Welcome To The Family

Stay Behind

Jenny ran out of the living room as soon as Emme spoke. I could barely hear her banging on the kitchen door over the sound of the record playing. Emme's face went pale and she cradled her stomach. I tightened my arm around her and pulled her in for a hug. Emme threw her arms around my neck and started to sob.

"What is wrong with me?" she cried.

"Nothing is wrong with you," I said.

"Why do I love him?"

I pushed Emme off of me. I grabbed her shoulders and held onto her. Emme's eyes were red and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her nose did its usual twitch.

"You love him because he is always going to protect you and take care of you," I said. "That's why I love Gabe. He's always going to keep me and my babies safe."

Emme hastily wiped the tears off of her cheeks. She looked over my shoulder and I turned to see Taylor walking into the room. He had a wide smile on his lips. He kneeled in front of Emme. I was shocked when she ripped herself free from my hold to wrap her arms around Taylor's neck. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"Mom told me what you said," Taylor said. Emme cried harder. Taylor put his hand on the back of her head and kissed her cheek. "I love you so much."

"I love you," Emme sobbed.

"Let's get you upstairs," Taylor said.

He stood, pulling Emme to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder. I watched as they left the living room. Jenny turned off the music and held her hand down toward me.

"Let's go," she said.

I raised a brow, unsure of what she meant, but took her hand anyway. She pulled me through the house and over to the kitchen door. I smiled when I saw that it was open, and we stepped out into the night air.

"Mommy!" Jared squealed.

He was on Noah's lap, and Noah set him down onto the deck. Jared ran over to me with his arms up in the air. I picked him up and planted a kiss on the side of his head. I can't wait until they trust Emme and we can do this every night.

"Come here, sweetheart," Gabe held out his hand.

I sat down on Gabe's lap and he wrapped his arms around Jared and I. Jared could no longer sit flat against me because of my pregnancy bump. Jenny sat in the empty lawn chair next to Noah. They intertwined their fingers. Dylan sat off to the side, and was busy reading.

"It's good to see Emme finally settling in," Noah said. "The basement did her good."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I hate that Emme had to be left alone in a basement for days for her mind to clear. I had to remind myself that it was all done so that she could realize that she loves this family.

---

The next few mornings, Taylor and Emme would come down the stairs for breakfast holding hands. Emme did not say one bad word about Taylor as we cleaned the house. A few weeks passed and my stomach grew larger and Emme started to suffer from morning sickness. It was sweet to see Taylor take care of her as she was vomiting in the bathroom.

Jenny made Emme sit in th eliving room as we cooked dinner because Emme kept gagging while frying pieces of the meat. It made me wonder when they would tell Emme the truth about the meat. I was curious if they would tell her the truth about the baby girls first. I prayed Emme didn't have a girl. I didn't want her to ho through what I went through with Bonnie.

We were almost done cooking dinner when the men came into the house. Jared squealed and ran toward Gabe. He picked Jared up and kissed his cheek. It always made me smile to see the two of them together.

"Where's Emme?" Taylor asked.

"She's resting in the living room," Jenny said. "She wasn't feeling well."

"I'll go check on her."

Noah and Dylan went upstairs to wash up. Gabe leaned against the counter with Jared in his arms. Jared had his thumb in his mouth and was resting his head against Gabe's shoulder.

"You two look cute," I said.

Gabe smiled. I got up on my toes and kissed him.

The floor creaked and I looked over my shoulder to see Taylor and Emme walk into the kitchen. Taylor had his arm around Emme's waist. He guided her over to the dining room table. Jenny and I brought the food over and Gabe set Jared down in his high chair.

Noah and Dylan came downstairs and we were about to eat when there was a knock on the front door. My heart pounded and my eyes went wide as I looked over at Gabe.

"I'll get it," he said.

He stepped forward and I snatched his arm. I shook my head. It was too dangerous. We had no idea what was on the other side of that door.

"You can't," I said.

"Sweetheart, it's okay," he said.

"Who is it?" Emme asked.

We looked over at her to see her brows furrowed together. I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. Emme finally got used to it here. I did not want anything to ruin that.

"Don't answer it," I said. "They'll go away."

"Lindsay," Gabe snapped. "Don't tell me what to do."

There was a knock on the door again, but this time it was louder. Gabe ripped his arm out of my grip and headed toward the door. I knew I shouldn't, but I followed him. He looked over his shoulder at me before he answered the door and sighed.

"Stay behind me," he said.

I nodded. I cradled my belly as I stood behind Gabe. I could barely see over his shoulder.

Gabe unlocked the door with his key. A couple, who seemed a few years younger than us, were standing on the deck. The man flashed us a smile. The girl's eyes darted between us and the man.

"Hello," the man said. "We seem to be lost and we can't get any cell service. We were wondering if you know how to get back to the main road."

"You're far from the main road," Gabe said. "We have some maps inside that you can have."

My chest tightened. Those were the same words he used to get my friends and I into the house. They were luring them in to slaughter them. I grabbed Gabe's arm and squeezed it.

"That sounds great," the man said. "Come on, Val."

"Chris, let's wait out here," she said. "They can bring them out here."

"It's going to take us a moment to find them," Gabe said. "Come inside. It looks like it's going to rain."

Chris took a step forward and I held my breath. Val rolled her eyes as she followed him into the house. Gabe closed the door and locked it.