Page 77 of He Will Come for Me

Should I leave or should I confront Phoenix? His mom could still be out there waiting to get me again. Did she kidnap me the second time too?

Phillip is finishing up breakfast when I walk into the kitchen. “Miss Kenzie, good morning!”

I smile at Phillip swallowing down the emotions threatening to spill over at the thought of not seeing him again. “Morning!” I reply. He places a cup of coffee down and a plate with eggs, grits, toast, and bacon. I hum. “My favorite. Thank you, Phillip.”

He returns my smile. “We all want you to feel better and making sure you have proper nutrients is the first step.”

“I’m beginning to feel better,” I promise him. After I eat, Clara waltzes in and takes my plate, cleaning up the kitchen while Phillip goes into the pantry to make his grocery list.

“Will you be baking anything today?” Clara asks as she starts the dishwasher.

“I don’t know. Maybe later, but I think I’m going to grab a book out of the library and go read outside for some fresh air.”

Clara frowns. “It’s chilly outside.”

I glance outside, but shrug. “I’ll grab the blanket in the library. I need some fresh air,” I repeat. Clara finally nods.

“Alright, but don’t stay out too long.” Agreeing, I walk at a normal pace to the library even though I want to run. I grab my favorite book and the blanket. Opening the window, I drop my bag behind the bush. Making sure I leave everything how it should be, I look around the library one more time, memorizing each nook and cranny. This is my favorite place in the house. I sigh, still undecided if I’m going to go through with this.

Walking back to the kitchen, I’m relieved when no one is there. Making a last-minute decision, I walk to Anna’s room, but she’s still sleeping. I stare at her for a few minutes before deciding to leave her a note just in case.

Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Love you.

Stepping outside, I continuously glance around to make sure none of the security that normally stays at the front of the house makes it around here. I grab my bag quickly and walk down to the boathouse, pulling my gloves on. My eyes stray from the rowboat to the motorboat.

Could I get away with taking the motorboat? How loud is it? How quickly would they come searching for me? Could I get away fast enough? Do I really want to do this?

Shaking my head, I drop my bag on the dock. I can’t do this. I can’t leave. As much as I hate to admit it, I know I’m safe with Phoenix. And with all my memories still not back, it’s not smart to risk it. Looking out over the lake, I huff.At least I can make it this far now without getting exhausted.I climb into the rowboat along with my blanket.

This will give me some time to think.How do I confront Phoenix? I guess I never told him about his mom, because he still thinks it was my father. Why didn’t I tell him? It looks like I had secrets of my own.

Closing my eyes I press the palms of my hands to my eyes.

I know if I go back to the house, it won’t be long before I let Phoenix back in. I love him. I will always love him. How I wish I could just turn it off. Am I going to wind up like my mom?

I open my eyes and stand to get out of the boat, but quickly sit back down when the boat rocks, almost tipping me into the lake. My eyes widen at the realization that I’ve drifted away from the dock. Extremely far away from the dock.

How long were my eyes closed? What am I going to do?

I twist my head, trying to figure out where I’m at.How did I get so far away from the dock?I reach for my bag, but stop when I realize I dropped it on the dock.Shit!

I stare at the lake as I continue to drift. I can’t keep sitting here, so I grab the paddles and row. Relief washes over me whenI see a cabin. So, I do my best to row to the shore. My strength is rapidly decreasing.

There’s a dock where I'm able to grab a rope to tie to the boat.What happened to the rope that was tying the boat to Phoenix’s dock?

I climb out of the boat and come face to face with an old man pointing a rifle at me. My stomach drops as I raise my hands.

“Who the hell are you?” His voice is rough, just like everything else about him.

“Ummm… I’m McKenzie. I got lost.” I motion to the boat. “I saw your cabin and was hoping I could get help.” He keeps the rifle pointed at me, his eyes narrowing before he slowly lowers it. I sigh in relief.

“Alright. Come on. Is there someone I can call?” He turns and walks toward the cabin.Does he know Phoenix? I’m pretty sure this is the same man Rex pointed out to me all those months ago.

“Is your name Larry?” I ask.

He stops and turns back around, tilting his head at me. “How do you know that?” I twist my rings around on my finger.Phoenix is going to be so pissed.

“I’m McKenzie Stone.” His eyes flare in recognition.

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