End of Eternity 3 Read Free Page B

early labor; I never even suspected it was
possible before hearing Helen’s story. I don’t know how exactly he
did it, but I do remember him giving me a cup of tea a few hours
before I started bleeding. I was already having a difficult
pregnancy before he intervened, and that might seem like reason
enough for me to lose my baby—I suppose I was an easy target.
    Of course, it’s been way too long since Brad
drugged Grayson and his first girlfriend. All of that is ancient
history, and all the evidence has been destroyed. I know that the
authorities won’t be able to do anything with my accusations.
    This is completely in my hands.
    My head hurts, and my breasts hurt. My
stomach hurts, and my whole body feels weak. Grayson’s mother
offered me a meal, but I was unable to eat. How could I eat after
learning this kind of information?
    I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know
where to begin.
    A small sound alerts me to a text message. I
turn to the side to grab my phone, hoping that it isn’t Brad. I
wouldn’t know what to say to him. A rush of relief fills my chest
when I see that it is Owen. He sent a message asking how I am.
    I nearly want to cry from happiness. I need
to hear his voice so much right now.
    Instead of responding via text, I call him.
I lie back down on the pillow and shut my eyes tightly, waiting for
him to answer. I am surprised that it takes so many rings,
considering that he just texted me.
    “Hey, Carm!” he finally says into the phone.
“Sorry for taking so long; I was fighting with Caroline and I had
to excuse myself. Is everything okay?”
    “No,” I tell him softly. “Owen... I just
learned something horrible.”
    “What is it? Dammit, I knew I should have
gone with you to Detroit! Are you okay?”
    “Yes, but... it’s about Brad,” I whisper.
“Grayson’s mother said—she said that...”
    “Yes?”
    “Brad might be responsible for me losing my
baby. In fact, I’m almost certain that he is. He’s done this
before, with Grayson’s first girlfriend. Except she ended up dying
in childbirth. Her name was Helen.”
    “Shit,” Owen curses quietly. There is a long
pause as he processes this. “Shit. That makes so much sense. That’s
why he went nuts over your sister?”
    “Yeah. It would appear so.”
    “Okay,” Owen says quietly. “So what do we
do? I told you that guy was bad news! Are you safe there? Should we
call the police?”
    “I don’t think that’s going to work,” I tell
him as I lift a hand to rub my forehead. “I don’t know, Owen. I
need to make a plan. I need to find a way to deal with this
myself.”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Carmelita. Slow down.
What are we talking about here?”
    “I want to do to him exactly what he did to
me. I want to take everything away from him. Can you get me access
to drugs, Owen? For starters, I want to make sure that he is
totally impotent and never able to have children. Chemical
castration, is that what it’s called? Heck, I want to make sure
he’s not even able to get it up.”
    “Carmen, are you out of your mind? I can’t
get those drugs for you. That’s dangerous. You shouldn’t even be
thinking about this stuff, much less talking about it! This isn’t
you.”
    “You don’t know me,” I tell him, shutting my
eyes tightly to repress my emotions. “We barely just met! How do
you know what I’m capable of?”
    “I know you better than you think,
Carmelita. Sometimes you don’t need to know a person for years and
years to see what’s inside of them. And I know that you’re not
thinking straight right now. You’ve been through a lot these past
few days, and you need to rest and recuperate. It’s enough to drive
anyone loony!”
    “Owen,” I tell him in a tortured voice. “I
can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I don’t have any energy. My breasts are
killing me and I need to use the pump-thing you got me, but I don’t
even have the energy to do that. I’m useless. Thinking about
hurting Brad is the only