His throat closed up and tears stung at his eyes. "Me, too. You have no idea."
She squeezed his hand, her eyes shining with tears.
"Oh, you guys," Alyssa gushed. She wrapped them both in a hug. She pulled back and stared at Macy. "I hope you know I'm never letting you out of my sight."
"That's fine by me," Macy said. "I don't want to go anywhere ever again."
"That's good," Alex said, "because people are going to be all over you when you do leave the house. The news didn't leave us alone for a long time after you disappeared."
"What about school?" Macy asked. "Don't we have to go to school?"
"Zoey and I have been homeschooling."
Macy's eyes widened. "Why?"
Alex shrugged. "I couldn't really focus, plus I had to deal with all the things those jerks said."
"What do you mean? People have always been nice to you."
Anger burned in his chest. "They were saying things like you were dead. Had it gone much longer, I would have been expelled for beating kids up."
"And Zoey? Because of the baby?"
"Honey," Alyssa said, "we've all been beside ourselves with grief and worry. Life never just picked up where it left off. Dad couldn't keep working either. Luckily he had the blog to fall back on."
"Wait!" Macy said, looking at the TV. "I want to see this."
Alex looked at the screen and saw police busting down a large wooden gate in what appeared to be a forest.
"They're going to get the other kidnapped kids," Macy said. Her hand tightened around Alex's. He had forgotten she still held onto his hand.
The fence finally fell to the ground and the officers rushed in. People in white ran around, looking scared. Women with tight buns grabbed children and ran into little buildings. Men jumped on horses and ran off.
"You were there?" Alex asked. "The dude who kidnapped you was Amish?"
Macy shook her head. "Shh."
The screen faded away and then showed several people handcuffed and being taken into the police cruisers.
"Did you know them?" Alex asked.
"Those are the leaders. I bet Jonah didn't see that in his visions," Macy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"What?" asked Alyssa.
"Never mind. Look. They're taking some kids. I hope they get to go back to their families, too."
"Was it weird talking with other kids who had been abducted?" Alyssa asked.
Macy shrugged. "We didn't really get to talk like that. It was forbidden to talk about life outside the community. Everyone was even given new names."
Alyssa's eyes widened. "What was your name?"
"We weren't there long enough, so everyone knew me as Heather."
"Heather?" Alex asked. "Oh, right. That d-bag's daughter."
Macy still hadn't taken her eyes off the screen.
"Are you looking for Luke?" Alex asked.
"Yeah. I haven't seen him. I don't know if that's good or bad."
"I'm sure he's safe," Alex said.
"Wait," Macy exclaimed. "There he is. That's him and his mom talking to some cops by that car right there." Macy jumped up and pointed. "That's Luke." Tears shone in her eyes.
"The police will make sure he's taken care of," said her mom, wrapping an arm around Macy. She kissed her forehead.
Macy shook. "I need to talk with him. We have to find him."
"We will."
Macy stared at the TV screen which was no longer on Luke or his mom. "You think we'll be able to find them?"
"The policemen who were with us when we found you, they'll help us however they can."
"I hope so," Macy said. She shook, staring at the television.
Returned
Macy felt something brush against her cheek, and she rolled over covering her face with the blankets. Something pushed on her leg. She pulled it close and tucked it under her arms.
"Time to wake up, Heather."
Macy's eyes popped open. What was Chester's voice doing at home? Wasn't she home? Had it all been a too-realistic dream?
"Heather, don't ignore me."
Her heart pounded in her ears.
"Don't evade me, or there's going to be trouble. You know what that means, don't you?"
Macy sat up, ready to claw his face. "Get out of my room."
"You're going to pay for everything you've done. How dare you run away from me? Try to get me into trouble? They're looking for your mom and questioning me. We have to leave before they arrest me."
"I'll scream, Chester. My family's just down the hall. They'll come, and then you will go back to jail."
Chester shook his head slowly. "That's where you're wrong, dear Heather. We don't have to worry about them anymore. Remember what I told you would happen if you ever ran away?"
The blood drained from Macy's face. "You didn't."
He held up a bloody butcher knife. "Now we don't have to worry about them any more. None of them. Come on, your true family awaits."
Tears streamed down her face. "You're lying."
Chester held the knife close and smelled it. "There's nothing like the smell of fresh blood. You want to know what your family's blood smells like?"
Macy screamed.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She screamed even louder.
"Heather…."
"If they can't hear you, then the neighbors will. There are cops across the street."
"I took care of them, too. We have nothing standing in our way now. It's time to go home and be a family forever. I've even convinced Jonah and the prophets to forgive everything. Of course, you'll have to be under strict watch, but we can go back, and everything will be the same as it was. As it's meant to be."
"No. I won't go with you. You'll have to kill me too."
"That would break my heart, Heather."
Macy thought about telling him the real Heather was out of the hospital, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself if Heather had to go back to him.
"You won't take me again."
He grabbed her arm, pulling her out of bed. "You're wrong again."
"I'll scream louder." Macy dug her nails into his skin. "Let go of me."
"Your yelling didn't help you a minute ago, did it?" He yanked her arm.
