West

I awoke alone around midmorning.

This is wrong. Last night left me befuddled, ready to weep, fragile. I rested my head on a pillow and gazed at the blue sky visible through the window of Taylor's bedroom. I reached for my pocket and the cell only to realize I was naked. Pushing myself up, I spotted my housecoat on the floor in front of the mirror where I had dropped it and stood to grab it.

The cell was cold and heavy in my hands. I'd been debating what to say to Carter since I learned the truth last night. This time, when I looked around me, I didn't see a fascinating vacation spot, but the reality that I might be stuck here.

Are you okay? Carter had texted last night.

"No, I'm not." I fiddled with the phone. How could you lie to me like this? I demanded, adding half a dozen frownie faces. It was a rare day when I wanted to call someone instead of text, but today was that day I needed to give him a piece of my mind - and couldn't. Because I was stuck in the past.

There was so much I wanted to say … it was too jumbled for me to sort through. Anger bubbled at the thought of the man who sent me here. Was I so naïve that I let my feelings and the sense of familiarity with Carter blind me to the truth about him? What was the truth?

I dressed and padded down the hallway to my room. My breakfast sat waiting in front of the fire, and water dripped from a tap into the warm bath waiting for me.

"I love you, Nell," I whispered. My body was in desperate need of a hot bath.

Carter texted. For a split second, I was afraid to read it. I waited until I'd sunk into the hot water and started to relax before I checked the cell.

I swear, Josie. I would never hurt you. You have to trust me and what I'm doing is for a reason. I put you in the safest, most comfortable place possible this time.

What did he mean this time? I didn't get the sense that he was a puppet master when we drank together, but I was starting to think he was one.

What bothered me most: no matter what he told me or how deep his betrayal was, I wanted to believe him. It was irrational, even for someone ruled by her heart like I was. I couldn't explain it anymore than how I trusted him from the first time we met and hadn't questioned his motives about sending me here.