The Tangled Web

April 2001 - Morning Sickness

The Tangled Web is a story spanning several years and is based on the complicated lives of a brother and sister and those they live with. Set in the English Midlands, the tale is told through a series of interlocking short stories. Although designed to be read in sequence, I have tried to make each chapter stand as a complete and satisfying story in itself.

This Chapter again involves Sophie who is now 16. As she is still underage her role is in character development and she does not feature sexually.

This chapter features a graphic account of the rape of an 18 year old girl. Please do not continue reading if you are likely to be offended by this type of subject.

Please also understand that I do not in any way condone sexual or any other form of non-consensual violence either to men or women. Rather, I have tried to show a little of the horror of rape and its effects on a developing personality.

The Sara & Sam love story continues in Chapter 7.

* * * * *

Almost another year has passed since the Easter Holiday.

Sara and her brother Sam's relationship, now in its fourth year, has deepened further. Their almost weekly lovemaking has become a central part of their lives, bringing them closer together with every month that passes.

Although now undeniably in love with each other, both still live with their 'other halves' David and Lynn who still have no suspicions about the real nature of the siblings' closeness.

More importantly, Sam's beautiful wife Lynn is now unexpectedly and (for her) undesirably, pregnant. She is not having an easy time, and is finding it impossible not to resent the fact. Sam, of course, is very happy at the thought of becoming a father and has become even more loving and caring in his relationships with both Lynn and Sara.

Sara's boyfriend David is still teaching at the same school and is still seeing his old flame Paula on an increasingly regular basis.

* * * * *

David was at work, drinking his morning tea in the staff common room, pondering what he should do about Sophie.

An intelligent and hard working girl, Sophie had performed well in her GCSE exams and the following year had moved on to the local sixth form college. David had not expected to hear from her again. He was surprised to realize that he would miss her, and even more surprised to realize just how much. The card that had arrived on his door step the previous week had therefore been a considerable surprise.

'David. I'm still in love with you.' It ran. 'Next week is my 16th birthday. Now that you're not my teacher, would you take me to the cinema on Friday night?'

David had been very much aware of the risk in this, but found he really wanted to see her again and when she called to see if they had 'a date', he suggested they met for coffee instead - after school, in the Singing Kettle Café near the school gate. The place was always full of students and staff, and any witnesses would simply assume it was a chance meeting with an old pupil.

Sophie had arrived after David, and to his surprise had played the 'fancy meeting you' card well, especially as she hadn't known it was expected of her. David watched her carefully as she settled into the chair opposite. Her long, strawberry-blonde hair was pulled back in a pony-tail revealing her fresh, clean make-up-free face. Her slightly over-weight legs were clad in loose skater trousers and her long t-shirt just failed to conceal the fact that she had very small breasts. To his surprise, David found her youth and naivety rather attractive.

Over coffee and cakes she had talked animatedly about her new school, her new teachers, her new friends. David had found himself drawn in by her enthusiasm for it all, and realized when the second cups of coffee arrived that he was genuinely enjoying a simple chat with, yes, a pretty young girl. He smiled to himself, and almost let his enthusiasm carry him away when she leaned over and whispered

"I still love you. Why won't you take me out now?"

"Sophie! I'm ten years older than you. You need a boyfriend your own age."

She had looked down at her knees. "I don't want one. They're all spots and groping hands. And anyway, they're only interested in girls that are more 'grown up'."

She had looked sadly down at her flat chest, and across the room at the full breasts of a commonly dressed classmate at the next table. "Besides, I thought we were getting on very well. I thought you liked me."

"Sophie, you are a lovely, bright girl and I like you very much." Too much, he thought to himself. "But you are too young and inexperienced to know your own mind yet."

She had looked crestfallen. He had felt wretched, and hurriedly added "Let's be really good friends." (How many times had he heard that?). "Let's see each other like this more often, and see how you feel in a year's time."

To his relief, she had looked up, smiled and said 'OK', then rushed into an involved story about her mother's latest boyfriend.

When she had left and David had driven home alone, he was conscious of a warm feeling inside; of being happy – uniquely for him, in a relationship not based on sex.

And now he was sitting alone in a room full of people, wondering what to do next.

