I practically jumped out of bed as soon as I woke. I was still sore, but it was not nearly as bad. I saw a wooden crib that was assembled in the corner of the room. I ran over to it, peered inside, and saw that it was empty.

I hurried down the stairs. Jimmy or Charles must be holding him downstairs. Now that I was awake, I wanted to hold Hunter. He was inside me for nine months, and the only time I got to hold him was right after the birth.

I walked into the kitchen to see that it was empty. The living room was empty too. They could not have brought him outside. The sun was sure to hurt his sensitive skin.

"Jimmy," I called out.

There was no answer.

"Jimmy?" I tried again.

I scanned the entire bottom floor of the house to see that it was empty. I ran back up the stairs. I ran my hands through my heavy hair as I looked down the hallway. I went back into the room again to check the crib. He was so tiny that I wanted to make sure I did not miss him.

I poked my head back into the hallway. My stomach twisted into a knot when I saw that the door to Tommy's room was open. It allowed a stream of sunlight to cast into the dark hallway floor. Tommy never left his door open. It was always closed. He did not even like me going in there to clean. He warned me not to touch any of his stuff.

The door creaked as I pushed it open. Tommy was sitting on the bed with his legs sprawled out. Hunter was in his arms. Hunter had a tiny pair of blue pajamas on, but most of my view was blocked because of Tommy's arm. Tommy looked at me when the door creaked and smiled.

"Nice of you to join us, Jules," he said.

"Tommy," I said.

"Sit down." He raised his chin to gesture toward the end of the bed.

"Where's Jimmy?" I asked.

"He's outside with Dad," he said. "I told him that I was taking care of the chickens today. They don't know that I'm gone."

"Why are you here?"

"Juliet," Tommy snapped. I could tell that he was being careful not to wake Hunter. "I can't believe you're still asking questions. Shut up and sit down."

I dropped my head and walked over to the foot of the bed. I didn't want to talk to Tommy, but I could not risk not talking to him. My tiny, fragile baby was in his arms. He grew up in a family where killing newborns was common. I shuddered at the thought of what Tommy could do to Hunter.

I sat on the edge of the bed. My eyes were locked on Hunter and my fingers were curled into Tommy's quilt.

"Tommy," I said. "Please, don't hurt him."

"I hope you realize that you cannot keep him," he said.

"Why? He's a boy. You don't have to kill him."

"I know." Tommy stroked his fingers across Hunter's few dark hairs. "But this is a lot more complicated, Jules."

I wanted to ask why, but I could not. I just stared at him and fought with my body to stop myself from shaking.

"You see," he continued. "My girl is coming in a few months - Dad talked about getting her sooner - but I don't want her. I want you."

"I'm married to Jimmy," I said.

"Not if I can help it."

"Can I have Hunter?"

Tommy took another look down at him. He chuckled and shook his head. Visions of him snapping Hunter's neck filled my mind. I was afraid to blink because I was sure that would cause tears to roll down my cheeks.

"You're so funny, Jules," he told me. "Hunter. Pretty ironic name, isn't it?"

"I guess," I said.

"I have it all planned out," he said. "I will keep my girl for a few weeks so that it does not look suspicious. I'm getting a girl, so I can't really complain. I just hate it when they are always resisting and fighting back. You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. "No."

"Good because after that we are going to leave this house. We'll probably never come back, but that does not matter. Jimmy will be pissed, and Dad always takes his side."

"He doesn't always."

"He always does. But that won't matter. It'll be just the two of us. Maybe if I can trust you enough we can move to the city and I can find a job there. Would you like that?"

I nodded my head and thought back to that day on the stairs. Making him believe that I was in love with him saved Hunter's life once, so I would have to do it again.

"Good girl," he said. "I'll need to train you a bit better before I can trust you. Jimmy hasn't tweaked all of your bad habits yet, like your questions and denying me. Doesn't really shock me though."

