Finding Her Way in a Storm Ch. 13-21

And that's where they were when Kaia returned, Skyler holding Macey and cooing to the baby as she and Lisa talked like two old friends. When she finally noticed her girlfriend standing there, Skyler noticed the look on her face. It was as if she wasn't sure that she'd returned to the right house.

"Hey, baby."

Kaia smiled at her, and holding up the pizza's, said, "It's really nice outside still, why don't we grab a few beers and head out to the backyard?"

Realizing that her girlfriend was likely wanting to avoid being cooped up in a confined space for this next part, Skyler completely understood her reasoning. Still, with the baby in mind, she turned to look at Lisa to see what she thought.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Just let me go and grab Macey a sweater."

Skyler stood holding her delicate little package as she watched Kaia head towards the kitchen. She followed the caramel-skinned beauty and found her standing in front of the fridge, retrieving a few bottles of beer.

"Are you okay?"

Kaia turned to her, staring at the little girl in her arms. For the first time, Skyler wondered if she'd made a mistake by agreeing to hold her. Would Kaia see the act as a betrayal? Skyler had no idea.

But then Kaia smiled and reached out to run a finger over the soft skin of the baby's leg, causing Macey to kick both in response as she gave Kaia a little laugh.

Skyler breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ahh, would it be alright if I had a bottle of water with mine instead of the beer?" Skyler heard Lisa ask from behind her. She turned to find Macey's mother looking at the beer in Skyler's arms and holding a tiny pink cardigan in her right hand. "I don't drink anymore."

Lisa's words hung between them, their meaning clear.

"Sure," Kaia said as she turned to put one of the beers back, grabbing a bottle of water instead.

The four then headed outside after Skyler held Macey up so that Lisa could feed her chubby little hands through the sleeves of each arm of the sweater. She then handed the little girl to her mother before grabbing the two pizza boxes off the counter where Kaia had set them.

They all sat at the picnic table, eating while engaging in polite conversation. Lisa seemed particularly interested in learning about Skyler, asking many questions about her life, upbringing, parents, and extended family. The younger woman answered them all as best she could, noting that Lisa listened with interest while stealing surreptitious glances at Kaia.

When they'd all had their fill, and Kaia had retrieved her and Skyler a fresh beer, the conversation seemed to lag. They were all aware of what needed to be discussed, a tension settling over the picnic table.

Wanting to diffuse the sudden heavy atmosphere, Skyler stood and made her way around the table, holding her arms out to take Macey. Lisa didn't hesitate in giving up her child, seeming relieved at Skyler's offer.

Making her way back around the table and sitting back down next to Kaia, Skyler looked at her girlfriend and said, "Do you want to hold her, baby?"

The move was an utterly calculated one on Skyler's part, and she hoped that Kaia would forgive her if she realized that fact. Skyler knew that holding the baby would likely help keep the situation ahead of them in check. Kids were very intuitive to the adults around them, and if her girlfriend became too upset by the upcoming conversation, Macey would likely pick up on it and cause a fuss.

Seemingly unsure of herself, almost adoringly so to Skyler, Kaia cautiously took the child, taking a moment to situate her in her arms. After a brief few minutes of talking to the little girl, Skyler watched as Kaia became silent before looking across the table at Lisa, who'd been watching her interact with Macey. There was a wistful look in the pretty brunette's eyes. Skyler thought she might have been thinking about what could have been.

The look Kaia gave her former fiance was one that silently signaled it was time to move on to more serious matters.

With evident trepidation, Lisa haltingly told the rest of her story, struggling at some points more than others. There were times when talking that she paced back and forth in front of the picnic table. Her hands gesticulating wildly or in frustration. Others she was calm and almost morose as she leaned against the prep table for the grill, talking in a low and sad tone. By the time she was finished, Lisa had looked wholly drained both physically and emotionally.

For her part, Kaia handled that part as well as could be expected. There were a couple of instances when a clouded look covered her countenance, and more than once when she teared up. But Macey's playful antics and inquisitive hands served their purpose just as Skyler wanted. While Kaia was listening to Lisa's words, dealing with the baby prevented her from delving into any particular point too deeply. Skyler knew those reflections would come later when Kaia's mind was quiet, and she hoped to be there when it happened.

