Natalie Hill
“Now hide your phone.” Erin came running towards me with my cell. She already had me hide the remote for the television and a small bag of gummy bears. I snuck the remote out when she wasn’t looking but I kept the gummy bears to eat later.
“Okay, but I don’t think I can fit anything else,” I said as Erin handed me my cell and I continued to wrap and fold it in the elastic waist of my maternity jeans.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
As I started towards the door, a security guard opened the door and stuck his head in. “Mrs. Westlake, you have a visitor.”
The security guards assumed I was Noah's wife and in the usual fashion, Noah never corrected them. “Who is it?”
“A Gregory Reed.”
“Oh, yes, you can let him. He’s a friend of Mr. Westlake.” I reassured the guard.
The guard opened the door fully and there stood Gregory. “Gregory, I thought you and Noah were meeting at some bar,” I asked confused why he was here when he should have been with Noah.
“Oh, Shit! Did I get this all confused?” He continued to walk further into the house. The security guard closed the front door with him on the outside leaving Gregory and me alone in the hallway. Gregory walked towards me with open arms. I hesitated at first, not sure if a hug felt appropriate, but Gregory left me no choice. I was in his arms in a bear hug within seconds and then something changed. He squeezed me so tightly that it hurt. I tried to push him away but his hold on me was more than my strength could handle.
Then it changed.
I felt a blunt object jabbed into my pregnant belly and his mouth on my ear.
“Bitch, if you fucking scream I will kill your baby right here.”
I didn’t scream, but I squirmed trying to break away from his grip.
“That’s right, you fucking tease, you know what you need to do. Now be a good girl and tell that little girl it's time for bed.” I looked him in the eyes, and it was as if they changed. They were darker, more intense, evil. “And act like you and I are best friends.” He jabbed the gun deeper into my belly. “You understand.”
“Yes.” He released me and shoved the gun in the waistband of his pants.
“You fuck this up and I will kill you all.”
I lumbered towards the family room. Gregory stayed close enough to me I felt his breathe down my skin. When I got to the family room, Pam and Erin eyed Gregory and me, suspiciously. “Pam, can you take Erin upstairs and put her to bed.” Pam looked confused, so I quickly lied to protect them. “Gregory and I have grown up business to discuss.”
Pam reached for Erin’s hand and they walked away skeptical. Before they were out of sight, Erin yelled out to me. “Will you tuck me in Natalie?”
Gregory abruptly answered for me. “Yes, she’ll be right behind you.”
Gregory waited until Pam and Erin were out of sight then he spoke in a low, angry voice. “So this is what will happen and any misstep and I’ll kill all of you.” He used his gun and pointed towards the couch. “Sit.”
I did as he said.
“In five minutes we will walk upstairs where you will take the masking tape I have in my jacket pocket and tape up their mouths and their hands behind their backs. I’m going to lock them in the closet and then you and I will sneak out through the back of the house. I will not tape up your mouth until we are off the property so if you try to do anything stupid I will kill you and your baby instantly.”
Tears welled up in my eyes and I shook my head. “Why, are you doing this, Gregory?” The windows in this room had no blinds, so I hoped that a guard would catch Gregory brandishing his gun.
“Why, you have the fucking nerve to ask why. My brother is dead all because of you and your fucking lover.” He used his gun to scratch the stubble on his chin. “I’ve been watching you before you even took this job, and though it made it much harder to get to you, I knew the reward of killing you and hurting the man responsible for my brother's death would be that much greater.” He came closer to me and got right in my face. “And now, you’ve sweetened the pot with this.” He jabbed my pregnant belly with his gun. “Now, let’s go.” Gregory waved towards the hallway with his gun. “And act normal in case someone comes in the house.”
I walked into the foyer and up the stairs. When I arrived at Erin’s bedroom door, Gregory grabbed me and barked out instructions. “When you go in, act quickly, tell them not to yell and do as I say so that no one gets hurt.
“Can’t we just leave them be and sneak out the back.”
“NO! I need enough time to get far away from here. Now, do as I said.” He pointed the gun further into the skin of my belly.
