TERMS AND CONDITIONS

{Deleted Scenes and Extras from the Modern Arrangements Trilogy}
Sadie Grubor

Scene:  A Birthing Story
{Night after Chinese Steakhouse dinner.
Begins with Elora and James in bed asleep}
James Iverson

"James."

I heard my name, but hell the Saki knocked me on my ass tonight.

"JAMES!"

Jerking up in bed at Elora’s scream, I twisted to her side of the bed.

"What? What’s the matter?"

Her face was pale white and her breathing heavy.

"I think my water just broke." he sounded scared.

"You think?" I questioned.

"Don’t be an asshole James! We need to go to the hospital!" She snapped.

"Okay…okay." I took a breath and ran around getting dressed, grabbing her hospital bag, and then collecting my wallet, phone, and keys. I turned around and saw the Elora was bent over and panting. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Fuck NO, I’m not okay! There is a watermelon trying to escape my body!" I flinched at the loudness and the imagery that entered my mind.

"Okay…" she panted.  "Let’s go. PLEASE."

I helped Elora to the car and then called our families along the way. Once we pulled up to the hospital I pulled up to the doors and helped Elora into the hospital.

"My wife is in labor!" I shouted just like a fucking movie.

One nurse arrived with a wheelchair and had her sit down.

"Sir you can’t park there!" A security guard had tapped my shoulder as he spoke.

"Well here you go then." I tossed him my keys and followed the nurse who was pushing Elora toward the elevators. I heard him chuckling as I ran after them. Finally we got Elora situated into her private room and I made a few more calls to people.

"Oh God!" Elora’s knuckles were white as she gripped the bed rails.

"Breath, focus…just like Emily…"

"FUCK EMILY!" Elora shouted.

I flinched away in surprise.

"Emily isn’t the one in this bed! I am! And it’s worse than death!"

"It’s okay baby." I caressed her head, trying to soothe her. Big mistake.

"Don’t touch me!"

She yanked her head away.

"Oh God, you are getting a vasectomy before we leave this hospital!"

My dick retreated inside my body at the mention of a vasectomy.

"It will be okay, just breath Elora, breath." Grabbing her hand in mine, she squeezed. I never realized how strong Lor is. I swear she was going to break my fingers. "It’s almost over now. It’s coming down."

She panted, starting to calm.

"I want drugs James! Now."

I ran into to the hall and bumped into a massive wall of human. "What the..?"

"Hey there…slow down man."

The voice was familiar.

"Dixon? What the fu..?"

"Hey, hey, there are kids on this floor." He laughed. "I’m filling in on this floor."

He smiled wide.

"Oh, Hell no!" I shook my head. "You are not our nurse…there is no way—"

Elora screamed.

"Hold that thought." Dixon pushed passed me and into Elora's room.

"Oh Dixon…please, get me drugs. Please? I don’t want to feel a thing!" Elora pleaded.

Expecting Dixon to make a joke, instead he grew very serious but kept a face that oozed compassion.

"Take a deep breath Elora. We'll get the anesthesiologist down here soon, but you have another contraction coming."

Elora whimpered.

"Grab my hand and squeeze. Here we go."

"Ow, oh shit, Ow, oh shit!" Elora chanted.

"Breath in. Breath out." Elora listened to Dixon's instruction.

"James get over here. I need to call for the anesthesiologist."

Nodding, I quickly replaced Dixon.

Dixon left, but returned quickly. He started going through drawers and grabbing different things out of cabinets, setting up on a table and a tray.

The doctor came in and smiled warmly at Elora.

"So, are we all ready?"

"Oh God, yes!" Elora didn’t hesitate.

The doctor chuckled.

"Okay, let’s check your progress." He settled on a stool between her legs and pushed her knees back. There was little movement as he checked her over. "Well, it shouldn’t be much longer, but we still have some time and some ways to go. You’re only dilated to four centimeters."

Elora groaned.

"The anesthesiologist is on his way," the doctor patted her knee and Elora looked like she might just do a happy dance.

"Here comes another one." Dixon announced and stood next to Elora on the other side of the bed.

"Relax baby," I tried to sooth Elora again.

"Relax?" She yelled and squeezed my hand. "Let me squeeze your balls relentlessly and see how you relax!" I shivered at the thought.

Dixon chuckled and I glared at him.

The anesthesiologist arrived and gave Elora the epidural. About two minutes later she was lying back like he'd exercised the demon from her body. With a sigh, I sat down in a chair next to her.

