Author's Note: Please review. It boosts my ego! lol.
Warning: Chapter may be disturbing contains violent/explicit content
Chapter 22: Moving In
"You want me to live with you?" Heather asked in disbelief in her hospital bed. "I thought after yesterday you didn't want anything to do with me. I didn't think you trusted me."
"I didn't say move in," Mike answered. "Just stay with us until the baby's born. I don't trust you. That's why I want to keep an eye on you. And my baby."
"You think I'm gonna take off and leave?" Heather asked.
"Maybe," Mike answered.
"And Micky's gonna be there, too?" Heather asked glancing at Micky standing in the corner with his arms crossed. Mike knew that was his way of not lashing out at Heather; keeping himself in control.
"Yes, but he's not going to hurt you if that's what you're worried about," Mike said.
"How do you know that?" Heather asked glancing again at Micky.
"Because he promised me," Mike said. "And he knows you're carrying my baby and he wouldn't dare hurt my baby."
"He held a baseball bat to my throat," Heather said.
"Can you blame him?" Mike asked. "I think he's showed considerable restraint since then given what you did to me after that."
"I never meant to hurt you," Heather said.
"Bullshit," Micky said. "None of us really believe that."
"Micky," Mike warned. He'd agreed to let Micky come only if he kept quiet. "You should be wanting this if you were telling the truth. If someone's really after you, staying with us will keep you safe."
"Or it would be leading them straight to you," Heather argued.
"You think that after everything we've been through we can't protect ourselves?" Mike asked starting to get angry. "Look, it doesn't matter, because it's already a done deal. Rose talked to your parole officer. He agreed that given your condition and attack staying with family was the best option for you. He already had your stuff all packed up when your landlord kicked you out and he's dropping it off later today."
"I see," Heather said. "And what happens to me after the baby's born?"
"I really don't care," Mike said. "But until then, I'm not taking my eyes off you. Once the doctor comes in and signs that release letting you leave, you're coming with us." Heather didn't argue anymore; either because she didn't want to or knew it was fruitless. The doctor came in shortly after with her release papers and Rose came with a change of clothes for Heather since the ones they'd found her in were filthy and torn. Once she had changed, Mike, Micky and Rose walked out with her to their car to drive her home.
"You'll be staying in the downstairs room with Rose and Sarah," Mike said as they walked in.
"Rose is staying here, too?" Heather asked.
"You have a problem with that?" Rose asked.
"No, just wondering why," Heather answered.
"Cause none of us trust you, Heather," Micky snapped. "Sarah, Rose and I know you the best. We all know who you are and what you're capable of and Rose wants to keep an eye on you just as much as the rest of us."
"I was attacked and raped and now I'm being treated like a prisoner again," Heather snapped at him. "By my own family."
"Only one here who's your family is Micky," Rose said. "And you burned that bridge with him a long time ago. Yes, we're sorry about you being raped and tortured, but that doesn't change the fact that you can't be trusted."
"You really think I'd do something to hurt my own baby?" Heather asked.
"We have no idea what you're going to do," Micky said. "We have no idea why you did what you did. And no, we don't believe your story about being forced to."
"Where's the bathroom?" Heather asked suddenly clutching her stomach. Mike pointed to the door not wanting to clean up vomit from the floor.
"Can you guys try and cool it a little?" Sarah asked when Heather slammed the door behind her.
"Don't tell me you trust her," Davy said. "She's a liar and a murderer!"
"She's not a murderer," Sarah said. "She didn't kill Mike and as far as I know she hasn't killed anyone before that. But she's already been under a lot of stress lately and putting her under more is only going to hurt the baby. You have to put aside your disdain for her and think about the baby. That's the important thing."
"Fine," Micky said. "But she doesn't go anywhere without at least two of us with her."
"Agreed," Mike said. "I'm going to all doctors appointments and one of you can join me."
"I will," Micky said just as Heather emerged from the bathroom wiping her face.
"Your bed's already been made if you want to rest," Sarah said. Heather nodded and walked right into the bedroom and stayed there the rest of the day. Sarah had gone in and talked to her later on. Mike wasn't sure what she had said to Heather, but it seemed to make Heather a little less averse to everything.
Mike had to admire Sarah and understood now why Micky cared for her so much. She had been through hell in her life, just like the rest of them, but still held her head high. She had a caring heart for Heather, even though he knew she didn't like her. Over the whole next month, it was Sarah who took care of Heather when she needed something. She was able to put aside her anger and hatred for the woman and do what needed to be done for the sake of Mike's child. Which was more than even Mike could do. He could barely even stand to be in the same room with Heather for longer than a few minutes.
On the morning of her first doctor's appointment since leaving the hospital a month later, Mike walked nervously around the living room. Micky and Rose had promised to go with him to help make him feel a little more at ease. Micky had stayed up a little late the night before, so Mike decided to let him sleep as the others had breakfast that morning. Rose came with him to wake Mike up about half an hour before they had to leave.
