Eighteen months later…
Gram and Tristan had gotten married a few months back and now her belly displayed the evidence of their union as she was pregnant with her second child. She had insisted on keeping her job even though Tristan had tried to get her to stay home with Jeremy and Melissa. She liked working and didn't want to put the burden of earning on his shoulders alone. Besides, she was saving up for a car of her own since they only had one to share currently and it only had four seatbelts. They were going to have to upgrade before this new child arrived.
Gram had just finished her shift at the grocery store and sat outside on the patio bench waiting for her husband to pick her up. This day had been tougher than most simply because she had a difficult customer in the middle of the busy time. The moment she saw her husband she jogged to the car before he could park. She dropped into the passenger's seat and started telling him about her day. "A man came through my lane tonight that looked just like you. Only shorter. And rude. And probably drunk with the way he slurred his insults. First, he asked me out. Like seriously, I am very obviously pregnant and wearing a wedding ring. The nerve! And then… I asked for his ID because he was buying alcohol and it's my job and he lost his ever-loving mind! He started screaming and yelling and calling me everything but white. My manager had to get involved." Gram complained as Tristan navigated their car through the evening traffic. "Do you happen to have a hateful brother I don't know about?"
"No doubt. I'm sure I have some that even I don't know about." He smirked.
"Huh?"
"My dad." He explained. "He was a master gardener."
"Master gardener?"
"Yeah. Sowed his seeds in many gardens." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at her, seemingly impressed with his sense of humor. She frowned. "He got around." He finally said.
"Ah! I see. So, this idiot just may be one your unknown siblings. Okay. Still, he's rude as all get out." She grumbled.
"It's probably Logan."
"That's his name! That's what I read on his ID when he finally showed it to me. So, he is your brother."
"Unfortunately. His mother is the one that caused my parents' divorce. I mean, out of all the lovers he had, only she had the audacity to treat my mother like the homewrecker instead of the wife. The others just bowed out of his life once they learned he was married with children."
"Goodness. How many girlfriends did he have?"
"Who knows but, he had three baby mamas besides my mom."
"Three?! And your mom was cool with that?!"
"I don't know. I guess so. She always defended him and his actions claiming prison messed him up and we should be understanding."
"Your dad spent time in prison?"
"Oh yeah. It's part of the problem I had with my grandpa."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It wasn't just because he didn't like Honey." He explained with a deep breath. "You see, my dad and my mom were high school sweethearts. They planned to get married after she graduated but she ended up getting pregnant before then so… my, ever loving, overprotective, malignant grandfather, had my dad put in prison because Mom was underage at the time. And then made her give the baby up for adoption without even letting her see him."
"No way!" she was stunned.
"Yes, way. Fast forward twenty years; my dad got out of prison, and they got married and had me and George. But… Dad wasn't right in the head, and he would explode in fits of rage over nothing and leave saying he didn't want to hurt us. Every time he left during those fits of rage; he would wake up with a new woman. The last one I knew about was Logan's mom."
"Wow. That's messed up."
"Yeah. And that woman was… Well, let's just say that she isn't the nicest person on the planet. She made our lives miserable until the divorce happened. But even after the divorce she was so awful that Mom eventually stopped letting us visit our dad."
"That's stupid. No child should be denied a parent like that."
"It was safer for us not to be around them."
The thought of the cruelty her husband had endured as a child made her blood boil. "Wait. You said your mom had you and George."
"Yes."
"But you have your sister Mary."
"Yes, we have Mary. She is my dad's biological daughter. Her mother was nothing but a scared teenager when she had Mary. After she found out my dad was married, she left Mary with my mom and disappeared. We never did find out what happened to the girl after that."
"Does Mary know?"
"Yes. Mom told her when she was old enough to understand."
"So how many siblings do you know about?"
"Well, there's Logan and Mary of course; there's another brother that's about George's age somewhere but I don't know who or where he is because his mom just up and moved as soon as she found out about us. And then there's one that mom had to give up twenty years before I was born."
"Your dad is certainly a piece of work, isn't he."