Elora drifted into a restless slumber. I took the opportunity to lie back in the lounge chair that was on the side of the bed. It was Dixon’s voice that brought me out of my nap.

"Alright, it’s time to check on you. Knees up."

Elora complied.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" I stood quickly. "There is no way you're going to…." I motioned to between her legs.

"Man, this is my job!" Dixon argued.

"You are not going between my wife’s legs, not now and not while she is giving birth!" I countered.

"So help me God, Henry James Iverson, if you do not let him get this fucking baby out of me I will kill you in your sleep!" The demon returned.

"Okay…proceed."

Dixon's shoulders shook with silent laughter as he continued with the examination.

"I think it’s time to call the doctor. You ready Lor?" Dixon gave her a big smile.

"Oh hell yes!" She exclaimed.

Dixon pushed the call button above the bed. Then he adjusted Elora’s bed so she was sitting up further and the bottom of the bed was pulled down and out.

"James, you take that knee and push back when I tell you to, okay?"

Nervousness having taken away my ability to speak, I nodded.

"Elora, you grab the back of your thighs, just like in the Lamaze class, okay?"

She nodded.

"I heard someone is ready to make their arrival." The doctor entered with a large smile and a nurse following him. He sat down on the stool and pushed the sheet up over her knees.

Perspiration began beading along my hairline. My palms grew damp.

"Ready?" The doctor looked expectantly at Elora.

Elora nodded.

"Alright, when I say push, you push. When I say to hold it, I need you to try very hard to not push. We want to avoid tearing as much as possible."

Tearing? What the hell was going to tear? The room started to shift and I waivered.

"You okay James?" Dixon looked me over.

I shook my head.

"I don’t know if I can…I don’t think I can do this, watch this—"

"Too late now." The doctor announced. "Push."

Elora grunted and pulled at the back of her thighs. Dixon had her left knee. I held tight to her right.

"Keep pushing," the doctor instructed. "Okay, now the next contraction will be coming quickly, take a deep breath and push hard into your bottom…..Now."

"I can see the head." The doctor informed.

I couldn’t take my eyes from Elora. Her forehead sweaty, cheeks red, and she still smiled.

"James." Dixon drew my attention. "Look dude, there’s your baby."

Taking a deep breath, I looked down.

"Oh my God." I exclaimed.

"You don’t have to look." Elora panted, clearly thinking I was disgusted.

"You’re doing it, baby!" I shouted.

Excitement replacing my nervousness, adrenalin coursed through my veins. I took a quick glance at Elora, catching a smile on her face before I turned back to the birth of my kid.

"Push," the doctor instructed

"You are doing great baby. It’s coming. I can see it!"

"Aahhhrrrhhhggg." Elora released a guttural moan.

A tiny head emerged. I sucked in a breath, holding it.

"Hold it." The doctor stood quickly. "Don’t push Elora, hold on for me."

The doctor worked quickly, and then he started to rotate the baby just like the video from Lamaze.

"You're doing fantastic Elora." The doctor praised. "Give me one small push, just a small one." He continued the rotating movement. "Perfect! And……there we go!"

He pulled the baby free and wrapped his hands around a gooey screeching child. Dixon moved fast, placing a large cotton blanket across Elora’s stomach. The doctor laid our baby on her.

"You have a boy! Congratulations!"

My son, I have a son. This little person was mine, ours.

"We have a son." I said the words barely a whisper.

Leaning down, I kissed Elora’s head.

"Yes, we have a beautiful son." Elora choked out between tears of happiness.

"Would you like to cut the cord?" The doctor held out a pair of scissors.

"Um…I don’t know. Uh…" I looked to Elora for direct, but she was mesmerized by the tiny bundle in her arms. "Okay." I said firm enough to convince myself to do this.

He held up the cord and I cut where he instructed.

Warmth trickled down my cheek. I'd started crying with her.

"You…you are amazing." I stared at my wife. She was so much stronger than me, it was undeniable. I was so proud of her. She smiled and then turned back to our son.

"I hate to do this, but give me fifteen minutes to check this little guy over." Dixon said, as he reached down and picked my son up into his huge arms. "I promise he'll be back soon."

Dixon took him to a large table and began doing some tests on the tiny little DNA cocktail Lor and I created. Unable to look away from my son, my heart swelled.

Elora had given me something I never realized would mean this much in just a matter of minutes. Leaning down again, I took her mouth – firmly.

"I love you so much! Thank you!"

"I love you too." She whispered, pressing her forehead to mine.

The doctor interrupted with some directions for Elora on the final stages of the birth. Apparently, she has to deliver something else. Not wanting to know what else women have to deal with during childbirth, I went over to watch over my boy as he wiggled and screamed.

