Chapter 3

Dark and cold. I’m in the woods, hiding behind a tree. There are no other sound surrounding me, except for my shallow breathing and my erratic heartbeat. My hands and knees are shaking, tears are streaming down my cheeks. I am scared, and I’m not the “damsel in distress” type of girl. But I’m scared, because I can’t take down three athletes on my own, and their intentions are pretty clear. I’m going to be in so much trouble, if they find me… Why did I agree to go to this stupid party again? Oh, right, because I just passed my final exam and got another A, I decided to celebrate. Well, it didn’t go as planned, because now I’m in the middle of the woods, wearing only a thin short summer dress, that used to be bright blue, and now is covered in dirt and leaves. And a bit of my blood that is dripping from my forehead after an encounter with a tree. That bastard Connor grabbed me by the hair and smashed my head in a tree. It’s truly a miracle, that I got that far from him and his two buddies, but I guess they are pretty wasted to run as fast as a sober me. Ain’t I lucky. Now I have to stay quiet and not be found.

Cold, it’s very cold, and I’m freezing. It’s the middle of April, so the nights are still chilly, and my jacket is left in the house. My tights are torn, I lost one shoe and I’m freezing. I try listening to my surroundings, and suddenly I hear voices.

“Where did this bitch go?”, an annoying high pitched male voice, Dug.

“Chill, man, she couldn’t get far.”, a lower voice, Ronny.

“As soon as we find her, I’m first.”, a calm voice, Joshua.

Shit, this doesn’t sound good. I need to be quiet. They can’t find me.

“Where do you think she could go?”, Dug.

“I don’t know, but there aren’t a lot of places she could be hiding at.” Ronny.

“Let’s split up?” Joshua.

No, no, no… Don’t split up! Go away! Stick together!

“Ok, sounds good.” Ronny.

“Whoever finds her first gets the first blowjob!” Dug sounds excited.

“Do you think she knows how to suck a lolly?”, asked an amused Ronny.

“No way, man, this one is pure like the morning snow.” Joshua with an evil laugh, that instantly turned my blood into ice.

My fucking god! I need to run. The flow of tears seems to increase, it blurs my sight. i need to run.

Big mistake. As soon as I move, a twig snaps under my foot.

“Hey, did you hear that?”, Dug.

“Oh, yes…”, Joshua.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”, sung Ronny.

“If you come out on your own, we’ll be gentle and you may even enjoy yourself!”, Joshua.

Shitface, How stupid do you think I am?! I need to run. I take a deep breath and sprint as far away from them as I can. My lungs are burning, my bare foot hurts like hell, but I push myself further into the woods. I can hear running behind me, and it’s getting closer wit each second. Then suddenly a hand grabs my hair and pulls me back. I hit the ground and all ear leaves my lungs.

“Gotcha…”

I wake up with a start. I’m covered in cold sweat and I’m crying. It takes me a couple of minutes to understand, that it was just a dream. I look around and the memories of the last two days start slowly creeping back to me. It takes me a few long moments to calm down. I’m safe. I’m far away from home. Joshua, Ronny and Dug are not here and they will never find me. Not that they would be looking for me, they got what they wanted and moved on with their lives. It’s me that is left to pick up the pieces of my broken dignity and build my life from scratch. I bury my face in my hands, suddenly all the weight of the world is on my shoulders. How in the world am I going to pull this off? I’m alone. Low on money. Pregnant. With no family or friends. All I have is an old car, a laptop and a duffel with some clothes that soon will not fit me. What am I going to do? How am I going to take care of a baby?! A small sob escapes my mouth and soon I’m in a full crying mode. This warm bed and nice town are just a little spark of hope that is vanishing with each tear that escapes through my fingers and falls on my lap.

A sudden knock on the door brings me back to reality.

“Evelyn! Are you ok in there?!”, Dianna’s worried voice comes through the door. I clear my throat and try sounding as a normal morning human being.

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks!”, I shout.

“Can I come in?”, she doesn’t really wait for my answer and slowly opens the door, while I try whipping the tears with my t-shirt.

Then to my surprise a huge brown dog bursts between Dianna’s legs right into my room and hops straight in my bed and attacks my face with it’s warm and wet tongue. I start laughing, this huge pups must be Jax, and he’s awesome, I admit.

“Hey there, big boy!”, I say still laughing and scratch right behind his ears. Jax seems to enjoy my signs of affection and makes himself comfortable right next to me and puts his huge head on my lap.

