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For now, I don’t think about saving my food. The only thing running through my mind is the insatiable hunger coursing through me. My hand settles on my stomach. I caress there, soothing myself and the little one inside me.
Emily’s eyes follow the action. When she settles on my stomach and the way I touch it, her eyes widen. A realization dawns there, bright and clear as day. “A-Are you p-pregnant?”
I pause the scarfing of my sandwich. So Holly hadn’t told her, and she hadn’t noticed? Strange.
Swallowing, I nod. Maybe this is my way in. “Yeah, I am. I’m going to have a baby.”
Emily’s complexion pales. Her eyes linger on my stomach and then dart nervously to my face. “I didn’t know.”
I shrug. “It’s alright. You don’t know me.”
“Yeah, but—” She wraps her arms around herself, glancing away from me. “I didn’t realize. I thought it was just you. Holly never said anything. Just that you were a terrible person who needed to stay locked up. I didn’t think… I mean, she’s not nice, but I didn’t think she’d do this to a pregnant person.”
I set my tray aside and look at Emily. “You can help make this right, you know,” I whisper to her. I keep my voice low, not wanting to alert the guard on the other side of the door if it’s not soundproof. “You can help me get out of here. I can’t stay here… but I especially can’t stay here while I’m pregnant.”
Emily swallows. Her eyes are deep pools, so brown they’re almost black. “You don’t understand,” she whispers. “She—she’s my sister. She’s been my guardian since our parents died and she… she’s… You don’t know what she’d do to me?—”
“You’re saying that to the pregnant woman she kidnapped,” I counter. “I know this is scary. I know exactly what she’s done and why she’s done it. She’s a bad person, Emily.” I hold my stomach tighter. “She made the father of my baby write a letter saying he didn’t want anything to do with my baby and me. Just to make me suffer in my last days. Please… I can’t do this on my own. But if you help me, you wouldn’t have to go back to her. She would be put away somewhere and you wouldn’t have to be under her thumb. You could get what you want and help a pregnant woman in need.”
I try to appeal to all the angles that I can see here. I desperately need her to see that she can get out of this if she helps me now.
The gears turn and whirl in her head. Something about going against Holly makes her panicky.
“She’s always telling me what to do,” she croaks. “All I’m allowed to do is go to school, do my homework, and stay home. I can’t have friends. I have to serve her dinner and if she doesn’t like it, she—she hurts me. I’m not allowed to do anything without her giving me permission. And if I don’t do it… she’ll lock me up down here, too.” Emily swallows again. This time, I see tears blooming uncontrollably in her eyes. “What if it doesn’t work?”
“What if it does?”
The counter this time is a gamble. It relies solely on her believing that maybe this will be worth it in the long run in spite of everything that Holly’s upbringing has told her about the world and what she’s capable of as a person.
“I… I don’t… I don’t know. I need to th-think about it.”
It’s not a commitment outright, but it isn’t a no.
I’ll take it.
“Take all the time you need,” I say to her. “Please just… just help me. That’s all I’m asking.”
I know it’s selfish. If this doesn’t work, I could be putting this little girl into a world of trouble deeper than she’s already in.
But if it does work? If we manage to escape and get out of here? Then she’s free just like I am. Holly will get put away. I’ll be able to see Reese and bring this baby into the loving world it deserves.
Emily’s resolve is quiet, but it’s there. She nods her head and gives me the hope I’m looking for. “Alright. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Tomorrow can’t come soon enough. I finish all my food after Emily leaves, wanting to have as much strength and nourishment as possible, even if that nourishment is barely enough to even keep my eyes open. Then I drink half my bottle of water, saving the rest for tomorrow.
When I lie down to sleep, I force myself to actually sleep. I curl in the most comfortable position that I can muster up, push my back flat against the wall, and cradle my head beneath my hands.
I dream of Reese. That he’s here to hold me and tell me that everything will be okay. His voice is clear in my ears, as if he were here with me.
Fuck Holly. I’ve got you. You’re mine, Olivia. You’re always gonna be mine. You and this kid—our family.
I’m getting out of here tomorrow.
I’m getting to Reese.
I’m going home.
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