I slept through Carrie's screams much easier than I anticipated. Hunter's cries were the only thing that would wake me. I would rock and feed him until he fell asleep.

My eyes fluttered open when Jimmy ran his fingers along my cheek and into my hair. The sunlight was filling the room. I rolled over onto my back and stretched out my sore muscles. Jimmy must have not set an alarm.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said.

"Good morning." I dug the heel of my palm into my eyes.

"I didn't set an alarm," he said. "I wanted you to get your rest. I know that dealing with Carrie can be a lot of work."

"Thank you."

"Get changed quickly," he said. Jimmy tossed a pile of clothes down beside me. "Carrie is still in Tommy's room. He told me that he wants her to stay there all day, so don't let her leave."

"I won't."

I slipped on the long striped dress. The bottom was worn out and faded. How many girls had this dress been passed around to? I combed my fingers through my hair and tied it into a bun. Jimmy watched me.

"You're so beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," I said.

Jimmy wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in toward him. I cupped his face in my hands. I traced my finger along his scar. He leaned down and kissed me. His fingers tightened into my back and I got up on my toes to deepen the kiss.

Somebody pounded their fist on our door. Jimmy groaned and broke the kiss. His arms were still tight around me.

"What do you want?" Jimmy asked.

"I need to talk to Julie," Tommy said through the door.

"About what?"

"Just get out here."

Jimmy grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to the door. He opened the door and leaned against the frame. His body was blocking me from Tommy, who had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Tell her what you need to say," Jimmy said.

"Can I talk to her alone?" Tommy asked.

"Not a chance," he said. "I don't trust you alone with her."

"I'm just talking about Carrie. I'm not going to touch her."

"I don't care. Just tell her what you need to say. I can hear it too."

"Fine."

Tommy ran his fingers through his hair. I put my hand against Jimmy's back. I was thankful to have him between Tommy and I.

"Jules, I don't want Carrie leaving the room," Tommy said. "She's tied up right now, but you can untie her. Just don't let her leave the room."

"I'll try my best," I said, swallowing past the lump forming in my throat.

"She has a wound on her stomach," he said. "If she tried to overpower you just go for that. You'll stop her."

I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. I hoped that I would not have to hurt her. Hopefully, she has warmed up to me enough that she will listen to me.

"Okay," I said.

Tommy glared at Jimmy before running down the stairs. Jimmy turned around and put his hands on my hips.

"Go get Hunter from Dad," he said. "I love you. I know you'll do a great job with Carrie."

"Thank you," I said. "I'll go get Hunter."

Jimmy slid his hands off me. I followed close behind him as he walked down the stairs. Charles was sitting at the dining room table. He had Hunter in his arms and was talking to him, but I could not understand what he was saying. Tommy was at the table too.

"I can take him," I said, reaching out my arms. Charles passed Hunter over and I cradled him in my arms. Jimmy kissed my cheek before leaving the house with Charles and Tommy.

I let out a shaky breath and tried to brace myself to see the state that Tommy left Carrie in. I carried Hunter up the creaky stairs and went down the hallway. Not a sound came from Tommy's room. My fingers curled around the cold door knob and I pushed the door open.

Carrie was lying on the bed among a mess of blankets. Her wrists were tied to the bed frame with rope. Her blonde hair was matted to her face. A piece of cloth was wrapped around her mouth and was gagging her. Her eyes grew wide when she saw me. She pulled against the restraints and winced.

"Don't hurt yourself," I said.

She settled down and I sat on the edge of the bed. Most of the dress I had given her was torn off. A few shreds of cloth were covering her naked body. A new collection of fresh bruises and cuts covered her skin. I placed Hunter down on the pillow beside her head. She turned her head to the side so that she could stare at him.

Her head shot back to look at me. I reached down and pulled away the gag. She took in a deep breath.

"Please, Julie," she begged. "Please, let me go."

"I can untie you," I said. "But Tommy told me that you have to stay in the room."

My fingers fiddled with the rope. The knots were tight and I struggled to get them undone. Carrie gasped out in pain as my fingers grazed along her raw skin.

"Julie, please," she said.

"We'll have some girl time," I said. "I am staying here with you."

I managed to loosen the knots and pulled them off of Carrie's sore wrists. She lowered her arms and tried to sit. She yelped out in pain, grabbed her stomach, and fell back down onto the bed.

She has a wound on her stomach.

