“Hello there, little one. I’m Frank. I’m gonna be your daddy. Do you hear me?” He looks up at me for reassurance. “Does he hear me?”
I shrug. “Probably. And just to be clear, it might just as well be a girl, you do know that, right?”
He laughs. “A girl? I’d love a girl. I love girls. And I think I’m doing a pretty decent job with Isabella, right? I mean, she likes me, doesn’t she?”
I nod with another chuckle. “Actually, she does. She is quite fond of you.”
“See? I can have a girl. I can’t believe it. I’m gonna be a father. This is big. This is huge.” He pauses. “You must be hungry. I bet you are; you’re eating for two. How about I start by making you some pancakes, huh? And eggs, you should have eggs. No, don’t get up. I’ll bring breakfast to you in bed. From now on, you won’t have to lift a finger.”
He jumps out of bed with a happy sound, then gets dressed and rushes downstairs to prepare breakfast. I lean back in the bed, smiling. I realize that all my fear is gone. My heart is no longer pounding. I don’t have that sense of deep dread inside me anymore. I am overwhelmed with joy at this moment. It is over. I told him, and now we can move on to the next chapter of our lives. Maybe I can even persuade him to move away with the kids and me. Get away from Ryan and his buddies to a safe place, where we can raise the children together. Maybe we can get a fresh start somewhere. Yes, that’s what we need—just to get away.
Start all over.
We eat breakfast in bed. We go for a long walk, hiking a trail in the mountains. It’s beautiful, and we’re happy together. We’re holding hands, and we’re kissing, we’re cooking dinner together when we get back and holding hands while staring into the fireplace after we’re done eating. It’s the perfect day. I can’t remember a time in my life when I have been as happy as I am at this moment. Not since Ryan and I were younger, at least. But back then, it was different. We had so much going on that we barely had time to enjoy my pregnancies; we hardly ever looked each other in the eyes the way Frank and I are doing now. We were young and restless; we had no time just to stare into the fire, or even enjoy this precious moment.
Frank seems like he feels the exact same way too. We take pictures of us together on my phone, we goof around, and we even read to one another from a book we found in the cabin. It’s a scary book, and I tuck myself under the covers as we sit on the couch, curled up together. That’s when I feel the baby kick for the first time, and I jump.
“What was that?” Frank asks.
I stare up at him. “The baby...it…”
“It kicked?” he asks, smiling from ear to ear.
I nod, then grab his hand and put it on my stomach. Of course, nothing happens.
“Wait for it.”
“I can’t feel anything,” he says.
We wait. I pray the baby will do it again for Frank’s sake. I want him to feel it. It’s awesome and amazing and nothing like anything else in this world.
It kicks again. I gasp slightly and look up at him.
“There. Did you feel that?”
He laughs. His entire face lights up. “Oh, my God. That was intense.”
I smile while he leans over and kisses me again. It feels good…like we’re one now. Like we have always been together and it is meant to be.
Frank bends down and kisses my stomach, then caresses it gently. I laugh because it’s tickling me when my eyes fall on something outside the panoramic windows.
A shadow.
“What is that?”
Frank sits up straight. “What is what?”
As I look outside, the shadow suddenly moves, and soon it is gone. “Out there. There was someone there. Someone was standing over there by the row of trees.”
Frank gives me a look. “All the way out here? It can’t be. Who would come all the way up here? We’re so far away from everyone. The next-door cabin is all the way up on the hill, and it’s empty. We walked past it earlier on our hike, remember? There was no one there, not a single soul. Not even a car parked outside.”
“That’s why I don’t like it,” I say. “It’s not a joke. I’m telling you. There was someone out there. I am certain, Frank. I saw someone move by the trees.”
“Are you sure this pregnancy isn’t making you paranoid?” he asks with a grin. I don’t find it funny at all and ignore him.
“I don’t like it, Frank.”
Frank gets up and walks to the big windows, then looks outside, shielding his eyes from the light from the living room.
“I don’t see anyone,” he says, shaking his head. “I don’t think there’s anyone there.”
“But I saw someone. This person was standing there, over there by the trees, and then when I saw him, he moved away, running away fast.”
“Maybe it was a bear?” Frank says. I realize he’s just trying to calm me down, but I know what I saw. “Yeah, that’s probably it. They have a lot of bears up here, that’s why they have those extra locks on the bins outside, so the bears can’t get into the garbage.”
“No,” I say and get up from the couch. “That was no bear.”
I look out the window myself, toward the trees. There’s nothing there, at least no one I can see. But I know I saw someone, and it was no animal. It moved like a human. And I know deep within me that’s what it was. It was a person. It was a person who was looking in at us.
Chapter 50
I run up to the bedroom and grab my suitcase and start packing. Frank comes up to me a few minutes later. He is standing in the doorway.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“We’re leaving.”
Frank steps forward. He stops me and grabs me by the shoulders. “You gotta calm down, Laurie. I looked out, and there was no one there.”
“I saw someone,” I say, almost in tears. “I saw someone looking in at us.”
Frank stares at me, then exhales. “Okay, say you did see someone. Maybe it was just a homeless guy or someone walking their dog late.”
I shake my head. “What if it’s Chip? What if he’s coming for me? I saw him on the bridge. I saw him push Vera. I am dangerous to him. If he killed Vera and all the others as well, then he’ll see no problem in killing me too, to make sure I don’t talk.”
“I thought you said you weren’t certain it was him?” Frank says. “You saw the truck, and you found the case, but…the truck was sold two weeks earlier, right?”
“I know. I know what I said,” I moan and sit down on the bed with a heavy sigh. I feel so confused like I have all these pieces to a puzzle, but I have no idea how to make them fit together. My head is hurting. I hide my face between my hands. Frank sits down next to me, an arm wrapped around my shoulder.
“These past several months have been tough on you, Laurie. But you need to try and relax. You’re beginning to sound a little paranoid lately. I went outside just a minute ago to check if there was anyone there, and I walked all around the cabin. I saw nothing. You’re safe here, Laurie. Not Chip, nor Ryan can come anywhere near you.”