Once Dixon finished, he picked up the boy, handing him to Elora.

"You're a lucky man." Dixon stated, watching Elora with the baby.

"I swear to god Dixon, if that’s a crack about you seeing Elora—"

"Calm down James. I was referring to your family." He motioned to Elora and our son.

Feeling brave, I spoke without thinking.

"Besides, you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, huh?" I chuckled, nudging his arm.

"No way, Elora was especially—"

"Shut up."

Dixon turned to face me.

"Don’t start shit about my job then dickhead." He smirked, and then winked, heading for the door. Before leaving the room, he turned. "Oh by the way, you have a waiting room full of family."

Looking at the clock, I realized we'd only been here for about six hours. Wow, Elora’s labor was actually pretty short – intense, but short. After kissing Elora once more, and placing a soft kiss to my son's head, I went to inform the masses about their new family member.

Scene:  Awaiting the Big V
{Set Up:  Elora, James, and Aidan sitting

in waiting room of doctor's office for James vasectomy.}
Aidan

"What if they fuck up Elora? What if I can’t get it up after the surgery? What will you do then, cause I won’t let you sleep with another guy?"

I came along for moral support, plus it was something that Lilli and I had discussed.

"James, I am not having any more children and this is the most effective and less evasive way to take care of it." She argued.

"Less evasive?! They are going to put a scalpel near my dick, Lor, that’s pretty fucking evasive to me!"

Elora glanced around the room, horrified by James loud comments.

"Aidan, tell her!" He pleaded.

"Um…James, as a guy I get where you are coming from, but I have to admit Lilli has suggested this to me as well." I rubbed the back of my head. "And, well, it really does seem like the most effective and less evasive way to go."

"Traitor." He glared before turning back to Elora. "What if, and this is just hypothetical, what if at some point you do decide you want just one more child?"

Elora narrowed her eyes on him.

"Now look here, Henry James Iverson, I have given birth to five, count them; one, two, three, four, five of your children." She ticked each number off on her hand. "I have been pregnant for over five years of my life. It's enough and this is the least that you can do, which will only be a couple of days of discomfort in place of my five years."

James tried to interrupt, but Elora was having none of it.

"If you don’t do this, then you can say goodbye to my pussy for the rest of my fertile life!"

My eyes widened at Elora’s uncommon bluntness. When I glanced back to James, his eyes reflected horror at the mention of celibacy. James stood and briskly walked to the nurse's desk.

"Excuse me." He tapped on the glass window. "I have an appointment this afternoon."

I turned to Elora.

"Nicely played."

Settling back in her seat, Elora smiled victoriously.

Her Side of the Story – A Mother's Sacrifice
Loreley

Since my first memory, it was me and my father. In fact, he is in just about every memory of my life. My mother died when I was very young, and my father never once hesitated to express his distaste for her weakness. I barely remember my mother and was never allowed to associate with her family, even when they had shown up to our home to see me.

I knew I resembled her. This was just one more thing my father never let me forget. At an early age, I learned that to please my father was the only way to feel successful and loved. If he wasn’t pleased then he was cold and harsh.

One of my biggest lessons was the day he took me to my first Iverson Charity Gala. Strictly instructed to get close to Aidan Iverson III, I was dressed in a sleek red gown, hoping it would catch young Iverson’s attention. Then came a limousine conversation, where my father distinctly instructed me to do whatever it took to get to Aidan; lie, cheat, and seduce.

At the age of fourteen, I was slightly confused by seduction. I knew the meaning of the word. I was Gideon’s daughter after all and had seen seduction at its worst. However, I had never even kissed a boy. Bringing this fact to my father's attention, I quickly learned to do his bidding without question. He slapped my face.

"That's all trivial Loreley! You will do what it takes. Kissing, touching, whatever it takes, do you understand me?"

He held my face, his fingers digging into my cheeks.

"Don’t cry it will ruin your make up." He released my face, settling back into the leather seat of the limo.

Sucking my tears in, I held them and vowed to never cry in front of him again.

That night, Aidan, barely noticed me. I was panicked at how my father would react. At one point, I grabbed Aidan’s arm and pulled him to the dance floor. He was a gentleman and danced, but he didn’t even look at me twice, all of my attempts failed.

To say the limo drive home was bad is an understatement. My father slapped me around the back seat, shook me, all while screaming.

"You can't possibly be my daughter. Your whore of a mother must've slept around with some lowlife!" He howled.  "You're just like her. Except at least she knew how to bed men." He snorted.

