the darkness for Lily. I heard her approach rather than saw it…until I caught sight of the moonlight reflecting off her cream sweater as she tumbled off the cliff.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Hayle
What the fuck?
I rubbed at the tender spot on the back of my head as I sat up and soaked in my surroundings. In the few seconds it took me to realize I was sprawled out on the floor of the greenhouse, my memories flooded back.
I’d been watering the plants—minus the poppies—when the door had suddenly opened, and my mother stepped through it. When she’d caught sight of me, she’d smiled and began asking me how my day had been, like nothing was amiss.
It wasn’t until I asked her how and why she was here that she became agitated. She ranted about how she wouldn’t go to prison and how everything was Thea’s fault. I tried to calm her down, but I might as well have not been in the room. She no longer saw or heard me.
Or so I’d thought.
I’d gotten my phone out to send a group text to my brothers to send help, and the last thing I remembered was my mother’s voice saying, “I’m sorry, sweetie” from right behind me.
Pushing to my feet, I noticed a broom on the floor that hadn’t been there before. Had she seriously knocked me out with a fucking broom handle? That was embarrassing.
A quick sweep of the room told me that my mother wasn’t anywhere to be found. And neither was my phone. Just great.
Still feeling out of it, I walked to the sink and splashed water on my face. The cool liquid helped snap me out of my dazed state, and I started formulating a plan. I would search the house for my mother, and if I didn’t find any sign of her, I would head for the main house. Since Mom didn’t have a landline, there was no way to contact anyone from here.
I’d known my relatively slow texting skills would come back to bite me in the ass one of these days. Apparently, that day was today.
Walking to the door leading into the house, I reached for the knob but found it locked. “Shit,” I muttered. I should have expected that.
I headed for the door leading outside next, already anticipating the outcome. In addition to the regular lock that was engaged from inside the greenhouse, my mother had added a padlock on the outside to reinforce it. At the time, I’d thought her paranoia about possible thieves odd but hadn’t given it much more consideration. Now, I had a feeling it was a combination of general paranoia caused by her disorder as well as concern about her supply of opium.
Even though I’d been expecting it, my heart sank when I was unable to open the door. What was Mom up to that she’d been willing to knock me out and lock me up? After all of her ranting about my girlfriend, it couldn’t be good. Knowing I had to get out of here to warn Thea, I searched for another way.
Both doors were heavy enough that I couldn’t imagine breaking one of them down, like in the movies. Unless I had an axe to chop through it, Jack Nicholson-style.
As though my thoughts of The Shining had summoned it, a shriek sounded from somewhere outside. But it wasn’t just any shriek. It had been my name.
Oh, fuck. Was that Thea?
I waited for another scream or any other noise, but there was nothing. Damn it. I didn’t know for sure if that had been Thea, but I couldn’t risk it either way. I had to get out of here—now.
Not willing to waste time coming up with a different plan, I climbed on top of the counter that ran the length of the exterior wall of windows. Reaching for a heavy pot filled with pink flowers, I flung it through a window with as much force as I could muster. The glass shattered, leaving shards still attached to the frame that could easily end my life if I wasn’t careful.
Jumping off the counter, I grabbed the broom, using it to knock out the largest pieces of glass. Then, I flung myself out the window to the side of where the pot had landed and rolled onto the ground. The air was knocked out of me from the impact, but I didn’t take time to catch my breath.
I sprinted around the side of the house, spotting Thea’s car parked next to mine