As soon as Mike opened the door, he heard familiar sounds of Micky having a nightmare. It wasn't the first time Mike had heard Micky thrash about and groan from some of the nightmares of his past, but it certainly hadn't happened in a while. Mike carefully walked over to Micky and gently placed his hands on his shoulders to wake him. Unfortunately, it startled him awake.
"Amanda!" Micky exclaimed as he jerked awake.
"Micky, it's ok," Rose said coming over to his side. "It was a dream...just wake up."
"I'm ok," Micky moaned rubbing his head. "What time is it?"
"Almost 1030," Mike answered though he was worried about Micky. He'd never seen Micky look as upset as he was and he wondered who Amanda was. "You sure you're ok?"
"Fine," Micky answered. "I'll be ready in a bit. Just gonna take a shower." Micky climbed out of bed and grabbed a few clothes before walking down the stairs.
"What was that?" Mike asked Rose who looked just as worried as Mike. "Who's Amanda?"
"Micky always tried to help everyone," Rose sighed. "When new girls would come to the house, they'd be hung from the ceiling by their wrists and not fed or given any water. It was a way of making them weak; easier to discipline. Micky would sneak down to the basement in the middle of the night with a piece of his sandwich and a glass of water for them. Sarah and I went with him one night when this girl named Amanda was down there. We were trying to stop him honestly, because we knew he'd get the shit beat out of him if he got caught. But he did it anyway. He took her down from the ceiling and started feeding her and gave her some water. I barely heard the footsteps before the door slammed open and his mother walked in. She was pissed and we all thought she was going to beat Micky, but she shot Amanda in the head right next to Micky."
"Oh my God," Mike breathed in shock.
"Micky's mother was cruel," Rose continued. "She didn't care about the girls. She did it to teach Micky a lesson. She wouldn't even let him wash the blood off for the rest of the day. He even had to bury her himself. He was a wreck for weeks after. The only thing that brought him back was when I told him I was pregnant."
"That's terrible," Mike said.
"He never got over it I guess," Rose said. "He blamed himself for her death." Mike didn't know what else to say. He never even imagined anything like that. He'd never seen any of the girls that his father kept die, but he was forced to help bury their bodies. He couldn't even imagine what Micky must have gone through in that moment; just for trying to help someone.
Peter started washing the dishes not long after Rose, Micky and Mike took Heather to her doctor's appointment. He was kind of glad to have Heather out of the house because he hated feeling the tension in the air. Everyone wanted to say something, Micky and Davy even wanted to hurt her, but they couldn't. So instead there was a tension in the air so thick it made Peter sick all the time. Part of him wanted to give Heather the benefit of the doubt and believe her story, but mostly he trusted his friends' judgement. He wanted to hate her for hurting Mike, but he couldn't because he still had that small part of him that wanted to believe that she really hadn't wanted to hurt Mike.
After only a few minutes of washing dishes, Peter heard a soft knock on the door. Davy was sitting on the couch reading an old magazine and Sarah was lying down for a nap in the downstairs bedroom so Peter crossed the room to open the door himself. When he opened the door, a young girl with long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was really pretty, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
"Hi," she smiled nervously. "My car broke down and it won't start. I was wondering if you could maybe take a look? I think it's the battery."
"Well, I'm not really good at cars," Peter answered knowing it was more Micky and Mike's area of expertise.
"Well, I think it just needs a little jump start," she said. "Please?"
"Ok," Peter said and followed her outside. There was a large van parked outside their house and the hood was already open. Peter walked over to it to take a look at the battery. Almost as soon as he leaned over the engine, he felt a large hand clamp over his mouth and pull him back. A second later, he felt cold steel touch his temple and realized that someone was holding a gun to his head.
"Don't make a sound," a man's voice said behind him. "Don't even try to fight. You do, and I pull the trigger." Peter's eyes flicked over to the girl hoping she would run and not get involved, but she just stood there smiling.
"That was easy," she said.
"Hide the van," another woman said coming out of the back of the van. She was older with brown curly hair and brown eyes.
"Yes, Ma'am," the younger girl said and got behind the driver's seat. The man holding onto Peter pushed him forward, back toward the house. Peter didn't want to go back into the house knowing Davy and Sarah would be endangered, but he didn't have much of a choice with a gun held to his head. As soon as he walked back in the hosue, Davy looked up and jumped when he realized what was going on.
"Keep your hands where I can see them, boy," the man said behind Peter.
"Sit down," the older woman told Davy. Davy immediately did what he was told and sat down in the chair the woman pointed at in the kitchen. The woman took out some rope and tied Davy to the chair. Once she'd secured Davy, Peter was unceremoniously pushed into another chair, but was still able to see the gun still pointed directly at his head so he didn't fight back as the woman tied him to the chair. His only hope was that Sarah would be able to sneak away and go get help, but he wasn't sure since she had been sleeping.
"Where's the girl?" the man asked.
"What girl?" Davy lied.
"Don't play games with us, boy," the woman said. "Where's Sarah?"
"Sarah who?" Peter asked. The woman nearly snarled and grabbed Peter by the hair, yanking his head back.
