The Evans Escape

Chapter 17

I'm lying on the rug in Egan's office watching the ceiling fan spin around.

I keep going over Egan's words in my head. He is so aggravating!

There is a light knock on the door. I didn't need the knock. I could sense him lingering outside the door for the past 5 minutes.

I don't respond. I just keep watching the fan go around and around.

"Kaydence," Egan tries.

I remain silent.

"Look I'm sorry things got heated. I don't know how to make you understand. We're not trying to brainwash you. I just want you to know the truth," he honestly rambles on.

The truth would be nice. I breathe in and out. He knocks again.

"Kayde," he tries. I sit up almost automatically. Kayde is a comfort name for me. I prefer it to Kaydence.

"I'm coming in," he warns while turning a key in the lock. I pull my knees to my chest and rest my chin on my knees. I watch him as he enters the room.

He sits down in front of me. We are eye level to each other when he does this.

"Are you okay?" he gently asks.

"No," I tell him while wiping another tear that has fallen from my eye.

"Have you ever considered that your dad is the radical? That maybe you already are brainwashed?" he softly wonders.

"I actually have considered that. When I was drinking last weekend, I defended Pierson without even thinking about it. He said my walls were down because of the alcohol. I could finally just be me. Without the pressure of what my dad thinks or what Pierson thinks. It's all so confusing," I tell him.

"I think it's similar to fight or flight. You want to take flight and go back to your family and their beliefs, but your fight is telling you that those beliefs may be wrong," he explains.

"I can open my mind to the possibility that some may choose to live like this. It's not brainwashing or horrific like I thought. What I have a problem with is capturing another person and claiming them as yours," I tell him.

"I also have a problem with that," he reminds me.

"Pierson didn't give me a choice that day. He literally locked me in his house," I remember.

"Now that we made the deal he's loosened up?" he confirms.

"Now that we made the deal, he trusts me. I haven't tried to escape," I start to say but then I think of today. He never left campus. He wouldn't let me go get coffee.

"Do you still feel captured?" he asks.

"Yes," I nod.

"I'm sorry that it has to be this way. It's the best way for you to get to know us," he explains.

"I don't think you're a mutation and I don't think you have the power to control my mind. It's the sparks sometimes they feel like they're clouding my judgment or something," I tell him.

"These?" he asks while running his hand up my leg.

I nod.

"That's our connection. It's a feeling, but I can see how it could be confused for mind control. If your mad or upset being around your mate can help take away that pain because you're near your person," he goes on.

"Why does yours and Pierson's feel different?" I ask him.

He thinks for a moment and then shrugs.

"Different how?" he asks.