I couldn’t take my eyes from Bethany’s baby bump as I rested a hand on my own. “Yeah,” I said, still in shock to see her, my voice was barely audible. “You look well,” Bethany said. She gave me a sly smile. “ I shifted uncomfortably and didn’t say anything. “What do you want?” I asked. “I mean I thought you were in prison.” “I found out I was pregnant just before my trial. When I found out I was pregnant, the judge took pity on me and granted me early release on parole. I had to take parenting classes and I must remain on probation for a few years, but for now I am free and I want to be a good mother.” “That’s…incredible,” I said. “I just don’t understand why you are here.” Bethany grinned, “I came to see Carl.” I cocked my head in confusion. "You want to see Carl? Why?""You will find out soon enough." Bethany giggled at my shocked expression.Then I saw Carl rushing in. Carl’s face lit up when he saw Bethany. He ran to her and embraced her. For a moment, I thoug
**EllisI woke up before six in the morning. I didn’t mind. Especially since I was more of a morning person anyway. I liked being up early in the morning to get ready for the day ahead. As I lay there on the bed, I did still feel a sense of heaviness as I thought about my son. Who now stayed with me since I asked him to come here. Now I just wonder how things would go for all of us. It’s now been two days since Carl and Bathany came to live with us in the Peterson estate.I closed my eyes and thought of the long day ahead. The tour of the building projects I had going on in the city, followed by a visit to the office in the afternoon to read over rules and codes with Carl would certainly be an all day task. It would be a new experience for both of us. I opened my eyes and rose from the bed. I felt a pull of anticipation in my chest.Olivia was still asleep when I finally finished getting dressed. I took my time putting on my suit and then I leaned down and kissed her cheek. I smi
**Olivia POV I awoke to the sounds of morning. Birds chirping outside, the small breeze of fresh air running through the open window, and the tree branches swaying along beside the windows. But the empty space over to my other side was nothing sweet to look at. Obviously because my husband wasn't lying there beside me. The quiet loneliness came rushing to me once again. That comes with being the only one in bed. The sun was already out, its glorious rays spilled through the curtains. I lay there for a moment. Just to relax. My eyes were closed and my heart felt heavy with the knowledge that Ellis had left as usual without waking me to say goodbye. But then I refused to let this moment be one of heartache and decided to make the best of the day. Throwing off the covers, I quickly got dressed. I went to Ken's room and saw him sitting up in bed. Seeing my son gave me joy. I went over and sat down on his bed. I smiled at him and reached my arms out. Ken smiled back at me as he wrap
**Olivia POV I spent several days thinking about the strange incident with Bethany. I didn’t like her attitude towards me or the fact that she thought she could disrespect me in my own house. I heard from Ellis how well things were going with Carl at work so I wanted to give Bethany another chance.But still, I realized I had to get Bethany under control or else she would get worse and there would be no other solution than making her leave. There was no other way around it. This could not continue. I knew that I didn’t deserve all of those rude comments from her. It was mid afternoon when I stepped into the living room to find Bethany there. I felt the tension immediately. Bethany was sitting on the sofa, thumbing through a magazine, I could tell she knew I was there but she didn’t bother to even look my way as I walked towards her. While I walked, Bethany continued avoiding my gaze. She didn't make eye contact with me whatsoever and I even felt as if she were trying to turn away fro
**OliviaPOVI begged Ellis over and over to get Carl and Bethany out of the Peterson mansion before they could cause any more problems. I put my hands together and pleaded as we were alone in our room. “Please, make Bethany and Carl leave, Ellis. Before anymore problems arise.” I reached for Ellis and rubbed his back.Ellis moved slightly away from me. I felt disappointed as he shook his head at me. “No, Olivia. I won’t make Carl leave. I finally am getting a connection with Carl.” Ellis pointed out the obvious fact.“I know, baby. That’s great. But can’t we just get rid of Bethany?” I asked in a hopeful voice.Ellis nodded, but his face twisted around as if he looked concerned about my idea. “We could. But I think that would cause a problem as well, Olivia. I think Carl would leave with Bethany if we were to kick her out. I don’t want my son to leave.”I groaned loudly in frustration. I stomped my foot loudly as the anger grew inside me. “How much longer will he need to stay here, El
**Olivia POVI couldn’t believe what he was saying.“But this could cost us a bad reputation, Ellis. People are talking about all of us. This will not look good on any of us. Do you want that?” I asked in a bold tone.“I don’t care what people think or say. People will talk no matter what. Ignore it. I will not force my son to leave. Do you understand me?” Ellis said in a rude tone.“But,” I started to say.“End of the discussion, Olivia. Now, I am going to bed. Goodnight.” Ellis ripped his clothes off and I watched him climb into bed. “Ellis, I am your wife and Bethany is constantly disrespecting me in my own house, yet you act like you don't even care about my feelings.”