When Hearts Collide Read online

  When Hearts Collide

  Lorana Hoopes

  Copyright © 2018 by Lorana Hoopes

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Dedication

  Dedication Page:

  To my family who allows me to sacrifice time with them to write these stories.

  To my friends who inspire me even when you don’t know it.

  To women everywhere who have been attacked or forced to do things against their will, your Heavenly Father loves you.

  Contents

  Note from the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  19. Author’s Note

  20. Not ready to say Goodbye yet?

  21. A Past Forgiven Preview

  22. A Free Story For You

  23. The Billionaire’s Impromptu Bet Preview

  24. Discussion Questions

  The Story Doesn’t End!

  About The Author

  Note from the Author

  Thank you so much for picking up this book. I hope you enjoy the story and the characters as they are dear to my heart. If you do, please leave a review at your retailer. It really does make a difference because it lets people make an informed decision about books. Below are the other books in this series. I would love for you to check them out. I’d also like to offer you a sample of my newest book. Free Sample!

  Sign up for Lorana Hoopes’s newsletter and get her book, The Billionaire’s Impromptu Bet, as a welcome gift. Get Started Now!

  * * *

  The Heartbeats series:

  The Power of Prayer

  Where It All Began

  A Past Forgiven

  Chapter 1

  Fear covered Jared like a blanket. The music that had been uplifting now pounded a drum of dread in his heart. Why did it have to be so loud? He pulled desperately on the arm of a nearby boy, spilling some of his beer. “Where’s Amanda?” The boy rolled his eyes, cursing a little at his spilled beer, and shrugged Jared off.

  Jared turned to another, who gave the same response. His heart pounded like a freight train as his eyes tore wildly around the room. He had known this was a bad idea. Frat parties were often dangerous, this one even more so.

  The crowd of bodies pressed against Jared, surging to the beats of the pulsing music. Sweat from those around him joined his own, trickling down his back. He pushed against the crowd, fighting his way to the other end of the house where the bathroom and bedrooms lay. He had to have taken her to one of them. A hand grabbed Jared’s wrist, and he whirled on a blond surfer type with long hair.

  “Sorry, bro,” the surfer dude said, holding his hands up in apology.

  Jared continued toward the back. A tipsy blond fell into him, and he shoved her to the side. The bathroom door loomed just ahead.

  “Amanda?” Jared pounded on the white wooden door. “Amanda, open up if you’re in there.” The pounding of his heart was now reverberating in his head, creating a headache that made his eyes hurt.

  The lock clicked, and the door opened. A thin brunette in a miniskirt and crop top stumbled out. “There’s no Amanda here.” Her words were a slur, and her brown eyes barely focused on him.

  Jared grabbed the girl’s thin shoulders and shook her. “Have you seen her? Red hair? She would have been with Caleb West.”

  The girl shook her head and fell into the wall as soon as Jared released her. Rolling his eyes, he pushed past the girl and opened the first bedroom door. A couple was entwined on the bed, but the girl had blond hair and the face of the man didn’t belong to Caleb.

  “Sorry,” He pulled the door shut and moved on the next one. Another couple was heavily involved on this bed too, but again no Amanda.

  The next door was locked. This had to be the one. Jared rattled the handle, but to no avail. “Amanda?” He pounded on the door, but he heard no noise from inside. Jared grabbed the arm of a nearby male and pointed at the door. “Hey, can you open this? Do you have the key?”

  “Sorry, I don’t live here.” The man shrugged and walked away.

  “Aargh!” Jared turned back to the door and rammed his frame into it. The door didn’t budge. Perhaps a kick would work. He took a step back and planted a perfect front kick. He felt the reverberation up his leg, but not even a tremor from the door. Cursing under his breath, Jared looked around for anything to wedge in the door. Would they have a crowbar in the house? Would anyone have one in their car?

  “Jared!” At the sound of his name, Jared whirled around. Emily was fighting her way to him through the crowd. Thank goodness, she had seen the text. A glance at his watch revealed ten minutes had passed since he had texted her when he’d first lost sight of Amanda.

  “Have you seen her?” Emily asked when she reached him.

  Jared shook his head, the fear constricting his vocal chords. “Not since I texted you. I saw them at the punch table and then a friend came up to me and started talking. When I turned around again, she was gone. It’s my fault.”

  “It’s not,” she said, running a hand through her long blond hair. “You warned her, and that was all you could do.”

  Jared wasn’t sure about that. He should have pushed harder. He should have told her the whole story and not just part of it, but none of that made a difference right now. Right now, he needed to find her. “I’ve already checked those two rooms,” he said pointing to the previous doors, “but this one’s locked.”

  Emily glanced around, but like Jared, her search came up empty. “I’m assuming you already tried hitting the door,” Emily said, “but what if we tried together?”

