Deb screamed, and Mike grabbed Max’s firearm, forcing her to turn around. “Are anda out of your freaking mind?” he yelled at Max. “You can’t do that. She’s pregnant. anda can’t freak her out like that”
“Freak her out?” Max found her voice back. “She’s totally insane. That was not on the job description”
“She’s not insane” Mike snapped defensive. “She’s suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder” He walked up to Deb, who was shaking from head to toe. “Are anda alright?”
Deb shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me. Mike…Max is right. I’m...

After the doctor had left, Deb collapsed in Mike’s arms. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed.
“This can’t be happening” she sobbed, desperately. “I can’t be pregnant, Mike. Not from him…not again”
Mike sank down on the bed, and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “It might not be his” he mumbled softly, mischievously, and hopeful.
Deb looked in his eyes, and he gazed back at her.
“Think, Deb, think really hard. When was the first time anda felt sick?” Mike urged.
Deb looked down, thinking, reminiscing, and then looked up again. “It was before” she whispered,...

“You didn’t answer my question” Deb said, when she pulled back. She elaborated, when Mike frowned. “Beth. Is she okay?”
Mike’s eyelids fluttered shut, and Deb was alerted immediately.
“What is it? Did something happen to her?” Deb urged, starting to panic. “Mike, tell me!”
“I’m sorry, Deb” Mike sighed said, and he took her hand again. “The FBI found her, in her motel…There was nothing we could do”
Deb nodded, in understanding. “Can you…can anda leave the room, please?” she asked, softly, nearly whispering.
“Deb” Mike pleaded. “Don’t do that. Don’t...

Two days later Deb found herself, lying in a hospital bed. She blinked, then closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, and everything around her became clearer, she saw Mike, sitting in the chair seterusnya to the bed.
She noticed he held a book in his hand. She realized what book it was. She would recognize it anywhere.
“No” she groaned desperately, and Mike’s eyes flew open. Deb’s hand reached out, and he wrongfully thought she was reaching out to him, so he took it.
“Hey” he berkata softly, and he stood, leaning over her. “Take it easy, okay. You’ve been through a lot”
“Mike,...

Ryan handed the book to Mike, who accepted it, but instead of opening it, he stared at the cover. He’d been wondering about Deb’s past for so long, and now that he had the answers, he hesitated.
“Are anda alright?” Ryan asked unsure. “You want me to do it?”
“No” Mike berkata grim. He opened the book and looked. Ryan saw his face change from merah jambu to red to purple to pale. “I’m going to kill him” Mike grunted, as he shut. He breathed heavily, through his nose. “I’m going to kill him!” he shouted, furiously.
“Mike, relax!” Ryan snapped, as Mike threw the book against the...

Deb sat on one of the two hospital beds, in the hospital wing of the school. The nurse was flashing a light in her eyes, to see if there were any signs of a concussion.
“Can anda tell me your name?” she asked.
“Debra Parker” Deb replied.
“Who’s the president of the United States?” the nurse asked.
“George Bush” Deb answered correctly, and the nurse smiled, satisfied.
“You have some head, girl” she said. “I’m going to give anda something for the headache. It might make anda a little sleepy, but that’s okay. I don’t think anda should be following any lessons anyway. Stay...

During the two hours before lunch break Lana tried to convince Deb about Richard’s good intentions.
“His mother is keeping him on a short leash. He’s a bit rebellious. He likes to stir things up a bit, but he’s always sorry afterwards” she said, on the way to the cafeteria.
“If he’s always sorry, he might want to try changing his ways” holly interfered. She looked sharply at Deb. “You don’t have to go through with this, Debra. I can save a kerusi, tempat duduk for anda at my table”
“Oh, why don’t anda go knit a hat and pull it over your head, so no one will have to look at your ass-looking...

When Deb opened the door she bumped into someone. She looked up and saw an older girl staring at her.
“Watch out where anda going, dear” she said, but she didn’t sound mad. She looked behind Deb, and then back at her. “What were anda doing in the basement? Students are allowed to go there”
Deb looked over her shoulder. Why hadn’t Richard come upstairs yet? She hadn’t kicked him that hard, had she?
“Richard…” she started, but the girl cut her off with a wave of her hand.
“Say no more” the girl said. “I know enough. Principal Mortimer asked me to look after you. She thought...

Fifteen minit later the door of the principal’s office opened again and Debra walked outside, the principal right behind her.
The principal, a tall woman in her mid-forties, looked surprised at Richard, who hadn’t seemed to leave his spot the entire time.
“Richard, what are anda doing here? The classes have already begun” she berkata reproaching.
Richard nodded at Debra. “I promised Mrs. morgan I would look after her. I’m just keeping my word”
The principal grimaced. “Nice way to dodge classes, but alright. She needs buku and stuff. anda make sure she has everything she needs” It...

