Page 5 of Organized Chaos

Phillip returned the phone to his pocket. “We’ve been around and around this topic, but maybe now that you’ve calmed down, you’ll listen. You really should go home. I’ll talk to my dad. You can always come back tomorrow.” He made his tone hopeful and light, hoping to convince her.

Sarah shook her head. Her braids whipped side to side. “I’m not going anywhere until I finish my exploration. I have permission from the owner. If you’re not some madman looking to lock me up.” She held up a finger. “Which I’m still unsure about, but we’ll come back to that later. If you’re really not here to hurt me, then you can’t make me leave either. I’m not going home just to turn around and come right back tomorrow. That’s a waste of a whole day.”

“And you have big plans tomorrow?”

She shrugged. “Never know. I don’t make plans.”

Oookay then. Phillip never understood how people made it through life living by the seat of their pants. It wasn’t like heplanned every aspect of every day. Surprises snuck in from time to time. But he enjoyed knowing what to expect.

He felt Sarah’s gaze and turned to face her.

She grinned at him. “You have no idea what to do with me.”

“You definitely were not part of my day,” he admitted.

She snorted out a laugh and ran a hand along the countertop where his grandmother had made breakfast back when she was alive. Her fingertips brushed a canister that used to hold sugar. “You’re not the first to think that.” She spun on her heel. “I’m going that way.” She pointed toward the large pantry at the back of the house.

Phillip considered his options. He could keep pushing for her to leave—which wasn’t going so well—or he could keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t abscond with the family silver. Not that they had any.

She looked back at him when he followed. “Really not helping change my mind that you’re going to hack me into pieces and put me in a freezer.”

“Too much work.” He swatted at a fly buzzing close to his head. “And there’s no electricity here.”

She lifted one eyebrow and kept walking. The floor creaked and groaned, then sagged under her slight weight.

Phillip reached out automatically to pull her back. “Careful. No one has been here for years. I don’t know if the floor is stable.”

“You can’t live your whole life playing it safe.” Sarah batted his hand away but did slow down as she crept deeper into the pantry. “This place is great.” She blew dust from the shelf and picked up an old can of beets. “Not sure I can refurbish this, but it really gives the place character.”

Phillip took the beets from her and set them on the counter.

Another groan emanated from the floor, and he felt it give under his boots. “We should go back. Th?—”

The floor buckled and gave way with a series of sharp cracks that rent the air. Sarah grabbed for him. He tried to avoid her, hoping she’d found a safe place to stand.

Her hands found purchase in his shirt.

The fall was endless and at the same time over in a blink.

Phillip’s back thudded into packed dirt. The force of the blow drove all the air from his lungs.

Sarah landed atop him, her forehead slamming into his.

Stars danced in front of his eyes, and he dropped his head back onto the ground.

He tried to breathe, but no air made it in. Panic swept through him. He clawed at his neck, then let out a rasping cough. His first breath tasted of dirt. And so did the second. Darkness wrapped them in a shroud.

Sarah patted his face, his arms. “Are you okay?”

“Peachy,” he grunted out while continuing to draw shallow breaths into his bruised lungs. “You okay?’

“Yep.” She was way too chipper for someone who’d fallen through the floor. She patted his cheek. “You broke my fall. Thanks.”

“Any time.” He tried to smile but didn’t have the emotional fortitude. “And by any time, I mean, please never again.”

Her laugher rang out crisp and sweet. It wrenched something in his chest and his heart skipped. She put her hands on his chest and pushed.

“Ow.” The complaint slipped out against his will, but he’d never been this battered before.

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