 He knew what to say and just how to say it. I sobbed. He told me I was weak. I learned quickly, pleasing him was the only way to be loved.

Thinking back now, as I'm locked away, a prisoner in his home. I realize just how foolish I've been. My father, whom I tried so hard to please, has used, abused, and locked me up. And I still didn't have any answers as to why I woke up naked, next to Aidan, and Lilli shouting.

I really didn’t know what was going on. Once Aidan threatened me and rushed out of the room, I couldn't move. Sitting along in the middle of a strange bed, holding a pillow to cover my body, my head pounded.

When the hotel room door burst open and Karl and Rashand rushed into the room, I gasped.

"Wh-what’s going on?"

Karl grabbed my arm, pulling me from the bed. Rashand appeared with the dress I'd been wearing three days ago. What happened to those three days? I wracked my brain for any glimmer of memory.  Nothing.

"Get dressed!" Rashand ordered. I slipped the dress on.

Karl put a coat around my shoulders, a hat on my head, and sunglasses over my eyes. They ushered me down stairs instead of using the elevator. When I turned toward the lobby, Karl grabbed me and pulled me through another door and then another, until we reached the familiar limo parked at back of the hotel. Rashand opened the door. Karl shoved me in.

"Loreley." The smirk my father wore immediately made me shiver.

"Dad, what the hell is—?"

"You are in no position to ask questions!" He snapped. "However…" He shrugged. "I needed a warm healthy body and you’re it."

I grimaced as he referred to my body.

"I don’t understand" It came out barely above a whisper.

"You don’t need to." He spat.

The limo jerked forward and soon we were surrounded by city traffic.

The duration of the ride I felt sick and weighed down. There were so many questions, so many things he would not answer. I thought back to what Lilli had been yelling in the hotel room. I couldn’t help but sob. She would blame and hate me, assume I had purposely done this to her. Knowing my father had yet again stripped the only thing that really mattered from my life, made me sob harder.

"Seriously, Loreley, what has happened to you? You are pathetic. Stop sniveling at once. It’s highly unattractive." My father scolded.

When I couldn't hold in the sobs, he lifted his hand. I flinched back, but the hit never came. I peeked from beneath the hair that had fallen into my face to see why he had stopped. He never stopped before. All I saw was him breathing heavily and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Shut up before I'm forced to shut you up. I don’t want to Loreley!" Cold hard eyes of hatred focused in on me. "But I WILL DO IT if necessary!"

I swallowed the threatening sob, and controlled myself for the remainder of the trip.

Now locked away in my childhood bedroom at my father’s home, I was guarded at every door and window. I wasn’t allowed to leave the premises, must be escorted at all times. He had guards stationed and I could often see them wandering the yard under my window. The only access to the outside world I held prisoner from was the television.

Soap operas were nothing compared to my current situation. As I watched some reruns of a ridiculous reality show, my door abruptly opened. It wasn’t time for dinner to arrive, so I quickly stood and prepared myself for the worst.

"Here she is." My father entered wearing a smile.

I wanted to slap the smile off of his face, but knew Karl or Rashand would stop me before I could get a few feet. All that would do is piss him off, which would result in some form of punishment.

"Have you been keeping her rested and relaxed?" An unfamiliar older man asked.

He wore a dark suit and clutched a small black leather bag in his hand.  And there was just something about him that gave me the creeps.

"Of course, she's been in this room resting for almost five weeks now." My father smiled, proudly.

Five weeks? But…how, I thought it had only been four.

"What’s going on?" I took two steps back from them.

"Loreley, this is your doctor. He needs to examine you."

"For what? I'm not ill." Glaring at my father, I took another step back.

"Not yet." My father smirked. "Now behave." He ordered. And his all too familiar cold dark eyes hardened.

"I will do no such thing! He’s not touching me!"

"Karl! Rashand!" My father yelled, not further order required.

I tried to get to the bathroom and lock myself in, but Karl was too fast, too big, and too strong.

"Let go!" I screamed.

"Now, now dear. Don’t get upset, it’s not healthy for you or my grandchild."

As Karl forced me to sit on the bed, my wide eyes focused on my father.

"What grandchild?"

Father simply smirked, the same dark cold look on his face that I'd seen growing up.

"I didn’t sleep with Iverson! How could I..? What have you done to me?" Screaming, I lunged toward my father.

Karl caught me, his arms like steel bands around my upper arms.