The seterusnya morning someone knocked softly on the door of the storage room. Deb slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
“Come in” she berkata sleepy.
The door opened and a girl entered the room.
“Mom says anda have to get up” she berkata sweet. She was blond, too, but hers was a darker, a warmer shade.
Debra nodded and got out of bed. She turned to the katil and made it up. That was one of the house rules.
She walked to the door where the girl took her hand. She was a little surprised with the gesture, but smiled gratefully.
“My name is Lana” the girl introduced herself. “You’re Debra, right?...

Deb sadly watched Mike drive away in her car. She knew she had hurt him terribly with her suspicion and she wished she had the courage to confide in him, but she simply knew he wouldn’t understand.
“Are anda coming?” Beth asked with a voice sweet as honey. Deb slowly turned around and nodded. She followed her sister inside and the latter closed the door.
Deb looked around indifferent. “Are anda sure there’s room for two?” she asked careless.
“Yeah, sure” Beth assured Deb. “You can sleep in the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch”
“I’m not sleeping in your bed” Deb protested....

Agnes stood in front of Wayne and Abigail’s house, her hand pressed against her mouth and tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I can’t believe this is happening” she sobbed, while shaking her head as if denying it would change anything.
“We’ll find her” a female cop assured her. “So, anda say anda found him like this?”
Agnes nodded. “The hospital told me these people took my cousin with them. So, I went here to ask them to give her back to me, so I could bring her back to her family, where she belongs”
She paused to blow her nose with the handkerchief the cop had offered her....

“What have anda done?” Abigail shrieked as she stormed inside the room. Debra didn’t bother turning around; she just gazed at Abigail’s reflection.
Abigail touched Deb’s head and when she withdrew them, hair and blood stuck on her fingers, she stared at the them in horror. Shocked she grabbed for the hairbrush, determined to fix Deb’s hair. But truth was there was no fixing it.
Defeated Abigail shook her head. “Clean up your mess” she ordered sad. “Don’t come downstairs. I’ll bring anda your food”
As if in slow motion Deb stood up and bent through her knees to pick up her...

One week later.
Dale was sitting at the meja, jadual in his room. He held a picture of Deb in his hand. A single teardrop fell on it. “Oh, Debra” he sobbed. “Why did anda have to leave? We could’ve had such a beautiful life together”
Beth walked inside from outside the kitchen.
“I made anda some tea” she berkata careful and she put the pinggan down. Not waiting for his reaction atau even a sign of gratitude, she poured him a cup.
“I mean, your sister’s worth nothing” Dale mumbled disgusted, apparently completely unaware of the fact that Beth was standing right beside him and if he did, he...

Simon had no sense of time, but if he could trust his stomach it was long past lunch time. It had been painfully rattling for the last couple of hours, but he knew that if he’d complain Agnes would return and not to feed him.
He had been tossing and turning all night, unable to find a comfortable position to sleep. He probably wasn’t the only one, he imagined. Now that Debra was gone someone had to fulfill Dale’s sexual needs.
Poor Beth, Simon thought, she must feel so abandoned and betrayed.
Though he didn’t hear the door open, he did see how a dim light spread itself throughout the basement....

“You ready?” Simon asked when he closed the door behind Debra.
Debra nodded, grateful that he couldn’t hear her hati, tengah-tengah pounding. She let him take her hand and pull her towards the elevator. Once there he hesitated.
“On saat thought,” he berkata as the elevator opened, “we might want to take the stairs. It’s safer” he decided, alluding on Deb’s fear of small, dark places. He could only imagine that fear had been highly increased due to the baru-baru ini events.
He pulled her towards the stairs and they walked down it. At the bottom Simon checked left and right to make sure no one would...

In the months that followed Debra spent most of her time in the library. She loved to read, as long as it wasn’t anything religious.
During the nights she slept in the park, underneath a willow. That was until the park ranger busted her and chased her away. From that moment on she slept in an alley, seterusnya to a Makanan container. Whenever she got hungry she would dig in the grave and ikan something out. Most of it had already passed the tamat tempoh date, but Debra didn’t care. Makanan was Makanan and she was starving.
One night, she was only in her seventh month, she started having cramps in her stomach....

Hours later Debra was back in her room. Her little sister Beth was fast asleep in the double bed, but Debra was wide awake.
During makan malam, majlis makan malam Dale had been staring at her. She had felt his eyes prying on her. The thought of what he was going to do to her on the night of her birthday, made her sick.
She looked over her shoulder at her sleeping sister. She didn’t want to leave her here, knowing the kind of man that lived here. But she had no choice. Beth wouldn’t want to leave her parents. She wouldn’t understand.
Debra leaned towards Beth and gave her a soft Ciuman on the cheek. Then she stood...