  “It’s worth a shot,” he said. “On the count of three, okay?”

  Emily nodded, and on the count of three, they both rammed the door as hard as they could. This time the wood did tremble, but the door remained locked.

  “Again,” Jared said through clenched teeth, and together they rammed the door once more. This time a wonderful terrible splintering sound of wood echoed, and the door opened. Jared rushed into the room.

  Amanda lay sprawled on the bed. Her shirt was open and her pants were undone, but still on.

  “Check on her,” Jared yelled to Emily as he scoured the room for any sign of Caleb. The closet was empty, but a chill crept in from the open window. Jared stuck his head out, but the area was dark and devoid of movement. If Caleb had gone out this way, he had gotten enough of a start to be out of sight. Without knowing which direction he had gone, trying to follow him would be pointless.

  With an agitated sigh, Jared turned back to the bed. Emily had wrapped the comforter around Amanda, whose eyes were wide open and filled with fear.

  “Can you move?” Emily asked. No head shake, but Amanda’s eyes moved left and then right. “Okay, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get you out of here. Any sign?”

  “No, the window is open, but he’s gone.” A tear slid out of Amanda’s eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. He won’t get away with this.” Jared patted her hair tenderly and wiped the tear from her cheek. Then he scooped her up and headed back out the door. “Let’s get
her to the hospital.”

  “An ambulance is on its way,” Emily replied, pocketing her cell phone.

  Jared nodded as he pushed his way through the crowd. A few people turned to gawk at them as they made their way to the front door, but most were oblivious and kept dancing to the loud beats or tipping back their drinks. Jared shook his head as disgust boiled inside him. What was wrong with these people? Did they not even care that someone had been attacked?

  The night air slapped him as they exited the stifling house, and the change in temperature sent a shiver down his spine as the cool air licked up the wet sweat dripping down his neck.

  The ambulance roared up moments later. The EMTs climbed out and took Amanda from Jared, strapping her onto a gurney. As they loaded her into the back, Jared climbed in.

  “There’s only room for one,” the EMT said as Emily attempted to climb in too. “Besides, the cops want a statement.” He pointed to the police car pulling up.

  “Go. I’ll stay with her, and when you’re done, we can switch,” Emily said.

  Jared nodded and mouthed a silent thank you to Emily as the doors closed. He grabbed one of Amanda’s hands and sent a prayer heavenward. Please God let her be okay, please God. He had no other words, and hoped God was hearing his heart, which felt like it was beating out of his chest. Though he’d only known her a few months, Amanda was a friend, and if he were honest, he hoped she would become a lot more.

  When the ambulance braked, Jared fell forward a little. Chilly air rushed in as the back doors opened and doctors took over the gurney Amanda was on. Jared jumped down from the ambulance and hurried to keep up with them.

  “Amanda? I’m Dr. Patrick, can you tell me what happened?”

  “She can’t,” Jared spoke up. “I’m pretty sure she was drugged.”

  The dark-haired doctor turned to him. “And you are?”

  “I’m Jared. I’m a friend, and I found her. Her eyes were open and seemed responsive, but she couldn’t even shake her head.”

  “Okay, we’ll take it from here. You can wait over there.” He pointed to the waiting area. Jared wanted to protest, but he could tell from the look in the doctor’s eyes that his protest would fall on deaf ears, so he nodded and stumbled over to a gray, vinyl chair. As he sank down, the weight of the night descended on his shoulders, and he dropped his head onto his hands.

  He hadn’t been able to stop it. Was this what Nikki had gone through? Was this why she left without a word? Would Amanda do the same thing?

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Jared jumped at the touch to his shoulder ready to lash out at the intrusion, but relaxed when the eyes he saw belonged to Emily. “Yeah, I guess I’m alright. How are you?”

  Emily sighed as she sat next to him and pulled her knees to her chest. “I’ve been better. They asked me a lot of questions. I couldn’t answer most of them, so they’ll be looking to talk to you too. But I told them what little I could. How is she doing?”

  “I don’t know,” Jared sighed. “They whisked her away pretty quickly and haven’t been back out yet. I’m worried, Emily.”

  “I am too,” she said with a nod, “but the best thing we can do right now is pray.” She took his hand, and they closed their eyes. “Father, our friend Amanda needs your help right now. Please be with her and give the doctors the knowledge to treat her. Lord also help us know how to help her in the future.”

  As they said amen, Jared added a silent plea for Amanda to be okay. If she wasn’t, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to forgive himself.

  Chapter 2

  Two Months Previously

  * * *

  Amanda Adams stared at the tiny gray room and sighed. This was going to be her new home away from home at least for the next year, and it was rather depressing.

  “Well, it’s got a lot of potential,” her mother said with a false brightness as she looked around. Amanda raised her eyebrows. Potential? Maybe for a horror movie. Boring white walls dotted with myriad holes boxed the room in. Two small brown dressers with two drawers each separated two bare mattresses on metal frames.