I opened the door while Gregory stood back in the hallway. “Erin, honey, Pam, please listen carefully to me. First, don’t scream, but we are in danger so you must do as I say. Gregory wants me to tape up your mouths.” Erin cried and Pam turned white. I showed them the tape and as I approached them, Gregory came up quickly behind me and grabbed the roll of electrical tape from my hands.
“Bitch, give me that.” He quickly taped up their mouths and then had them fold their hands behind their backs and continued to wrap them with layers of tape.
Erin and Pam sat there crying, confused. He shoved them into the closet. Erin made eye contact with me and I tried to give her a reassuring look.
Before Gregory shut the closet door, I ran past him, gave Erin a kiss, and whispered in her ear. “Honey, tell daddy how we played the Kangaroo game.”
As I tried to give Erin another kiss, Gregory dragged me out of the closet causing me to fall to the floor. “Get up Bitch.” He yelled as he slammed the closet door.
I scrambled to my feet. Gregory pulled me by my shirt and threw me towards the bedroom door. My body slammed into the closed door. I turned around to face him and he came up on top of me pushing his body into mind. He grabbed my chin and squeezed my face together. My teeth cut into the insides of my cheeks. The pain had me seeing stars.
“When we step out of this room, you act normal or I will kill you and anyone who gets in my way. Do you understand?”
I couldn’t speak because of the way he clamped my mouth together, so I shook my head.
He opened the door to the hallway, stepped out using my body as a shield and checked in all directions. There was no one around, so he pushed me forward. I walked towards the top of the staircase where he grabbed me. “Wait.”
He looked down to make sure it was clear and then we proceeded.
Once down in the foyer he wrapped his arm around my back in case any of the guards were watching. “Smile Bitch.” He said through his teeth. He directed me towards the back door. “Where do the guards stand in the backyard?”
“They move around in the back.”
“Okay, when we go outside I want you to act casual. Follow my lead and if we run into one of them, we’re to act like two old friends enjoying each other’s company. When they are out of sight, we are going straight back and walking until we hit the pavement. I have a car parked on the other side of the woods.”
I did as he said. There was one guard off to the side but I waved to him as Gregory and I continued to stroll through the backyard. As we approached the end of Noah’s property, Gregory restrained my hands behind my back and covered my mouth with the tape. He clenched onto my shirt and dragged me through the woods. I stumbled a few times and once on the ground, he kicked me to get me back up on my feet. When we reached the road, I saw an old Honda parked on the shoulder near a bunch of bushes.
Gregory opened the back door. The back seats were down and he yelled at me to get in the trunk. I climbed in the back and struggled to fit myself into the cramped space. He then pushed the seats back into upright positions. Rolled up in a ball, squished into this small space, I prayed. I prayed that Noah would return home and Erin would tell him about the Kangaroo game. If he knew I had my phone on me, he could track it. Then a horrifying thought crossed my mind, what if Gregory killed Noah before he came over to the house? I was about to have a panic attack when I heard a phone ring.
A woman’s voice answered. Gregory had her on speakerphone. I listened to their conversation.
“Do you have her?” She asked.
“Yes. What about him?” Gregory asked.
“He just left.” She answered.
He was alive. Now I could only hope that Erin knew what I meant when I mentioned the Kangaroo game. To occupy my mind and get an idea of how far we traveled I counted. When we finally stopped, he got out and slammed the door. I braced myself for what came next but nothing happened for some time. I don’t know how much time had past when he finally took me from the car but when he hauled me out of the trunk, he was out of breath.
Gregory ripped the electrical tape from my mouth and dragged me onto the pavement. He walked behind me towards a motel door with the number eleven on the outside. He opened the door and once inside he shoved me forward onto the bed.
I landed on top of my belly and then rolled onto my side. With my hands taped behind my back, I found it difficult to stabilize myself.
He climbed on the bed and got in my face and spoke about the heinous things he would do to me before he killed me. “You fucked my brother up good and now I’m going to fuck you up.” He roughly stroked the side of my face with his hand, shoved his tongue down my mouth, and shoved his other hand between my legs. I tried to squirm and push him away with my shoulders but he tightened his grip between my legs. My resistance only angered him more, and he pushed me flat on my back. I felt more vulnerable in this position because now I lay on top of my trapped hands.
