by Jessica Loft
“One more thing. We need to set you up on an appointment system, to make sure that the baby is still doing okay as the pregnancy progresses. Larkin needs to come in every four weeks for a check up. Can you arrange that?”
Gregory nodded his head, and promised the doctor he would do whatever he needed to make sure the baby and the mother were safe. After another half hour of instructions and scheduling, Gregory helped Larkin into her wheelchair. Together they left the hospital and made their journey back to the compound.
“I’m so sorry, Gregory,” Larkin whispered. Her hands rested gently on her stomach. The pain had gone away, but little shivers of discomfort were constantly running through her.
Sparing a glance over to her, he reached out and put a hand on her knee.
“It’s alright,” he replied, giving her knee a little squeeze. He fell silent again, his mind actually not on Larkin or the baby at all, but on Melody.
The next morning Larkin didn’t wake up until long after Gregory left for his workshop. It was only when she reached over to his side of the bed and found him gone did she realize it was even daytime. Opening her eyes, Larkin looked at the bare space beside her. It felt cold and empty. Something was different about her husband. She couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but ever since they found out they were pregnant he had started making slight changes in his behavior.
His hugs didn’t last as long, his kisses not as emotional. Even when they would make love, he felt distant. A twinge of panic ran through her, but she forced it away, telling herself she was overreacting because of the scare last night. Getting out of bed, Larkin slowly made her way towards the bathroom, her bladder feeling as if it were about to burst.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Almost to the toilet, Larkin looked up to see Melody, staring at her with her arms crossed and an arched brow.
“Oh, I just have to use the bathroom is all,” she replied. She took another step towards the doorway and Melody was there in a flash, blocking her entrance.
“Gregory gave me clear instructions of what you can and cannot do, ma’am. Leaving your bed is definitely on the no-no list.”
Larkin laughed, thinking she was joking.
“Melody everybody goes to the bathroom, even people on bed rest.”
“Yes,” Melody agreed, “which is why your husband so thoughtfully had me purchase you a bed pan at the general store this morning.”
Embarrassment crept into Larkin’s cheeks at the thought of having to use a bed pan. They were for old people, and she was barely twenty-three.
“Okay, you’re right,” Larkin conceded, the need to urinate stronger than ever.
“But I’m already at the bathroom right now, so I can go ahead and use it. From then on I’ll use the bed pan, okay?”
Melody shook her head, not budging a muscle.
“You want to go? Go back to the bedroom where the bed pan is.”
At that point Larkin felt as if she was losing control of her bladder. If she weren’t able to relieve herself in a couple minutes, there’d be an embarrassing accident. Seeing that she wasn’t getting past Melody, Larkin turned around and walked as smoothly and as quickly as she could back to the bedroom. She found the bed pan right beneath her side of the bed and was barely able to pull down her undergarments as she lost control of her bladder.
As she braced herself up between the bed and the nightstand, Melody came around to stand in front of her, looking wickedly down at her.
“Good mistress,” she said, her eyes glinting in sadistic pleasure.
“Now back to bed with you.”
CHAPTER 3
Four weeks later
Larkin tears spilled over as she looked over at her husband, not sure who he even was anymore. Since the day Melody refused to let use the actual toilet, her behavior towards Larkin had gotten worse. Over and over she’d tried to tell Gregory that Melody had grown wicked with her, but he refused to listen.
“How can you say that about her?” He’d ask, full of anger.
“She’s just a sweet, gentle, beautiful girl that just wants to see you and baby make it to a healthy delivery.”
“You don’t understand,” Larkin would try to argue.
“She’s evil. She won’t let me eat, let me drink, let me relieve myself without her there. She ties me to the bed, Gregory! She taunts me!”
The more she tried to convince her husband of the truth, the farther he backed away from it.
“You’re just jealous,” he told her the night before.
“I know you see me looking at her, you see her looking at me. We love each other Larkin. Just like you and I love each other. She wants to be my wife- your sister. You knew from the very beginning that is our way on the compound.”
Larkin lost her breath as he said the word wife. Yes, she’d known that Gregory would inevitably take another wife, but not Melody. Anyone but her. Gregory and Melody may have lived in the compound their entire lives, but Larkin had lived in the outside world. Even as a teenager she’d see her mom get pushed out of relationships by other women time and time again. A marriage with Gregory was supposed to be one of love and trust between him and his future wives, but there was no such feelings as those when it came to Melody.
Since they woke up, Gregory had said not a word to Larkin, and in all honesty, she didn’t know what to say either. A few minutes later they arrived at the hospital, and as dutiful as ever, Gregory picked her up and helped her into the wheelchair. Like a good husband he pushed her through the halls until he came to the office of the obstetrician. In front of all the other mother’s to be, Gregory knelt down and planted a warm kiss on her lips and her forehead.
“I have a few errands to run, but I’ll be back in two hours. If you’re done before that, take this to the cafeteria and get something to eat, okay?” Gregory slipped a ten-dollar bill into her hand and after she nodded her head, he gave her one more kiss before leaving the waiting room.
Looking around the room, Larkin noticed many of the other women smiling at her.
