Jimmy rocked me as I cried into his chest. My eyes burned with tears as I tried to control myself from sobbing. It was pointless. I couldn't stop crying.

"Once you leave -" I started to explain.

"Ssshhh," Jimmy shushed me as he leaned down to press his lips against my forehead.

"Tommy-" I started.

"I'm right here." I opened my eyes to see him leaning against the doorframe. "I don't think there is anything you need to say. You should probably rest. Especially if you're pregnant."

His silent threat hung heavy in the air.

"He's right," Jimmy said. "You need to get to bed."

I bit my lip to hold back a whimper. I buried my face in his chest. I took in a deep breath of his scent. God, I was going to miss this smell.

"I promise I am going to take care of you and Hunter." His hand slipped over my belly. "And our new little baby."

I shook my head. "I don't think I am pregnant."

"You never know," he said. "Now, let's get you to bed so that you can rest."

Jimmy got up off the floor with me in his arms. He curled me into his chest and I clung to his shirt. I squeezed my eyes shut and listened to his heartbeat. I listened to it every night for the past two years. I don't know how I am going to fall asleep without it. I'd rather kill myself than spend the rest of my life with Tommy.

Jimmy placed me down on the bed. He pulled my arms off him. His lips were spread into a smile. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed my leg to comfort me. I reached up and cupped his face, letting my thumb trace along the scar on his cheek.

"Sleep for an hour," Jimmy told me. "You can return to your chores once you feel better."

"I feel fine," I said. "That's not why I was sick."

"Why were you sick then?"

I sucked in a deep breath. I wanted to tell Jimmy, but Tommy would kill Hunter. There is no way that Jimmy could protect us all the time. Tommy would sneak into the house during the day and snap Hunter's neck.

"When are we moving?" I asked. "You said we could move to that house down the street and it's been over a year."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"The Fergusons?" he said. "They haven't moved out yet. Besides, what is this sudden rush to get out of this house?"

"I hate the way Tommy treats Carrie," I said. "I don't want to witness it anymore."

"Now that Dad has died it probably won't be for a while. I don't think Tommy will want to leave Carrie alone in this house right now."

Jimmy grabbed my chin and leaned down to kiss me.

"Don't worry about where we live," Jimmy said. "We have the rest of our lives together."

I bit my lip and nodded. Jimmy kissed me before getting up off the edge of the bed. I rolled onto my stomach and cried into the pillow. I wanted to hide my crying from the family.

I kept lifting my head from the pillow to check the time. I waited for an hour to pass, just like Jimmy told me to. Time ticked by slowly as horrible images filled my mind.

Charles' death had distracted Tommy from me. My stomach twisted whenever I thought about what I have done with him. I could not let that be the rest of my life. I'd have to lie back and let Tommy do whatever he wanted to me. My skin still felt dirty from where Tommy had touched me.

I clutched my stomach when I felt the bile rise at the back of my throat. I hoped that I would not have to run to the bathroom again. Tommy's words rang through my head. What if I was pregnant again? Tommy would definitely throw me down the stairs if he discovered that I was pregnant with another one of Jimmy's babies.

An even worse thought crossed my mind.

What if it was Tommy's?

It couldn't possibly be. We just had sex a couple of days ago. Morning sickness wouldn't show up that fast, would it? I never paid much attention during sex ed. I sat in the back of my class making jokes with my friends during the class.

I squeezed my eyes shut when the room seemed to begin to spin. I couldn't worry about pregnancy right now. I had to focus on Jimmy and Hunter and keeping our family together as one.

I rolled out of bed and dragged my feet downstairs. Carrie was sweeping the floor as she hummed to herself. She looked up at me and forced a smile on her lips.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I just needed a quick nap."

"Julie, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

I picked Hunter up from his crib. I kissed his cheek before cradling him in my arms.

"When are we getting out of here?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When are we escaping?"

"Why would we want to escape?"