He straddled his legs over me looking down at me with an evil stare. “My brother said you were a sweet piece of ass. Now, it’s my turn to see just how sweet you are.”
He groped my breasts over my shirt then he ripped open my shirt and pulled my bra under my breasts. He grabbed each breast and roughly kneaded them then sucked hard on my nipple. “You have beautiful fucking tits, you whore.” He bit down hard and pulled up on my nipple with his teeth. Pain ripped through me and I whimpered.
“Oh poor baby, did I hurt you, Bitch.” He slapped me across my face.
I ignored the sting and stretched my head back and off to the side. I couldn’t watch his invasion on my body. I focused my eyes on a small picture hanging on the wall. It was a nature scene with horses and a lot of trees. There was a small figure wearing white standing near one horse. I squinted while staring at the picture trying to block out what was happening to me. As he moved his hands down my body to remove my pants, the lights from a car lit up the entire room.
Gregory jumped up and ran to the window. I sat up in bed and I quickly looked around the room for his gun hoping it was not in his reach. It was on the opposite side of the room. Having no use of my hands, I ran as fast as I could and body slammed my shoulder into Gregory’s back. I caught him by surprise, so I took him down. Before he fell, he hit his head on the glass window. I screamed as loud as I could and within seconds, someone kicked the door open.
It was Noah and behind him many unrecognizable faces. He looked at me with relief then ran towards me covering my naked breasts with his body. He held me tight and kissed my face. “Get an ambulance; She’s pregnant.”
He clutched my shirt together and turned me to remove the tape from my hands. Then he pulled back the comforter, dragged the plain white sheet from the bed, and wrapped me in it. The police handcuffed Gregory and read him his rights, but it did not deter him from screaming profanities at Noah and me as they dragged him out of the room.
Noah crouched down to look me in the eyes. He wiped the tears from my face and smoothed my hair back. “Baby, same something, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m okay. I.” I tried to say more, but I broke out in an uncontrollable sob as the shock passed and I realized I was safe and in Noah’s arms.
Noah pulled me into his body and tucked my head under his chin. He yelled back at the officers. “Where’s the ambulance? My wife needs an ambulance.”
One officer ran into the room. “It just pulled up. Can she walk out?”
“Baby, are you okay to walk?”
I shook my head. Noah held onto me as we walked outside. The ambulance parked out in front and the paramedics ran toward me. He yelled out to the others. “She pregnant, let’s bring her in.”
Noah climbed in after me. The paramedics checked the baby’s vitals and mine. Everything sounded good, but they brought me to the hospital for further tests.
I stayed overnight for observation and Noah stayed with me. He called Erin and Pam when things settled down and explained to Erin that we were okay and we’d be home in the morning. Erin sounded frantic, so I asked him if Pam could bring her here.
Pam and Erin arrived an hour later. Erin shared my bed with me and we held on to each other as we slept through the night. Noah slept in the chair next to my bed, or at least I thought he slept, but in the morning when I woke his face told a different story.
“You didn’t sleep?”
“No, I’ll sleep tonight when we’re home in our house.” He scrubbed his face with his hands then scratched the stubble on his chin. “But I enjoyed watching you and Erin sleeping.”
“You watched us?”
“All night. And you know what I realized; I had my whole family here in this little space. You, Erin, and our new child all right here.” He pointed to the bed. “I never thought I could feel so safe and feel so much love than I did last night watching the three of you. I could even see our baby kick you every once in a while. I watched the cover over your stomach move.”
“He kicks a lot in the middle of the night.”
“He?” Noah questioned.
“I think the baby is a he.”
“Well, only a few months left and we’ll know for sure.”
“Do you regret not finding out?”
“No, because I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. I’m just so happy to be having a baby with you.” Noah rubbed my arm as he rested his elbows on the edge of the bed.
Noah stood, leaned in and kissed me just then Erin stirred. She opened her eyes, stretched out with a yawn and stared up at her father. “Can we go home now?”
Noah looked at me, and we both answered her, "Definitely."