Tommy was late coming down to breakfast. Jimmy and I did not sleep much because of Carrie and Hunter's screaming. I was scrubbing the dishes clean as Jimmy and Charles were talking at the table. I could hear them murmuring, but I could not understand what they were saying.

Tommy came down the stairs and we all stopped to stare at him. He went outside without saying a word to us. Charles got up and followed him. Jimmy walked over to me. He placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head up.

"Remember what I told you," he said. "I need you to help out Carrie. She needs to learn how to be as good as you."

"I'll try," I said.

"Don't do any chores today," he said. "I want you to make her feel safe here. Tommy has probably terrified her."

I don't know what was making Carrie scream all night, but I could not imagine that it would be good. I nodded.

"Good girl." Jimmy leaned down to kiss me. "I should probably get outside. I love you."

"I love you too," I said.

I turned around and continued to wash the dishes. Carrie's bowl of oatmeal was sitting on the counter. I doubt that she would have much of an appetite.

Her faint footsteps were wandering around upstairs. I put the last dish away as I heard the stairs creak. I picked Hunter up out of his crib.

Carrie's long hair was dangling down in her face. Her left eye was swollen shut, and her right eye was bloodshot. Faint purple bruises lined her throat.

"Good morning," I said, forcing a smile on my lips.

Carrie's eyes stayed on the floor.

"Sit down," I said. "I made breakfast."

Carrie pulled out a chair and sat. She took a quick look up at me and Hunter.

"Do you mind holding him for a minute?" I asked.

She gasped as I placed Hunter in her arms. I watched as she shifted Hunter's weight in her arms. Her lips lifted into a faint smile as she looked down at Hunter. I poured Carrie a glass of water and brought over the oatmeal to the table.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"Hunter," I said.

I set Carrie's food in front of her and picked up Hunter. I sat across the table from her. Carrie stirred the spoon around in her bowl of oatmeal.

"You should eat," I said.

It was odd to tell someone what to do. It had been a long time.

"I want to go home," Carrie said.

"This is your home," I said.

The sooner I could convince her this was her home, the sooner she would behave, and the sooner Tommy would like her. If he liked her enough he would probably forget his plan.

"Please," Carrie said. "I need to leave here."

"Why?" I asked.

"You don't know what Tommy did to me." Her voice cracked and I watched as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Her body shook as she sobbed. "He's going to kill me."

"No," I said.

I got up and put Hunter down in his crib. I hurried over to Carrie. I got onto my knees. I tucked my hair behind her ears and she sobbed even harder.

"Carrie, Tommy would never kill you," I said. "He loves you."

"No, he doesn't!" she screamed. "You're all sick!"

I looked over my shoulder at Hunter's crib. Luckily, her screaming had not woken him.

"No," I said. "Trust me, Carrie."

I grabbed her wrists. She twisted her arms and tried to shake me off her.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed. "You don't understand!"

"They took me too," I said.

Carrie stopped fighting against me. She took in a couple of deep breaths before looking at me. Her face was bright red and her hair was matted to her face.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you still here?"

"I love Jimmy."

"How long have you been here?"

"Two years or so." I shrugged. "It has been the happiest two years of my life."

"How? Doesn't Jimmy torture you?"

"Torture?" I raised an eyebrow. "They never torture us, Carrie. They discipline us. If you show Tommy respect he won't have to punish you."

"Respect?" she spat. "I'm supposed to let him beat and rape me?"

"Tommy will never just beat you," I said. "They only ever hit us if they need to."

She grabbed my wrists and flipped my arms over. The scattered collection of scars surrounding my tattoo was on display.

"What did you do for these?" she asked.

"I screwed up," I said. "I made mistakes and got punished. Now, I know better."

She let go of me and wiped her cheeks.

"This is all so messed up," she whispered to herself. "This can't be real."

I bit down on my lip. There was so much that she did not know yet. I don't want to witness her breakdown when she discovers the truth about the meat. Jimmy was so sweet and caring that he helped me get through it. Tommy was so cruel he would just punish her the whole time. That is if he did not go through with his plan.

"I can help you," I said. "I can help protect you from getting hurt."

"How?" she asked.

"I haven't been punished in months," I said. "When I first came into this house I used to get punished a lot. I learned how to deal with the boys though. I know how to keep them happy. Do what I say and Tommy will stop hurting you."

"Can you help me escape?"

I gave her a faint smile. I watched a smile grow on her lips.

"Let's just start with this," I said.

Carrie nodded. I got off my knees and picked Hunter back up out of the crib. Carrie wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand before tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I was told that we don't have to do chores today," I said. "So we have all day to talk."

"By the way, what's your name?" she asked.

"Julie."

--

Carrie only ever smiled when she was holding Hunter, so I let her hold him while we talked.

"Do you have any younger siblings?" I asked.

"Not really," she said. "I have a lot of step-brothers and step-sisters though."

"Your parents aren't together anymore?"

"They were never really together. My dad left before I was born and my mom remarried multiple times."

"That sounds hard."

"It was. I never felt like I got any attention. I moved in with my boyfriend when I was seventeen and my mom did not really care."

Carrie's family didn't love her. I had to help her see that this was her real family. This was going to be the family that was going to love her forever.

"We care about you," I said.

"No, you don't," she said.

"You don't think that I care about you?"

"Julie, you're different." She looked up from Hunter at me. "You are sweet and caring. You were taken like me. We're not like those monsters."