“What?” She asked.
“Oh, nothing,” one blonde woman replied patting her large belly.
“We’re just wishing our husband’s were a little more like yours.”
“Yeah,” a brunette piped up, her pregnancy barely showing.
“I got a ‘have fun babes’ as I got out of the car.”
The other women chuckled and nodded their heads in agreement. They all thought she was lucky, but she didn’t feel lucky. Not wanting to engage the conversation further, she looked down at her thumbs, pretending to find something interesting there. A minute later, a soft hand reached over and covered her hands, giving them a light squeeze.
“Are you okay sweetie?” A soft voice asked.
Looking up, Larkin met a pair of brown eyes and a gentle smile. The woman’s hair was in big bouncy curls with a large, wide blue streak over her left sided part. By the size of her belly, Larkin guessed she was maybe three or four months along in her pregnancy.
“Yes,” Larkin lied, having trouble forming the word.
“Just nervous I guess. First baby, first appointment.”
“Mine too,” the woman replied. “First baby anyways, second appointment. I’m Maryann.”
“Larkin,” Larkin told her, smiling back.
~
William heard the front door open and shut and from the kitchen he called a hello.
“It’s just me,” Maryann replied from the hallway. A minute later she came waddling into the kitchen with a bag of groceries and a pack of newborn sized diapers. Since they’d found out she was pregnant, every time they went to the store they grabbed something for the baby. Dropping the stuff on the counter, she came around it to give William a kiss.
“How was your appointment?” He asked, returning to the chopping of his vegetables.
“I met a girl there. Young, scared. Her name is Larkin. I don’t know why but I’m worried about her. There’s something not
quite right going on with her situation.”
“Well, did she say why she was there?” William scooped up the chopped potatoes and dropped them into the large pan of water, getting ready to make mashed potatoes. Turning his head, he looked over to watch the multiple facial expressions that passed over Maryann’s face.
“I mean, yeah, okay. She had a scare with the baby, and now she has to go to the appointments alone. I guess that could be it. I mean that’s what she said at least.”
“And you think she’s lying?”
Walking over to the fridge, Maryann pulled out the carton of strawberries and bit into the biggest one.
“I don’t know. I get that that’s a lot to be scared of. But I feel like it wasn’t the truth, you know?” She paused, looking almost guiltily down at the strawberries before she brought her eyes back up to William’s.
“I switched all my appointments,” she confessed.
“After she left, I went back up to the window and switched all of my appointments dates to hers. Is that creepy?”
William chuckled, and shook his head as he walked over to place his arms around his wife.
“No, I think that’s a very sweet, very protective thing that sounds a lot like what my wife would do.”
CHAPTER 4
Melody peeked in through the crack of the door to take a look at Larkin. Just as she’d hoped, the woman was sleeping. Pulling the door all the way shut, she drew the skeleton key out from her pocket and locked her young Mistress inside. Downstairs in the kitchen, she joined Gregory, and served him his supper. She’d made him his favorite, fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes, with an apple pie for dessert.
“You’re a really wonderful cook,” he remarked, finishing his second slice of pie.
“You’re too kind,” she responded softly. Out of the tall cabinet, she pulled out the bottle of whiskey Gregory kept for special occasions and pulled out a small glass.
“What are you doing?” Gregory asked, taking the bottle out of her hands.
“Women cannot drink, you know this.”
Giggling, Melody batted her lashes and pulled herself up to sit on the table, her skirt riding up above her knees.
“It’s not for me silly, it’s for you.” Prying the bottle of out his hand, she unscrewed the cap and poured a double shot of the liquor into the glass. When she was done, she picked it up and held it out to him.
“I usually don’t drink myself,” he admitted, his eyes darting from the glass to the Melody’s flash of pale legs.
“Unless there’s a special occasion.”
“You’re about to take a second wife,” Melody supplied, “isn’t that enough of a special occasion?”
“Fair enough,” Gregory replied, taking the glass from her fingertips. As he swallowed the brew, Melody moved herself farther towards him until she was sitting with her legs sprawled wide, facing him in his chair. As he brought the glass down, a blush bloomed over his cheeks.
“Melody,” he rasped, his fingers, itching to touch her naked flesh.
“We can’t. We’re not wed yet. I have to respect Larkin’s wishes and wait until the baby is born.”
He hated saying the words, but a promise was a promise.
Pouting, Melody stuck out her lower lip and pulled down the fabric covering her left shoulder.
“But we will be soon,” she cooed.
“Then you and I will be husband and wife; we’ll be a family.”
“With Larkin,” Gregory added, feeling his resolve waning.
His hands gave in, travelling up the soft, pale expanse of her legs until the skirt of her dress was pushed up all the way to her thighs.
“Do it, Gregory,” Melody moaned, her lips a scant inch away from his.
“I want you to.”
Groaning, Gregory gave in; delving his fingers into her rich red hair as he pulled her mouth roughly to his is in a crushing kiss.
