Deadly Chaos by Annette Brownlee Read Free Book Online

chilling sound felt as if it were inside her head. It echoed down the hallway and bounced off the walls around her. Chaos whipped around to face him. Anger filled her. He had no right to make her feel afraid. No right. It pissed her off. "Stop it!" She stepped back in the room and slammed the door behind her. No escape.
    Dead Bill moved toward the side of the bed and sat down. He spoke, she saw his mouth move but his voice felt as if he were whispering in her ear. She could feel the breath on her cheek and neck.
    “Make it right,” he said.
    Goosebumps raised on her arms. Chaos crossed them over her chest and held herself. She held her chin up high and spoke. “Make what right?”
    “Confess.”
    The smell of whisky on his rancid breath wafted under her nose. It was the only thing that gave her hope that she wasn’t going crazy. Surely crazy people didn’t smell things too. “Turn myself in? Go to hell. I killed you in self-defense, asshole.” She was seething now. The image of Dead Bill intensified. He became denser as if he was feeding off her anger and coming to life in her room. It was enough to make her put her hand back on the doorknob.
    “Confess.”
    “No,” she shook her head. “Not going to happen.”
    Pointing to the clock on the table, he vanished.
    Chaos exhaled. He was gone, for now. She stared at the clock, two-thirty in the morning - going back to sleep was impossible. Chaos headed for the kitchen. Opening the fridge, the bottle of Tequila beckoned to her. It’d be nice to feel numb instead of furious and afraid. One quick drink and the anger would melt away. Reaching in, Chaos grabbed the milk instead. She poured a bowl of chocolate cereal and sat down at the table. Something about eating right now helped her calm down. It was certainly better than getting drunk. She needed to think rationally. She’d just seen a ghost but she didn't believe in ghosts so she wasn't quite sure what to do with the whole experience. If it was her guilt or anger causing the hallucination then that was worrisome. And Dead Bill had told her if she didn't turn herself in he’d haunt her. Guilt, she figured. It had to be her guilt causing this. Post-traumatic stress? That seemed logical. She was creating the image because of the stress from the incident. And maybe, just maybe, she felt a tiny bit guilty about killing him and having someone else dump his body. Still. It was his life or hers. She chose hers. This meant she had to deal with the consequences - even if they were self-inflicted.
    Okay, she thought. Now what? It was clearly time to take a break and follow through on her plan to take a vacation. Surely, her imaginary ghost wouldn't follow her. She could take a well needed vacation and try to regain her sanity.
    Decision made, Chaos left a voicemail for Paolo letting him know she was heading out of town immediately. Tonight. Now she had to go back into her bedroom to pack. She didn't want to. Maybe she could just buy what she needed when she got where she was going. Don’t be stupid, she thought. She didn’t have the budget to spend frivolously. Grabbing a knife from the block on her counter, she took a deep breath and headed back into her bedroom. There was no doubt that she felt ridiculous both in the fact that she saw Bill when he clearly was no longer on this planet but also that she was protecting herself with a knife - against a dead guy, or a hallucination. Both were ludicrous. Nonetheless, she clenched it in her fist and held her breath as she stepped back into her bedroom.
    Her room was empty. Loosening her grip on the knife, she quickly headed for the closet, grabbed her suitcase and threw handfuls of clothing into it. Jeans, t-shirts, and thermals in case she decided to go skiing. She grabbed a bathing suit and tossed in a bunch of underwear. She didn't care if she grabbed everything she needed. She’d get by. She just wanted to get out of here immediately. Dragging her suitcase in her good hand