My teeth dug into my lip. I needed to tell Jimmy. He would tell Charles and then Charles would punish Tommy. I just had to be careful of Hunter. I did not want Tommy to get mad and kill Hunter.

"What are you thinking about?" Tommy asked.

"The future," I said.

"Why are you crying?"

I had not realized that the tears were rolling down my cheeks. I wiped them away with the back of my hand.

"They're tears of happiness," I lied.

Tommy threw his legs off of the bed and shuffled down so that he was sitting next to me. I opened my arms, and Tommy placed Hunter in them. My lips lifted into a smile when I felt his weight in my arms. His eyes were open and he was looking around the room.

Tommy leaned over and kissed my cheek. I was nauseous every time Tommy touched me. He slipped one arm around my waist and grabbed the bottom of my chin with his other hand. He smashed his lips against mine. I stayed still, but his grip tightened on my chin. I let out a yelp and he pulled away from me.

"Kiss me back, Jules," he said.

Before I could say anything, he started kissing me again. I forced myself to kiss him back. I put as little effort into the kiss as I could. I knew I satisfied him when he loosened his grip on my chin. A rush of relief filled my chest when he pulled away.

"I better get back outside," he said. "We'll leave this house forever in two months. You tell Jimmy and I kill your baby."

--

Jimmy had left me another crib in the living room. This one was covered in faded fabric of monkeys and bananas. I looked inside to see a stuffed bear that was missing a button eye. I carefully placed Hunter down in the crib.

"There you go, my little monkey," I said smiling.

I had to start cooking dinner, but I did not want to leave him. Tommy left the house a few minutes ago, but what if he came back in?

I went into the kitchen. I made sure to stay close enough so that I could hear him crying. When he did, I would drop what I was doing and run over to him. His face would go red as he cried and threw his arms around. I would pick him up and coo at him, and if that did not work I would check his diaper, and then I would try to feed him. I breastfed only a handful of times, but I never seemed to get used to the feeling.

I thought about what Tommy told me. In less than two months he would take the two most important things out of my life: Jimmy and Hunter. I would tell Jimmy his plan, but he was going to kill Hunter. Tommy would not hesitate to kill him.

I was going to have to make sure that Jimmy would never leave me alone with Tommy again. Tommy should be punished for his plans but telling him his plan would backfire on me. Tommy only ever got punished after he bit me. He did not get punished when he forced me to cook all of the meat because they believed that I was lying. They only believed me after the bite because there was a mark.

I could say that Tommy was touching me again, but there would have to be a mark. If I did not have a mark it would just be my word against his.

I opened the cupboards and looked through them. I had to leave marks on myself somehow. I found a rolling pin and sat down on the floor. I rolled up the hem of my long skirt and left my pale legs exposed. I raised the rolling pin and brought it down onto my thighs.

I bit down on my lips as I fought back a scream. I did not want to wake Hunter. My legs burned and my skin tingled. I looked down to see a bright red mark on my leg. How long this would take to turn into a bruise?

Raising my arm up into the air, I tried my hardest to bring it down on my legs even harder. I fell down onto my side as the tears burned my eyes. I bit down on my cheeks as the pain would radiate down my legs.

"Two more," I told myself.

Two more marks and Jimmy would be furious. He may even kill Tommy.

The thought made me smile. A life of not always being tormented would be wonderful. I wouldn't be scared anymore. Jimmy always protected me, but Tommy was smart. I knew I had to outsmart him.

--

When they came back inside, I already had dinner on the table. I was sitting on the chair and had Hunter in my arms. I avoided looking at Tommy as he walked in. I needed to act afraid.

Jimmy leaned down and kissed me and then pressed his lips against Hunter's temple. They washed up, gathered around the table, and then scarfed down the food. I ate with one hand as I held Hunter.

Jimmy took Hunter out of my arms at the end of the meal so that I could clean. I looked over my shoulder to see Tommy leaning against the staircase. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was watching me.

