My Running Nightmare

Chapter 3

    Over the next month, Renee and Jesse made their way across the country. Jesse had changed his mind about Canada as he said it would be easier to stay under the radar if a new citizenship didn’t pop up somewhere. They traveled from Florida to Washington state, stopping every night to get a room and sleep. Since they were backtracking now, Jesse made sure to keep away from North Carolina as best as possible. 

    What they didn’t know was that Kevin was looking for Renee. He had grown tired of waiting for the police to do anything. They had told him that they didn’t have any new leads about what had happened to Renee. They hadn’t found any evidence of Jesse killing her in his apartment. His car was gone so they weren’t sure about what he had done. They eventually did find his car in Georgia. The police had issued the report to the Georgia police and they had searched but no one had seen Renee. 

    Kevin wasn’t going to give up hope. He wouldn’t stop looking for her until he either found Jesse or found Renee, dead or alive. It was his fault that she was even in this mess. He quit his job and took all of his savings and started to travel from state to state. He would work odd jobs just to make a living and eat, but he never stopped. Once he had searched a city, he moved on to another until he had worked the entire state. 

    When they finally got to Washington state, Jesse found a house in the country that he put a down payment on. He began to look for a job. He put locks on to the doors so when he left, he could lock her in. She had no phone service or internet. He had hooked up the cable so she could watch Tv when he wasn’t there. He hadn’t been kind to her since the first time he had tried and she had rejected him.

    He had kept his promise and not put his hands on her again but he still took her whenever he wanted. He no longer tied her up. She had been allowed to walk around freely with his ever watchful eye on her. She hadn’t bothered to try to start a conversation with him as she didn’t want to get to know him. Every night, he would hold her as he slept. She wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to or it was a way to keep her from running.

    When she was three or four months along, she asked him about finding a doctor for her. He looked them up on the phone and checked into them with her. At least he was allowing her to decide which one she wanted. When the appointment was set, she talked him out of going in to the room with her as she was uncomfortable with being examined while he watched.  In order to make him think she was complacent and wouldn’t try to get help from the doctor, she came on to him. 

    Jesse was taken by surprise but he did agree to it. He rather liked the fact that she had came to him. Perhaps he could begin again with trying to be nice. He let her undress him and then he made her look him over. She didn’t have a look of disgust on her face when she looked at him. Maybe it was a good sign.

    “Do you like what you see?” Jesse asked.

    Renee swallowed hard. She didn’t want to mess this up. She needed  to know for sure if this was Kevin’s baby or not. And she needed to know if she needed to hide it from Jesse. If she was not looking at it from the standpoint of he was her r****t, but rather from a normal woman’s view, then yes, he was attractive. 

    “You’re a handsome man,” Renee responded. 

    “That’s not what I asked you.”

    Renee swallowed her pride and looked at Jesse again. She had to tell him what he wanted to hear. She looked him over again. She closed her eyes and tried to think of him as some random guy she’d just met. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at him.

    “Yes, I like what I see. You are very attractive,” Renee managed to whisper as she walked up to him.

    Jesse smiled and wrapped her in his arms. He kissed her softly. Renee responded and kissed him back. He ran his fingers through her hair and over her back. Renee let her imagination take over. She pictured Kevin running his fingers through her hair. He used to love playing with it. She imagined Jesse’s hands were Kevin’s hands. Kevin had known her likes and dislikes. The more she imagined Kevin, the more she was able to do with Jesse.

    Jesse laid her on the bed after undressing her. He began to kiss down her neck and make his way to her breasts. He stopped and began to pay special attention to her breasts as his hand roamed over her stomach. She felt him lay his hand on her stomach and her heart skipped a beat, thinking he was finally going to hit her and cause her to lose the baby. Jesse felt the flutter in her heartbeat and thought it was because of what he was doing. 

    Renee had to make her mind go blank to stop herself from pushing Jesse’s hand away. She waited to see what he was going to do. When Jesse began to kiss his way down to her stomach, she relaxed. She closed her eyes and began to imagine Kevin again. His long hair used to trail across her body. Jesse’s hair was too short for that so she decided to compensate by reaching out and pushing her fingers through his hair. She found it was soft to the touch. 

    Jesse was spurred on by her actions, and continued to kiss his way down until he found her sweet spot. He slowly ran his hand down her leg and back up until he was caressing in between her thighs. His tongue was making slow circles over her. Renee continued to imagine Kevin doing everything that Jesse was doing. She gasped as he pushed his fingers inside of her. 

    She was still hurting from all the times he had forced himself on her. She bit her lip to keep from crying out from the pain but she couldn’t stop her tears. She must have made a noise because Jesse stopped and moved back up. He ran his hand across her cheek.

    “Open your eyes and look at me.”

    Renee slowly opened her eyes and Jesse said, “Why are you crying?”

    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Renee whispered, scared he was going to beat on her or force himself on her again.

    Jesse frowned and moved his hand back down her body. He felt her body tense as his hand caressed in between her thighs. She squeezed her eyes shut as he slipped his fingers back inside of her. If it was hurting this bad now, she could only imagine what it was going to be like in a few minutes. Would she ever get used to the pain?

