Odette: Path B

"I work. I did college online and I work for a company out of Nashville remotely. Umm. Have a seat Ollie, I will get you some tea."

He laughed and for a moment, he sounded like the boy. "You still suck at lying, punkin."

The pet name made me flinch.

"Come sit with me, let's talk."

"I don't really want to talk, Ollie," I said softly, my shoulders hunching.

"Punkin," he said, almost gently. "Come on. I just want to talk." He closed the distance and took hold of my wrist, pulling me to my couch. He didn't hurt me, but he was firm. He kept hold of my hand, even after I tried to tug it away. "Hey," he said softly, like he was speaking to a spooked and skittish animal. "It's all cool, punkin, ok? I had a lot of time to think. I did things wrong with you, but now I have another chance, don't I? I want things to work for us and I came to tell you that I really want to try."

"You do?" I asked, trying to buy time to think.

"I do. I want to see you happy, I want us both to be happy." He touched my face and I tried to hold still under his touch.

He scooted closer, pulling me against him, then went back to touching my face, running his fingers through my curls.

"I like your hair. I loved it short, but long is cute too. Come over here punkin, let me hold you. Have you missed me?"

"No, Ollie. You know I haven't," I answered, tears coming to my eyes. His arms were large now, not skinny, his chest too. An image of TV shows and prison inmates working out constantly popped into my head. Of course.

He hugged me to his chest and chuckled. "It's ok. I know I didn't deserve to be missed. Did you ever think about me?"

"All the time," I answered honestly. Every time I woke up from a nightmare, crying.

"I missed you a lot. I talked about you a lot too. Told everyone about you. I brought you something," he said, digging in his pocket. He pulled the little jewelry box out and showed it to me, thumbing it open to expose the little silver filigree ring.

"Very pretty," I said, still feeling numb and stupid. I couldn't make my mind work for me, it was stuck in a panic mode playback loop.

"So what do you say, punkin? Wanna set a date?"

"What does your mom think?"

He laughed. "Haven't gone to see her yet. I came here first."

"So you just got out?"

"Yesterday."

"What was it like?" I asked, trying to buy time. His arms and chest were completely unyielding as I tried to sit up to look at him.

"Mm, punkin, I am not ready to let you go yet," he said, stroking my arm. "I have dreamed of this moment and I just want it to last a little longer."

"Sure," I answered, my voice cracking.

"Do you know what else I have been thinking about?" he asked, his voice going low.

I froze, even holding my breath, as if that would stop what I knew was about to happen.

His hand moved from my arm and he groped my breast through my t-shirt. He let out a ragged breath, then eased me back to lay on the couch.

"Ollie!"

"Shh shh shh, please punkin, please, I just need this for a minute. Shhhhh baby," he whispered, one hand over my mouth. He was half sitting on me, straddling my hips as he leaned over me, one hand on my mouth, the other groping me. He shoved my t-shirt up , then lowered himself, sucking and biting and squeezing my breasts. Not painfully, not yet.

I was crying, my hands gripping his wrist, trying to pull his hand off of my mouth.

He lifted his head and kissed my jaw and my neck. "Shh baby. Shh shh shh. I need this. Give me this. Oh, fuck baby," he groaned, shoving his hand down between my legs to paw at my mound through my pajama pants.

He made a growling noise, then stood and picked me up, carrying me down the hall to my bedroom.

"Ollie! Let me go! Put me down and we can talk about this!" I pleaded.

He put me on the bed and shucked my pants and underwear off in a fluid motion. I tried to roll away but he caught me and yanked my t-shirt off before tossing me higher on the bed and following me, pinning me down.

He caught my hands and held my wrists, his face inches from mine as he laid on me. "I'm not going to hurt you punkin, ok? Listen to me. Relax. Be quiet for me, ok? I need this. I have needed this for so long, you have to give me this!"

I was breathing too quickly, panic setting in as I looked up at him fearfully. 'You have to get it together!' I told myself.

He undid his own pants as he kneed my legs apart, kissing along my jaw, then my mouth. I didn't kiss him back, but I didn't fight him either. I needed to think! Fighting might send him over the edge, but I couldn't force myself to cooperate either. Not this time.

"I love you so much," he said, his voice full of emotion as he nuzzled into my neck.

"You do?" I asked in a whisper. "Then we should talk about..."

"Shhh punkin. Shh. Don't try and say anything, I know what you will say. Just shhh baby. I need this."

He kissed my mouth again, then let go of my wrist to grope my breasts again, He moaned as he lifted up to look at me again.

"Please Ollie," I begged, tears in my eyes.

"Shhh," he demanded, putting his hand over my mouth again. "Shh baby, don't say it. I can't hear it right now. I need this, I need you. Fuck baby. Please, I need you to love me!"

He moved low again and started sucking on my nipple hard enough to make me wince. It was the closest he had come to hurting me. His hand slid down between my legs and he rubbed at my pussy with unpracticed fingers.

"Fuck I have missed this," he groaned, then pushed off of me suddenly and moved lower. He shoved my legs apart, his long fingers closing around my legs above my knees holding my legs wide open as he looked down at my pussy, open and exposed to him. He looked for less than three seconds before dropping his head and covering my mound with his mouth, eagerly sucking and licking.

I let out a noise of shock and blinked. I forced the feelings away as I looked to my bedside table for something to hit him with. An empty water bottle, a bottle of sleeping pills and a half a bag of twizzlers were all that looked back at me.

I gasped again and twitched, my mind being brought back to what was happening to me as he slid a finger into me with a loud, vibrating groan. It had been so long, too long. My body wrested itself from my mind and gave itself over to what he was doing. I didn't fight it, I closed my eyes and took hold of my own sheets, going along for the ride.