“Oh, I think he likes you!”, says very satisfied Dianna and claps her hands. “It’s not that often that Jax is so accepting of the people that stay here!”

“Well, a was always like a Pocahontas, so it’s not a big surprise to me,”, I say with a wide smile. And that’s the truth, animals always seemed to find me everywhere I went, that’s basically why I chose to become a vet, animals trust me, it’s easy for me to treat them, and I really like them, they are pure, untainted with human qualities and honest. Way better than humans.

“He’s gorgeous!”, i say, petting his head.

“Indeed he is”, says Dianna with a satisfied grin.

“Honey, were you crying?”, she suddenly asks with a worried look on her face.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just a bad dream…”, I try shrugging her off. She seems to believe me. Or Not. But drops the subject anyway.

“Ok…. Well, breakfast will be ready soon, so if you’re ready to get up, the kitchen is down the hall, your welcome to join me and my husband!”, she said back to her carrying motherly ways.

“Thanks, I’ll take a quick shower and be right with you.”, not that I was very hungry, but I could use a cup of tea before I leave. And I still need to pay for my stay, I could do that after she eats, I don’t want to ruin their morning routine.

“Ok, see you soon then!”, she chimes. “Jax, come!”, the dog gives me a final lick to my cheek and hops of the bed, I can’t help but smile, he’s a cute giant of an unknown breed.

After they leave I decided to take a quick shower, dry my hair and try making myself presentable. Last night sleep was way needed, I haven’t slept that good in almost two months. It must be something in the air here, or just the exhaustion of my long drive, but despite my nightmare I feel refreshed. I take a closer look at myself in the mirror – with clean hair and not that pale skin I do look better. The bags under my eyes are almost gone, a slight blush on my cheeks makes me look almost fine, except for that hideous scar, that is bound to be a reminder of that night. Well, I can live with that, I think. I just need do get a job, settle down and hope for the best. I then lower my eyes to inspect the rest of my body. I was way too skinny, which is no good for the baby. I could almost count my ribs. My small breasts are almost non existent now, and I used to be a B cup… A slight bump is already forming, soon I will need to buy some new pants… Then I lower my eyes to the most disturbing part – my thigh. The sight is just awful. Right in the middle of my left thigh is a huge scar. It’s not straight, it’s curvy and dark red. The wound on my thigh was deep, so deep, that it damaged the nerves. A piece of flesh was cut out from my once beautiful part, that’s why the muscles can’t grow together properly and hurt all the time. I’m a freaking Dr. House. Except that I can’t drown myself in a sea of vicodin. I turn away from the mirror with a frown and limp back into the room. I got dressed pretty fast, just threw on some black skinny jeans, a t-shirt with a Mickey mouse, and my favorite pair of yellow converse with a batman print. I pack my stuff in my old duffel and I’m done. After the breakfast I can check out of this place and continue my journey to God knows where…

When I limp to the kitchen I’m met with an aroma of fried bacon, which makes my stomach twist a bit, but I hold it in. They must have heard the thump of my cane, because even before I reach the kitchen, Dianna peaks from behind the door and motions me to join them

“Come, honey, I’ve made you some herb tea, that should help you with that morning sickness of yours!”

“Thanks”, I mumble, drop my duffel near the door and enter the kitchen. I take a look around and cant hold in a “wow” – the place is awesome, if you like cooking: a huge stove, a lot of cupboards, different kettles and pans are attached to the walls, a huge table, that can fit a family of ten. Large windows with white curtains hold pots of bright flowers. The place is full of light and very inviting. Finally my eyes land on a man sitting at the table, and wow he’s huge! He must be under 2 meters high, his shoulders are so broad, that if I would to hug him, it would be a challenge. His dark brown hair are cut short, but a few locks still fall to his eyebrows, he has deep dark green eyes surrounded by wrinkles. I guess he’s in his mid forties, just like Dianna. A heartwarming huge smile is on his face, I think my shock is pretty amusing to him, my cheeks turn bright red in a matter of seconds.

“Hi…”, I wave at him shyly.

His smile seems to become even wider.

“Good morning! I’m Jonathan, Dianna’s husband.”

“Evelyn, nice to meet you”, I shake his hand and mine just disappears in his huge and warm one. His handshake is firm,  but gentle. All in all he leaves a good impression, and I relax a bit.

“Please, sit, Dianna made breakfast!”, he motions to a chair next to him. The thought of breakfast makes my smile drop a bit, but again, I swallow my discomfort and force a smile.