"I told you not to play games with me," she growled. "I don't like being lied to. Where is the girl? We know she's here." Before Peter could answer, they all turned toward the back door when they heard a shriek. Peter's heart sank as he realized the other girl who'd tricked him must have found Sarah trying to escape. The older woman smiled realizing this too and turned to the man with the gun. "Go out there!" The man didn't hesitate and darted out the back door.
"What do you want with us?" Davy asked. "If it's money, we don't have any."
"We don't want money, idiot," she laughed. A second later, the girl and man came back through the back door with Sarah held tightly between them. She was putting up quite a fight, however and the blonde girl had a bloody lip.
"I caught her trying to climb out the bedroom window," the girl said.
"Trying to escape?" the older woman asked. "Trying to run off to your little prince and warn him? And what did you do to Shirley?"
"She headbutted me," the blonde, whom Peter now assumed was named Shirley, answered.
"That was very naughty," the older woman said.
"Go fuck off, Claire," Sarah spat.
"What happened to you?" Claire answered. "You used to be so disciplined. You used to be such a good girl. Micky corrupted you."
"Maybe we should teach her some new lessons," the man said.
"Calm down, Cole," Claire said. "Sarah, sweetie, you should apologize to me. You tried to run away from me and warn your little prince and then you speak so flippantly with me and hurt my girl. Be a good little girl and apologize."
"Go to hell, you fucking bitch!" Sarah answered and actually spat at Claire's feet before she started struggling again. "I'll die before I let you do anything to hurt him again!" Cole twisted her arm tighter behind her back and she cried out in pain lowering to the ground slightly.
"How dare you!" Shirley bellowed and yanked at Sarah's arm violently.
"Calm down, Shirley," Claire said taking a small needle out of her pocket and handing it to Cole. "We have a little time before they get home. Go ahead and take her into the other room and remind her what happens when you cross me."
"No!" Davy exclaimed struggling against his ropes as Cole and Shirley dragged Sarah into the room downstairs. "Leave her alone!"
"Shut up," Claire said.
"She didn't mean it," Peter tried, "she's sorry. Please don't hurt her!"
"I said, shut up!" Claire barked at them as the door closed behind Sarah. Months ago Peter wouldn't have had any idea what they were planning on doing to Sarah other than hitting her a little, but now...he had an idea that this Claire was Micky's mother and he knew what that would mean. He tried desperately to free himself to save Sarah, but he couldn't break free of his bonds.
"You know Micky will kill you if he finds out you did anything to hurt her!" Davy yelled trying just as hard to break free.
"He can try, sweetie," Claire said walking over to Davy and grabbing his face tightly. "But he's never had the guts and he'll never get the opportunity. Stop struggling or you'll force me to punish you, too. You don't really want that, now do you?"
"Please," Peter pled softly trying desperately to get her to leave Davy alone. She turned to Peter and opened her mouth to talk again, but stopped when they heard a loud banging on the door.
"What's going on in there!" Mr. Babbitt yelled from the other side of the door.
"Who is that?" Claire hissed quietly.
"Our landlord," Peter answered.
"Get rid of him!" Claire hissed untying Peter. For a moment, Peter thought of attacking her now that he was free, but almost immediately, she pulled a pocket knife from her pocket and held it against Davy's throat. He winced and jerked as far away from the knife as he could. "Don't do anything stupid or your friend gets his throat slit."
"I won't," Peter said as Mr. Babbitt banged on the door again.
"Boys!" Mr. Babbitt yelled. Peter opened the door slowly and smiled at Mr. Babbitt.
"Hi, Mr. Babbitt," Peter said.
"I heard a woman screaming," Mr. Babbitt said. "What are you boys doing in there?"
"Oh, that was me," Peter said even as he tried to think of a way to secretly give him a message that they were in trouble without letting Claire know. "I was trying to practice my werewolf imitation, but I'm afraid I'm not as good as Micky."
"Well keep it down," Mr. Babbitt said and walked away. Peter couldn't really think of anything; he failed.
"Good boy, now come sit back down," Claire said. "Quickly." Peter did as he was instructed and Claire tied him back up. Peter realized the whole time they didn't hear anything from the room and had no idea what was going on in there. After about 15 minutes, the door opened and Shirley and Cole came back out dragging a limp Sarah between them.
"What did you do to her!?" Davy exploded as they dropped her onto the floor in the center of the room. Every fiber of Peter's being froze as he saw her. There was a dark purple bruise forming around her neck and her skirt was ruffled revealing another large bruise on her thigh. Her hair hung over her face, but he could see a large bruise on her cheek as well. Peter felt terrible, but there was nothing he could do anymore.
"I told you to shut up," Claire said. "They taught her a lesson. If you don't shut the hell up and do what I tell you to, you'll be taught the same damn lesson. So I suggest you shut your mouth and do what I tell you to, little boy. Your friends should be home soon." Davy didn't argue any further. Neither did Peter. They didn't want to make things worse than they already were, though Peter didn't know what they could do to try and warn Micky and Mike not to come home. If they did, they'd be walking straight into a trap set by Micky's mom. And Peter had no idea what in the world that would mean, but he knew it wouldn't be good.