Chapter 20

Bonnie, Jax, and I creep along the corridor quickly. Single file down the dark hallway we move quietly, first myself, then Jax, then Bonnie. I can hear a low voice humming a tune, which I assume is Philip. Jax grabs my elbow and points at one of the closed doors. Light is shining underneath the bottom of the door and the humming seems to be loudest there. 

We slide past the lit doorway and make our way over to the staircase. Carefully moving down the stairs, stepping lightly, so as not to have a board creak we almost reach the bottom. The last step screams out with a loud squeak! I open the nearest door, a coat closet that two can fit in. I shove Bonnie and Jax into the closet and tell them to stay there. 

Ms. Parfon swoops around the corner and is quite surprised to see me. "Oh I thought you were Philip. What are you doing" she asks. "Um, I was on my way to the restroom" I lie. "Hmm. Why isn't Philip guarding the door? Agh, Nevermind! Just see me when you are finished" she says happily. I give her a nod and she wobbles off. "Such an odd woman! Such ill intent, but such a bubbly persona" I think to myself. 

As soon as she has gone I rip open the closet door, Bonnie and Jax emerge and we find the front door. Surprisingly the front door is unlocked, and we dart outside to be rid of this horrible place. Flat open space is all that can be found several feet from the front door, but off in the near distance are some tree's parallel the river. In the moonlight of the night I can see that there is no car parked nearby. 

"Where's the car?" I whisper to the others. Bonnie shakes her head and replies "Something strange is happening. There is absolutely no cell phone service out here, and for some reason we weren't able to drive past the bridge that leads to this place. We'll have to walk. What is going on Nora? Why are we sneaking around like this? she questions. "Yea Ms. Parfon put a barrier around this place but had to lift it. There's no time to explain, let's get to the river first" I say in haste. 

It doesn't take long to reach the river, and once there I feel a little more at ease. The three of us take a seat by a nearby boulder and catch our breath. Nestled in the thick tree's that run along side the river, I decide that now would be a good time to catch Bonnie and Jax up. I tell them all about Philip and the horrid details of the events after they left. I told them everything about Emily trying to escape and Ms. Parfon's plans as well. Everything, except the fact that Bonnie is my daughter.

Jax is stunned and Bonnie almost shouts, "No wonder we were having trouble finding our way back! We were looking for hours but I felt we were just walking in circles. Once we were inside the house again I had a strange feeling that something was wrong." Jax chimes in "No one was on the main floor so we went to check upstairs, heard a sound coming from the room you were in, and thankfully found you." "Nora I'm so sorry this has happened to you!" Bonnie says throwing her arms around me. In return, I smile happily and hug her tightly. My sweet baby girl, my Bonnie, but now isn't the time to discuss all of that. I will save it for when we can celebrate the news.

"Hope you girls are up for some camping! I don't think it's a good idea to go wandering through the woods at night, unprepared. I think we should try to wait it out until the morning. We can get our bearings and figure out which way we should head" Jax points out. "What, and stay here, in the dark? You know it's still dangerous even here right?" Bonnie huffs. 

"We don't seem to have many options currently. I think I will have to agree with Jax on this one. I would rather set up some kind of camp than to go wandering around the woods in the dark. Plus you don't know if Ms. Parfon has put some spell on the forest, we could be going in circles for hours" I explain. Once the three of us talk things through we decide to stay put until morning, and Jax volunteers to try to get a small fire started. "Don't want it to attract attention" he mentions. 

Seeing as we are pretty much stuck here for the evening I decide that now is as good a time as any to tell Bonnie about my being her mother. A wave of nervousness washes over me as I think, "What if she doesn't even want me to be her mother? What if I am stuck here in 2010? How would that look...a 19 year old, with a 17 year old mother!?" 

My expression must have been intriguing, because Bonnie almost shouts, "NORA!" I give a little jump and realize she had been trying to get my attention for several moments. "Are you alright? You seem deep in thought over there" she says concerned. "Oh, yes I was just thinking" I reply. "Well, Jax and I just want you to know that even though we have just met it feels like we have been friends forever, and we are here for you" Bonnie tells me. "Yes! We know you have been through a very hard time, and we will do all we can to help" Jax says.

"Thank you both so much! I felt that we've been close for a long time as well, and that's before I even knew the truth" I reply. Bonnie frowns a bit and asks, "What truth are you talking about?" Hesitantly I reply, "That you are my daughter." A shocked expression spreads over Jax's face, and Bonnie looks almost angry. 

I tell them both what Ms. Parfon explained to me, when I was back at the house. Bonnie puts her hands on her hips and frowns, "I don't believe a word that old witch says. I love my parents, the Richardson's. They have been there for me since before I could even speak. They have never mentioned that I was adopted. Nora I consider you a friend, but I can't just turn my back on everything I have ever known." Jax whispers, "Bon..." and shakes his head, as if to tell her to stop." 

"No Jax! I just...this is overwhelming! I'm supposed to believe my whole life is a complete lie based on a crazy old witch, and a girl we just met?" Bonnie fumes. "How long have I known you Bonnie? A long ass time, that's how long! All the while you mention things like you and your parents having opposite idea's about almost everything. They just don't seem to understand your personality, and I mean c'mon Bon no one in your family has that gorgeous hair color. Maybe Nora is telling the truth?" Jax says. 

Bonnie and Jax continue arguing back and forth, and I begin to feel uneasy. I should have waited to talk to her about it. What if she hates me, and they just abandoned me here in the woods. Everything just becomes too much, and I decide to sneak away. Walking through the woods tears flow down my cheeks. I have finally found my daughter, and she wants nothing to do with me. Who knows how far I walked, maybe I was just walking in circles, all I know is that my stomach was growling angrily.

Drying my eyes, I notice a small berry bush nearby, and grab a few. Delicious, wild strawberries! I sit munching on the berries, feeling much better indeed. Perhaps I acted in haste rushing off. It is a lot to process, maybe that was just Bonnie's initial reaction. At any rate I'd do better sticking with a group instead of out here on my own. "It's settled then, I'll go back" I think aloud. Grabbing a few more berries for the walk back I suddenly see what looks like a face peering at me from around the bush. I gasp and jump back but it puts a finger to its' mouth motioning me to be quiet. The figure steps out of the bushes and I can't believe my eyes.