“Where is he?” I looked at them one at a time, waiting for one of them to answer me. No one spoke. I felt a whirl of different emotions stir inside me. I was happy he was back but angry at the same time. I was desperate to see him, to feel him, at the same time I wanted to run him over with my jeep.“Where is he?” I shouted the anxiety was chewing at me.“He just left,” my dad whispered. He was cold and angry. I could see my reaction didn’t please him.“What do you mean he just left?” I rushed into the living room to check, he wasn’t there but the front door was open. I stood at the doorway staring outside into the dark.“You told him to leave.”“How could I when I didn’t even know he was here?” I turned and looked at him. I was scared now. Scared that I wouldn’t see Ash ever again. That he wasn’t coming back.“You said the person all

A whole week had passed since Sabrina’s attack and the house was still on high alert. Ash had insisted that we stay home until he was sure Sabrina wasn’t in Florida. My dad stayed with us while Ash and the others left for three days circling the state in search of Sabrina. We expected them back today but even though I knew Ash was coming back, I wasn’t sure if he would be back in the house, in the room next to mine. I woke up every day a few hours after I fell asleep. With Ash back home I found it hard to sleep. He made me anxious as I kept expecting him to come into the room and apologize telling me how much he loved me and holding me while I fell asleep in his arm like he used to. But it never happened. And watching the sunrise each morning thinking of the night we spent on the beach only made things worse. And now that Ash was sure there was no immediate threat, he was letting us out of the safe house to go on with our normal school schedules. It was a distraction that would give

“The beach.” Then I realized Ash must be somewhere around watching me. I looked around as we drove hoping I would spot him. I didn’t want him to know where I spent most my time. I knew the girls wouldn’t tell him because I made them promise not to tell anyone the first day I took them there. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he must have been tracking me through the GPS. When we got to a fuller road, I pried the screen out with my pocketknife. “What are you doing?” Josh asked me, shocked. “Making sure we aren’t being followed.” I looked at the wires. They were connected differently. Dad wasn’t joking when he said the car would stop if I tried to cut the wires. “Josh, which of these wires doesn’t look right to you?” “What?” “My…uncle said if I tried to disconnect the GPS again the car would stop.” “Let me take a look at it.” He pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped. “Why do you want to disconnect it anyway?” He took th

I felt a nudge in my belly. I smiled but I didn’t bother to wake up. The twins might be up but I still felt very tired. I turned to my back to give them more space as they swam around hoping they wouldn’t disturb my sleep. I felt another nudge on my right. It was harder this time. I ignored it; I didn’t want to wake up now.“Whatever it is, you’ll have to wait until I feel like waking up,” I mumbled.The kicks got harder, but the ones on the left were softer than the right. Annoyed I woke up. It might be my body but they called the shots. “Baby on the right, don’t blame me if I like baby on the left better.”I pulled myself up and sat on the bed. I felt sicker and more exhausted than I’d ever felt before. This may be usual according to Josh but there was nothing usual about my body. With all that was going on inside me, I was sure my body was having a difficult time dealing with it.“Don&rs

“I do have siblings and my mom’s a nurse. I love them but sometimes I feel like ringing their necks. And we talked babies because it seemed to be the topic which relaxed you.”I shook my head. “Relaxed, I don’t think so. I’m scared out of my mind when I think about it.”“Motherhood will be a challenge but you’ll manage.” He gave my hand a tight squeeze.I looked at him, envious of his oblivion. I wished that motherhood was the fear I was talking about. I was scared I wouldn’t be able to experience it because I died or they died or I’d have to give them up for adoption.“You sound so sure of me.”“Of course I am. You’ve been through so much and you are still standing. You are talented and caring. And you’ll be the coolest mom ever!”I gave him a weak smile. “Mom’s aren’t supposed to be cool.”“You wi