When I gave myself to it, the pleasure skyrocketed quickly and I came, bucking and screaming as my body clenched, my pussy clamping down on his fingers as he moaned around my clit.

"Fuck baby, I missed that!" he yelled when I came down, trying to catch my breath. He wasn't waiting as he pulled me lower, holding my legs wide so he could guide his cock into me. I didn't have time to protest as he shoved into me with a sigh. "Oh, punkin, fuck! I am not going to last. Not yet!" he cried as he pumped away frantically. "Oooooooh, come on baby, say you want me. Say it baby, say it! SAY IT!" he screamed, his hand caressing my face as he braced himself with the other. He exploded inside of me, an unending stream of hot cum as he throbbed again and again, holding himself deep inside of me.

He half collapsed on top of me, sweating and breathing hard.

"That was just the first time," he said, still trying to catch his breath. "It won't be so quick next time, it's been building up so long. Fuck you feel so good." He made a noise of loss as he pulled out and moved down to lay next to me and hold me. He pressed his mouth to my jaw. "I love you Odette," he whispered.

I was trembling as I lay there, staring up at the ceiling and trying to think of what to do. I turned to the window and the mountain filled my vision.

I knew then, exactly what to do and how to do it.

I pulled away from Ollie, shoving hard when he tried to hold me tighter as I sat up. "You listen to me now, Ollie," I said, my voice firm but not angry. "If this is going to happen, you have to make me promises."

He sat up, looking hopeful as he looked at me. "Sure punkin, what promises?"

"First, you can't hurt me. Not ever again. No rough stuff, no hitting, no hurting."

"Done punkin, I was never going to hurt you again anyway. I never want to see you hurt again, I love you!"

"Second, we do this right. We get married and you ask me propper. And you can't just take me against my will, it always has to be consensual. Always. Do you understand?"

"Yeah babe, got it, of course. It will never happen again."

"And I won't cook and clean, you have to be ok with the maid doing things and me spending my money on whatever I want."

"No problem babe, done."

"And you can't call me 'babe' anymore, I hate it."

He grinned. "Got it, punkin. Anything else?"

"Yes. You said once you wanted to ask me up on the overlook. I want you to take me up there and ask me up there."

He jumped up out of the bed and began pulling his clothes on, tossing me mine. I got dressed more slowly, considering what I was doing. I didn't know how, but I knew it would work.

He drove my car up to the overlook and I looked into the woods when I got out of the car and not out at the city on the opposite side.

There.

I turned to Ollie and smiled. "Leave the keys in it, we won't be long. Did you bring the ring?"

"Right here punkin," he said eagerly, coming around to my side of the car. He immediately went to one knee.

"Wait. You need to do a proper job of it. Look, there's flowers right through there between those trees. The blue and yellow ones?"

He stood and peered into the woods, then looked around a little nervously.

"The pretty ones? Do you see them? I want to be able to press them in a book so I can remember this day."

"I see them," he said with a determined smile. "Be right back."

He went into the woods and I turned away, going around the car and getting in. I paused for a moment, looking into the woods before starting my car. I could see the blue and yellow flowers, but there was no sign of Ollie at all.

"Thank you," I whispered to the mountain before going home.

I thought I should have been sad, or upset, or at least curious, but I just felt like a huge weight had been lifted. He was gone and he was never coming back. Ever.

The police came by in three days, asking me if I had seen him.

"No sir, I don't think anyone really knows I live here except you guys. He is out? Why didn't anyone tell me? Should I be worried?"

"He is out, you were supposed to be notified, but Claire said she hadn't gotten around to it yet, the memo got buried in her inbox. Sorry about that. He has missed his first check in and his mom hasn't heard from him. We thought he may have skipped town, but... ma'am, the warden from the prison said he had a deep obsession with you. He had you tattooed all over his body, like 24 tattoos I think he said. We'd like to keep an officer close."

"If you think it's necessary, but if I were you I would be getting in touch with Atlanta PD. That's where he thinks I am."

I saw his face light up with a 'duh' moment. "Of course ma'am, you are likely right. Even so, keep your doors locked and call if you hear anything."

"Will do officer, thanks."

They did not bother me again.

Seven long weeks passed and I slept better, my nightmares were gone. I was able to work without getting distracted or worried. It was nice.

I woke up on the first day of Summer with the flu, vomiting and feeling all around awful. I laid in bed all morning until it finally eased up and I could get some work done. I thought it was a quick stomach bug, but the next morning it came back, just as bad.

The fourth morning, I googled my symptoms, wondering if I needed to get a new mattress, wondering if mine was making me sick.

What I found made me sick to my stomach in a different way. I sent Hillary to the store for me and she brought home 4 different kinds of pregnancy tests.

Every one of them was positive and I realized as I sat there in shock that I had not had my cycle. It was something I had never kept track of, it happened when it happened.

I sat there, panicking all over again. It was far too late for the morning after pill and I knew I couldn't go through with anything else. I also knew there was no way I could deal with this alone.

The answer came, once again when I looked up and out the window.

I sat down, set up automatic payments for my mortgage, then turned off all of my utilities and parked my car in the garage. I locked the house down tight.

The UBER dropped me off at the overlook and I told him I would call when I was ready to come home. When he left, I turned my phone off, put that and my keys in a ziplock back, and then a larger one that I had brought with me and buried them at the base of a large rock.

I turned to the woods, rubbing my sweaty hands on my pants and looking at them, wondering how to begin.

A giant stepped out, looking me over from a distance and I stared at him wide eyed. His hair was long and he wore buckskin pants, a vest and no shoes. I should have been afraid, but his eyes were gentle as he watched me.

I walked up to him and he offered me a hand. With a last, shaky breath, I took it and he led me up the mountain.