“Darling, how are you? I was just thinking of you,” Mom says when she answers but there is something off in her voice.
“Hey Mom. Sorry to catch you on the golf course.”
“We just finished. We’re actually having a bite to eat in the club house. Misty and John are with us. They told us you and Brad were back together. I was surprised by the news and that you didn’t tell us yourself.”
“Yeah, I guess we’re all surprised,” I say, and Brad tightens his hold. “It happened rather fast.”
“Hey Janice,” Brad says.
“Oh, you’re with him now,” Mom says.
“Yeah, he’s here at my place,” I say, hoping my mother can pick up on my distress and call for help.
“Not for long,” Brad says. “We’re going to go away for a few days and make up for lost time.”
“Where are you going?” Mom asks.
“It’s a surprise,” Brad says before I can answer.
“Okay,” Mom says. “You two have a nice time, and Gemma, call me when you get there.”
“I will,” I say a measure of relief going through me. If she asked me to call, chances are Brad will want me to. He won’t want anyone knowing there could be anything wrong—and there is plenty wrong, that’s for sure.
He removes his arm from around my neck. “She seemed happy by the news.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
He spins me until I’m facing him. “We’re going to be good, Gemma. You wait and see. We’ll have that family you always wanted.”
Oh, my God. I don’t dare tell him I’m pregnant with Callan’s baby.
He keeps a good firm hold of my arm as he takes me to his car and stands by the passenger side until I’m buckled in. As he circles, I think about jumping out and running, but he’s too fast and too strong and will have me in a second flat. Plus, I’m too frightened to do anything that could put the baby in jeopardy. For the time being, the only thing I can do is play along.
“Where are we going?” I ask and take in the street names as he drives.
He smiles at me. “It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t really like surprises,” I say, and take in the clenching of his jaw, the shift in his mood. It’s dark, much like the clouds overhead.
“I didn’t want to have to come and get you this way, Gemma. You left me no choice.”
“Brad,” I say. “I was home. I was going to call you.”
His head jerks my way. “Really?”
“What you said was right. Things were never going to work out between Callan and me. He was just a passing phase, you know.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Gemma. I’ll know it.”
“I’m not,” I say. “You showing up suddenly took me by surprise. I didn’t have all my thoughts sorted out. That’s all.”
“You sorted out now?” he asks.
“I am.”
He takes my hand and squeezes it, a gesture Callan has done a hundred times, but this time my heart is in my throat and it’s all I can do to fight off the panic. I gently tug my hand back, and dig into my purse, hoping to secretly make a call.
“What are you doing?”
“Chapstick,” I say, and pull out the tube. I apply it to my lips and can only hope my sister calls my mother, or Callan gets worried about me.
We drive for what feels like hours, and the sun is low on the horizon when he takes an exit and drives down a long road until numerous cabins on a lake come in to view.
“Where are we?” I ask, and wonder if I’ll even have phone service here.
“A little country getaway,” he says. “The perfect place for us to reconnect.”
Jesus, the man could kill me out here and no one would ever find the body. I grip my seatbelt, not wanting to take it off. He leans over and touches my face. “Relax, baby. We’re going to have some fun.”
That’s what I’m worried about.
I try not to cringe as he touches me. “Have you been here before?” I ask.
“With the guys. We did some fishing.”
Okay, well at least someone might know where we are. Not that the ‘guys’ will come to my rescue here.
“I don’t really want to go out on a boat,” I say, fear gripping me. He could so easily knock me out and toss me over. Bile punches into my throat, as he exits the car, and as he grabs our bags from the back, I reach for my phone. My hands are shaking so bad, I can barely punch in my code.
I jump when I find him standing beside my window. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to call Mom, remember she asked me to.”
He opens my door, takes my phone from me, and puts it in his pocket. “Why don’t we wait on that. Let’s go inside, have a drink.”
“Okay,” I say and step from the car. My shaky legs will barely carry me to the door, and I check for lights on in the other cabins. I spot one three doors down that looks like it could be occupied. If I can make it there…
As though reading my mind, Brad takes hold of my arm and walks me into the cabin. I look around, searching for anything I can use as a weapon if things get ugly, which I’m hoping they don’t, but suspecting they will.
He drops our bags into the bedroom, and comes back into the room as I catalogue it.
“You like it?” he asks.
“Yeah, but I think I should call Mom. I don’t want her to worry.”
“You’re with me, what could she possibly be worried about? They adore me, Gemma. You know that.”
Right now, in this moment, I’m kicking my ass for not letting my parents know what he’s like behind closed doors. Amanda, however, she realized he was controlling, and Callan knows the truth about everything—everything except the baby inside me. My stomach lurches, and I swallow hard.
“Why don’t we run out and get some food,” I suggest. “I’m starving.”
“I thought of that,” he says and goes back outside.
I glance around for a phone, but no such luck, and mine is still in his back pocket. He comes back in with two brown paper bags with food.
“I thought we’d cook together,” he says. “Remember how we used to do that.”
What I remember is him getting annoyed if I got in his way. “Yeah, big fun,” I lie.
He removes the items from the bag and keeps casting glances my way. “What’s the matter, Gemma?”
“Nothing,” I say and try to hide my rising panic. “I just, yesterday I wasn’t feeling well. I think my stomach is still upset.” I jerk my thumb toward the bathroom. “Do you mind if I run in there for a bit.”
He pulls a big knife from the drawer and I try not to react as he slices into an onion. “Yeah, don’t be long.”
“I’ll just freshen up,” I say and reach for my purse.
Before I can get away, he comes to me, opens my purse and looks into it. He pulls out my Tylenol bottle.
“What’s this for.”
“Like I said I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and was a bit feverish. I’m going to take a couple of these.”
He seems satisfied enough with the answer, and gives me my purse back. I hurry to the bathroom. I nearly cry out in relief when I see the window. It’s small but I’m sure I can squeeze through it, and the baby isn’t big enough for me to do any harm. I lock the door, turn on the water and tug on the window. Stupid thing is stuck. I tug some more, and it makes a loud cracking sound. I suck in a breath and go still.