by Shawna Platt
“Just wondering.” Kinsey paused. “You didn’t seem too fond of him.”
Tessa chuckled. “Not many are fond of Hakon.”
“I don’t understand why. He seems delightful,” Kinsey said sarcastically.
Tessa laughed. “Delightful is not a word people use to describe him.”
Kinsey turned to leave, but changed her mind and turned back around. “Is there anything I need to be aware of? Something you didn’t share with the group tonight?”
Tessa sighed, leaned forward, and whispered to her. “Look, Kinsey, just keep your head down and do what’s asked of you. You’ll be back home before you know it.”
Kinsey studied her for a moment and turned to leave again. As she was about to exit into the hallway, Tessa called to her.
“Hey, want to get together and have dinner sometime? Maybe we can chat a bit more?”
Kinsey smiled. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”
Tessa returned her smile and Kinsey walked into the hallway. She just wanted to return to her room and relax for the rest of the night. Tomorrow she had to start her medical tests.
And so it begins, she thought. This was going to be the longest ten months of her life.
Hakon watched her enter the elevator. He whispered to himself as the door closed. “Gotcha, Kinsey. No one says no to Hakon and Operation Vala.”
Chapter Nine
When Kinsey returned to her room, she immediately called her mom to let her know she’d made it safely. She asked about Brianna and her mom said she was doing fine and her prognosis was still excellent. Kinsey told her about her welcome meeting, leaving out the details she didn’t need to hear, and that the room they had her staying in was amazing. She told her mom about the grounds, the park, and the walking trail. She wanted her mom to feel at peace and not worry about her, so she portrayed the situation to be something it was not.
After she finished with her mom, she called Sheila to find out what happened at work. The phone barely rang before Sheila answered.
“It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
“Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy since I arrived. How are things at work? What did they do?”
“Well, since you’re only going to be gone for approximately ten months, they brought in some temporary branch manager that was set up by the program you’re in. Stalker guy wasn’t lying when he said they’d take care of it. She’ll be here until you return. She already set up camp in your office.”
“Lovely. By the way, stalker guy has a name. It’s Keith.”
“I really don’t care. He will always be stalker guy to me.” She paused. “Hey, were you able to get a picture of him?”
“Shit! No, I completely forgot, but looking back, I doubt I would have had a chance anyway.”
“That sucks. I was hoping to be able to keep an eye out for him.”
“Sorry. I think as long as I toe the line here, there shouldn’t be any more trouble at home. I’m sure they’re moving on to the next batch of women.”
“So how are things going?”
Kinsey ran through her day again and was about to tell her about her short conversation with Tessa when the voice from her dream popped into her head: there are ears everywhere.
Kinsey paused. She wondered if her calls were being monitored. She decided to play it safe and simply told Sheila she met another woman in the program she thought she’d be able to get along with.
“Already making friends. That’s so like you, Kinsey.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, she’s the only one I’ll want to be spending any time with.” She paused. While she enjoyed talking to Sheila, she suddenly wanted to be off the phone and just spend some quiet time out on the patio. “Listen, I’ve had a busy day, so I think I’m going to go relax for the rest of the night.”
“Sure, I understand. Check in when you can, okay?”
“I will. Thank you, Sheila, for everything.”
“Just try to relax and get through this so you can get back home.”
“That’s the plan. Goodnight, Sheila.”
“Goodnight.”
Before Kinsey went to sit on the patio, she decided to check out the kitchen since she didn’t take the time to do that before she left earlier. She found the cupboards were packed with healthy, good for you food. She discovered the same in the refrigerator and freezer. Apparently, soda, potato chips, and donuts were not allowed here.
That’s going to suck, she thought.
She grabbed a bag of Italian herb pita chips, a bottle of some type of juice smoothie, and headed out to the patio. There was a small round table and two chairs positioned in the corner. She moved them to a different area because it made her feel like she had some control. She debated on rearranging the living room and bedroom as well.
Her patio overlooked the backside of the living quarters building and she realized there was a huge park there as well. She could see benches and picnic tables on a concrete area that surrounded a large swimming pool in the middle of the park. The areas around the pool were grassy and well maintained. The entire area was surrounded by trees and shrubs; much like the park in the front of the building. Based on the landscaping, they liked to keep the women in the program closed off from the rest of compound.
She sat, munching on pita chips, and watched a few women swim around in the pool. They were obviously well into their pregnancy and swimming would be good exercise for them as long as they didn’t overdo it. Kinsey decided she would figure out how to access this park tomorrow morning before her first appointment with Dr. Westcott.
After spending some time on her patio, she went back inside and took another look at her living quarters. She debated again whether or not to rearrange the living room, but the layout seemed to work so she decided to leave it alone.
She went to check out the bedroom. Maybe it could use a few adjustments. The bed and dresser could definitely be moved around in an arrangement that would be more pleasing to her and she’d work on getting that done before the end of the week.