Skyler herself simply felt sick at everything she'd heard. There was no doubt that Lisa had been targeted by this Steven Harrington guy. Skyler was no psychologist, but Lisa struck her as an emotionally needy type of person, something the predator had obviously recognized. She'd been the weak animal on the outer edges of the herd, and Harrington a hungry stalking lion. In Skyler's opinion, without help, it had been an almost inevitable outcome. If it hadn't happened that night, it would have soon after.

By the same token, she also believed Lisa's assertions that she would never have cheated had she been sober. She seemed fixated on only two things, Kaia and her child. But what Lisa couldn't rectify in her mind were some of the decisions she'd made afterward.

Lisa had woken up in a messy bed with bright sunlight beaming in through the floor to ceiling windows of the room she was in. She was relieved to find herself alone at first but disheartened when she noticed the familiar stain of a wet spot beneath where she'd slept.

Her head pounding from the hangover she had, Lisa's already shaky feeling stomach had wanted to heave when Harrington walked out of the bathroom, the sound of a running toilet behind him.

She'd immediately wanted to leave, while he'd cockily suggested she stay the entire weekend. After all, he reasoned, the deed was already done; Lisa had already cheated on her fiance. So why not make the most of it?

Even when he'd threatened to make sure that Kaia found out about their little tete-a-tete, Lisa had refused him. She'd gathered her things and returned home, crawling into her bed while begging God to take the memory of what she'd done away.

The following Monday at work, Harrington had attempted to corner her in the break room at one point, but Lisa had pointedly told him it had all been a drunken mistake, nothing more. When she'd gotten quite loud, he'd backed off and left the room.

While her tactic had saved her from his further advances, the people present in the room had overheard everything. It hadn't taken long before everyone in the building seemingly knew that Lisa had cheated on her fiance with Harrington. That she'd been utterly sloshed out of her drunken mind on a plethora of potent alcohol hadn't mitigated their new opinion of her character. And the fact that Kaia was a serving Marine overseas in a war zone had made Lisa a non-entity to most of them. She heard their whispers whenever she entered a room and suffered their sly comments in silence, all while hoping that someone else would eventually do something stupid to take the spotlight off her.

A few weeks later, Lisa missed her period.

As stupid as she felt at the admission, Lisa said she'd never considered for a moment the fact she might have been ovulating. The reality of being pregnant had at first seemed a punishment for her stupidity, God's way of making sure that she couldn't hide what she'd done.

Looking at Skyler, Lisa had explained that though she was very liberal-minded on most social issues, including abortion, she could never have one herself. And besides, because of her medical condition, Lisa had assumed that she would miscarry.

When she was five weeks pregnant and still having no spotting or other issues, Lisa had admitted to her mother what had happened.

Big mistake.

Her mother had hounded her that she had to tell Steven, something Lisa had no intention of doing. She explained that she'd been actively looking for another job in the same profession and even interviewed at one firm. Lisa had every intention of quitting her position, in the hope that Harrington would never even know that she'd been pregnant.

With shame haunting her face, Lisa looked at Kaia and told her that she planned to lie and say she'd undergone artificial insemination once Kaia had finally returned from her tour. Her hope was that Kaia would be thrilled and never find out what really happened, and the two of them would be able to go on and build a life together, a real family.

Just three weeks later, her mother took it upon herself to remove those possibilities off the table.

Knowing Harrington's name, Lisa's mother had contacted the firm her daughter worked for and gotten his office number from the directory. She'd then contacted Julie, his PA, and cunningly managed to get the up and coming young lawyer on the phone.

Lisa said her mother had admitted to Harrington the truth of who she really was, apologizing for her subterfuge. She'd then invited him to meet her in the city for lunch, promising that it would be worth his while.

That same evening, Lisa, who had no clue what her mother had been up to, received a phone call from her brother. Apparently, he'd intimated that their father was having a health issue, and her mother wanted everyone to meet for a family dinner that Friday. Despite how they'd treated her about her sexuality, and wholly knowing that the subject would likely come up, Lisa had gone despite her burgeoning reluctance.