My shaky hands grabbed her arms and pulled her hands off of her stomach. The fabric of her dress was soaked with blood. I peeled it back and Carrie grabbed my wrist.

"Don't," she said. "It really hurts."

"I just want to look at it," I said. "I want to clean it up for you so that it heals faster."

She let go of me and let me finish peeling back the fabric. A large wound covered her side. It was much deeper than I was expecting it to be. Tommy must have stabbed her.

"Can you watch Hunter for a second?" I asked her. "I need to run to my room quickly."

She nodded. I ran to the bathroom in my room. I needed to be quick to make sure that Carrie did not have time to crawl out of bed and leave the room. I pulled a bottle of rubbing alcohol out of the cupboard. I grabbed a package of gauze and a few towels.

When I got back to Tommy's room, Carrie was still lying on the bed. She was staring at Hunter. I sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Keep talking to me so that this won't hurt," I said.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked.

I unscrewed the lid of the bottle and poured some of the alcohol onto the towel. I knew that this was going to hurt, but I could not tell her the truth. The pain was unbearable when Jimmy cleaned the wounds on my arms. I could not imagine what it was going to feel like to clean a stab wound.

"Did you have any pets?" I asked.

"No, but I have always wanted a dog," she said.

"We have a dog." I wiped the towel along her wound.

Carrie's fingers curled into the sheets and she screamed out in pain.

"Well, we used to," I said. "I haven't seen him in awhile. The boys mostly keep him outside."

The tears were streaming down her cheeks as I cleaned her wound. Her teeth were clenched together. Her body was shaking.

"Look at Hunter," I said. "It will help distract you."

"Why haven't you left, Julie?" she asked.

"This is my family," I said. "Why would I want to leave?"

"This isn't your family."

"Yes they are. They're the only family I have ever had."

"What about your parents?"

I stopped cleaning the wound and began to bandage it. I was amazed at how quickly the wound stopped bleeding. Tommy knew what he was doing.

"My parents are dead," I said. "They died when I was young. I was all alone until Charles found me."

"Weren't you scared?" she asked.

"I was terrified. Their traditions are different, but I soon got used to them. They're the only ones who truly love us."

"This isn't love."

I began cleaning the rest of her wounds. She had a cut on her collarbone, which was the one I watched Tommy give her in the dining room. There were multiple slashes on the inside of her thighs.

"Can't you see how brainwashed you are?" Carrie asked.

I chuckled and shook my head.

"I'm not brainwashed," I said. "That only happens in cults."

"This is basically a cult," she said. "Do you know what Stockholm Syndrome is?"

"Carrie, we're not discussing this."

I washed the blood off her legs. I could see thin white scars crisscrossing themselves across her thighs. I traced my finger along one of them.

"Did you do this to yourself?" I asked.

"A long time ago," she said.

"You're beautiful. You shouldn't have."

"How is it any different than what Jimmy does to you?"

"It's very different, Carrie."

I threw the towels of rubbing alcohol and blood onto the floor. I was going to put them on the nightstand, but I did not want her to see how bloody they were. I grabbed one of the towels and covered her body with it. She reached her hand out and stroked Hunter's cheek. Her lips curled into a soft smile.

"He's so cute," she said.

"I've never wanted kids before I met Jimmy," I said. I laid down on the bed so that Hunter was in between the two of us. "I am so happy I have Hunter."

"I've always wanted a baby girl," she told me. "It will probably never happen though."

"Probably not."

Carrie looked unphased by my response and I was glad.

--

Carrie spent most of the day falling in and out of consciousness. I sat beside her on the bed taking care of Hunter. I woke Carrie up when the sun began to set.

"Carrie," I said as I softly shook her awake.

Her eyes fluttered open and she shifted her weight on the mattress. Her naked body was twisted in the mess of sheets.

"How about we get you cleaned up?" I told her, not really asking.

"They'll be back soon?" she asked.

I nodded and watched her take in a deep breath. With her stab wound, I did not want her to move too much. I grabbed the blankets, and Carrie's hand shot out to grab my wrist.

"Don't worry," I said. "I used to be a stripper. I have seen a lot of naked women."

"You were a stripper?" she asked.

"Only for about a year," I said. "It was disgusting. I am so glad that Charles got me out of that."

"Is that where he found you? A strip club?"

"Yeah. How about you?"

"I had missed my bus to go home after work. He found me at the bus stop."

I put Hunter back down on the pillow. I opened the closet and found a dress. It was going to be the easiest thing to get Carrie into. When I turned around, Carrie was tracing her finger along Hunter's cheek.

