Page 40 of The Last Trip

“No,” she says quickly, then adds, “I don’t think so.” She bends down closer to him, studying him. Gently, she puts a hand on his chest, closes her eyes for a beat, then looks back at me. “He’s breathing.”

“We need to call the police,” I say.

She’s still. Unmoving.

“What are you waiting for?”

“He tried to kill you,” she repeats again, trying to let it sink in for me.

“I know that.”

She stands up in front of me, hands clasped together. “I don’t think you do. I don’t think you’ve actually processed what just happened. You have to run, Sadie. And not just out of here, but out of this town. Out of the state if you can. He won’t stop coming for you. For her.” She gestures toward my stomach.

For the first time, it clicks for me that every horrible thing Janelle has ever told me about her husband was about Cal. One by one, I replay the conversations, then connect them to moments in Cal’s and my relationship. How controlling he was with my meals after we found out I was pregnant. How he had to know everywhere I was going and why. How he researched and monitored every vitamin I could possibly need, then found ways to make sure I got it, either through diet or supplements.

He maintained me like a plant, and I called it love.

“He will not stop,” she repeats again, slower this time. “He wanted a baby, and when I couldn’t give him one, he went after you. He will stop at nothing to have that child.”

When I couldn’t give him one, he went after you.Her words replay in my head, the truth of them slamming into my chest. “He lied to me.” It’s not really even a shock, as devastating as it is. He planned everything. Of course he did. He’s always been the planner, so why would I expect anything less?

She nods, licking her lips. “I’m so sorry. When I met you, I wanted to warn you, but I knew if I just came right out with it, you’d never believe me. I worried you’d think I was lying because I was jealous or bitter. And…and I thought we had more time, and then…” She puts her head down. “I should’ve stopped him, but I trusted him. I believed he loved me.”

“Why are you helping me now? Don’t you want the baby, too? Why wouldn’t you want him to win?”

She sniffles. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom, yes, but not like this. In the beginning, maybe I did want it, but then it got all screwed up. He swore to me you didn’t want her. He told me you were coming around to the idea of giving her up, but that it was hard for you. I believed him over and over and over because…god, I don’t even know why. Because he’s a man, I guess. Because he was older. Smarter. Because I thought he would take care of me.”

The words are eerily reminiscent of my own thoughts. I think back to the impatient and dismissive nurse not believing me when I said the room we were in wasn’t mine, and to everything I told Calvin recently—my fears and concerns about the couple at the cabin and the intruder in our house. Instances where I wasn’t believed over the smallest of things. Meanwhile, Cal was able to control and manipulate and hurt us over and over, purely because we believed him.

She sniffles. “I tried to call you so many times. To visit you and warn you, but I worried about what would happen if he found out. He has a tracking app set up on my phone, so I could never go anywhere but work or home without him asking questions. I…I should’ve done more, but I couldn’t. And then, recently, I found some research in his search history about surgically removing a baby via cesarean section.” The words wash over me like cold water as she grimaces. “Detailed research. Notes. Supply lists. And it scared me. When I found out he was taking you away for a vacation, I suggested you stay at a place a woman from my spin class owns. I had her send me a link to her cabin and then showed it to him. Cal didn’t realize we knew each other, and I told her I couldn’t explain it, but I needed her to watch out for you. That you were dating a bad guy, and I was worried for you.”

Suddenly, it clicks for me. “Norma?” Now I understand why they were constantly around, why they came running when theythought they heard me scream, why she kept watching me so closely.

Janelle nods. “She takes my spin class, and they had the place. I knew because they go up there for a couple weeks every few months, and she misses class. I was so worried he’d try to hurt you there, but I thought if I called the police, he’d just call me crazy. Without proof, I knew they wouldn’t believe me, and it would be my word against his. They’d just think I was a crazy, angry wife. I needed someone there to protect you when I couldn’t be. Her husband, George, is a retired cop. I knew if anyone could protect you, it was them.”

I swallow. I don’t know what to make of any of this. It’s too much to handle.

I take a deep breath, and as I do, my entire stomach tenses, like the baby is adjusting in my stomach again, rolling from one side to the other.

“How could he do this to me?” I cry, my body weak.

She looks at my neck, and I sense that there’s probably proof of his actions on my skin. Purpled fingerprints, evidence that his love for me was always a lie. I was simply a vessel.

Again, my stomach tightens. The baby must know something is wrong here. She can sense my stress. I’m certain my blood pressure is dangerously high.

Janelle looks at me, eyes wide. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I wave her off, breathing through the discomfort. “We need to decide what to do about him.”

“I’m going to call the police once you leave. I’ll tell them what happened, but you need to be long gone by then.”

“No way. There’s proof of what he did on my skin. I’m staying here to make sure he goes down for it.”

She stares at me, mouth open. “Why?”

“I’m not saying I forgive you,” I admit, “but Cal tried to kill me. I’m not going to stand around and let it happen. Neitherof us can risk them not believing us. For your freedom and my baby’s sake. We can’t let him get away with this. I refuse to let him win.”

My stomach tenses once more, the sensation so uncomfortable I feel like she must be completely stretched out in there. This time, the ache of it steals my breath. I lean back against the wall. “Oh.” I breathe out slowly, gritting my teeth as the waves of pain move through me. “Oohhh.”

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