"No you didn’t technically have sex with him. Unfortunately, your little rebellion a few months ago ruined all those plans, so other arrangements were made." He waved it off and turned to the doctor. "Will you be able to get the results to me today?"

The doctor nodded as he laid out needles, small vials, a rubber strap, and other small medical items.

"Other arrangements? What does that mean?" I growled out at him.

He sighed and ignored me.

"What did you put inside of me? How did you…? Oh god, you let someone…do this to me while I was knocked out?" I started sobbing and if it wasn’t for Karl holding me I was sure that I would be in a ball on the floor.

"Stop your sniveling! It’s ridiculous." He spat. "Don’t worry Loreley, no one took advantage of you. It was a simple medical procedure."

I looked up at him with swollen, cloudy eyes.

"You got me pregnant while I was knocked out." I said, sickly. "And you think that isn’t taking advantage?"

He laughed loudly.

"Oh Loreley, you were completely prepared to sleep with him before, now you're cringing at the thought of being pregnant with his child. Well, hopefully you’re pregnant and you don’t fail again." His tone changed to condescending. "You have been such a disappointment lately." He snorted.

"Though, it was entertaining to watch Hillary extract the necessary component from Aidan." He chuckled. "She, unlike my daughter, is very anxious to please."

He smiled. Nausea crept from the pit of my stomach, lodging at the base of my throat. I didn't know if I could swallow the lump. My vision doubled.

The doctor motioned to Karl. He gripped my arm, holding it out for him. I didn’t even bother fighting. They took the vials of blood and left me sobbing on my bedroom floor.

When I woke on the cold floor, my mind began reeling. I had to get out, to get away and hide. Knowing if I gave birth under this roof, my father would take the baby and simply dispose of me if I didn’t go along with his plan. How am I going to get away?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Six months of imprisonment passed. I tried my best to be on ‘good behavior’, hoping it would allot me some freedom. During those six months, I thought about what had led to my being locked away.

After Lilli stood up to her family, for me, for our friendship, I understood what it felt like to be accepted for who I am. Of course, at first, I'd bad intentions and was pretending, but soon I couldn’t help but be infatuated with Lilli. She is so compassionate. And when I began helping her at the shelters, I felt a shift inside of me. It wasn’t a welcome change for me, but I had no choice but to succumb. I knew I couldn’t hurt Lilli. I cared for her. Even though we were about the same age, she is the mother or female figure I'd never had in my life. Her interaction with her children and other children only made those feelings embed themselves into my soul, a soul I swore was lost many years ago.

Confronting my father, telling him I would not go along with his plan and would not sleep with Aidan and destroy their marriage, effective destroying Lilli, had not gone over well. He was furious and told me to stop being absurd. When I told him that I was done and turned to leave, he grabbed my arms and threw me to the floor.

"You are disgusting, just like your weak pathetic mother! She couldn’t handle it. She couldn’t handle anything. Hell she didn’t even care enough about you to follow orders. Instead she goes and kills herself! Absolutely pathetic!" He sneered.

"Mother killed herself?" I choked on this new information. A whirlwind filled my head, confusion and despair began to fill it.

He smirked at me.

"Of course she did. I suppose she did me a favor." He shrugged and I felt sick. "It got her out of the way and allowed me to raise your properly." Then he looked at me in disgust "How disappointing that you turned out just like her, even with her not around."

He sighed heavily.

"Get out of my sight! You are no longer my daughter! I will not have a disrespectful, uncooperative, and weak child!" He pushed a button on his desk that I was all too familiar with. Karl entered and removed me from the room.

"You're a sick bastard!" I screamed as Karl drug me out of the room.

"Goodbye Loreley." My father said. Without any emotion he watched me dragged from the room.

That was the night I had nowhere to go. Afraid to go to my apartment, fearing my father's wrath, I ended up on Lilli’s doorstep, eyes swollen and red. She had tried to get me to talk with her, but I couldn’t. If she knew what I'd been a part of, she would’ve hated me and she was all I had. Instead of pressing it, she offered me a place to stay. She completely amazed me with her compassion.

I was surprised at how things went when I did return to my apartment. I was sure my father would cut everything off and have me locked out, but he didn’t. So, I tried to quickly find a new place to live, withdrew as much money as I could from the bank and kept the cash around.

There were a couple of places in California I wanted to look at, as well as a college where I could finish my degree. Unfortunately, I didn’t work fast enough. Before I could move on with my life, father dragged me back in, this time unconsciously. "I needed a healthy warm body" he had said to me in the limo.