"They're not monsters, Carrie."

Carrie let out a deep breath. She held Hunter with one arm while she ran her fingers through her tangled hair. It exposed her bruised face.

"Look at me, Julie," she said. "Who does this to a person?"

"They just do things differently," I said.

"Look at your arms," she said. "I know Jimmy hurts you."

"I told you that those are punishments. He's not doing it to hurt me. He's doing it to teach me a lesson."

Hunter started to fuss in Carrie's arms. She rocked him, but he cried even harder. I reached over and picked him up. I softly sang to him as I rocked him and he soon settled down.

"Do you still want me to help you?" I asked.

"I don't want Tommy to hurt me anymore," she said. She grazed her fingers along the rope burn on her wrists. "Can I ask you something first?"

"What is it?" I asked.

"Did you ever have sex with Tommy?"

My eyes went wide as my jaw dropped. What kind of question was that?

"No," I said. "Why?"

"Because last night," she started. Her voice cracked and I really hoped that she would not start crying. "When Tommy was on top of me he kept saying your name. I thought at first that maybe he just heard my name wrong, but when you told me your name I knew that it wasn't an accident."

A horrible image of Tommy forcing himself on Carrie while she was tied up filled my mind. He must have been fantasizing about doing that to me. I had the slight hope that Carrie would distract Tommy from me, but that was not happening. Tommy would soon go through with his plan.

"I've never done anything with Tommy," I said. "You must have heard him wrong."

"I could have sworn-"

"Let's not worry about that right now. I'll help you keep Tommy happy and he'll have no reason to punish you."

"Okay, but will you help me escape?"

I shook my head. I did not see any tears, but Carrie wiped her cheeks with her hand.

"So how do I stop from getting hurt?" she asked.

"Don't ever say no," I said.

"Julie!" She shook her head. "I can't do that. I can't do the stuff that he wants me to do. Last night was horrible. I can't let that happen without putting up a fight."

"We're here for the boys," I said. "Part of our job is to do what they want. Trust me, I know that it is scary. If you just go with it it won't hurt."

"You have let Jimmy do stuff to you?" she asked.

"Yeah, when I first came here."

Carrie bit down on her lip and shook her head again. The tears were pouring down her cheeks. I looked down at Hunter to see that he was asleep, so I carefully put him in the crib. When I turned back around, Carrie had her elbows on the table and her face buried in her hands.

"This is so fucking crazy," she sobbed. "This doesn't just happen to people."

"Carrie, it's okay," I said. "You'll get used to this house soon."

"I don't want to," she said. "I want to leave. How the hell have you stayed here so long? How did you have a baby with one of these men? Oh god, what if I am pregnant?"

I ran around the table and got onto my knees next to her. Her sobs grew louder and her body was shaking.

"Carrie, trust me." I put my hand on her shoulder. She slapped my hand off her. She grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down. I yelped when my head hit the floor.

Carrie leaped out of the chair and ran toward the door. She grabbed the handle and yanked on it. She cried out as she banged her hand against the door.

"Please, God!" she screamed. Hunter started screaming too. She continued to slam her hand against the door. "Please, just let me leave this house!"

I got up off the floor. Carrie was on her knees in front of the door. She was pounding on the food with her fists.

I walked over to the cupboard and pulled out one of the large bowls. I prepared batter as Carrie banged and screamed. I wanted to soothe Hunter, but there was no point in trying to calm him down while Carrie continued to scream.

An hour passed by and the house was filled with the smell of fresh baked cookies. Hunter had cried himself back to sleep. Carrie was still in front of the door. She had curled up in a ball and was sobbing.

I put a cookie on a plate and sat down in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut when she saw me.

"Two more things you should know," I said. "Never swear and never ask them any questions."

Carrie opened her mouth, but no words came out. She nodded.

"Let's get you cleaned up before they come back inside," I said.

I got up off the floor first and I leaned down. I extended my arm toward her. She grabbed it and I pulled her onto her feet. I grabbed the plate and handed her the cookie.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"You should eat," I said. "Plus, cookies make everyone feel better."

She took the cookie out of my hand and took a bite. I smiled at her and her face softened. She followed me up the stairs to my room. She had finished the cookie by the time I had closed the door.

Carrie's clothes were stained in blood. The collar of her shirt was ripped and her hair was a matted mess.

I opened up a drawer and clawed through it. I found a dress that I never wear and pulled it out.

"You can get changed in the bathroom," I said.

She nodded and went into the bathroom. I brushed my own hair as I waited for her. I twisted strands around my finger. My hair was twice as long as when I first came here. I wanted to ask Jimmy if I could cut it, but I doubt that he would let me.

Carrie opened the door and had her clothes bundled in her arms. I took them and dropped them in the laundry basket. I would have to split all of my clothes with Carrie, but I did not mind. All of Marilyn's clothes hung off of me. Carrie was a bit bigger so she filled them out better.

"Sit on the edge of the bed," I told her.

I ran my brush through her tangled hair. Her face cringed as I ripped the brush through the knots. I braided her hair and she did not say a word. I thought about Lina as my fingers twirled through Carrie's blonde hair. She always loved it when I played with her hair.

The door creaked as the boys came inside downstairs. I looked out the window to see that the sun was still bright and shining. They must have come in early to make Carrie's first dinner special.

"We should head downstairs," I said as I finished tying the braid.

"I don't want to," she said.

"Just remember what I told you and you will be fine."