"Was. He passed away a few weeks ago. He was an alcoholic. Liver damage finally took him out."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He made his choices. I am sorry he couldn't find peace, though."
"Maybe that's why Logan was so rude. Maybe he just misses his dad."
"Possible, I guess. I'm sorry you had to experience that."
"Yeah, me too." The remainder of the drive home they chit chatted about his day and the kids' activities.
*
One year later…
It was Gram's first shift back at the grocery store after giving birth to her second son, James Alan. She had taken several months off to spend with her newborn, but the new car payment demanded a second income so, she returned to full time job. If only Tristan would accept his inheritance and assume ownership of his grandfather's farm, then she wouldn't have to work as much outside of the home. Rather, he insisted on being on the payroll as an employee and earn the wages that the other workers earn. Noble, yes, but hardly enough for a family with three kids to feed and a car payment.
She loved her job and the people she worked with, but it was hard to leave her sons behind after behind home with them for so long. With a heavy sigh and a forced smile, she donned her apron and went to her register. Unfortunately for her, the first customer she would have on her first day back to work would be Logan and a youthful looking red-headed woman.
"Hey, sexy!" He blurted. "Where have you been? Haven't seen your pretty face in a long time." His words slurred at the end. The woman standing next to him shot him a warning glare. Obviously, she didn't care for his flirting.
Gram pursed her lips in annoyance before steeling her features. "I had a baby." She gave him a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Congratulations. I bet you and your husband are proud." The woman commented.
"Shut up, ditz. No one's talking to you!" Logan growled at the woman who returned his glare with fierce eyes. He returned his attention to Gram. "I didn't know you were knocked up. Want more? I could help you out with that." He offered suggestively.
She felt bile rise up in her throat. "No thanks. I have a husband."
"So? He can join in."
"Logan!" cried the woman.
"What?" He asked innocently. "You want in too?"
"No!" the woman exclaimed.
"Sorry," Gram said through gritted teeth. "Not at all interested."
"You're no fun." Logan whined. He paid for his purchases and left with the woman in tow. He turned back to Gram from the door and called. "I'll change your mind sweet stuff. Just you wait."
"In your dreams." Gram mumbled to low for him to hear.
*
Eighteen months later…
Gram and Tristan were enjoying a rare day off together with their children. They were at the park celebrating Jeremy and Jimmy's birthdays together, though their actual birthdays were a week apart. Seven-year-old Melissa was playing tag with four-year-old Jeremy while Gram was feeding two-year-old Jimmy. Tristan sat with his arms wrapped around his wife from behind, gently caressing the bulge of their yet to be born daughter, Annabelle. Just a few more months and their little family would increase by one.
"I can't wait to meet you, Little One." He cooed as he patted his wife's protruding belly.
Gram gently elbowed him away. "You're going to spoil her rotten before she's even born!" She chided.
"So? I can't help it. I know she's going to as beautiful and as smart as her mother."
"And she'll be spitting image of you just like Missy and Jimmy."
"What's wrong with that?"
She smiled mirthfully. "Absolutely nothing. Except you'll have to be ready to beat off suitors for both of your daughters."
"Oh, I plan to." He giggled in agreement. "Promise me you'll quit working at the store after this one."
"Promise me you'll take over the farm and I'll agree." She raised her brow at him.
"You know how I feel about that." He quipped
"Yes, and you know how I feel about work." She snapped back.
"If you quit, you won't have to see Logan again." He sung to her.
"That would definitely be a plus point." She admitted with a sigh. "That guy is seriously creeping me out. He harasses me every time he comes in the store. And lately, he seems to be there every day. You think George will beat him up for me?"
"If he does anything stupid, I'll beat him up myself." He spoke fiercely.
"Mom, can we do presents now?" Interrupted Jeremy with big doe eyes and a slightly trembling lip.
"Oh dear, you are too cute. Okay let's do presents now."
They finished their fun in the park, then spent the evening barbecuing with both families before ending their day playing instruments on the front porch.
