Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 517

He walked in and saw Emma propped up against the headboard, her eyes vacant, her face pale.

In just a few days, she looked like a different person.

A far cry from the vibrant, spirited dancer on the festival stage.

At the sight of him, her listless expression suddenly changed to one of panic. She scrambled to hide under the covers, crying out, "Don't come near me! Go away! He'll see you and he'll get mad! Just go away!"

Theodore was completely stunned. What was happening?

Larson rushed in from the hallway and pulled him out. "This isn't working! Forget it! You're just scaring her!"

He dragged Theodore all the way downstairs, telling him to leave before he upset Emma even more.

"No. Because of this, I can't leave," Theodore said, planting his feet firmly. "Mr. Bennett, Emma is in a much worse state than we thought. I have to stay. I would rather have her scream at me, hit me, even try to kill me, than have her hide from me in fear."

"What are you going to do?" Larson had lost all faith in him.

"I have to try something!" Theodore thought of Emma's reaction and his voice filled with rage. "That Sebastian is a monster! I knew something like this would happen, but I never imagined it would get this bad!"

"What did you know? And why didn't you say anything sooner?" Larson wanted to punch him. And who was he to call Sebastian a monster? He was no saint himself.

Theodore then told him about how Sebastian had forced him to close his cookie shop, and how he had tried to explain to Sebastian that loving someone was like tending to a flower.

"Loving someone is like tending to a flower," Larson repeated the words with a cold snort. "You seem to know all the right things to say. Too bad you don't know how to act on them."

Theodore didn't bother defending himself. He just frowned, trying to think of a way to calm Emma down, to at least help her get a full night's sleep.

He went outside and gathered a handful of leaves. Then he spoke with the grandmother, the aunt, and Larson, instructing them to let him know the moment Emma showed any signs of distress in her sleep.

Larson was skeptical, but at this point, he was willing to try anything.

At ten o'clock that night, Emma had been asleep for half an hour.

The entire Bennett household was silent, everyone holding their breath, afraid to make a sound that might wake her.

But then, the wail of a distant siren pierced the night. In her sleep, Emma's body went rigid. In her dream, Sebastian's face loomed over her, his voice booming: *How will you ever repay me? After everything I've done for you, how will you ever repay me?*

A knot of anxiety tightened in her chest, and her breathing became rapid and shallow.

Suddenly, the gentle sound of a song being played on a leaf drifted through the air.

That night, her aunt, who was sitting with her, was nearly crying with joy.

From ten o'clock until four in the morning, for the first time in days, Emma had slept soundly for six straight hours.

At four a.m., seeing Emma's brow furrow and her body begin to toss and turn, her aunt quickly sent a message to Theodore downstairs.

And once again, the sound of the leaf song filled the air, and Emma's restless spirit settled back into a peaceful sleep.

She slept for another six hours, waking up naturally at ten in the morning.

This time, it was her brother sitting in the chair by her bed.

When Emma woke, she noticed the faint scent of gardenias in the room. No wonder she had dreamed so much about high school last night.

Back then, the campus was filled with the scent of gardenias in the summer and osmanthus in the fall.

The dance studio always smelled so sweet.

Larson looked at his sister, who had finally woken up on her own, and thought to himself with a reluctant sigh, *That bastard. He actually knows what he's doing.*