"Isn't anyone looking for you, Julie?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nobody in my old life cared about me."

"Do you think that anybody is looking for me?"

"No. This is where you belong. This is your home."

Carrie squeezed her eyes shut and I grabbed the dress.

"Do you think you can sit up?" I asked.

Carrie held her wound before trying to sit. She winced in pain as she lifted her body. She held her arms up as I shimmied the dress on her and pulled it down her body.

"What do you think Tommy is going to do to me tonight?" Carrie asked. Her body was shaking underneath my touch. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Listen," I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You really need to listen to me. I know that Tommy has a short temper."

"So what do I do?" she asked.

"Never say no." Carrie opened her mouth, but I did not give her the chance to speak. "He may do things that seem disgusting at first, but I promise you that it is not that bad."

"You mean I am supposed to let him rape me?"

I bit down on my lip. I had already felt bad for Carrie even before I met her. I knew that Tommy would be evil and abuse his girl. I needed Tommy to like her so that he would forget about me.

"Just lie there and don't move," I said. I didn't know what kind of advice to give her. Jimmy had only raped me once and I deserved it.

"What?" she asked.

"If you fight against Tommy that'll make him angry," I said. "He'll have no reason to hurt you if you just go with it."

Carrie wiped the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hand. I threw my arms around her shoulders and hugged her. Carrie sobbed into her hands. I ran to my bathroom and got my brush. I kneeled behind her on the bed and ran the brush through her tangles.

"This is insane," she sobbed. "This is so fucking crazy."

"Never swear either," I said. "That also upsets them."

"Everything seems to upset them."

"The boys are easy to keep happy."

I ripped the brush through her knots in her hair. I threaded the strands of her hair through my fingers and began to braid it.

"Then why do they hurt us?" she asked.

"They don't hurt us because they want to," I said. "They hurt us because they need to punish us. They want to teach us what is right and what is wrong."

"And raping us is what's right?"

I tightened my grip on her hair and pulled hard as I braid it. She tilted her head back and gasped out in pain.

"I've become a better person since I came here," I said. "I used to hook up with random guys and spend all night getting drunk and high. Now, I am a wife and mother."

"Julie-"

"Listen," I cut her off.

I finished tying her hair before sitting on the bed in front of her.

"What?" she asked.

"I'll try to talk to Tommy," I said.

I couldn't believe the words that had just come out of my mouth. I tried my best not to look at Tommy, let alone speak to him. Tommy may even get Jimmy to punish me because I tried to give him advice on his girl.

"You'll get him to stop?" Her lips lifted into a smile. "You'll get him to let me go?"

"I can't get him to let you leave," I said. Her smile dropped. "I can ask him to go easier on you while you are still adjusting here."

"Thank you, Julie," she said.

The kitchen door opened. I could hear the boys laughing as they walked into the house. Someone came up the stairs and walked down the hall toward Tommy's room. I picked Hunter up off the pillow and cradled him in my arms. Carrie was biting down on her lip and squeezing her eyes shut.

I got up off the bed, and I did not look back toward Carrie. Tommy opened the door. His white shirt and jeans were streaked with dirt. He smirked when he saw me.

"Can I talk to you?" I whispered.

Tommy raised an eyebrow and looked over at Carrie. I looked over my shoulder to see that she was curled up in a ball on the bed.

"About what?" he asked.

Tommy took a step forward so that he was towering over me. He reeked of sweat. He slipped his arm around the small of my back. I tried my best not to let myself shake.

"Can you please be a bit kinder to Carrie?" I asked. "She's hurt and she's scared."

"You're so sweet, Jules," he said.

He lowered his face so that our foreheads were touching. His warm breath fanned across my face.

"Let's make a deal," he said.

He reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. Jimmy had done this simple gesture before, but it had never felt this terrifying. He left his hand around my neck.

"I'll be kinder to Carrie," he said. "But for every day I am nicer to her, you owe me something."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You."

I squeezed my eyes shut as I sucked in a deep breath. I could feel Hunter wiggle around in my arms. I curled him tighter into my body.

"I have it all planned out," Tommy said. "Next time Jimmy and Dad go into town we're leaving."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Tommy pressed his finger against my lips.

"But until then I want to have some fun," he said. He slid his hand down my back and squeezed my ass. I stumbled as he pulled me in closer to his body. "If you want me to be nicer to Carrie you will have to give me your body."