I sat in the family of the house waiting for Erik to come back but hours past and he never came. With every hour that passed my anger grew. He had spent the past 8 and a half months driving me crazy trying to make sure that the baby and I were ok but now he had let his damn pride get in the way and had left me pregnant with nowhere to go until he decided to come back.
Well, I wasn't about to play his game. I went to the kitchen happy to see that it was fully stocked. I took a few bottles of water and threw them in my purse, then went upstairs to get a suitcase and fill it with some of the clothes that Erik had moved to the house.
Ten minutes later I was ready to go. I stood in the drive way of the house rubbing my belly and talking to the baby. "Ok little one. Your father's a stubborn idiot so we're going to have to find our own way back to Paris. This is probably going to be a very long walk, I don't really like the idea of having to hitch hike. So, you need to do your part and whatever you do please please don't decide you want to come out while I'm walking in the middle of nowhere especially on such a cold night."
I gave my belly one last soft pat before heading off into the fading light.
I had thought that walking would have helped me clear my head and release some of this anger but it did nothing but make me angrier. If I saw Erik again I was going to kill him.
What bothered me the most was that I had really thought that we were starting to make some progress. I was finally able to Erik touch me without cringing and I didn't think about what he had done to me at least once every day. We were really starting to get along and I had thought that maybe things would really be ok. We would raise our child together and who knew maybe someday we'd be able to have some sort of relationship but now… now Erik would be lucky if he ever even saw his child.
I was able to walk for about an hour before my legs started to cramp up and I felt my energy draining. The baby had settled right on my bladder and I really needed to relieve myself but I really wasn't sure how to do that when I was still in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forest.
I decided to walk for another ten minutes and if I didn't come upon a house or somewhere with a bathroom by then then I would have no choice but to go somewhere in the woods.
Just as I was about to go find a place into the woods to go, I came upon the a drive way leading up to a charming farm house set a little ways back from the road.
I stood at the edge of the farm house debating whether I should go knock on the door or not. It could be anyone in that house. I could get raped or tortured or worse. Just as I was about to turn and keep walking the baby shifted positions pushing down on my bladder even more and I knew that if I didn't hurry and get into that house I was going to urinate all over myself.
I quickly hobbled over to the house as fast as I could. I hesitated for a second at the front door before ringing the doorbell. At first I thought that no one was home because no one came to the door but then finally the door opened to two young guys. I assumed they were brothers because of the strong resemblance between them.
The younger guy gave me a warm smile while the older creeped me out slowly looking me over his eyes lingering on areas of my body where they should have.
Looking at the younger man I smiled as I spoke "Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you but I…I got locked out of my house and have nowhere to go. I'm making my way back towards Paris but I've been walking for about an hour and I really need to rest and use a bathroom."
The older brother immediately held the door open for me while the younger spoke. "Miss you do know that Paris is almost twenty miles from here. You can't walk all the way over there especially in your condition. You look like your about to go into labor any second."
I gave both men an appreciative smile. "O please don't say that, you might jinx me. But, please I really need to use the bathroom."
The younger man smiled and showed me where the bathroom was as he said that once I was done I could come into the kitchen and relax for a little while.
A few minutes later I walked into the kitchen thanking the guys for allowing me into their house. They told me that it was no problem then offered me a bowl of hot soup and some water. I sat at the kitchen table eating as they introduced themselves. The younger one's name was John and the older was Neil. They explained that they lived on the farm with their parents who were on holiday in England at the moment.
We sat and talked for about a half an hour before I stood up saying that I had to be going because it was getting late. But, before I could turn to leave then room John cut me off saying that they had talked while I was in the bathroom and had decided that it would be ok if I stayed for the night. I tried to decline but Neil cut me off.
"I understand that it is not the smartest thing in the world to spend the night in a house with two men who you don't know but think of your baby. You can't walk all the way to Paris, it'd take you a week and you can't be doing all that walking in the state you're in. What if you went into labor and there was no one around. We have a guest room you can sleep in with a big bed and clean sheets and your own bathroom. You can stay the night and then tomorrow morning John and I will take you into Paris. "
Now that I had eaten and relaxed a bit I could really feel how tired I was. I could probably sleep for days.
I thought about it, weighed the pros and cons but I knew that they were right I couldn't walk all the way to Paris and I couldn't risk the baby's health just because I was being stubborn.
I agreed to stay the night.
John led me up to the second floor guest bedroom and showed where the bathroom was. He told me wait a minute as he went into another room then came back a few seconds later with a night gown explaining that they were his mothers and that she wouldn't mind if I used them for the night,
I thanked john as he left the room.
It was a quaint room, scantily decorated with just a bed and night stands against one wall and an armoire and rocking c hair against the other. I went into the bathroom and ran a hot bath for myself. I didn't let myself enjoy the bath too long for fear of falling asleep. So, I hurried and put on the night gown and climbed into the bed.
I had never felt a more comfortable bed. At first I thought that I would not be able to sleep. My mind kept running over the events of the day and despite the coziness of the bed I still felt uncomfortable. I was so used to sleeping in Erik's bed and to have him next to me that it felt weird to be sleeping alone. But finally I drifted off to sleep.
I was having a dream about the baby when I was awoken by something being pressed against my mouth. I opened my eyes suddenly to see Neil leaning over the edge of the bed above me so that he could press his hand over my mouth,
I squirmed to try to get his hand off of me but was unable to shake him, I tried to scream but his hand covered most of the sound.
He shushed me as he lifted the blanket off of me and climbed on top of me straddling my legs since he my belly was too big for him to go any higher. This worked to his advantage because now I was unable to move my legs.
But somehow he managed to mover again and fit himself over my belly so that he was lying on top of me. Next thing I knew he had taken a small towel and stuffed in my mouth so that I couldn't make any noise.
The tears started pouring down my cheeks as I felt him slide a hand under the night gown and over my body.
I remember that all I could think was that this couldn't be happening again and what if he hurt the baby.
I wished more than anything that Erik would show up but I knew that wouldn't happen because Erik had no idea where I was.
I closed my eyes shut tight as I felt Neil putting his mouth to my breasts and sliding a hand between my legs.
I tried to scream again this time as hard as I could. Neil stopped and before I could do anything he hit me right across thje face. The last thing I felt before I blacked out was the rush of wetness between my legs as my water broke and the last thing I saw was Neil's hand coming towards my face to hit me once more.