Carrie dropped the broom and rushed over to me. She grabbed my shoulders and curled her fingers into my shoulders. The bruises on her face were beginning to fade.

"I'm not stupid," she said. "I know Tommy is in love with you. I have no clue what Tommy is going to do to us tomorrow when Jimmy is gone."

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"I heard the deal that you two made," she said. Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears. "If you had sex with him then he wouldn't hurt me. I can't believe that you would do that for me. I mean, no one has ever cared for me like that before."

"You can't tell anyone."

"He shouldn't be doing this to you. We need to leave."

"I'm not leaving Jimmy."

"Julie, please!"

"No." I shook my head.

Tears began to roll down Carrie's pink cheeks. I had to take a deep breath to stop myself from crying.

"Tommy is going to hurt us tomorrow," she sobbed. "It's going to be bad. Tommy is looking forward to tomorrow. I don't know him well, but I know that when he's looking forward to something it is not good."

"Nothing will happen to you," I said.

I said it believing that it would be true. Tommy wants to run away with me, but he never mentioned Carrie. I didn't know if he planned on killing her or if he was going to leave her here with Jimmy. A horrible thought of Jimmy, Carrie, and Hunter being a family filled my mind.

"Let me tell Jimmy about the deal," she begged.

"No!" I shouted. "Do you have any idea how badly I will be punished if Jimmy finds out? I did it for you and this is my thanks?"

"I won't tell him that it was a deal," she said. "I'll tell him that Tommy raped you. He can't be mad at you for that."

"He'll be mad at me for keeping it a secret!"

"You have to lie, Julie." Carrie wiped the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hand. "We have to get out of here!"

If she only knew that my real worry was trying to stay inside this house. I didn't want to leave.

"We can make it," Carrie said. "Just the two of us. We can survive together out there. I know you don't have a family, and I'll never see my family again. So let's do it. The two of us."

I shook my head. I let out a sob and a tear rolled down my cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere without Jimmy," I said.

"They've brainwashed you, Julie!" Carrie yelled. "Please just see that. He doesn't love you!"

"You're wrong!" Hunter started to cry in my eyes. Our screaming was too much for him to handle. "Jimmy loves me. This is my family."

"Julie, open your fucking eyes!" Carrie screamed. "They don't love you! They're fucking monsters. Get them fucking arrested."

"What's going on here, girls?"

I turned my head to see Jimmy standing in the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. I sucked in a deep breath. I chewed on my lip as Jimmy strolled into the house. Carrie's face went pale and her eyes grew large. Hunter continued to scream in my arms.

"N...nothing," Carrie stumbled over the word.

Jimmy arched an eyebrow at her. I cooed at Hunter and tried to soothe him. I don't know when Jimmy came inside or what he heard. I prayed that he heard nothing about the deal.

"Are you sure about that, Carrie?" Jimmy asked. "I was outside and I heard screaming."

"We were arguing," I told Jimmy.

"I heard," he said. "I'm going to have to tell Tommy what you were saying, Carrie."

"No!" Carrie shook her head violently. "No! You can't!"

Carrie reached out and grabbed Jimmy's wrists. She fell to her knees and started to cry. I was just happy that Hunter's cries had calmed down.

"I have to," Jimmy said. "It's not my choice. Tommy has to punish you."

"Please! No!" Carrie screamed. "Tommy is going to kill me."

"He won't kill you, Carrie. He loves you."

Jimmy jerked his wrists out of Carrie's grasp. She crumpled down on the ground and continued to sob. She mumbled to herself, but I could not understand what she was saying. Jimmy slipped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.

"I heard what you were saying," he said.

I bit down on my cheeks to stop my jaw from dropping. Had he heard about the deal?

"I'm so proud of you," he said. He leaned down to press his forehead against mine. He reached out and ran his fingers over Hunter's thin hair.

"Thank you," I said.