Of course, it had been a setup.

Her father had met Lisa at the front door, letting her into the foyer, closing it behind her. He hadn't looked or acted at all sick, making Lisa instantly suspicious. Her doubts and intuition were only confirmed by the scene she'd found in her parent's living room.

There, sitting on the ridiculously costly antique settee that her parents had purchased at an estate sale, sat Steven Harrington and her mother. The pair were chatting like old friends, Lisa's mom touching Steven's arm as she laughed deeply at something he'd just said. She was acting almost flirtatious.

Across from them in a wingback chair had sat Lisa's former therapist, who appeared to be taking in their conversation with rapt interest.

When they'd both looked up at her, but before they could say anything, Lisa and turned to leave. She hadn't made it far, though, before running directly into her father's chest.

Her brother had appeared then from the kitchen's direction, the two men blocking Lisa's potential exit. Her mother had also come up from behind, the older woman's hands going to her shoulders. And while not forcibly making her stay, Lisa had still been made to feel as if the option to leave had been taken away.

Her loving family had corralled her into a seating position next to Harrington on the settee. He'd sat twisted towards her with a smarmy smile on his face that seemed to cry out, "Look at me! I can get you drunk and rape you, knock you up, and do it all with the full support of your family!." Lisa said the entire scene had left her feeling sick.

They'd spent the next hour trying to reason, cajole, and bully Lisa into accepting what they thought of as the responsible path in front of her. To hear them tell things, marrying Harrington was the only acceptable path.

And then to make things seem even more diabolically surreal. Lisa had been forced to listen to a forced romantic diatribe by Harrington that had ended with the corporate lawyer/sexual predator getting down on one knee to propose.

Lisa said she hadn't known whether to puke on him or laugh in his face.

When she'd tried to explain to them what had really happened the night her child had been conceived, they'd all played it off as her being over dramatic. In their minds, Lisa was simply feeling guilty at having cheated on Kaia. But now, she needed to set all of that aside and think of hers and Steven's child.

When she'd still refused to accept the reality they'd placed in front of her, the group played their ace card.

She could either give up this foolishness with Kaia and accept a life with the father of her child, or her parents and therapist would have her involuntarily committed. And with her mental history of severe depression, Lisa had feared they would likely be able to get a judge to sign the order.

Yet Lisa said she'd still resisted, figuring that if she had to face a life without Kaia, she'd rather be institutionalized.

Her father had then pleaded with her to think of the child she was carrying. He pointed out that even if she didn't miscarry from her medical condition while under the care of a mental institution, she'd never be allowed to keep her child. Lisa said that up until that point, she hadn't allowed herself to consider actually being able to carry her baby to term. And the very thought of undergoing that and having it taken away had nearly destroyed her.

Lisa had broken down, crying a lot of tears at that point in her tale, apologizing to Kaia for giving in and failing her while pleading for her forgiveness. Skyler hadn't been able to hold back her own tears, once again silently thanking God for giving her loving parents whose only concern was to see her happy. She knew things could have gone so much differently for her without their support.

Things had moved very quickly after that. Her parents packed her things at the place she shared with Kaia and moved most of them to storage. She took little more than a suitcase with her to Harrington's apartment, saying she went feeling as if she was being shipped off to an internment camp.

Lisa's life after that had been both a blessing as well as a curse. Harrington had been able to afford the best of doctors to see her through her pregnancy. The private care she received had far exceeded anything she'd been able to afford the two previous times. He'd immediately gotten her in with an exclusive ob-gyn group that specializes in seeing high-risk pregnancies through to a healthy birth. Their practice had a nutritionist, a therapist, and an on-site lab and radiology department. They'd already received her previous records (courtesy of Lisa's mother) and put her through a battery of different tests and exams, including urine and blood work and a sonogram.

The result? They'd immediately put Lisa to bed for the duration of her pregnancy, with Harrington hiring her a nurse/caregiver who was present anytime he wasn't at home.

