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Jimmy rocked me as I cried into his chest. My eyes and tears burned and I tried to control myself from sobbing. It was pointless.

"Once you leave-" I started to explain.

"Ssshhh, Julie," Jimmy said leaning down and pressed his lips against my forehead.

"Tommy's going to-"

"Julie." Jimmy's fingers curled into my arm. I gasped out in pain. "I don't want to hear any more about Tommy. Okay?"

"Please-"

"Julie!"

I bit down on my lip to hold back a whimper. Trying to explain was going to be useless. I buried my face in his chest and took in a deep breath of his scent of sweat and dirt.

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

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

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

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

Jimmy placed me down on the bed. He pulled my arms off of him. His lips were curled into a smile. He sat down 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 his jagged scar.

"Sleep for about an hour," Jimmy told me. "You can keep cleaning once you feel better."

"I feel fine," I said.

"Then why were you sick?"

"Tommy-" I started to say.

"Enough with Tommy!" he barked. I dropped my hand off his face and looked away from his eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but-"

Jimmy grabbed the bottom of my chin and silenced my words. I gritted my teeth together as he slowly tighten his grip.

"I don't know why you keep misbehaving," Jimmy said. "But it needs to stop. I hate punishing you. Now, go to sleep and then go downstairs and help Carrie with the chores."

Unable to speak, I nodded my head. Jimmy kissed my forehead before getting up and leaving the room. I rolled onto my stomach and cried into the pillow. I wanted to hide my sobbing from Carrie.

I kept lifting my head off the pillow and checking the time. I waited for an hour to pass, just like Jimmy had told me to. Time ticked by slowly as horrible images flooded my mind.

Charles death had distracted Tommy from me. My stomach twisted whenever I thought about what I had done with him. I couldn't 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 he ran them across.

I clutched my stomach when I felt the bile rising in the back of my throat. I hoped I wouldn't have to run to the bathroom again. Jimmy's words rang through my head. What if I was pregnant again? Tommy would definitely throw me down the stairs if I was pregnant with Jimmy's baby again.

An even worse thought crossed my mind.

What if it was Tommy's?

It couldn't possibly be. Could it? We had sex just a couple days ago. Morning sickness wouldn't show up this fast, would it? I never payed much attention during sex-ed. I sat in the back of the class with my friends making jokes that we thought were funny at the time.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the room began to feel like it was spinning. I couldn't worry about pregnancy right now. I had to focus on Hunter and Jimmy and keeping our family together as one.

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

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

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

"Julie, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

I picked Hunter up out of his crib. He reached up and made a fist in the air. I giggled and kissed his cheek.

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

"What do you mean?"

"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 finger into my shoulder. The bruises on her face were already beginning to fade.

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

I bit down on my lip and bounced Hunter in my arms. "Why would you say that?"

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

"You can't tell anyone," I told her.

"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 in 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's not good."

"Nothing will happen to you."

I said it believing it was true. Tommy talked about the two of us running away, he never mentioned anything about Carrie. I didn't know if he was planning to kill her or if he was planning on leaving her for Jimmy. A horrible thought of Carrie, Jimmy and Hunter being a family came to mind.

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

"No!" I shouted. "Do you have any idea how severely I will be punished if Jimmy knew about the deal. I did it for you and this is my thanks?"

"I won't tell him it's a deal," Carrie told me. "I'll tell him 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 her cheek 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 in the house. I didn't want to leave.

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

I shook my head. I sobbed and a tear slipped down my cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere without Jimmy," I told her.

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

"You're wrong!" I yell. Hunter starts to cry in my arms. Our screaming is too much for him to bare. "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 doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. I bit down on my lip. How much did he hear?