Lindsay and I clung to each other as Gabe loaded the truck with their suitcases. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from crying, but Lindsay had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I promise I'll write to you two," she said. "You'll have your baby soon, and I promise we'll come down to help."

"Thank you," I said. "We will miss you too."

"Come on, sweetheart," Gabe said. "We have to go."

Lindsay nodded her head. She wiped her tears off of her cheeks with her sleeve. We said our goodbyes and Lindsay kissed Jared and I's cheek. Jared put his arm around my shoulders as we watched them climb into the truck. They backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the road.

I bit down on my lip and my hands went over my stomach. I watched my biggest help for this baby driveaway.

--

When I first came to this house it always seemed so busy. Six of us lived in this farm house. I would spend all day with Lindsay and Jenny. Now, the days were quiet and dragged on.

I did my chores and I would wait for Jared to come back inside. Emme came over one day, but she was silent. She did not say a word to me as she cleaned the house, but I saw her peek at my belly every once in a while.

My stomach had slowly grown in size. My jeans were tight and I had to suck in a deep breath to do up the button. Most days I wore Jared's clothes because they fit me better.

I had spent the day alone and was at the stove stirring a pot of stew when Jared burst through the door. There was a female scream, and I looked over to see him dragging in a girl. She screamed and was thrashing around in his grasp.

"Leah, pull out a chair and get a knife," he yelled over her screaming.

I opened up the drawer and pulled out one of the butcher knives. I ran to the dining room and pulled one of the chairs over to the hooks hanging from the ceiling. Jared threw the girl down onto the chair and ripped the knife out of my hand. He held the blade to her chest. Her eyes went wide, and she trembled in fear.

"Now, are you going to be quiet?" he asked.

"Please," the girl said. "Let me go."

"Not going to happen," he said. "Leah, come here."

I stepped over to Jared. He took my hand and wrapped it around the handle of the knife. He put his hand on my hip and shuffled me over so that I was standing directly in front of the girl.

"Stay here," Jared said. "I'll be right back."

"Jared-"

"We're alone," he cut me off. "I'm going to need your help."

I was hit by a wave of nausea when his words sunk in. He was going to make me help kill this girl. I sucked in a deep breath to try and stop my hand from shaking.

Jared came back with a coil of rope. The girl started to scream again as Jared wrapped the rope around her body and the chair. He tied it into a knot and pulled on it to make sure that it wouldn't come undo. The girl grit her teeth together. I took the knife off of her chest.

Jared let out a huff of breath and wiped the sweat on his brow with the back of his arm. The girl let out a scream and pulled against the ropes. Jared rolled his eyes and walked over to the oven. He grabbed the dish towel hanging and rolled it up in his hands. He went over to the girl and tied it around her mouth to muffle her cries.

"I have to go out and get the other one," he said.

"Another one?" I asked.

"Yeah, she was with a guy," he said. "I already slit his throat."

The girl let out an even louder muffled scream as she listened to Jared talk. I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. He kissed my cheek before going back outside.

The girl rolled her head back as she cried. I wanted to look away, but I was frozen. I was stuck watching her thrash her head from side to side as she tried to remove the gag. I took in a deep breath as I walked over to the sink. I looked through the bars and I could not see Jared outside.

I hurried over to the girl and pulled the gag down off of her mouth. She sucked in a breath before she started talking.

"You have to get me out of here," the girl cried. "Please, he's going to kill me."

I bit down on my lip. I wanted to tell her that she was wrong, but she was right.

"Please, he already killed Evan," she said. "He is going to kill me next."

"It's going to be okay," I said.

The girl furrowed her brows at me. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"How can you say that?" she asked.

I could not lie to this girl. Jared was going to kill her. I could not give her false hope.

"It's going to be fast," I said.

"What?" she asked. "No, get me out of here."

"I can't do that. Listen, I promise that I'll make him do it as quickly as possible."

"That doesn't help!"

"I'm stopping him from torturing you."

The kitchen door opened and I tied the gag back around the girl's mouth. Luckily, Jared's back was to me as he dragged a body into the kitchen. This must be the Evan that the girl was talking about. He dragged his body over to the hooks. He pulled back the curtain and exposed the hooks. The girl pulled even harder on the ropes as her eyes grew wide. She shook her head and Jared smirked.

"Jared," I said as I put my arm on his arm. He turned to look at me. "She's really scared."

"Of course she is," Jared said. "She knows that she can no longer hurt us."

"Can you just make it quick?"

"Why? She was on our property. What if she hurt you or the baby?"

"Exactly. You want me to help, but how can I help you without hurting the baby?"

Jared's eyes darted over to the girl before he looked down at my stomach. I cradled my belly with his hands to try and help support my argument.

"I'll hold her down and you can stab her," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"You heard me," he said. "I don't have Dad to help me anymore. I need you."

I sucked in a deep breath and looked over at the bound and gagged girl. Jared was doing this to keep us safe. I had to believe that he was doing this to protect me.

"Okay," I said.

"Good girl." He kissed my forehead.

Jared walked over to the kitchen counter and pulled out one of the knives. He handed it over to me and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," he said.

The girl screamed again when Jared walked over to her. He undid the knot in the rope. The girl's hands shot up to her mouth and removed the gag. Jared snatched her wrists and pulled her up onto her feet. He dragged her over the drain. He pushed her down onto the blood stain tiles. He put his hand on the back of her head and put his knee on her back so that he could pin her to the floor. She reached out with her hand and started to shake Evan's shoulder.

"Leah, come here," Jared said. "I'll show you where to stab her."

"Please!" the girl cried. "Please, don't kill me. I'm begging you."

"Come on, Leah!"

I dragged my feet over to them. I kneeled next to the girl's body. Jared brushed her hair off the side of her neck. He pushed his fingers against her neck.

"Right there," he said, pointing to a spot on her throat. "If you get her right there she'll die right away."

"Pleeeeaseee!!"

My hands were shaking as I raised my hands above my head. I wanted to close my eyes when I did this, but I did not want to miss and stab Jared by accident. I swung my arm down and buried the blade deep into her neck.

Her screams turned to a gurgle before the room was overtaken by silence. The blood rushed out of her neck and over my hands. I stumbled as I got back onto my feet and ran over to the sink. I scrubbed my hands as hard as I could. The blood was stuck around my nails and I struggled to remove.

I jumped when Jared put his hand on my hip. He kissed my cheek as I continued to wash my hands.

"You did good," he said. "Go upstairs and rest. I can do the rest."

"Thank you."

I nodded my head and ran up the stairs. I crawled into bed and I pulled the blankets up over my head. The girl's screams echoed through my mind. I waited on the bed, curled up in a ball, and needed Jared to finish soon.