Author's note: Thanks to every single person reading this story, I just noticed that there was a spot to put a cast, but I have no ideas on who should play what. Anyone have any ideas? I hope you enjoy!

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Three screams.

Emme only made three screams before she was quiet for the rest of the night. I don’t know if Taylor covered her mouth or if Taylor threatened her, but she didn’t make another sound. I was glad. I hated knowing she was being punished because of me.

When we came down the stairs for breakfast, they were no longer there. Charles and Tommy were already at the table and eating cereal. Tommy was eyeing me as soon as I came down the stairs. He must have known why Taylor and Emme were gone and he knows that it’s all my fault. I rubbed my belly nervously.

Jimmy pulled out my chair and I stared at him. His lips curled into a smile.

“Sit down, Julie,” he told me. “You’re going to give birth any day now. I don’t want you straining yourself and doing a lot of chores.”

“But I want to clean,” I told him as I sat down in my chair.

“You can do your chores, but you need to make sure to take it easy.”

I watched Jimmy as he went over to the cupboard and pulled out two bowls. He set one down in front of me and I poured myself some cereal. I handed the box over to Jimmy and he began to eat. I glanced up to see Tommy smirking at me. I snapped my head back so that I was staring at the table.

“How do you feel, Jules?” Tommy asked me.

“Good. Thanks,” I muttered.

His chair screeched as he got up. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he walked around the table. I expected him to go outside and start working, like he usually does in the morning. My heart pounded in my chest when I felt him put pull my chair back.

“Tommy!” Jimmy shouted out. His spoon clanged against the bowl as he stood up.

“Calm down, Jim,” Tommy told him. “I just wanted to try something I read in a book another day.”

Tommy got down on his knees beside me. He hooked his finger around the chain around his neck and pulled the key off. Jimmy was watching him intensely and sat back down on his chair. I looked over at Charles to see him staring at Tommy. His elbows were resting on the table and his fingers were tented in front of his face.

“I read that you can tell the sex of a baby by holding a chain with something at the end of it over the mother’s belly,” he explained to us.

“I’ve heard of this before,” Charles said. “We tried it with your mother, Thomas. It said that you would be a boy.”

“How does it work?” Jimmy asked.

“You hold the chain over her stomach. If it swings in a circle you’re going to have a boy. If it goes back and forth you’re having a girl.”

I looked over at Jimmy to see his jaw harden as he clenched his teeth together. We never talked about the sex of the baby. Having a girl was something I tried my hardest not to think about.

I reached out and grabbed Jimmy’s hand. I felt him give my knuckles a quick squeeze.

“Try it out,” Jimmy told him.

Tommy smirked and looked at me. He reached out and pulled my light, blue shirt up over my belly. My belly button had popped out a few months ago and it was still odd for me to look at. Jimmy’s grip tightened as he watched Tommy touch me. I ran my thumb over his knuckles to try and reassure him that it was okay.

Tommy lifted the chain up over my belly. I felt all of their eyes intensely on the chain and my belly. I wanted to shrink away, but I couldn’t do anything.

The chain started to swing and we watched as it began to swing. I felt my throat tighten as it began to swing back and forth. I prayed that it would soon switch its direction and start to move in a circular motion.

But it didn’t.

The chain continued to swing back and forth over my bump. Jimmy’s grip tightened and I couldn’t help myself from gasping out in pain. Tommy pulled the chain away and threw it back around his neck. He looked up at me with his smirk. It was one of the worst I have ever seen. Jimmy let go off my hand completely and I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it back over my stomach.

“It looks like you’re having a girl, Jules,” Tommy said. I began to chew on my lip. I hope it wasn’t true. It may have worked for Marilyn when she had Tommy, but that didn’t mean it had to work every time. Tommy got up off of the floor. He leaned in towards my ear and whispered. “Remember our conversation at the top of the stairs.”

The bile started to rise in my throat when I thought back to the day Tommy tried to push me off of the steps. I convinced him not to kill my baby so that Jimmy would have to kill it when we discovered it was a girl. I never thought that it could possibly be a girl. I only said it to save my baby.

I wondered how much Tommy thought about it. He said that he couldn’t wait to make me his girl, but surely he will change his mind when he gets his own girl? I hadn’t thought much about it since that night. There was just two to three months until Charles got him his girl. I can’t wait until she comes.

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I swept the floors as I began to hum to myself. The air was humid and I could feel the sweat collecting on my neck. I tied my hair up onto the top of my head, but it didn’t stop myself from sweating.

The boys were outside on the farm. I knew I had to start preparing dinner in a couple of hours.

I wiped the sweat off of my forehead with the back of my hand. I let out a sigh as I stretched out my back. A pain shot across my stomach and I gasped. I felt my sweat began to run down my legs. There was a pressure lying at the bottom of my stomach.

I decided that it would be best to just keep cleaning. I tried to ignore the awkward feeling of the sweat running down my legs, but I couldn’t. I looked down to see that the sweat was seeping through my jeans, leaving a dark stain to run down my legs.

The pressure didn’t let up and I felt my heart begin to pound.

My water broke.

I dropped the broom onto the floor. I was about to give birth and no one was home. I ran to the door with my bump cradled in my arm.

I grabbed the doorknob and tried to furiously turn it. It was locked. I was breathing heavily as panic started to settle in. I pound on the door with my fist.

“Jimmy! Charles!” I knew that my screams would be useless. They were probably nowhere near the house.

I was going to be in labour alone until it was dark outside and they were finished with their chores.