My good behavior paid off at six and a half months pregnant. I was allowed to walk around the grounds of the house. I didn’t push it at first. I may no longer be my father’s willing puppet, but he had taught me well. I observed and devised my plan.

Seven months pregnant, I suggested being allowed to go shopping for the baby. My father was reluctant, but allowed it, as long as Karl and Rashand were nearby. Given the fact my father rarely thought of the opposite sex, unless he needed a young girl to fuck him for a night or he needed to use someone like me, I assumed a dressing room would be my best opportunity.

While we were out, I purchased multiple baby items with my father’s money. I purchased an entire baby suite of furniture; crib, dresser, armoire, changing table, rocking chair, etc. Then I picked out bedding, blankets, sheets, stuffed animals, etc.

Then I walked into a maternity boutique and picked out some clothes. Karl tried to follow, but the attendant quickly stopped him.

"Sir, you can’t go back there." She put her hand on his chest.

I felt Karl eye me intently as I headed into the changing room, but I didn’t look back. I was sure he wouldn't physically restrain me in public.

Having grabbed about twenty different items, I hung them all on the hook behind the door. However, the only clothes that mattered were the two pairs of maternity jeans and the maternity cotton pants, along with the three cotton shirts. I slid the one pair of jeans on and one of the shirts; grabbing the other four items and stuffing them into my oversized purse.

Once I dressed, it took a few moments for me to clear my head and get the courage to do what came next. After a couple of deep breaths, as I held my stomach and clutched my purse, I squared my shoulders and peeked out from behind the curtain. Karl stood with his back to the dressing room, so I moved quickly to the other side, where I wouldn’t be visible. Then I saw what I hoped was there, the emergency exit. I ran through the door and never looked back.

Reaching my apartment, the doorman gave me the spare key after feeding him a story about losing my purse. I knew I was shaking, and he was eyeing me strangely. Grabbing the key quickly, I rushed the elevator and into my apartment.

Knowing there wasn’t much time, I grabbed a backpack and one large luggage bag. I threw clothes including the new ones, fake identification credentials (being Gideon’s daughter had some perks), and other items into my bag. Then grabbing my laptop, I put it in my back pack. Lastly, I grabbed the seventy five thousand dollars I had slowly accumulated in cash. Luckily, I still had my father’s credit cards in my purse as well. With one quick call to two different Taxi services, I took a deep breath and a quick look around my apartment before making my escape.

I knew this would be dangerous, but I also knew the elevator and stairs were possibly being watched at this very moment, my father moved fast. Climbing through the window at the end of my hallway, I climbed down the fire escape to the street. When my feet hit the ground, passer-byers stared at me curiously. But these strangers were the least of my worries.

The one taxi listened and parked in the alley to wait for me. I slid in quickly, telling him to take me to the airport. When we pulled up, I threw three hundred dollars into the front seat and rushed through the glass doors of the airport.

Inside the airport, I went to a ticket machine, skipping the customer service people. Purchasing four tickets on my father’s credit card, one to Paris, one to Italy, one to England, and another to Canada, I threw them in the garbage next to me. Finally, I purchased one ticket to Spain in cash at the service desk using my fake credentials. It was the only flight leaving in thirty minutes, so that was the flight I was taking. From Spain, I would catch a flight to my final destination.

Getting through security was simple. It seemed they didn’t want to hassle the pregnant woman too much. I didn’t start to settle until the plane lifted off of the ground. After I lay back and slept.

Once in Spain, I made transportation arrangements to travel by boat to Italy. From Italy I was flying to Germany. The whole thing was going perfect, better than I hoped. That was true until I reached Italy. Quickly, I realized the mistake when I saw my Uncle Calvin and his men in the airport. Internally cursing myself, I maneuvered as best as I could.

Finding a restroom, I hid in there for thirty minutes while I dug for a new set of credentials. Once I was all set, I pulled on a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses. I knew it wasn’t the best disguise, but it was all I had and I had gotten too far to just give up.

I made it to the service desk and got my ticket to Germany. The biggest issue was that I had two hours before the flight, so I had to hide and avoid. Quickly I retreated to the same bathroom that I had already been in. My nerves were on edge with every person that I heard enter the restroom.

Eventually I had to move, so I left the bathroom. I almost came face to face with one of my uncle’s associates so I wrapped my arm in a strange man’s and began smiling up at him with a small quiet laugh. Hoping that seeing me as a part of a couple would cause them to skip passed me. It worked and I let go of the strange man that looked at me as if I were crazy. Two women’s restrooms and one men’s room became my hideouts for an hour.