Macy pushed her nails in farther. His blood escaped, dripping onto her fingers. "You like blood so much, there you go."
He held the knife to her throat. "I'll kill you slowly and painfully like I did them. You should have heard your dad and brother. They both cried like sissies."
"Liar." Macy screamed again, taking all the energy she had.
"Macy." That was her mom's voice.
She looked around for her mom. "Mom, where are you?"
"You're hearing things," Chester said. "I killed her, too. Come with me."
"Macy, wake up." That was her brother.
"Alex!" she screamed. "Stay away from him, you guys!"
Someone shook her from behind. "Wake up, Macy! Wake up."
"I can't see you." Macy shook as Chester pressed the knife into her flesh. "Get away," she begged.
"You need to wake up, Macy," said her dad.
"Where are you guys? Are you ghosts?" Macy looked around.
"Of course they're ghosts," Chester said. "They're angry I won. We're going back to the community, and you'll never leave it again. You won't embarrass me, and you'll always do as I say."
Macy shook her head. "Never. Not again. You'll have to kill me first."
"You keep saying that like I would actually do it. You'd like that, wouldn't you? Then you could be with those people you keep calling family. Don't you get it? I'm your family. You, me, Rebekah, and the baby."
"Just kill me. Please."
"Macy, open your eyes."
"Where are you, Mom?" Macy asked, looking around.
Chester pressed the tip of the knife harder against her neck. Then he turned her chin toward him. "You need to forget about them. Like you said, they're ghosts. Yo
u can't come back here again. There's no one to come to. We need to get home. Some of the puritans are getting our house ready as we speak.
"Macy, you have to wake up," cried Alex.
"Alex, are you real?"
"Stop talking to ghosts, you stupid girl." Chester squeezed her cheeks, staring at her through those big, ugly glasses that Macy hated so much. "If you don't stop this nonsense, you're going to make me mad. I'll lose my temper. You don't want that, do you? We can stop by Grandma and Grandpa's farm. How does that sound?"
Macy screamed, and then she hit and kicked him. She didn't even care if he pushed the knife in and killed her. She wasn't going to go anywhere with him, much less back to the community.
Something cold and wet covered her face. She looked at Chester, but his hands were on her and the knife.
Even though her eyes were open, she opened them again. Macy blinked and sat up in her bed. How had she gotten back in there? She looked around, gasping for air. Where was Chester?
Her mom, dad, and brother stood around the bed staring at her, looking as scared as she felt.
"I told you the cold washcloth would work," Alex said.
"Where did he go? Did he kill me? Am I a ghost now too?" Macy looked around. "We have to get away from him. He—"
Her dad wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. "Shh, baby. You're safe. It was only a dream."
Macy shook her head. "No, it was real. He was here. Chester had a bloody knife. He said he killed you all, and I had to go back with him. It was—"
"It wasn't real, honey," her dad said. "You're home, and we're all here. No one's going to take you away from us again."
Macy struggled to catch her breath.
"Do you want to tell us about the dream?" her mom asked. "Anytime you want to talk about anything—anything at all—we're all here for you. Unlike before, we'll listen. We'll hear you out without interrupting."
Alex grabbed her hand. "You're not going anywhere, and neither are we. In fact, you're stuck with us. You couldn't get rid of us if you wanted."
"I hope so." Macy went limp in her dad's arms. She gasped for air until she was breathing normally. Then she sat up and looked at all of them. "Why don't you guys go back to bed? I don't want to keep you up."
Her mom shook her head. "We're not going anywhere. Sleep means nothing now that you're back. We're here for you anytime you need us."
Tears filled Macy's eyes. "I'm so sorry I ever snuck out. I'm so sorry."
"We're sorry we wouldn't listen to you," her dad said.
Alex squeezed her hand. "And I'm sorry I teased you and didn't beat up all those kids who bullied you. That's what I should have done. I was a horrible brother, but now things are different."
Macy shook her head. "You weren't a bad brother. I know you were just trying to cheer me up."
He frowned. "Well, I was stupid."
Her mom looked into her eyes. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"
"No. I just want to forget about everything I went through. I'm home now. I guess I just have to get used to that."
"Do you want to go back to sleep?" her dad asked.
Macy thought about it. Her dreams were the one place where Chester could still hunt her down. "No. I think I'll check my emails or something. I probably have a ton."
"I have a better idea," her mom said. "Why don't we have another family movie night? You and Alex pick something to watch while Dad and I get snacks? How does popcorn, ice cream, candy, and pop sound?"
"Like a dream come true," Macy said.
Her dad stood up and helped her out of bed. "A middle of the night movie it is. Let's get the snacks, Lyss." He took her hand and they looked into each other's eyes.
Warmness filled Macy as she watched them. She looked over at Alex and he smiled.
"You two better hurry," said their mom, "because if you don't have a movie picked out by the time we get there, we'll pick out something."
"And you probably won't like it," her dad teased.
Alex and Macy exchanged a look.
"Don't you dare," Alex said. He grabbed Macy's arm and they ran to the bonus room together.
