups loved Logan like he was one of them. Especially their mother, Johanna, who showered Logan with an abundance of motherly love since his own mother had been locked up for dealing drugs before ultimately succumbing to those same drugs. With no father that he knew of, Logan lived with his grandmother, whose attitude toward him was more harsh than loving. Because of it, he spent most of his time with the Northrups.

Since Logan was headed off to Navy boot camp the next day, the three of them had spent their last day of freedom together. Annika had tried hard not to let her moroseness ruin the time they had. But she couldn’t shake the dread of losing Logan.

She’d had numerous talks with Logan about his decision to join the Navy. For purely selfish reasons, she didn’t want him to go. While she was proud that he wanted to serve, she worried something would happen to him, especially if he succeeded in his goal to become a SEAL.

She broke down once, overcome with fear for him. He had held her as she cried the worst of her worry out, but his mind was set. Since nine-eleven, he’d spoken often of his determination to serve; a compulsive need to do good for this world. It was his way of giving back for all the Northrups had done for him over the years. His way of seeing to their protection, but Annika wantedhimprotected.

Jamie, for the most part, had been good with Logan’s decision. While he was sad to say goodbye to his best friend, he was incredibly proud. He couldn’t wait for Logan to kick some terrorist ass overseas. Annika got the feeling that Jamie wished he could join Logan, but his heart problems prevented it. For once, Annika was grateful for the hours spent in the hospital as the doctors tried to fix her brother’s heart.

As their last day together progressed, Annika shoved her sadness away, listening as Foreigner played through the car’s sound system and the wind whipped her hair into a frenzy. She tried to tame the long blonde locks into a hair tie, but the air rushing through the jeep ripped the strands out of their confinement repeatedly.

They stopped next to the river to enjoy a picnic lunch that Johanna had packed for them. They sat for hours, reveling in the breeze that swept up the river; their talk centering around everything and nothing.

Annika leaned against Logan’s shoulder as they sat in the shade of a tree, a book in her lap, soaking up every last moment she had with him. She wished she could freeze time, never wanting the idyllic day to end.

Logan hummed softly, a Foreigner song, his favorite group. His voice had always filled Annika with a sense of security. A place where she’d felt safe and protected. She had wanted to take shelter in his voice. To crawl inside and allow the timbre of his deep tones to surround her.

“How did Abby take the break-up?” Jamie asked Logan. He stood at the river’s edge, skipping stones he’d collected in the pockets of his cargo shorts. His favorite Grateful Dead shirt sported wet spots as the stones plunked into the river in front of him.

Jamie had never been very good at skipping stones.

Logan groaned. “Not good. I think she was expecting to someday become a Navy wife. Especially if I made the SEAL teams.”

Annika giggled. “She does have a thing for men in uniforms. But then who doesn’t?” She’d eagerly anticipated seeing Logan in his uniform for the first time. If he looked half as good as he did in his shorts and favorite Foreigner t-shirt … Annika savored that mental image.

“Ah, so the truth comes out,” he teased. “You like a man in uniform too, huh? Well, I’ll have to make sure to send you a picture of me in mine to make you drool.”

“Ha ha. I’ll just show it to Abby. She’ll be so jealous!” The disgruntled look on Logan’s face made her giggle.

“Glad you cut her loose,” remarked Jamie. “You didn’t need that type of baggage.”

It was Annika’s turn to groan. “Ugh, that Abby. I think she’d worked her way through most of the student body before settling on you. I don’t know why you fell for her.”

Logan shrugged. “She’s hot!” Annika punched him in the arm.

“She may be hot,” Jamie threw another stone which plunked in front of him, splashing more water onto his clothes. “But there was nothing between her ears.”

“Who needs brains when she’s got a mouth that …” he broke off laughing when Annika shoved him.

“Is that all that matters to you? Is that all you want from a girl? If she can give good head, she’s a keeper, is that it?” As the only girl in the group, she felt the need to stand up for all womankind, even the vapid Abby. Not to mention that she was incredibly jealous. She’d watched for years as Logan made his way through all the girls in their school, never once looking at the one girl who could love him for who he was and not what he could give her.

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