The next day, Gram went to work as usual. The conversation she had with Tristan about Logan and quitting her job remained on her mind all through the night and day. Upon arriving she went to her manager's office and explained that she would indeed need to terminate her employment effective immediately. There wasn't much time left in her pregnancy and she could no longer tolerate Logan's harassment at work. The manager said she understood and agreed to let go after they could call someone to cover her shift.
She called Tristan to let him know she would be off early, explaining she would wait for him outside to pick her up.
"Can you wait inside, today? I don't want you out in the heat too long."
"I'll be fine. I'll go back in if I get too hot."
"Okay. I'll be there when you're off."
"Sweet. Love you."
*
At the end of her shift, she waited inside the store for fifteen minutes for Tristan to show up. She watched Logan walk into the store with his latest female companion looking a little disheveled. Unfortunately, she made eye contact with him and the lustful gaze he gave her cause the hair on the back of neck to prickle. Alarm bells went off in her mind as she turned her attention away from him. Her heartbeat quickened as well as her breath. She had to get out of there. She quickly glanced through the buildings that shared the store's parking lot and upon deciding which one was closest she left the store with the intention of calling for help once she got inside the other building.
She made it halfway before she felt someone painfully grip her arm. "Where're ya running off to, sweet stuff." He whispered into her ear. His whiskey breath blew over her neck making her shiver in disgust.
"None of your business." She growled. "Let go of me!"
"Aww, don't be like that. I'm just trying to be nice to ya." He grazed his lips across the skin of her neck.
She jolted away from him. "Stop it! Don't touch me!" She tried to remove his hand from her arm, but he only increased the strength of his hold. "I'll scream!"
"Oh, please do try." He chuckled. She glared at him with fire in her eyes and opened her mouth to scream. He silenced her with a fist to her jaw. "I tried to be nice. I guess it's time to teach you a lesson." He started dragging her by her arm to a large van parked nearby. "You want to scream? I'll have you screaming my name in pleasure in no time."
It felt as if her jaw had been broken as she was unable to move her mouth to speak. She dug her heels into the pavement. There was no way she was going to let him take her anywhere. 'Where is Tristan?' Her tears streaked down her face as she fought against her abductor. As they inched closer to the van, she saw the woman he was with earlier jump out to help him drag her inside. She kicked at the woman, making her fall to the ground then kneed Logan unsuccessfully in the crotch.
This only inflamed the man's fury hotter. He punched her again in the face, knocking her to the ground. He then kicked her in the abdomen several times through her hands that were trying to protect her unborn child before straddling her weakened body, laying punches to her face while cursing her.
*
Gram didn't know how much time had passed when she woke up in the hospital. The nightmare of the night with Logan replayed in her mind on repeat causing and endless supply of tears to streak her face. She didn't have to be told her child was dead. She could feel the emptiness of her womb and pain of her injuries. Truth be told, she didn't want to wake up. She wanted to be with her daughter.
She couldn't understand what she had done to warrant the actions Logan took against her. She had never led him believe he had a chance with her. She was always up front about not being interested and that she was married with children. But that was the problem. Maybe that's what attracted him. Maybe he wanted her simply because he couldn't have her. 'Sick bastard!' she groaned inwardly.
The worst part for her was the fact that she couldn't even stand to look at her husband. He was there when she first awoke, and his appearance frightened her. His resemblance to Logan was like that of an identical twin. When she looked at her husband, she saw her attacker. It wasn't fair to Tristan, but she couldn't help it.
When the time came for her to be discharged, she chose to go to her parents' house rather than her own simply because she couldn't be around Tristan. She felt so broken inside that she left her kids with him because she didn't think she could be a good mother anymore. He parents had tried to convince her to get counseling, but she refused. They prayed for her, but she refused to pray herself and avoided church altogether.
Only George could get close to her. He convinced her to let him teach her self-defense and used that time with her to let her vent out her feelings and frustrations as well as try to get her to reconcile with her husband. The latter of which she adamantly refused repeatedly. "He's better off without me." She would argue. "They all are."
George could do nothing but listen and train in martial arts so that no one would be able to do this to her again.