  Rolling her suitcase into the room, Amanda hoisted it onto the left bed and shivered at the groaning cacophony of creaks that answered back. She crossed to the right bed and pushed on it, hoping for a better outcome, but a similar noise resounded. “Right. Potential.”

  Crossing her arms, she emitted another sigh and surveyed the rest of the room. Two small closets framed either side of the doorway. One wall held a small sink and a vanity with a cloudy mirror. Two study desks took up the remaining space.

  “Come on now. I know you can’t paint the walls, but you can hang pictures, right?”

  Amanda nodded. “We just aren’t supposed to put holes in the walls, but I guess that’s not a hard followed rule,” she said as she glanced at the holes that contradicted her statement. “I don’t think I brought enough with me though to cheer this up.”

  “So, we’ll go shopping and get some more pictures. With your bed made up and some bright colored towels, it can at least look a little more ‘homey.’ And we’re only a six-hour drive away, so you can come home on long weekends or we’ll drive up.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Amanda crossed to her suitcase, unzipped it, and began removing the clothes while her mother grabbed a towel and began cleaning the cloudy mirror. Suddenly, the door slammed open. Amanda dropped the shirt she had been holding in surprise and spun around.

  A girl with long black hair shaved short on one side and a nose ring entered and narrowed her eyes at Amanda. “Who are you?”

  Amanda swallowed and stepped forward, extending her hand. “I’m Amanda. I guess I’m your roommate.”

  The girl rolled her eyes and pushed past Amanda, ignoring the hand. “Crap. I told them I wanted a single.”

  “Oh, um, well maybe they ran out,” Amanda stammered as she dropped her hand. The hair on her arms bristled at the girl’s brusque demeanor. She looked to her mother for help, but she just shrugged.

  The girl flung her backpack on the right bed and glared at Amanda. A chill ran through Amanda at the girl’s icy blue stare. “Well, I’ll be asking them to look again. I don’t do roommates.” She rifled in her backpack for a minute, turned and glared one more time, and then abruptly left the room, slamming the wooden door for a second time.

  Amanda stared at the closed door and blinked. “Well, this should be fun.”

  “Maybe they’ll change her room after all.” Though the words were positive, her mother’s voice was filled with doubt, mirroring Amanda’s own.

  “I can only hope.” Amanda returned to the job of unpacking and when she had finished, she locked the door and followed her mother to her mother’s car. They had driven up in two cars, so Amanda would have a vehicle to drive home in if necessary.

  As they walked around the local Wal-Mart filling the cart with fun pictures and colorful towels, Amanda couldn’t help thinking that it still wasn’t going to be like home. She wasn’t going to have many of her own things. There would be no brother and sister busting in while she was trying to study or Kate rattling on about the latest trends as they quizzed each other. And if that girl remained her roommate, it was going to be an uncomfortable year regardless of what she hung on the walls.

  When they returned to the dorm, Amanda opened the door cautiously in case the mysterious, angry roommate was there, but the room was empty and looked exactly as she had left it. Taking the pictures out of the bag, along with the poster putty, she began hanging them over the bed she had chosen. Her mother cut the tags off the towels and hung one by the sink and placed the others in one of the drawers beneath it.

  Amanda finished hanging the posters, stepped off the bed, and surveyed the room again. While it still didn’t feel exactly like home, it did feel warmer than when she had first arrived.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” her mother asked, pulling her in for a hug.

  Amanda rolled her eyes goodnaturedly as
she hugged her mother back. “I’ll be fine. You have to let me grow up sometime, Mother.”

  “I know, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon.” She wiped a tear from her eye and then pulled Amanda in for another hug. “Come home as often as you need to, okay?”

  “Okay, Mom.” After another few awkward hugs, Amanda finally ushered her mother out of the dorm room. As the door shut and the silence crept in, she turned back to the bed and sighed. She had hoped that she might meet another girl like Kate, someone she could relate to, but this roommate, whatever her name was, didn’t seem like she wanted to be friends at all.

  Rifling through her backpack–the only thing she hadn’t completely unpacked–Amanda pulled out her Bible and prayer journal and sat on the squeaky mattress. Though her prayer journal was just a spiral notebook and not a nice leather bound one like Sandra’s, it accomplished the same goal, and she’d had it since joining Sandra’s prayer team three years ago. It was nearly full now, and she was excited about the prospect of having to get a new one soon.

  Amanda flipped to the last entry and dug a pen out of her bag. On the next available line, she added ‘patience to deal with my roommate, and the words to say to reach her.’ She tapped the pen against her teeth as she thought about what else to add. ‘Wisdom in how to further God’s plan here.’ Having no idea what God had planned for her at the university, she figured she should leave the request broad and just listen for his wisdom.