no control

• twenty two •

gladys

I groaned and pushed my hands through my messy waves of hair. I was at my wit's end about what to do.

Elijah hadn't responded to anything. Not my call or text message. I didn't want to be annoying but I had to be at work in an hour and he was nowhere to be found.

Sighing, I pulled on my work clothes from yesterday and attempted to call Bernice again. Yet again, it went straight to voicemail.

I couldn't blame her for being upset with me—I had gone completely AWOL last night. I was certain my disappearance pissed her off. She fretted over me like I was truly her baby sister.

Now I'd gone and pissed off the last family member I had.

I should've at least told her I was somewhere safe, even if I was still beyond angry with how she handled the situation with Alyssa.

How could she continue to be with someone like her?

However I wanted to spin it up, I knew this situation was ultimately my fault. I let Elijah bring me here. I trusted him to be back in time to take me to work. I should have known better than to rely on anyone at this point, but I just thought he would come through for me.

Now I knew he wouldn't. That realization hurt more than I wanted to admit.

This left my stupid ass with only one option.

I pulled up Brant's contact, drafted a text, erased it, drafted another, muttered a few expletives, and finally tapped the 'send' button.

GLADYS: hey. can I be shitty and ask for a favor?

Within seconds, my phone lit up with a call from him. I swallowed down my anxiety and accepted it.

"Hey," I said.

"What's up, Wilder?" he asked, sounding out of breath. He was probably working out and I was interrupting.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting. I know I should just leave you alone, but I really, really need a favor and I don't know who else to call—"

"We're friends," he cut me off. "That's what friends are for. You don't have to feel like a burden."

I wet my lips nervously. "Thank you."

"Where have you been anyway?" he asked. "You weren't at lunch yesterday or today."

My face flushed. "Uh." I thought about what Elijah had told the superintendent. "I just started an internship and have been busy. But my ride fell through today and I need a lift to work. I'd walk but it's literally not possible from where I am. I'm so sorry, Thornton. I wouldn't have bothered you but—"

"Stop apologizing, Wilder. Send me your location. I'm walking out to my car."

I let out a breath. Thank fuck.

"Thank you so much," I told him. "I don't know the address so I just sent you a location pin."

"Okay. See you in a minute."

As soon as we hung up, I ran out to the front door and flew down the steps. As I looked around, I realized this place was surrounded by forest. There weren't any other houses, buildings, or anything.

Where the fuck were we?

I was stomping down the driveway when my phone rang. Thinking it was Brant, I answered without looking at the number.