Kinsey walked back into the living room and flopped on the couch. She grabbed the remote and turned on the television. She found a movie and settled in, allowing reality to slip away for a while.
The movie ended around 10:30pm and Kinsey missed the last fifteen minutes since she dozed off. She turned off the television and pushed off the couch. She was exhausted and bed was calling her name. She looked around at what would be her home for a while and shook her head. One step at a time. You can do this, she thought to herself. She turned off the lights and went to bed.
Around 3am, she woke to what sounded like a door latch quietly clicking into place. She didn’t hear anything more, but she was too afraid to move. She pulled the blankets tight around her head and remained frozen, her eyes watching her bedroom door. When it slowly started to open, she drew in a quick breath and held it. The silhouette of a person appeared in the doorway and quietly walked toward her bed. She closed her eyes, hoping it was a dream, but as the figure got closer, she could literally feel its presence. This was no dream and everything in her screamed not to move. She allowed her breath to slowly push out.
After a few moments, she felt the presence move away and she opened her eyes slightly to see the figure moving back toward her door. Her bedroom door closed and she listened until she heard the front door click.
She sat up quickly and turned on the lamp beside her bed. She jumped up, ran through the bedroom door, and checked the living room. It was empty. She checked the front door. The light on the security box indicated it was locked.
How the hell did someone get in my room?
She returned to her bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. She’d be talking to someone tomorrow about the security issues with the key card doors.
She let out a loud breath, reached over to switch off the lamp, and there it was; a photo of Brianna in her hospital bed, the breathing tube still down her throat. She grabbed the photo and looked at it. S
on of a bitch! On instinct, she turned the photo over. A typed message, stuck to the back read:
Just a reminder. Be a good little girl and play nice!
She looked up at her bedroom door again and felt all the blood drain from her face. When the room started to spin, she leaned back against her pillow and closed her eyes. She forced her breathing to slow down and tried to regain control. When were the threats going to stop? She was doing what they wanted and didn’t need reminders of what could happen if she didn’t.
When she had the spinning under control, she got up and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. She turned on the lamp in the living room and sat on the couch. She was still clutching the photo of Brianna and looked down at it. The sight of her sister brought tears to her eyes and she squeezed them shut in an attempt to make them stop.
She knew she couldn’t go to the police. That would only make things worse and someone else would get hurt. She was at his mercy and it seriously pissed her off. She looked down at the photo of her sister again.
“I swear I’ll find a way to make him pay.”
She laid her head on the end of the couch so she could keep an eye on her front door. She wouldn’t be caught off guard again.
Chapter Ten
Kinsey woke the next morning and went straight to the main office. She was going to raise hell for someone getting into her room the night before. She attacked the first counter person she saw.
“I’d like to know how someone got into my room last night?”
The girl took a step back and looked confused. “I’m sorry, say that again.”
“Someone used a key card to let themselves into my room last night while I was sleeping. I’d like to know how that happened.”
“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming?”
Kinsey took a deep breath. Are you sure you have a brain? “No, I wasn’t dreaming.” She looked around the office. “Is there a supervisor here I can speak to?”
“Ummmm…hold on.” As the girl was looking around the office, Kinsey saw Dr. Westcott enter the room from the office area. She left the girl at the counter and walked up to the doctor, who greeted Kinsey with a smile.
“Good morning, Kinsey. I look forward to our appointment later.”
“Yeah, me, too. Listen, who can I talk to about someone getting into my room last night?”
Dr. Westcott narrowed her eyes. “I don’t understand. What do you mean someone came into your room last night?”
“I mean, I was sleeping and someone used a key card to open my door and enter my bedroom. And don’t tell me I was dreaming, because I watched them leave.”
“Kinsey, I don’t know what to tell you. During the time we’ve had participants in the program, no one has ever made this complaint before.”
“Well, you have one now. What are you going to do about it?”
“You have my word I’ll look into it and make sure it never happens again.”
“Yes, please do. That doesn’t look good on my first night here.”
“No, I agree, and I’d hate to have you leave the program over a misunderstanding.”
Yeah, like I have a choice to leave. “Thank you. I appreciate your concern.”
“I’ll check into it straight away and will have an answer for you by the time you come for your appointment.”
“Thanks again. By the way, how do I get to the park area with the swimming pool? I saw it last night from my patio and would like to check it out.”
“It’s a beautiful area. When you leave the main office, take a left and go all the way down to the last set of hallways. Take the one on your left. At the end will be a door that will take you out to the park and swimming pool area.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you later today.”
Kinsey exited the door and found herself in the park and pool area. It was still early and there weren’t many women out, so she walked around admiring the well-kept grounds. Again she found herself regretting that, due to the circumstances, she couldn’t enjoy her surroundings.