    “This is hurting you, isn’t it?” 

    “Yes,” Renee blurted out. 

    Jesse withdrew his hand and moved back down her body. He settled in between her thighs and began to use his mouth on her. Renee tried to picture Kevin again but it wasn’t working. She couldn’t get enjoyment. She feared that he would grow angry with her, but instead he continued what he was doing.

    After a while, the pain subsided. Renee found it easier to picture her and Kevin being intimate. She pictured Kevin’s eyes and the way he would look at her. She remembered the feel of his touch on her skin. She remembered how she felt when they were together. Her body started to react to what Jesse was doing. 

    She bit her lip as she almost called out Kevin’s name as pleasure washed over her. Jesse moved back up and she felt him against her. Her body tensed as she waited for the pain to come when he took her. But, he didn’t take her. Renee opened her eyes and looked at him. He was watching her. Her hands were shaking as she put them on his chest and pushed him off of her and onto his back. 

    Jesse felt anger well up in him until she slowly moved over him. She began to kiss his neck and chest. What he didn’t realize was her eyes were still closed. She kissed her way down his body until she was able to place her mouth around him. She took care of his problem in hopes that he wouldn’t try to sleep with her. He had hurt her for months and her body needed time to heal. 

    When she was finished, she slowly crawled back up the bed and laid down on the bed. By this point, she had her eyes open and she saw Jesse watching her. He moved his arm like he was inviting her to come over. She slowly moved close to him and laid her head on his shoulder. She wasn’t sure how to react to what he was doing now. She put her arm over his stomach and pressed her body against his side as his arm went around her shoulders and his hand laid on her back. 

    Jesse put his hand over hers. He felt the baby bump she had pressing into his side. It made him smile. If she was hurting when he tried to take her, she wouldn’t be able to see the doctor. She had to heal up. And, if he let her heal and then tried to take her, perhaps she would react differently to him, just like she had today. 

    Renee walked into the doctors office and felt nervous. She had to remember her name. The fake id she had said her name was Tabitha Monroe. Jesse had it made to match his fake id. She really hoped that he was not using the ploy of them being married but she quickly found out that is exactly what he had done. She couldn’t act strangely or people would know something was going on. She sat down in a chair and waited for Jesse to get the paperwork. 

    He handed it to her and she just looked at it. She had to remember information that she didn’t know. She bit her lip and Jesse took it from her and started filling it out. He put her fake name on it and the address they were living at. She hadn’t even known what that was. When it came to things about her health, she put down the truth. 

    When they called her back to the room, she stood up and looked at Jesse. He was staying sat down. She kissed his lips and said she would be back. This was just a normal checkup where a wife left her husband in the waiting room. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She walked into the room and the nurse had her change into a gown. Jesse hadn’t forced himself on her in a few weeks. She had been feeling better but she was still worried that the doctor was going to hurt her with his examination and then ask questions that she wasn’t sure she could answer. 

    What happened if she told him what was going on and he called the police? Would people act strangely and tip Jesse off? Could she get away from him without him being able to run? When the doctor came in, he greeted her and asked her some questions.

    “Mrs. Monroe, I’m Doctor Gilly. It’s nice to meet you. I understand you are here for your first checkup in your pregnancy?”

    “Yes, that’s correct.”

    “Why did you wait so long to seek medical care for your pregnancy?” The doctor asked.    

    “Honestly, we were in the process of moving and I didn’t want to start with one doctor and then have to switch to another. And, well, promise you won’t tell my husband?” Renee asked, nervous.

    “Yes. Patient/Doctor confidentiality is in play here.”

    “I don’t think it’s his baby. I, well, I slept with someone else right before we got back together from our separation. I have been too nervous to find out because I don’t want him to know if it isn’t his. Is there a way to find out and not mention it again?” Renee asked.

    “I think you should tell him, but, that is none of my business. We can do an ultrasound and find out exactly how far along you are.”

    “Okay. That would be great.”

    The doctor asked her a few more questions and then had her lay back. He called his nurse in and she assisted him with the examination. Renee had never liked having pelvic exams anyway. When he started, she felt a slight pinch but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Jesse hadn’t forced himself on her in about a month. Renee thought back to the last time her and Kevin had been together. If the baby was Kevin’s, she was estimating she was five months. If it was Jesse’s, then she would be around four to four and a half months. 

    When the nurse brought in the ultrasound machine, Renee was definitely interested. They put the gel on her belly and started taking pictures of her baby. The nurse pointed at a spot and showed her the baby. It was about the length of a banana and Renee began to cry as she listened to it’s heartbeat. The nurse left the room after the examination and the doctor came back in a little later. 

    “You are approximately twenty-one weeks. That puts you a little over five months pregnant. May I ask if it is your husband’s?”

    “No,” Renee said as she closed her eyes.

    “Okay. So, we have to keep this from him. What happens if you go into labor? Won’t he realize it’s too early?”

    “Can we just say that happens sometimes? It does, doesn’t it?”

    “Yes, it can happen. Are you okay with your husband coming in now?” The doctor asked.

    “Yes, he can come in now. He will most likely be at every appointment after this. I wasn’t really comfortable with him being here for the initial examination.”

