#Chapter 36: Protected

You’ll never see your baby again. Joseph’s mother’s threat left me hollow and bereft. I felt I must be dreaming, because something so horrible couldn’t possibly happen in real life. But when I pinched the skin of my arm, I was still sitting in that dining room with Joseph and his parents, and she still glared at me like I was something worse than dirt. My words trembled, my voice broke, but I managed, “I think I should leave.” “I think that would be best,” his mother said. “Now, wait one minute,” Joseph started. “It’s okay, Joseph,” I said, even though it wasn’t. Everything was too much already. I just wanted to get out of there. “Listen to the girl, Joey,” Joseph’s dad said. “She wants to go.” “Then we’ll go.” Joseph abruptly stood. His chair screeched against the hardwood. “But Mom. Dad. You can’t treat Cynthia like this.” His words startled me as much as his parents. We all looked at him with the same wide-eyed expression. “She’s going to have my baby, and we’re going to c