"Carrie will warm up here soon and she won't be so difficult," he whispered into my ear. "Tommy will punish her again and it will change her attitude."

"I don't want her to get hurt."

"She has to. It is the only way that she will learn."

Carrie's sobs rang through the kitchen. She was on her knees and clutching at her chest. Her face was bright red and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She screamed before continuing to sob. Hunter stirred in my arms. Jimmy slid his arm off me and kissed my temple.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes," he said. "I'm going to go get Tommy."

My stomach twisted into a knot as I watched Jimmy leave the kitchen. Carrie's eyes flew open when she heard the door slam shut. She staggered onto her feet and stumbled toward the door. She turned the knob and slammed her body into the door. She let out a scream before clawing at the frame. I set Hunter down in his crib and ran toward her.

"Carrie," I said. "Stop it!"

"No!" she screamed. "Tommy is going to kill me! He's going to kill me!"

"He won't kill you," I said.

I threw my arms around her shoulders and tried to pull her away from the door. She stumbled a couple of steps back.

"Julie, you're letting him kill me!" she continued to scream. "Let me out!"

"He's not going to kill you!" I said.

"He's going to torture me!"

Carrie let her knees fold underneath her and I toppled over. Carrie was at least four inches taller than me, and I could not overpower her. I threw myself over her so that she could not get up off the ground.

The door opened and Tommy stormed in with Jimmy behind him.

"Julie, get up," Tommy said.

I got up and Tommy picked Carrie up by her shoulders. I ran to Hunter who started crying again and cooed to him. Jimmy was leaning against the counter and I hurried over to him.

"What did you do?" Tommy asked Carrie.

"Nothing," Carrie said, shaking her head.

"Liar!" Tommy spat. "I heard that you were being disrespectful. That you were bad-mouthing this family."

Tommy let go of Carrie and she took a few steps back. Her eyes darted around the kitchen.

"Take off your shirt," he said.

"What?" she said. "No!"

"You're only making this worse."

Jimmy tightened his arms around me. I held Hunter closer to my chest. I have never seen one of Tommy's punishments firsthand.

Carrie cried harder as she pulled the shirt up over her head. The stab wound was still bandaged and faded bruises were covering her freckled skin. Tommy reached for his belt buckle and undid it before pulling his belt through the loops of his jeans.

"Turn around and get on your knees," Tommy told Carrie.

"Please," Carrie said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"The more you talk the worse it'll be."

Carrie was wiping the tears off of her cheeks as she turned around. She lowered herself onto her knees. Tommy raised his arm in the air and I squeezed my eyes shut.

His belt sliced through the air before it hit Carrie's back. Her scream caused a shiver to run up my spine. The same noise happened again and Carrie's scream was worse.

"How many was that?" Tommy asked.

"Two." Carrie's voice trembled.

"Count each one until we reach ten."

"I can never make it to ten."

"Just for that, it's now fifteen."

I opened my eyes to see the bloody welts growing across her back. Jimmy slipped his fingers through mine and gave my hand a squeeze.

"Come outside with me," he whispered into my ear.

"Three," Carrie cried.

"Okay." I was happy just to get out of the house.

"Four."

Jimmy pulled Hunter and me out of the kitchen so fast that I have to hear any more of Carrie's forced counting.

I had to squint against the sun shining down in my eyes. Jimmy hasn't let me go outside since he found out that I was pregnant with Hunter. He said that it wasn't safe for me to be outside.

Normally, Jimmy and I would stretch out on one of the chairs and enjoy the sun. Jimmy had guided me off the deck so that we were on the lawn. I enjoyed the feeling of the cool grass against my feet. I haven't felt that in over a year.

Jimmy plucked Hunter out of my arms. He laid down on the grass and rested Hunter against his chest. I laid down next to them. I could not hear the horrors going on inside the house.

I turned my head to see Jimmy smiling. His scar was hidden from my view.

If I knew this was the last time my family would be together as a family, I would have refused to leave the moment.