I'm back with chapter three. I know it's hard to put this down on paper, but, as a person who nearly experienced the trauma, I'm taking drastic measures to protect myself. I really hope you take this story as a lesson on how to protect yourself and each other.

Enjoy and happy reading!

Lots of love, hugs and kisses from your resident writer and friend, Nina!

Author's note: nothing new to add at this time, other than Amy will finally reveal the truth to her friends! And, yes, there will be some lighter moments, starting in this chapter!

X

Three days later...

Dear God,

I pray for a sign. For seven months, I've been living in fear of a man who took advantage of me. Now, I'm carrying his child. A child I had come to love. I told my mother that I was gonna keep it because, at least, he or she will be loved and wanted by me. By telling my mother about what happened, I feel like a weight have been lifted off my shoulders. Now, all I have to do is tell my closest friends, who had stood by me through thick and thin.

I hope I'm doing the right thing. Even though my attacker has threatened to kill me if I said a word to anyone and he's been stalking me constantly since that night, I'm doing a good job of keeping it a secret. Only my mother knows the trauma I'd been through. Now, my best friends needs to know the truth.

I do wanna love again. I do want someone to love my child regardless. I do wanna live again. The first step for me to heal is stop living in fear. I got tired of living in fear. I got tired of hiding. I got tired of feeling sorry for myself. And I got tired of hating him for getting me pregnant. Even though he's never gonna see the baby, I will try my best to raise my son and/or my daughter on my own. Tomorrow, I'm gonna find out the sex of the baby. I just wanna move on with my life.

In Jesus's name I pray, Amen!

Putting the pen down on the table, Amy picked up the piece of paper and scanned at what she wrote over and over again. A smile crept up on her face after she put the paper down on the table and got up from the table she was sitting. Then she felt the baby kick. Putting her hand on her swollen belly, her smile got even wider as she felt the baby move.

"Are you okay, baby?" Christie asked as she walked in the study.

Amy looked at her mother with a huge smile on her face. "I'm fine, Mom. Come feel the baby kick."

Christie placed her hand on her daughter's belly and felt the baby move around. A smile crept up on her face.

"Priceless," Christie said, giggling.

"I know. Can you believe it? In less than a month, I'm gonna be a mother. For the first time in a long time, I'm happy," Amy admitted. Then, tears started falling from her eyes.

Christie held her daughter in her arms. "Honey, don't you be crying no more. You're stronger than ever. Don't let him break you down again, baby. You're better than that now."

Amy smiled. "I'm not crying because I'm upset. I'm crying because I'm happy. I'm finally happy. And I won't let him break me down again. The next time I see him again, I'm gonna look him dead in his eyes and I'm gonna look at him with a new confidence in myself."

"That's my little girl. I'm glad, baby," Christie said before she left the room so she could start cooking. Then, the phone rang.

"I got it!" Amy yelled before she grabbed the cordless phone and pushed the 'talk' button.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, girl. Long time, no hear," Trish beamed on the other line.

"I know. I've been laying low for a few days. How you been doing?" Amy asked.

"Great. John and I are getting married in a few weeks. I want you to come to our wedding. I can't go through the ceremony without my best friend," Trish declared.

Amy sighed deeply. "Okay, Trisha. I'll be there. Besides, it's been a while since we'd seen each other."

"Oh, it won't be long. Matter of fact, we're on our way to see you right now."

"Really?" Amy was surprised.

"Oh, yeah. Surprisingly enough, your mother made the call. She said you had something to tell us. From the way she sounded on the phone, she was concerned. Did something happen to you?"

"You'll find out when you get here. I'll see you soon," Amy said before she hung up the phone. With all her might, she managed to sit down on the plush couch and plopped her feet up on the coffee table. They were getting swollen and it was hard to move around so much. Plus, her eating habits have gotten more and more difficult. Amy was always hungry.

Then, the doorbell rang.

"Honey, I'm gonna get the door. You want me to bring your friends here?" Christie asked as she popped her head through the door.

"It's better for you to do that, Mom. I can barely stand up," Amy admitted.

"Okay, darling," Christie said before she closed the door. Amy just leaned back against the cushion and sighed deeply, placing her hands on her swollen belly. When the baby kicked again, she couldn't help but smile again.

I hope I'm doing the right thing, she thought.

X

"How are you guys?" Christie asked ecstatically as she let the gang walk inside her home.

"We're good. Vince gave us some time off, thank God. We wanted to surprise Ames," Trish said, smiling. She, along with Torrie, Lisa, Dave, Cena, Adam and Hunter all set their bags by the door.