    “Mrs. Monroe, can I call you Tabitha?”

    “Yes,” Renee replied.

    “When I did your pelvic exam, I noticed some scarring like you recently healed from some trauma. Is something else going on besides this not being your husbands baby?”

    Renee felt her face pale, but she quickly lied and said, “My husband likes it a little, um, rough. We had to stop doing that as I got farther along.”

    “Are you sure that’s all there is? The damage looks more like forced s*x or some sharp objects were used.”

    Renee felt a blush creep up her face as she lied again and said, “We like to use certain, well, certain things in the bedroom. Has it caused a lot of damage?”

    “It’s a fair amount. I would suggest not continuing with the role play in the bedroom with whatever you are using. If you stop now, you should be okay as the scarring won’t be too bad. If you continue with that behavior, you may never enjoy s*x again. It can also lead to you not being able to have any more children as it is causing a lot of internal damage.”

    “I understand. Do you want to tell my husband that when he comes in? I’m not much for that type of role play anyway. I only did it to make him happy, but frankly, it hurts,” Renee said, trying to get the doctor to make Jesse understand how badly he was hurting her.

    “I can talk to you both about it while he is in here. That’s not a problem. Let me get a nurse to go get him.”

    The doctor walked out of the room and a few minutes later, a nurse brought Jesse in. He walked over and kissed her cheek. Then, he sat down in the chair against the wall. Renee bit her lip as the doctor came back in the room after a few minutes. He held out his hand to Jesse and Jesse shook it.

    “Mr. Morgan, I brought you in here as I’ve already talked to your wife about this. I noticed your wife has quite a bit of damage internally. Now, she has told me that you guys role play and use a lot of things as she calls them in the bedroom. I have told her and I am going to tell you, that if you guys continue with the toys or whatever it is that you are using, she will most likely wind up not being able to enjoy s*x ever again. The scarring isn’t too extensive right now, but it can definitely get worse and it could cause her not to be able to have anymore children as well.”

    Renee watched Jesse’s face as the doctor talked. To her surprise, he didn’t look angry. He looked thoughtful. He had looked at her when the doctor had said she had told him the damage was from the use of other things, but he hadn’t looked angry.

    “Now that we have that out of the way, do you two want to know the s*x of the baby?”

    Renee looked at Jesse and then said, “Yes.”

    “Doesn’t matter to me as long as the baby is healthy.”

    “Alright. I’ll take that as a yes. You are having a boy. Congratulations.”

    “Thank you,” Renee said.

    “Do you two have any more questions for me?”

    “I think we’re good,” Jesse replied.

    The doctor nodded and left the room with instructions for her to get dressed. She went to sit up and found it hard to do with her stomach. Jesse stood up and came over to help her. He put his hand on her back and pulled her up to a sitting position. She slowly stood up and he handed her, her clothes. 

    “You didn’t tell the doctor the truth,” Jesse said.

    “No. What would have happened if I did?”

    “You already know what would have happened if I had seen anything suspicious. And it wouldn’t have been pretty. You are learning. How about a reward?”

    “What kind of reward?” Renee asked, suspicious.

    “You need some new clothes. The ones you have don’t fit anymore. I bought a few but you have outgrown those, too.”

    “That tends to happen when you are pregnant. Your belly gets bigger and sometimes you put on weight elsewhere. What are you going to do if I stay fat after the pregnancy?”

    “Nothing. You still aren’t going anywhere. I told you before, you belong to me now.”

    Renee continued to put her clothes on as her mind raced to figure out what to say. She didn’t want to stay with Jesse. Even getting fat and ugly wouldn’t work with him. She sighed. He cupped her chin and made her look at him.

    “Stop trying to figure out ways to get away. That’s going backwards, not forwards. You’re mine. The baby is mine. Make it work. You have been doing pretty good so far. Have I treated you badly this past month?”

    “No,” Renee admitted.

    “We can keep it that way as long as you keep it like it has been.”

    “I need something from you, then. If you want me to move forward and go along with this fake marriage, I need you to stop locking me into the house. I need a phone, too. What happens if I fall or if I go into early labor? I have no way to get help.”

    Jesse got ready to say something when there was a knock on the door. He looked annoyed. The nurse came in and showed them to the checkout desk. They set up another appointment for Renee in a month’s time. Jesse took the card and they walked out to the car. Once they got in, Jesse turned to her.

    “I’ll think about what you want. Show me you aren’t going to do anything stupid, and we’ll see. Show you are truly going to go along with this fake marriage as you called it.”

    “How am I supposed to do that?” Renee asked.

    “Act like my wife. Do everything a wife does.”

    Renee knew what he meant by that and s*x was the one thing she didn’t want to do with him. She had been doing things for him so he wouldn’t try to have s*x with her, but she knew he hadn’t forced himself on her because he wanted her to heal up so the doctor wouldn’t find evidence of the r**e. He had anyway, but she had been able to play it off. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

    “Okay. If that’s what it takes, I will do it. I can’t take the risk that something may happen to the baby and I can’t do anything about it.”

    “Alright. You can start today. Let’s go shopping.”