“I do care about your feelings, Olivia. I know it is difficult. But, I’m just asking you to give me a little more time with Carl. It’s not an ideal situation but throwing her out would also mean tossing out my grandchild. What kind of man would I be to do that?”I heaved a heavy sigh… I couldn't argue any more. No m
**Olivia POVI felt more than a little conflicted the next morning when I woke up to find that Ellis had already gone to work without saying goodbye again. I was disappointed. When I agreed to marry Ellis, I never imagined having to deal with Bethany at all. And now, with her carrying Carl’s baby it looked like we would be forever stuck together. I knew that if I wasn’t going to leave then I would have to find some way to make peace with Carl, Bethany and the entire situation. I did think about calling my mother and letting her know everything that was going on, but I never liked to worry her about problems she couldn’t help me solve. I stretched and got ready to go through the daily routine of getting the boys off to school and having breakfast by myself.After that I decided to visit with Grandpa Herman and see how he was doing. It wasn’t until I was halfway through venting about Bethany and Carl that I realized why I wanted to see him.“Olivia, I understand that this is a diffi
**Ellis POVI came home late as usual and walked through the quietness of the mansion towards our bedroom. It had been a long and hard week, especially coming home every night to the tension that was building up between Olivia and Bethany. I had given serious thought to what she said during the day and I figured that it wouldn’t be too much to ask Carl and Bethany to move out of the mansion and into their own place. They might even like it better once they were out on their own.When I got to our room, I turned on the light and it took a moment for my vision to get used to the brightness. Once I had my vision back, I looked towards the bed to see that it was empty. Suddenly, I was very aware of the eerie silence. I walked around the room. Searching for a sign of where she might have gone. Then I bolted from our room and went to see if I’d somehow missed her in the living room or the kitchen. But there was no sign of Olivia. It felt as if she vanished into thin air. Like maybe Oli
Ellis POVI sat in the executive chair in the office, getting work done as well as I could under the circumstances. Even with the new legal troubles, some things never changed. “And tell them if they don’t they will have to answer to me,” I said. “Got it,” my project manager, William, said, looking a little shaken. Handling contractors came with the job, and was mostly a matter of patience, and being commanding. Much the same as handling a child having a tantrum. I relaxed a little as the call went away, taking more of the immediate problems with it. There were other problems hanging over my head that I didn’t like to think about. A little annoyed and very tired I loosen my tie, which had come to feel like a noose. After the house arrest, theoretical as it might have been, I hardly wore one anymore.I felt Olivia’s absence in my chest, like a weight. One I tried to lighten with another drink. Sipping lightly from the tumbler of rum, careful not to get drunk. I wanted to be alert
**Olivia POVI woke up still groggy, the world going from a dark blur to a light blur. Everything that had happened slowly rearranged itself in my mind.Pain came back along with the memories, if in a reduced form. With a wince, my head turned just right, and I saw Ellis seated by the bed, where he’d always been before getting arrested and would always be if I had anything to say about it.Ellis looked troubled, something I rarely saw. He was always so capable and in control of himself if not the situation. I reached out to him instinctively, and Ellis took it tenderly.“Can you be here?”“Of course,” he said.“No, I mean your house arrest.”“That is taken care of. Even if it wasn’t, I think this counts as compassionate grounds.”I relaxed a little, letting out a breath. Then I remembered what happened with the baby.“How is she?” I asked.He squeezed my hand, letting me know something was wrong, no matter what he might say.“She will be fine,” he said, “I’ll take you to the NICU to se
**Olivia POVI’d always heard bad things about hospital food. Fortunately, this proved not to be true. Everything Amber brought was great. I started to feel stronger just from the diet alone.If it wasn’t for hospital policy, I probably could have walked on our twice daily outings onto the hospital grounds. The baby seemed better too, moving even more than before.I started to suspect Nurse Anderson might have cooked the meals at home and smuggled them onto the hospital plates.I was near the end of my bacon and eggs, when a familiar face peeked in through the door.“Mom!?” I asked, more delighted to see her than I had words to say.“Hey, baby.”Mom came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, like she used to do when I was little and feeling sick.“Me or her?” I asked, patting my belly.“Both of you, really,” mom said with a rare smile.Mom put her hand on my belly and felt it as the baby moved again.“Hello, little one, it’s Grandma.”I was surprised to hear her use the term. Something
**Ellis POVI paced the hallway, resisting the urge to hit something. The control I showed in most situations was carefully built up over years. There were times I worried about Ken and his potential impulse control. Then again his mother was so patient and gentle, except when truly riled, it could be her genetics that might win out. I went to the door again, just to see if I could hear what was being said. The wood was too thick and all I could hear was muffled hums. “You know you could just go in right? You’re on the list.”Spinning on my heel, resisting the urge to yell in fright, I saw Nurse Anderson with a food tray. “I can’t actually.”