Gabe finally let me leave our room. It was actually nice to be able to return to the monotony of everyday life. I would clean with Jenny, and even though she would ramble it was nice having company throughout the day. I was building up the nerve to ask her the question burning on my tongue. I had the courage to do it while we were at the kitchen counter cooking dinner.

"Jenny," I said. "Did you have any daughters?"

Jenny stopped cutting the carrots that she was chopping. She sucked in her bottom lip and set down the knife.

"I heard you shouting the other night," she said. "I assumed that Gabe had told you."

"Why did you not tell me?" I asked.

"It's not my place to intrude."

Jenny knew this the whole time and she was keeping it from me. I wondered what other traditions she must be hiding.

"I had two daughters," she said. "One after Gabe and one after Dylan."

"And Noah killed them?" I asked, knowing the answer.

She nodded.

"He had to," she said. "I didn't realize that he had to until I had Dylan. He was so sick when he was born. If he was a girl he would have never survived the illness. It was hard to lose a child but it would have been even more difficult after you have held and loved your child."

I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. I could already see myself holding my tiny baby in my arms. I could see myself clinging to my daughter and begging for Gabe not to take her away.

"Do not worry about it yet," Jenny said. "You are still early in your pregnancy."

The back door opened and Noah stepped in. Jenny rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. I continued to chop up the vegetables. I glanced up as the other boys entered the house.

Gabe came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. He placed his hands over my stomach. He leaned down and nuzzled his face into my neck. My nose filled with the smell of dirt and sweat coming off of Gabe. I tried to ignore him as I kept cooking.

"It's good to see that you are feeling better," he said.

"It's nice to be out of bed," I said.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

"I'm going to wash up."

He kissed my cheek before letting go of me.

--

Uneventful weeks passed by. My thoughts were consumed by the thought that my baby could be a girl. I did not want to have Gabe's children, but I did not want my children to be murdered by Gabe.

He made me go to bed right after I helped Jenny wash the dishes. While my hands were dunked in the hot soapy water, Noah was talking to Gabe in the living room. Their voices were mumbled and I could not understand what they were saying.

I was lying in bed and was listening to Noah continue to argue with Gabe. My hand was over my stomach and I was curled in a ball on my side in the dark room.

"Not yet?" It was the only words of Noah's that I could make out. "You need to tonight."

Gabe muttered some defense, but it caused Noah to raise his voice louder. A few moments later, the stairs creaked as Gabe came upstairs. He pushed the door open and I pushed myself up to sit. My hand stayed over my stomach.

I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I knew that I couldn't ask questions. Gabe took off his baseball cap and ran his hand through his hair. He grabbed a handful of hair and pulled as he gritted his teeth. His eyes darted to the open door, he shut it, and sat on the edge of the bed. I brought my knees up to my chest.

"We need to talk," he said. His body was turned so that he was not facing me. "I have been keeping something from you."

My breath caught in my throat. He is a kidnapper, rapist and murderer. He made me watch as he murdered people. What could he possibly be hiding from me?

"I don't want to know whatever it is," I said.

"You need to know," he said. "It's another one of our family's traditions."

I stayed silent as Gabe let out a huff of breath. He turned and put his hand on my knee.

"Remember that everything we do is to protect you," he said. "Everything we do is to make sure you are healthy and safe."

My body trembled as a lump grew in my throat. I struggled to not put my hands over my ears and block out whatever he was going to say.

"Tell me you love me," he said.

"I love you," I said.

The moonlight shining through the bars on the window casted shadows on his face. I could see him giving me a soft smile.

"I love you too," he said. "I love you so much."

I nodded. Gabe closed his eyes for a moment.

"You know how we kill the people on the property to keep you safe?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"We also eat them," he said. "All of the meat you have been cooking is them."

My hand flew over my mouth as I burst out into laughter. I don't know why I started to giggle. The absurdity of the thought was too much for my mind to handle. They somehow managed to become even worse than I imagined. They had been feeding me human meat for months.

"You're lying," I said.

"I'm not," he said. "We can't afford enough food to keep the family healthy. We need to eat them so that we can all stay healthy."

I continued to laugh, but tears were rolling down my cheeks. Gabe raised a brow as he watched my strange reaction. I sucked in a deep breath and the laughter stopped.

We had been eating humans. He fed me my friends. Oh my god, he fed me Finn. He made me eat the love of my life.

I sobbed and wiped the tears off of my cheeks. I kicked my leg out and hit Gabe. He did not move, so I kicked him two more times. Gabe grabbed my ankle and pulled me down the bed. He threw his leg over me to pin me down onto the bed. I balled up my fists and hit him in the chest. He snatched my wrists and held them against my chest.

"You need to calm down," he said.

"Get off me!" I screamed. "You're sick!"

"Linds, you need to be quiet," he said. "I can't drug you because of the baby. I'd have to tie and gag you."

I kicked my legs, but it was futile. He had me pinned in a crushing grip. I let out another scream.

"You're a monster!" I yelled.

Gabe let out a deep breath. "I didn't want to have to do this."

He got up off of me. He rushed out of the room. I got up off of the bed, and my knees wobbled. I had no idea where I was going to go, but I had to try and get out of here.

I made it half way down the hall before the stairs creaked. Gabe came up the stairs with Taylor behind him. He had a coil of rope in his hands. My eyes went wide as I shook my head.

"Go back to our room," Gabe said.

"No." I shook my head.

Gabe grabbed my arm and dragged me back to the bedroom. He picked me up and threw me down onto the bed. He climbed over me to keep me trapped onto the mattress.

"Hand me the rope," he said to Taylor.

I screamed as I tried to keep my hands behind my back. Gabe rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder.

"I need you to hold her in place," he said.

"Alright," Taylor said.

Gabe grabbed one hand and Taylor grabbed the other. They pulled my hands out from behind my back. I fought against them as Taylor held my hands up against the headboard. Gabe expertly tied my hands to the post while I was pulling and writhing underneath him.

Once I was secured to the post, Gabe got off of me. He pulled his hat off and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. My vision was blurry as I tried to curl onto my side as I sobbed.

"Thanks," Gabe said to Taylor. "I need to talk to Dad now."

Taylor nodded his head and left the room. I cried as Gabe sat on the edge of the bed. He moved a wet piece of hair off of my cheek.

"It's going to be okay," he said. "You'll feel better in the morning."

He kissed the side of my temple before getting off of the bed and walking out the bedroom door.