When I got back through security I knew I would have fewer options for hiding, but I settled on an airport bar. Sitting in the far back, behind a group of business men I was able to keep hidden. I quickly ordered a sandwich and chips because I was starting to feel sick. Finishing only half of my food, they called my flight. At first I hesitated and then at the last minute I rushed to board the flight. The moment we were in the air I felt more at ease. I relaxed enough to sleep the flight.

In Germany, I knew who I was looking for, but I didn’t know where. Pulling out my laptop in a small airport coffee shop, I connected. After searching around on the internet I found a couple of people who fit, so I would have to go around and try to figure out which was the correct person.

Walking up the second cobble stone pathway, toward a large stone house, my nerves almost made me throw up on the spot. I got to the door and knocked. Unable to stop fidgeting, I tried calming deep breaths. The door opened and I looked into a vaguely familiar face.

"Oh my!" The elderly woman exclaimed and put her hand on her heart. "L-Loreley?"

I nodded. Tears filled her eyes and she reached for me, pulling me into a large hug. I knew that I was stiff in her arms, but I still wasn’t sure who she was and even though I searched them out I was a nervous wreck.

"You know who I am?" I barely whispered.

"Of course I do. You are the spitting image of your mother, my sister." She smiled warmly at me and pulled me into the house. "Are you well?" She studied me intently and her eyes shifting to my round stomach.

I broke down into sobs. She cradled me into her arms and walked me to a large sofa in front of a large fire. I cried until I fell asleep in her arms. After waking, I told her everything.

She was crying freely. "I knew that cold bastard was the reason she did it."

"Y-you knew that she killed herself?" I looked at her confused.

"Yes, dear." She sighed. "We all knew, and we were sure that your father had something to do with it, but we could never prove that he drove her to it." She pulled me into another hug. "I am so sorry that he has manipulated you for so long."

"I chose to live that life." I shrugged and sniffed.

"No, dear." I looked up to her. "You were raised and brainwashed into that life. He did it to your mother and when she couldn’t take it anymore he drove her to kill herself." She went on to tell me of my mother. How independent she had been until my father got his claws in her.

At first he was sweet and kind, but after they married he forced her to do things that she wouldn’t tell anyone about. Except one night, when she was pregnant she arrived at my Aunt Beth’s house. He wanted her to seduce a man for him, whatever it took. She was appalled that he wanted his pregnant wife to sleep with another man.

When he finally convinced my mother to return to him, he hit her and emotionally attacked her, she lost the baby. Eventually, she became pregnant again, with me, but his attacks and requests never deterred. She complied out of fear, until she couldn’t take any more. That’s when she tried to leave him. She tried to take me, but he prevented it. My mother got away, but he followed her, never giving up. Eventually she realized the only way that she would be free was death. So she killed herself.

I cried myself to sleep that night, thinking over everything that my aunt had told me.

Luckily there was a midwife in the small village and I was able to give birth in my aunt’s home, without going anywhere near a hospital. I had also been lucky that there were no complications with me or with my son. He was beautiful and my heart broke at the thought of my father finding me with him. I knew that he would take him from me and manipulate him as he had done with me. So my tears were of joy, but also fear, fear for my son, Cole.

Once he was three months old, I knew that I needed to move on. My father would still be looking for us. I was surer now, after my aunt’s story of my mother. At three months old my son had auburn hair, which I was sure was an Iverson trait, and my blue eyes. His hair was not the exact color of Lilli’s children, but I could see the Iverson features appearing on his face as he grew. However, my features remained quite dominant themselves, my nose and face shape.

We traveled to Switzerland and Norway, spending a month in each place. Then we moved on to Japan. In such a mass population in Japan, I knew that I could probably hide really well. We lived here for two months.

It was at the end of this time that I decided that I would write to Lilli. I needed her to know everything and to understand what happened, even if she hated me for it, she would know that Aidan was not to blame. So, I wrote the letter. Telling her about how I had fallen into my father’s lifestyle and how I had originally gone along with my father’s plan. Then I wanted her to know how much she meant to me and how she helped me to see that I could be a better person, m than my father ever allowed me to think.

I wanted her to know everything, about my father, my mother, and about my son. After apologizing profusely for all of the pain and heartache that I had brought to her, I promised to never bother her again. In the end, only Lilli knew me better than anyone ever had. To keep from being tracked, I mailed the sealed letter to my aunt and asked her to forward the letter from Germany for me as I traveled to a new location.

