What happens when a deranged man goes on a rampage to bring an innocent woman to her knees in defeat? What happens when that woman chooses to fight back? Who will win in this battle of good versus evil?
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For a long time Elsie sat in a tub with water filled to the rim staring at the walls but not really seeing anything. Nor did she hear the dripping from the leaky sink faucet. And she wasn't sure how much of the water in the tub were tears of her own since she's been silently crying, weeping as if a part of her has died. She ignored her pruny fingertips and instead mused on how she was going to live with this secret.
A child.
Her chest felt hollow. Her breaths fell short. Blinking, her lashes swept away more tears spurring from her eyes. Elsie couldn't keep this secret forever and eventually, she is going to start showing. The questions regarding who the baby's father is will arise and she'd be forced to lie. Rick would know just from simple common sense that the child isn't his and Elsie wouldn't be able to deny it. Rick looked nothing like Blair. In fact, they were nearly on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Blair held the description of being a classically handsome tall man with dark hair, natural golden tan skin and dark eyes. Rick, in contrast, is quite a fair skinned, blonde haired, blue-eyed, short guy who is more like the guy-next-door type.
Then reality hits hard. Her child is Blair's too.
The realization, although obvious from the moment she knew that she was expecting, struck a nerve. Elsie peeled her eyes away from the wall and she sat peering down at her belly. For now it's flat as a board but in months it would be rounded from carrying his growing child. Thoughts of self harm flashed through her mind. All of her problems would fade away if she'd just sink down a little further into the tub. Demonic voices whispered to her that all would be well if she peacefully held her breath in the calmness of the water.
The guilt, the torment, the pain and the worrying would drift away as soon as she closed her eyes for good. Elsie almost dove her head down towards the water pooling at her shoulders until she remembered something Blair said to her.
"I'm going to make your life miserable. With me, you'll be living in hell."
No. This isn't the way. Elsie can't let him infiltrate her mind so easily and he won't take anymore from her including her sanity. She slowly rose and stepped out of the water too numb to feel the chill of air prickling her bare skin. In a daze, she dried off and dragged herself into bed allowing the darkness of the room to consume her. Sleep, like so many other nights, never came to rescue her from the agony.
• • •
Lindsey didn't speak for a while and Elsie was sure it's because she was disappointed. Setting the phone down, Elsie sat back down on the bed awaiting her sister's response. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what Lindsey had to say but she called her anyway. The pregnancy was going to progress until the point that it would be noticeable to anyone who saw Elsie, which is why she thought it was best to tell the person she was closest to, Lindsey.
"Are you sure?"
Elsie closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "I took a test last night and then again today. Both came back positive. I didn't want to believe it either."
