Page 43 of Controlled Chaos

Chapter 23

I woketo find I was the only one in bed. I sprang upright and reached for my shirt, slipping it on along with the black yoga pants I’d worn last night. I headed toward the kitchen to warn him about the seeds and flower.

I paused in the hallway. The sound of his mother’s voice drifted to my ears, and I ran my hand through my hair, trying to untangle it, and stepped out into the kitchen.

“Morning,” I said as I passed by on my way to the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of water and held in a relieved sigh when I saw Porter was drinking out of one too.

“Morning, Clara. I hope we didn’t wake you. I heard that Porter wasn’t feeling well and wanted to check on him and bring him some of his favorite homemade donuts,” she said as if needing to explain why she was visiting her son.

“Oh, how nice,” I said, trying to hold back my panic.

“Don’t worry, dear. I told him that he needs to share with you.”

“You’ll be happy to know I’m starting to feel better thanks to Clara,” Porter said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He kissed my temple. “She took good care of me.”

As good as he took care of me last night in bed. I kept my opinion to myself and gestured to my outfit, hoping to change the subject and give Thaddeus a mystery to try and solve the rest of the day to keep him occupied. “My clothes found their way back. Can you thank Thaddeus for me?”

Her gaze dropped to my yoga pants. Her brows pinched together. A look of confusion clouded her face “Of course.” She shook her head as if remembering why she’d stopped by. “Listen, Thaddeus and I are having a bonfire tonight so we could spend some time getting to know you. It’s just a campus social gathering, but hopefully, I won’t be pulled away or needed in the kitchen.”

“Bonfire?” I asked.

“Yes, well, we have all that extra wood from the clearing where the new building is going, so we try to have community time once a week where we all get together.”

“That sounds nice,” I offered, knowing I had no intentions on being on this island after dark. Nope. Not going to happen. “I was hoping Porter would feel well enough to show me the rest of the island today.”

“Of course. You two enjoy your day, and we look forward to seeing you later.” Wanda’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she turned and headed for the door.

Porter dropped his arm from my shoulder and was going to follow her out when I grabbed his hand, stopping him.

Wanda left, easing the door shut behind her.

“Tell me you didn’t eat one of those donuts,” I said, glancing at the plate full of homemade donuts wrapped with cellophane.

“You can’t think my mother would drug my food,” he said.

I didn’t know how to tell him what I knew. I knew I couldn’t tell him in the compound and risk the chance of him storming out and going after Thaddeus.

“Not knowingly,” I offered. “Let me change so we can take a walk,” I said, grabbing an apple from my hiding spot and handing it to him before going back into the bedroom again.

When I emerged, his apple was already gone, and he had another sitting on the counter for me.

“What is so bad you can’t tell me here?” His eyes searched mine for answers I wasn’t ready to give him. Instead, I opened the back door and waited for him to follow and started walking toward the woods. He was quiet by my side, taking my hand and letting me lead him farther away from his mom and the compound.

“Talk to me,” he said about five minutes into the walk.

“Not yet,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. “We need to be farther away so you can’t go kill anyone.”

He tugged at my hand, twisting me into his body. “Now you’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry, but we need to walk a bit longer. I promise then I’ll tell you everything. Please trust me on this.”

He started walking faster, and I struggled to keep up until we pushed into a clearing where the trees had been removed and the area was getting ready for construction. Although this was the first time being so close to it, I knew the area from my visions. This was the place I was going to die.

“Okay, tell me,” he demanded.

I turned to face him and held out my hand. “Do you have your gun?”

His jaw hardened, but he slipped the gun free and handed it to me, butt first.

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