When I finished cleaning, I turned around to see that Tommy was still standing there. I took in a deep breath and headed toward the living room. As I passed Tommy, he reached out and grabbed my arm. He pulled me back and off to the side so that Jimmy and Charles could not see us.

"We need to talk about earlier," he said. "I've been thinking."

"Let go of me." I tried to pull my arm free. His grip tightened and he shot his hand up over my mouth to stop me from screaming.

"Once I get my girl," he said, "we're getting out of here."

This was my chance. I have been checking my legs all day and they have turned black and blue.

My heart was pounding as I bit down on Tommy's hand as hard as I could. He took his hand off of my mouth and slapped me across the face. My cheek stung. I had to use this to my advantage.

I let my legs give out underneath me. Tommy was still holding my wrist and it was all that was stopping me from lying across the floor. I let out a few loud sobs and held my cheek.

"Stop!" I screamed. "Please, Tommy! Please, stop!"

I continued to sob as I listened to Charles and Jimmy run out of the kitchen.

"Let go of her, Tom!" Jimmy yelled.

I looked up with my tear-filled eyes to see Charles had Hunter in one arm and his other hand on Jimmy's shoulder. He was the only thing stopping Jimmy from ripping Tommy off me.

"Thomas," Charles said. "Let go of Juliet."

Tommy let go of me and I crumpled on my floor. I continued to sob as I got up off the floor and ran toward Jimmy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in him. He slid his arms around my back as he held me close to him.

"I didn't do anything to her," Tommy said.

"Then why were you touching her?" Jimmy asked. "Why were you touching my wife?"

"She was attacking me!"

"No, I didn't!" I pulled my face out of Jimmy's neck. "You covered my mouth and I couldn't breathe."

"Is this true?" Charles asked. His tone was surprisingly calm.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "But-"

"Tell them what else you did!" I yelled. "Tell him!"

My screaming upset Hunter and he started crying in Charles' arms.

"What?" Tommy's nostrils were flaring and his face was growing red. "I did nothing else to you."

"You came into the house earlier today," I said.

Jimmy's fingers curled into my waist. I looked up at him to see that his jaw was clenched.

"When did you come in?" Charles asked.

"I didn't," Tommy said.

"When he was supposed to be out with the chickens," I said.

"How would you know that?" Tommy asked.

"Because you told me!"

Hunter's screams grew louder. I could not stand to listen to him cry.

"What happened when he came inside, Juliet?" Charles asked.

"He started grabbing me," I said.

"Where?"

"My legs."

"You did what?" Jimmy was seething. "I'm going to kill you!"

"She's lying, Jim," Tommy said, rolling his eyes. "She always does. I was never in here today and I never once touched her."

"Then why am I covered in bruises?" I asked Tommy.

"Show me, Julie," Jimmy said, letting go of me. "I swear Tommy if there's one mark on her I am kicking your ass."

"Language, James," Charles said. "Juliet, show us the bruises."

I nodded and wiped the tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand. I rolled up the hem of my skirt and revealed the large dark bruises. Jimmy let out a deep breath and cracked his knuckles. He lurched forward and his fist connected with Tommy's nose. Blood was gushing down Tommy's face, and he swung out and punched Jimmy in the stomach.

Charles handed me Hunter. I tried to soothe his cries as Charles tore the two of them apart.

"Boys!" Charles yelled.

Tommy wiped the blood off of his face and Jimmy raked his fingers through his hair.

"I'm tired of this fighting," Charles said. "Tommy, you have touched Juliet one too many times."

I let my lips curl into a smile. I was standing behind Charles and Jimmy, so only Tommy could see me. He scowled.

"I'm going to have to break some traditions here," Charles said. "I'm at the end of my rope. The only way I see you leaving your brother's wife alone is by you getting your own. I will bring your girl into this house a little early. I'll go out tomorrow night and get her."

It was Tommy's turn to smile. Mine dropped when I realized what he was thinking.

He was going to take me away from this house in a few days.