Upstairs, Larkin awoke to the sound of her husband’s pleasure, and a dark, icy hand clutched around her heart. Tears poured in small river’s down her cheeks she heard the evidence of her husband, the only man she truly loved, giving his heart, and his sacred duty to an unmarried woman. Though she was born in the outside world, she had made a point to fully submerge herself in the way of the compound and its laws. Having sex outside of the marriage, no matter how many wives a man had, was both an affront to himself and his wives. It was truly the deepest form of disrespect he could show to Larkin.
Sobbing softly, Larkin pulled up her nightgown and placed her hands on her softly swelling belly. Where was her loving husband? Where was the man that had promised to love and respect her?
“I’m so sorry little one,” she whispered, running her fingertips over her belly.
For the first time ever, Larkin wondered if it had been a mistake to move to the compound. She thought she had been following her heart, but what if was just following a foolish dream? Closing her eyes, Larking tried hard to block out the sounds of her husband’s and Melody’s lovemaking.
Her mind ventured back to her doctor’s appointment the week before, and she saw the pretty face of the woman named Maryann. She was a kind woman, only a few years older than Larkin herself. Like her, she’d admitted to having troubles with conceiving. Then, after years of infertility, she was finally pregnant.
“My husband and I, we just couldn’t. Though he already had other children. When I finally left him I thought I would never be a mom. At least not the natural way. But you know, sometimes the universe has other plans for us. Now I’m with my new husband, William, and it’s like everything just fell into place.”
Larkin had noticed how the other woman had shuddered at the word husband when she first used it, as if it were a bad memory she didn’t like to dig up. Once again hearing the sounds of her husband’s infidelity, she wondered if she would ever feel that way about Gregory. Anxiety rose up from within her, and she tried her best to bat it down. Worrying, she knew, would only cause potential harm to the baby.
An hour or so later, Gregory came to bed. He had a look of guilt on his face that Larkin saw right away. He furrowed his brow in confusion when he saw that his wife was wide awake.
“What are you not asleep?” He asked, his voice cold and accusatory.
“Something woke me. Sounds from downstairs,” she answered boldly.
“Like two animals in heat.”
She watched as anger flitted through his eyes, and his lips drew back in a snarl.
“You will watch what you say, woman,” he warned darkly.
“Wife,” Larkin hissed.
“I am not just any woman, I am your wife.”
“And I am a husband!” He roared angrily, slamming his fist into the foot of the bed.
“I am a man, the only man and provider in this house and I will do as I please.”
Larking shook in fear, not understanding who the person was that had replaced her husband. She could think of nothing else to say, and only stared at him, wide-eyed with betrayal.
Gregory sighed heavily, and opened the door.
“Where are you going?” Larkin asked softly.
To her surprise, Gregory stopped and looked at her, almost regretfully.
“I’ll sleep in the living room tonight,” he replied. Before she could reply, he shut the door, and in seconds she heard his footsteps travelling down the steps.
In the darkness, Larkin felt fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Please,” she whispered meekly, “please come back.”
CHAPTER 5
As usual Melody awoke at three in the morning, obsession waking her. It had been a week since she’d seduced Gregory, and it had worked perfectly. Even when they weren’t together she could feel him inside her, groaning and writhing as her very own husband. Five out of the last seven nights he had crept into her bed, filling her and taking her at his leisure. After he would finish, she would encourage him to take from her what he wanted, whenever he wanted. He still would not sleep
in her bed yet, and would either return to bed with Larkin and the growing baby, or sleep in the living room downstairs when he was finished.
Tonight she knew he was down in the living room. For a man who didn’t drink often, he had been nursing his whiskey bottle nearly every day since they’d first been together. Careful not to make a sound, Melody went down the stairs. As she predicted, she found him deep asleep, still fully clothed. She wanted to wake him with arousal, but she knew he’d shut her down. Only he could come to her. He would be rough, and fast, and sometimes painful, and then he would leave. But she didn’t mind, she knew that she was slowly winding her way into his soul.
After looking over him a few minutes longer, she crept into the kitchen. Everything in it had been picked out by Larkin. Once she was gone, Melody told herself, she would get to redo everything, until it was her own. Except, maybe for the knives. Carefully she slid the largest blade out from the cutting block, loving the way the metal glistened in the dark. The knives in the block were the sharpest she’d ever worked with. Laying the blade in her hand, she turned the edge into the flesh of her palm and with just the slightest pressure; she made a sliver of blood flow from her hand. Seeing the dark red liquid pool in her palm, she smiled.
With the knife still in hand, she started walking up the stairs, not stopping until she reached Larkin’s room. Silently, she pressed her fingertips into white painted wooden door until it gave way. The soft light from the little plug in cast a yellow glow over the room, falling on Larkin’s innocent face. Her eyes were closed, and underneath them were heavy purple bags; a sign of stress and fatigue.
“Poor Mistress,” Melody whispered, stepping inside. Making sure to not make a sound, she tiptoed to the side where Larkin lay sleeping. Her straw blonde hair laid spread out over the pillow, like rays of sunshine. Inside of Melody, she felt an urge, full of anger and jealousy. It pushed her to plunge the knife into Larkin’s chest. Trembling, she forced herself not to go through with it. That wouldn’t do. After all, Gregory wouldn’t marry her if she hurt his son.