"She's gonna be so happy to see you all. But, I have to warn you, though. When she got here three days ago, she was really depressed and upset. She'll tell you when you go in there," Christie advised.

"Where is she, anyway?" Hunter asked, scratching his head.

"In the study. Just remember, just be there for her. She's been through enough."

Christie leaves, which left them standing there, looking confused. They looked at each other briefly before they threw caution to the wind and headed for the study, where Amy was resting at.

"Are any of you guys prepared for what Ames has to say?" Trish whispered as they reached the door.

"I admit, I'm nervous. But, we should be there for her, just like her mother said," Lisa said. She squeezed her husband's hand.

Hunter raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Amy called out.

Holding their breaths, they opened the door and walked inside. They saw Amy laying on the couch, covered in a thick blanket. Trish quickly ran over there and enveloped her into a hug. Soon, the others followed, and Amy was surprised to see Hunter hug her. She was even more surprised when he softly kissed her forehead before he pulled away. Then, he took a seat next to Cena and Trish on the floor.

"I'm so glad to see you guys again," Amy said as she sat up on the couch.

"We're glad to see you again, Ames, but you have something to tell us, right?" Torrie said, holding Adam's hand.

"I do." Amy took a deep breath. "I've been keeping a huge secret from you all for months. I already told my mother. I feel it's time I tell you the truth."

For the next few minutes, she filled them in on what her uncle did to her all the way to what happened to her seven months ago. The response she got was shock and disbelief. Then, tears started flowing. She went on to explain how her uncle Jack got her pregnant, stalked her, threatened her, ran her over with his car and caused her to miscarry. Then, she explained how the man who raped her is doing the exact same thing. She also explained why she had to keep her current pregnancy a secret from everyone, except Vince, who was exactly the first person to know about her terrible ordeal. When she got done, she let her friends take the time to digest the words she just spoken.

"I'm sorry if I hurt anyone by not saying anything, but I had my reasons for not saying anything. I hope you understand what I had been through. And I hope you understand my reason for keeping my baby," Amy stated. Then she removed the thick blanket away from her body, revealing her swollen belly.

"How far along are you?" Trish asked softly.

"Seven and a half months," Amy revealed.

"And he's been stalking you for that long? How do you keep it up?" Lisa asked as she laid her head against Dave's shoulder.

"When I told my mother, she said something that made sense. She told me not to break down again. And, you know what? Since I came here, I've been happier than I ever been. My baby's the main reason why I'm smiling again. I'm not scared of him anymore. I got tired of living in fear of him. Now, he can't break me down again. And, with my baby growing inside of me, I'm stronger than ever," Amy stated, raising her head up high.

"We're so happy for you, baby girl. And, you know we'll always be there for you," Cena said before he got up from his spot and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much," she said, giggling.

"We're happy you told us, Ames. And, we feel so bad for what happened to you. I just want you to know that if he ever comes back, we'll kick his ass," Hunter said with a grin on his face.

"Thanks, Hunter. I really appreciate it." she then started blushing.

Hunter started blushing himself. He was so in love with her but he knew he had to bide his time and tell her. After all, she's been through a whole lot and getting into a relationship with him right now was not gonna cut it. He had to bide his time.

"So, how long will you guys be here?" Amy asked as they stood up.

"For quite a while. Vince gave us some time off. He's been praising us for the hard work we did," Adam said as he helped Torrie up on her feet.

"So, you're gonna be getting on my nerves, huh? I wouldn't have it any other way." she chuckled.

"You know, since we're here, I think we should throw you a baby shower. We could invite all of our friends and we can get your mother to cook. Maybe we should go shopping first thing in the morning and find some teddy bears..." Trish gushed as she, Torrie and Lisa walked out of the room, with Adam, Dave and Cena trailing close behind, leaving Hunter alone with the beautiful redhead.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ames?" he asked as he helped her up on her feet, giving her condition.

"I'm fine, really. Thanks for your concern." Amy smiled. Then she felt her baby kick again.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he looked at her seriously.

"Nothing's wrong. My baby kicked. Wanna feel?" she asked.

He placed his hand on her belly. A smile crept up on his face when he felt the baby move.

"Beautiful," Hunter said softly. He raised his head up and started at Amy for a second.

Their lips were just inches apart.

I told you, this is the beginning of the good things that happens to Amy. And the next chapter will be all about the baby shower; and the chapter after that, I'm gonna flash forward and have Amy give birth! Stay tuned!