“Thanks…”

“Honey, don’t worry, first drink the tea, than eat, either way you’re not going to stomach anything!”, Dianna’s chatter break my concentration and a share a more relaxed smile this time, when she places a mug with hot liquid in front of me.

“Thanks”, I say again.

“So, Evelyn,” I hear Jonathan. “How long are you planning to stay in Pines Hill?”, he asks while sipping his morning coffee.

“Uhm, I honestly don’t know. Maybe I’ll leave today…”, I answer confused. I really don’t know what to do and I don’t want to think about it right now, because these thoughts make the sunny June day feel less sunny and bright.

“Oh, I see. So where are you heading to?”, he asks again.

I wiggle in my spot a bit, but decide to be honest with him. These people are kind, they give off a good vibe, maybe I could get an advice or something… What do I have to loose?

“Uhm… I don’t know. I was just looking for a change of scenery, I guess I’m starting from scratch…”, I sip my tea and stare through the window.

“Oh…”, he humms. “Starting fresh is good. But hard.”, hi looks at me with a kind look, it feels like he can see right through me, but doesn’t judge a pregnant lonely girl.

“Yeah, it is…”, I sigh.

“So, how far have you already gone? Is the scenery different enough?”, he asks with a small smile.

“Oh, it is quite different alright!”, I answer with a smile, and I believe my words, this town definitely looks different from home.

Jonathan starts laughing, and my smile suddenly grows wider. I like this man, he seems solid, honest, hard working and kind.

“Oh, I like you, girl!”, he gives me another warm smile.

“So, how far along are you?”, this time a question comes from Dianna.

“Two months”, I turn to her and give her another small smile.

“Oh, right, Riley told me yesterday. I’ll pack you some herbs, you’ll need them all right!”, she pats my hand slightly and turns back to the stove.

“Thank you, the tea is working, by the way!”, I realize in a surprise. This is actually the first time in the last month and I half that I don’t want to vomit from the smell of bacon.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that, sweetie! We have five children, so I know my way with pregnancies!”, she laughs.

“Five! Wow! But you look so young!”, I say in awe.

“Why thank you, I’m flattered!”, she smiles brightly. “I’m actually 53” She says with a smirk.2

At this information my jaw drops. “Just wow…”, I say, which makes both of them laugh.

“There must be something in the air here!”, she winks at her husband, and he returns a wink with a smile.

“Ok dear, now eat up”, she says and puts a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of me.

“Thank you so much. This is going to be my first proper breakfast for I don’t know how long…”, I say thankfully.

“You are welcome, sweetie,” she smiles at me. We continue chatting for a while, until I’m done with my meal. I feel stuffed and happy, it’s a good feeling and these people are nice, so I don’t hide my wide smile from them. Jax also seems happy, he once again places his huge head on my lap.

“Jax likes you!”, says Jonathan with a smile.

“I like him too” I say, patting his head. I take a closer look at his eyes and my vet instincts kick in – I see some mucus in the corner of his left eye. I take a closer look, holding his head firmly and mumbling something in a calming tone to keep Jax still. Yep, his eye is infected, but it doesn’t look bad.

“His left eye in inflamed a bit. Nothing serious though. Just wash it with some black tea a couple of times, and it’ll be good as new.”, I say to Jonathan. He looks at me a bit surprised.

“How do you know? And how did you manage to keep him still while poking his eye with your finger?”, he asks with a laugh, and I just shrug.

“I’m almost a vet and I’ve always been good with animals, they seem to like me”

“I see…”, he says in a hushed tone. “Thank you for the advice, we’ll do what you said”, he smiles at me again.

“Welcome,” I return the smile.

“Ok, I think I better head out.”, I say with yet another smile.

“Sure thing, dear! And don’t forget the herbs! You need to eat good for this little pup of yours!”, she chimes. “And if you decide to stay longer, our doors are always open for you, ok?” She gives me a strong hug. Man, she is so nice… My pregnant brain starts to produce a couple of touchy tears, which I hurriedly wipe away.8

“Thank you again, you are so nice, thank you…”, I say quietly. She squeezes me a bit tighter and then lets go.

“Have a safe journey, dear.”

Then Jonathan grabs my duffel and they both walk me to my car. I wave to them as I drive off and can’t help to shed another pregnant touchy tear at the sight – he’s huge and she looks tiny near him, his hand is wrapped around her shoulders and she leans to him. They seem to share this awesome kind of love, which I only wish to have.