I also decided to arrange for some things to be sent out to Liam and to their family lawyer, to make sure my father couldn’t get his hands on their family company. My future goal was to collect criminal evidence against my father and expose him. I knew that it was a long shot, especially with me running every month. However, I wanted for him to be locked away for the rest of his life. Though, deep down, I knew that Cole and I would still not be safe.

Before leaving Japan I cut my hair extremely short and died it red this time. I purchased some green contact lenses and had fake nails put on. This time we were moving on to Morocco. It was the layover that changed our route to Iceland.

W once again ran into my father's accomplices. I caught sight of Marcus instructing three men and one woman. I froze and held Cole to me tightly. Standing back and getting lost in a crowd of college students I watched as they examined women with children. I noticed that they were paying closer attention to female travelers with babies.

Quickly I moved into the closest restroom and put Cole into the baby sling that I had, pulling an oversized sweatshirt over my head and over him. Thankfully he was sleeping right now and the sling usually helped him to sleep when he wasn't. I slipped on a baseball cap and walked out of the men's room.

I was almost sprinting to the service desk where I quickly made new travel arrangements to Iceland, under a different name. Iceland was getting ready to board, so I knew that if I could get on the plane I was good to go. Once I had my ticket in my hand I could feel Cole stir.

"Shit" I groaned quietly and started to walk with mounting speed toward my gate.

"Loreley!" I heard a man scream my name, but I held strong and didn’t even flinch. I was not Loreley. I was Caroline Hayes. However, I did increase my pace. "LORELEY STOP!" The voice was closer and I grabbed Cole tightly to my chest, sprinting to security.

The security guards at the check in point were eyeing me closely. One grabbed my arm.

"Miss, what’s under the shirt?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

I took a deep breath and thought fast.

"Baby," I whispered. "Breastfeeding." I shrugged. "I don’t like to make it a public thing."

The guard let go of my arm. "Um…oh…"

I lifted the sweatshirt slightly so that they could see the bottom half of Cole and then acted as if I was going to completely uncover him.

"That’s okay miss." He ushered me along and I rushed to the shuttle that would take me to my gate.

Panting I sat in my seat on the plane. Cole was fussing, so I took him out and gave him a bottle that I had in my back pack. It was during this flight that my newest course of action began to fester in my thoughts.

I would never escape my father, not while he was alive. There was no way that I could get close enough to kill him myself, and the thought of putting Cole in danger with close proximity to my father tore my heart apart. That’s when the seed of a memory started to fester, ‘she realized the only way that she would be free was death’. My mother had to kill herself to escape him.

Once we settled in Iceland, the seed had sprouted into theory and then into a full blown plot. The thought of not having my son in my life was breaking my heart, but knowing that I had to do whatever I could to keep him safe over-rode that pain. If I had to sacrifice myself, then that is what I would have to do.

Arrangements needed to be made accordingly.

Two months in Iceland and I had finally gotten all of my affairs in order for what was about to go down. Cole was eight months old and was the epitome of beautiful. For our last week together, I decided that we would go back to Germany to see my Aunt Beth, plus she played an unknowing part of in my plan.

Arriving late at night, she rushed us into the house. "Dear, there have been people asking around for you?" My eyes widened as I sat down.

"Who?" I spit out as I lay Cole on the couch, fast asleep.

"They seemed to be investigators or policemen." She shook her head. "I’m not sure, but I believe that they have traced your letter back to me." She knelt on the floor in front of me. "They were here a week ago and that was the second time they had been here."

I swallowed the large lump in my throat when I realized that I was going to have to do this sooner than planned. "Aunt Beth?"

"Yes dear," she put her hand on my knee.

I placed my hand on hers. "If anything happens…"

"Don’t be silly my child, nothing is going to happen." She stood as she scolded. I could hear the sadness and the tears in her voice.

"If anything happens, I need you to open this." I held out a large yellow envelope as she turned to face me.

"What is..?"

"It’s only if something happens." I forced a smile. "Please keep it somewhere safe."

She nodded.

That night I lay on the bed that I gave birth to Cole. He was so angelic as he slept. My fingers traced his face and my lips were pressed to somewhere on his body every few minutes. Tears started to saturate the blanket beneath me. If things didn’t go as I hoped, then this could more than likely be the last time I would ever see my son.

Before dawn I wrote a letter to my aunt and left another envelope for her, inside was a letter to Cole among other items. Quietly I left her house and flew back to New York, back to my father, time to put my final plan into action, hoping to make it out alive.

End

There you have some extras and deleted scenes.  Thank you for taking the journey with Aidan, Lilli, and the whole M.A. gang!

"Cheers!"  from Viola.

Much love,

Sadie G.