11

Momma

~1 week later~

*Smith's Grove*

Jennifer had always hated being examined by strange men, she would always curse them mentally when their hands moved about her. But lately she'd felt ill and Wynn had insisted she come in, no. He had demanded she come in.

Michael and Wynn watched from the glass, she had been watching them and jumped as the doctor, not much older than her pressed his hands against her torso, gently pushing a bit above her belly button and smiled softly. A nurse entered with a clipboard, which she handed to him, he gazed at it and sighed. "Well Jennifer." He sat next to her. "It looks to me that the family is going to be expanding."

A sudden, unspoken paranoia came over her. Was she even allowed to have any more children? Her fear ceased slightly as Wynn grinned and slapped Michael's back, but when Michael just walked away from him, it overcrowded her. Without a word she stood and went to change, picked Jacob up from the day care wing, thanked Marjie for watching him, and went to the parking lot.

She froze at parking space 19, key in hand, son in arms. A cold, silent wind blew over her as she stared at the bold number on the ground, a number stained with oil, gas and peoples trash, a number that had once been covered with the 99 Saturn LS1.

"Shit," she swore, shifted her grip on Jake and ran inside to Wynn's office, he was sitting, smiling, looking at her paperwork. She went to the phone on his desk and picked uit up, holding it with her chinm he blinked as he looked at her.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you gone?"

"Michael left without me!" She waited a moment, listened to the car-phone ring then grinned when it picked up, his shallow breath came through. "Michael? Michael where are you?"

And he hung up.

She bit back a swearword again and slumped into the chair. "Perfect."

Wynn shook his head. "I don't know what's wrong with him, why this upsets him, he should have used a goddamn condom if he didn't want any more kids!"

Jennifer shook her head as the tears came. "It's useless this all has been useless you should have killed me when you had the chance."

"Don't talk like..."

"Don't give me that! Dammit Wynn I should have died three years ago, I should be with Jamie and Daddy right now!" She tried to catch her breath amidst her tears.

He watched her for a moment. "I... I just couldn't do it Jenni. I couldn't break the prophecy that way, I wouldn't even have done it that way with Jamie, you two were my little girls, I grew so.... attached."

She stood silently and left the room, took Jake to the Day Care Wing again, then made her way downstairs to Operating Room 1. She looked around until she found a sharp scalpel, then sta up on the bed and stared at it a few moments, contemplating the actions she was prepared to take.

She felt her stomach turn and threw it aside. What was the point in killing herself when she had a chance to get away? To go somewhere with her unborn child and start a new life, the kind of life she'd only ever known for four years of her childhood. Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad after all.

But in order to get away, she had to get home first. Get the other car and drive to any place other than California and Illinois.

She went back to Wynn's and managed to bum a ride, and once home she didn't even bother going in and dealing with Michael, she sent Jacob in once Wynn drove away and got into the car, not sure at all where she was going. Slightly anxious and disturbed by the silence, she turned on the radio.

Mister Sandman,(yes?) bring me a dream. Make him the cutest, that I've ever seen. Give him two lips, like roses and clover, and tell him that his lonely nights are over! Sandman (yes?) I'm so alone, don't have nobody to call my own...

Call, call, she had to call someone, someone had to know where she was going. She picked up the car-phone and dialed her mother's number, grateful that she picked up.

"Momma, listen, I'm leaving, leaving that all behind. No, no that's not it it's... Well I'm pregnant and I... I want to live Momma. Yeah, no, no. I'm going over to Boston, stay with the Carruthers. I'm sure they won't mind, yeah. Yeah ok. Love you too, hmm? Whittington? The woman who worked for Loomis? Ok, she has my files? Ok thanks Momma. Bye."

She hung the phone up and sighed deeply, excited by the adventure she was getting herself into.

Mwa ha ha ha ha! What will happen next? Read Surrender to find out, last installment of three to this story.

SA