Like the park in the front of the building, this one had a trail that wrapped around the sides and far end. If you entered on one side and kept walking, you’d come out on the other. Since she had some adrenaline to burn, she decided to run it. She hadn’t had a good run in a few days and needed one. She took off on the left side of the trail and didn’t stop until she came out on the right.
She leaned forward with her hands on her knees and caught her breath. When she looked up, she saw Tessa standing by the building entrance watching her. Kinsey waved and walked over to where she was standing.
“Good morning, Tessa. How are you feeling?”
“Hi, Kinsey. I’m doing all right considering,” she said as she rubbed her belly. “I wish I could still run like that.”
Kinsey smiled. “You like to run?”
“I like to do anything that entails working out, but it’s a little hard at the moment.”
“Well, that won’t last forever. You’ll be back at it in no time.”
Tessa nodded. “Yes, I know.” She walked over and pulled a chair out from one of the umbrella tables. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you, I think I will sit down for a bit.” She took a seat and blew out a breath. “I’ll have to run up and take another shower now before my appointment.”
“Oh, yes, the pre-procedure appointments. I remember those.”
“Are they as bad as they sound?”
She waved a hand at Kinsey. “Naw. Just some blood tests and they’ll have you start monitoring your temperature every morning. You’ll have to report it via a computer program each morning. Dr. Westcott will explain it all to you. It’s easy.”
“So how far along are you?”
“About six months.”
“Getting close. Only three more months before you get to go back home.”
Tessa leaned forward and whispered, “Yes and it can’t happen too soon.”
They exchanged, what appeared to Kinsey, a knowing glance. “I wish I only had three more months.”
“Just mind your P’s and Q’s. You’re treated well here by the staff,” she whispered again, “but I don’t think everyone knows what’s really going on.”
The knowing glance occurred again. “No, I don’t think they do.” Kinsey glanced at her watch. “I need to go take a shower, but I’d love to get together again so we can talk more.”
Tessa nodded. “I’d like that very much. What room are you in?”
“516.”
“I’ll stop by tonight and we can visit; maybe watch a movie.”
“That sounds great! I look forward to it.” Kinsey stood and patted Tessa’s belly. “Have a great day and I’ll see you tonight.”
Tessa smiled. “You, too, Kinsey.”
Later that day, Kinsey sat in the reception area of the doctor’s office. She hadn’t waited long before someone came out and took her back to a treatment room. While waiting for Dr. Westcott, she walked around the room looking at all the informational posters on artificial insemination and the different stages of pregnancy. There were pamphlets as well, so she grabbed a few and stuck them in her purse.
She heard a knock on the door and Dr. Westcott entered.
“Hello again, Kinsey.” She placed a file on the counter. “I hope you enjoyed exploring the park and pool area.”
“I did. The grounds are beautiful.”
Dr. Westcott smiled. “They are. We try to make the women comfortable during their stay here.” She gestured to the exam table. “Please, have a seat.”
Kinsey sat on the edge of the table and took a deep breath. “Were you able to check out the security issue I spoke to you about this morning?”
“Yes, I did. I went to the security office after we talked and they checked the video of your hallway from last night. According to security, no one entered your room last night.”
“That can’t be right. Someone was in my room.”
“If this is true, they didn’t show up
on the security camera.” She paused. “I’m not sure what to tell you, Kinsey. Security swears no one of a suspicious nature was seen in your hallway last night.”
Kinsey shook her head. “Okay, I guess I’m losing it.” I’m not, but apparently, there’s nothing I can do.
“Maybe it was a dream. It was your first night here and the stress of getting settled in could have impacted your sleep.”
“I’m sure that’s it.” Dreams don’t leave photographs behind.
“Good. I’m glad we’ve got that settled.” She turned and grabbed the file off the counter. “Today’s appointment will be a quick one for you. We need to draw some blood and I’ll give you a thermometer and a chart to start monitoring your temperature every morning. I need a resting temperature, so you need to do this before you get out of bed.”
Kinsey nodded.
Dr. Westcott smiled and walked to the cupboard. She pulled out a new thermometer and grabbed a form from a plastic hanging folder on the wall. She placed them in a small bag, along with the pamphlets, some of which Kinsey already had, but she didn’t say anything.
Dr. Westcott went over to a computer and hit a few buttons. A program pulled up. She turned and motioned to Kinsey. “If you’ll come over here, I’ll show you how to log onto the system so you can enter your information each morning.”
Kinsey went and stood beside the doctor.
“I’m sure you noticed the small desk area in your room with the computer?”
Kinsey nodded. “I haven’t had a chance to even turn it on yet.”
“That computer is for your personal use while you’re here. Look for this program icon that will be located in your shortcuts,” she showed Kinsey the icon. “You’ll have to log in. Your user name is Kinsey Garrick and you can create your own password. I don’t need your password, since I can access your information from the main file.”
She typed in some information and Kinsey’s profile pulled up. She showed Kinsey how to enter her temperature every morning and where to find any information on her pregnancy during her stay.