“Why? Is the door locked?” she asked, testing the knob. “Yes, but that is not the biggest problem.” “Oh, how so?” Nurse Anderson asked. “It was locked from the inside,” I said.“Yes, that is how it works.” “By someone else, on purpose I mean.” “Who?” “Some Fed, I think he said his name was Smiley.” “Agent Smiley?” Nurse An
**Olivia POV Ken came out of nowhere. The only warning of his arrival, an excited shout echoed down the hall. He still hadn’t got the hang of his ‘inside voice.’ Like a shot he was in the room, shattering the quiet solitude. I couldn’t have been happier. Kevin was more subtle, coming in behind and waiting to be beckoned before coming forward. There was something about hospitals that made him less than comfortable. “Mommy,” Ken cried, up on the bed like a shot. “Hey, baby,” I said, as he took me in a near-choking hug. “Hi,” Kevin said, quietly, keeping his wheelchair near the door.. “Get over here,” I said. Kevin came up beside the bed, not needing to be told twice. From my bed I hugged Ken and held Kevin’s hand tightly, tears started to roll with little choice. “Mommy?” Ken asked. “Happy tears, baby,” I said. “Oh.” The room felt smaller all of the sudden and all I wanted to do was go outside with my boys. Pressing the button to page her, Amber appeared in no
**Olivia POV Day came again even as I was sitting on the plane back to New York. It had been a dream, and Ellis was still there, looking deeply worried. “How are you doing?” he asked with a smile that once melted me. “Fine and only getting better. As soon as the doctor gives me the all clear I’m going home with Ken.” “Ken is at home,” Ellis said. “Not your home, my home,” I said. I could see the words cut deep, and almost felt sorry for him. Second thoughts were just coming up when the doctor came in, his expression grim.I instinctively reached for Ellis’s hand. Bad news no doubt on the horizon. “It can’t be that bad,” Ellis and I blurted at once. “It can actually,” the doctor said, looking at the chart. “How so?” Ellis butted in. It didn’t really concern him anymore, but he was the sort to think he needed to be the center of attention in any situation. He must have been a joy at funerals. “You are severely dehydrated, Mrs. Peterson. The amniotic fluid is mu
**Ellis POVI held her hand in the back of the ambulance, never letting her go again if I had anything to do about it. I had gotten far too close to losing her. “We’ll be there soon,” I said, minding the volume. She flinched at the smallest noise if it was unexpected. God only knew what the sick f*cks had done to her, and it was best not to think about it. Anytime I did, the urge to kill them rose. I didn't want to kill Carl, no matter how much of a f*ck up he was.No matter what he did he was still my son. People like us had other ways to deal with our kids when they got off the track. Military service was one popular option, as well as “career opportunities” in another country. Olivia stayed silent, her head lolling to the left before she closed her eyes. “Everyone is excited to see you again,’ I tried, “especially Ken and Kevin.”Olivia winched at the mention of their names. It was probably a touchy subject, after she’d been away for so long, not sure if she’d ever get ba
**Olivia POV“How are you doing, honey?” I asked, rubbing my belly. The baby didn’t move, but she could have been asleep. Apparently, they did that a lot. Resting up for the rest of their life. Bethany and Carl were down there for a few hours. Mostly quiet but with the occasional argument. Things shifted and I heard steps coming towards the attic. I held my breath hoping everything would be okay. I wasn’t sure I’d done the lock up right, and hoped they wouldn’t notice if they came back. It would be an obvious sign of what I’d done, and the punishment could be awful. There was no telling what Bethany might do. She could be merciful and just break my ankles. Or my wrists, to stop me from getting the lock picked again. It would make Ellis really mad, but it didn’t sound like they were planning to stay around, after everything. The clock clicked open, making me flinch and the baby move. I nearly cried to feel her again but had to hold it together. If we were going to get out of
**Olivia POVI felt a thrilling chill run over my body and the baby moved in response, celebrating in my womb. The door was open and we were close to freedom. I rubbed my belly, calming her down. I would need all my focus for the next part. Carl and Bethany could have been back at any time, and I had to be gone before then if there was going to be any chance of getting back to the boys and Ellis tonight. I cracked the door open slowly and I listened to the deafening silence. All was dark but I could just make out the staircase below the door. There was no light from below, so I had to try to get down blind. A little at a time, always sure to hold something, down I climbed. Getting one foot down on the stairs and then the other. Holding the sides of the steps in a death-grip, I finally reached solid ground. The floorboards down below creaking like the ones up above. There was another door at the base of the steps and my heart sank to think that I might have to work to pick another l