Macy walked over to the shelf and saw several DVD's that still had the shrink wrap. She grabbed a comedy that she had wanted to see before she was kidnapped. It felt like she had picked that out years earlier. "You guys never watched any of these?"
"Are you kidding?" Alex asked.
Macy's shoulders drooped. "I'm so sorry. I never should have—"
"Let's make an agreement. No more saying sorry for anything that happened before. I think we all have lots to be sorry for, but we should just move on instead."
"Yeah. You're right. We should—"
"Snacks are here," said their mom. Both of their parents came into the room with their arms full.
Macy and Alex exchanged an excited look. Their parents never let them eat all that junk food.
Her dad handed Macy a small bowl of popcorn. "This one has no butter."
"I don't care about being vegan anymore." She gave the bowl of butterless popcorn to Alex and grabbed the big tub from her dad.
"You think you're going to eat all that?" Alex teased.
"I might think about sharing. Maybe." Macy smiled.
Alyssa put everything in her arms on the coffee table. "What movie are we watching?"
Macy picked up the comedy. "I hope this is okay."
"It's perfect."
Alex took it from Macy and ripped the plastic off and threw it on the floor. Macy looked over at her mom, waiting for her to tell Alex to throw it away. Her mom shrugged and then pulled Macy into a hug. "I can't tell you how good it is to have you back."
"And I can't tell you how happy I am to be back. I can't believe how much has changed. You and Dad look happy."
"We've had some stuff to work through, and it did get rough for a while, but in the end we pulled together for you."
Macy hugged her back.
"Where's the DVD remote?" Alex asked.
"Use the universal," Macy said.
"The batteries died months ago. We've just been using the main remote since we've only watched the news."
Alex found the remote and turned the TV on. Chester's face showed up on the screen.
Macy choked on popcorn. Her mom whacked her back until it came free.
"Turn that off," her dad told Alex.
"No. Listen," Alex said.
The picture of Chester shrunk, and the newscaster came into view in front of a prison. "To recap: Chester Woodran is now under investigation for the murder of his wife. After a search of his home, journals were found detailing the location of his missing wife and how he allegedly killed her. The diaries also further proved his intent to kidnap Macy Mercer. Authorities are at the scene of the alleged burial spot now. We haven't been given the location yet."
Macy's heart pounded in her chest as she stood staring at the screen. "I thought he was going to get away with that," she whispered.
"In those journals," continued the newscaster, "Was also evidence of the murder of a teen who had been part of this commune. Her body was said to have been left in Clearview, and was somehow connected to a fire in a building used by dentists and orthodontists. Authorities are looking into this also. New updates will be available as soon we learn more."
"It's over. It's really over," Alex said.
Macy's parents both put their arms around her.
"It really is," her mom said. "Now we can all focus on healing."
"And we can start with this movie," Alex said, switching over to the DVD player.
They sat down together on the couch, munching on sugary, buttery goodness as Macy's heart returned to normal. She looked around as the movie started. She was pretty sure she had never been happier in all her life.
Time
Zoey laughed, watching Alex and Macy chase each other with squirt guns. She wanted to join them, but she could barely walk—it was more of a waddle—so there was no way she cou
ld join them. Probably next year.
"Go, Macy!" she called.
"Hey," Alex said, giving her a mock upset look. It was obvious he was going easy on his sister.
Macy turned around and soaked him.
Alex looked back to Zoey. "Thanks for the distraction. Did you two have that planned?"
"You know it." Zoey picked up her glass of ice water and took a drink. Was it getting even hotter? She leaned back into the lawn chair and fanned herself. Her stomach tightened. The baby must be stretching out. There was no room in there, and her skin couldn't stretch any more.
Alyssa sat next to her. "How are you doing, Zoey?"
"It's too hot."
"I'm not even pregnant and I agree. Can I get you anything?"
"A new body?"
Alyssa patted Zoey's knee. "Soon enough. Think you'll make your due date?"
"The doctor says she can come anytime two weeks before or after the date and it's still on time."
"You're only a week away."
"I know." Zoey repositioned herself. Her legs were going numb. "Will my feet go back to normal?"
"Sure they will. My feet swelled too, but I always went back to wearing my old shoes."
"Man, I hope so. I can't believe I had to buy flip flops two sizes too big—and they fit." Zoey frowned, ignoring her stomach tightening again. The baby was sure being active. "Is it true first babies are usually late?"
"Each one is different. A first can be early and the second can be late. No matter what, they like to keep us on our toes."
Zoey nodded.
"Let me get you some more water. Or do you want to come inside? It's cooler in there."
Her entire body ached and nothing sounded better than a nap, but Zoey didn't want to move. She handed Alyssa her glass and closed her eyes. She listened to Macy and Alex shrieking at each other. It was good to have Macy back and have things returning to normal. It had taken a while for Macy to become herself again. At first, every time she heard a noise she would jump. Now, not so much.
Zoey's stomach tightened again. This time she held her breath. Maybe it wasn't the baby moving around. It was more of a squeezing sensation—like her body was getting ready to push. A contraction? It couldn't be. She'd been feeling the tightening for months, although not as intense as it was right then.
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