Lisa said it all should have been a relief. She no longer had to worry about having to work or provide for herself. And between her mother and the in-home caregiver, she hardly had to lift a finger around the house. Money was no longer an issue in her life. Harrington came from a wealthy family and was one of the most productive lawyers at the firm. There was no expense spared for her when it came to clothing or anything she wished to purchase for their baby.

But Lisa made it clear that she was not happy during that entire time. Not for a moment. To her, it had been like being in prison, a luxurious one for sure, but prison all the same. She was seldom allowed out of bed and never left the apartment except for trips to see her doctors.

And while Lisa had understood the precautions surrounding her pregnancy. She'd gotten the distinct impression that there was more to the situation than just concern for her health. Her caregiver, an older female nurse, whose name was named Alice, made several overt comments about how she saw the restrictions as overkill. Alice, at first, wouldn't go into the specific care instructions she'd been given. It wasn't until months later that she, too, finally began to see Lisa for what she was, a captive.

She'd only been there a week or so, when her mother, father, and Harrington had all shown up at the apartment looking anxious. With the nurse present, they'd informed her about Kaia's accident, saying only that the word they'd received was that her injuries were minor. Lisa hadn't believed her future husband's lie, her mother's body language, and expression, telling her the situation was far worse.

Swearing that she'd insisted on being able to call Germany, Lisa said that Harrington and her parents left the room only to return a few minutes later, saying that they didn't believe it a prudent thing to allow her to do. Her father explained that she was already dangerously emotional and that speaking to Kaia would likely elevate her anxiety. After all, he'd pointed out that the doctors had made it a point to mention several times how important it was that Lisa not be stressed. Elevation of her blood pressure apparently had the tendency to exacerbate the issues with her uterine lining.

Saying that she'd felt hopelessly torn in two directions, Lisa had done nothing. Like being in shock, she'd felt numb and unable to focus, lost to the multitude of events that swirled around her. Lisa knew that she was doing what was best for her child, but the guilt over what she was doing to Kaia haunted her.

As time passed and due to her pleading, Lisa had received updates on Kaia's recovery from her future husband. Harrington had supposedly used law firm contacts with the military to monitor the situation. He'd merely told the pregnant woman that her former fiance had suffered a knee injury that required minor surgery and a little rehab. Parsing her words carefully, Lisa said she'd thought it the one good thing Harrington had done for her while they were together, even if he'd done it out of wholly selfish reasons. Had she known the truth, Lisa seemed reasonably confident the stress of worry would have cost her Macey early in her pregnancy.

As Skyler listened, she tried to put herself in Lisa's place, imagining what she would have felt had she been in the beautiful brunette's position. Skyler could fully understand Lisa's need to protect the child she was carrying, particularly after her previous miscarriages. It wasn't at all a stretch for Skyler to empathize with what Lisa must have been feeling.

But even balancing that knowledge, she could never see herself turning her back on Kaia. Skyler couldn't foresee a force on Earth strong enough to cause that to happen.

So for Lisa, the time had limped on slowly, most of her days spent with her nurse, who she quickly became very attached to. Alice was a sweet and matronly woman who Lisa said she quickly came to think of in a motherly fashion. Alice took to her as well, something that would become key later in her efforts to find Kaia.

Her nights weren't nearly as pleasant. They were filled with frequent visits from her parents, her mother in particular. Lisa had come to resent them both, her mom especially so. The older woman seemed to take great joy in pointing out to Lisa how fortunate she was. The implication that she had dodged a bullet by becoming pregnant on a wild drunken night with a stranger was always implied but never said outright.

And in her mother and father's view, Steven Harrington could do no wrong. It was made plain to Lisa by both of her parents that she should relish the fact that he'd come into her life. The fact that Lisa found Harrington more unlikeable each day that passed seemed to have little impact on her parents.

Lisa explained that it wasn't anything he'd done that brought on the increase in negative feelings. He was cordial and pleasant, always seeing to it that her needs were met despite spending most of his time on his cellphone. Harrington, who was sharp and intelligent with good instincts at reading people, had seemed to pick up on Lisa's growing disdain towards him.