*****

Across town in her and Sam's bedroom, Lynn threw off the duvet and rushed to the bathroom where she stood hunched over the toilet bowl, retching dryly.

'God!' she thought, surely this couldn't go on much longer. She retched again, this time vomiting into the waiting bowl, her knees weak with the discomfort. Sitting on the edge of the bath, she slowly began to feel better. Steadying herself on the sink, she filled a glass with water and downed it in two large gulps. She stood naked in front of the large mirror and looked at the devastation wreaked on her once-perfect body.

At first Lynn's pregnancy had seemed unreal; just a concept. She had not felt or looked any different, she was just 'pregnant'. Then the unreality abruptly ended as nature took over and things had started to change. Her body had slipped from the iron grip she used to hold on it and was beginning to change alarmingly on its own.

Her long, oval face, framed by her waist-length blonde hair, had darkening bags under her eyes. Her tummy, normally hard and ironing-board flat, was beginning to swell quite noticeably now and she could feel from the unfamiliar tightness of her clothes, a rounding of her thighs and hips which even her usual bouts of starvation could not erase. Only her breasts, full large and firm with large nipples, remained unchanged, but Lynn dreaded the effect a suckling baby would one day have on them.

And then there was the all pervading sickness.

'Morning sickness' they called it - the subject of many jokes. But for Lynn it was no joke. Her 'morning' lasted most of every day, and the nausea on some days prevented her from leaving her bed. Everyone said it would pass, but right now it seemed to have lasted all her life.

Lynn filled a glass with water and rinsed the sour taste of vomit from her mouth, spitting the detested flavour into the sink. Taking two paracetamol, she downed another glass of water and walked back to her rumpled bed. She lay on her back on the sheets, staring at the ceiling, then turned to look at the pillow on her left. Sam's pillow, she thought, though Sam himself had gone to work hours ago. She slid her hand beneath the duvet on Sam's side of the bed and felt his warmth still trapped within its soft folds.

Lynn loved Sam. There could be no mistaking the way she felt when she was with him - more so when he was away. She had sort of wanted a child, too, but what a price to pay. She rolled onto her back again and closed her eyes, imagining Sam's tall, muscular body, his short dark hair, his deep brown eyes and soft, loving face above hers, making love to her in his gentle, considerate way. A beautiful, loving act that had horrifically created the appalling 'thing' inside her womb which was even now destroying the body she had worked so hard to perfect.

Lynn turned on the electric under blanket and let its heat soothe her back. The nausea gradually receded and her thoughts wandered.

Like so many beautiful women, Lynn was insecure. She had never been academically bright, but had worked hard, especially on what she quickly realized was obviously her greatest asset: her body. Tall and slim, tanned all year round with long blonde hair, Lynn was, she knew, extremely pretty but considered by many to be a dumb blonde and even a trophy wife.

At school, when she was younger, concealed and open envy of her looks had been rife, and this had, she believed, continued into her working life in the two Health Clubs at which she taught. Rumours of her promiscuity prior to her marriage to Sam abounded, she knew, and their unjust nature still hurt her.

The truth was that Lynn had remained a virgin until well into her 18th year, and since then had slept with only five men.

Always more astute than she was given credit for, Lynn had been well aware of the intention of her many 'dates' and had normally been more than capable of repelling unwanted advances. It had probably been as a result of frustration at their lack of success that some boy had invented the first story about her supposed 'appetite'. Other tall tales had followed - some too tall for even teenage boys to believe - but the truth was that she had remained a 'nice girl' as all that knew her well understood.

Lynn had forced herself to tolerate all but the most outrageous stories that reached the ears of her closest friends, partly because denial would have been futile, but also because they served to hide the secret fact that Lynn had always been at least as interested in other women as she was in men.

She did not consider herself to be a lesbian - she was still attracted by men and had, after all, married Sam, one of the most desired and attractive men in the club - but in addition to her five male lovers, Lynn had been sexually involved with several women. Admittedly, two of these had been one night stands after school parties, consisting mostly of shame faced fumbling during sleepovers, but others had been much longer term, the longest-standing with her old school friend Sandy ending only on her marriage to Sam.

However, there had been no male or female lovers in her life since her marriage. Lynn was and - despite the rumours had always been - faithful to her current lover.

Lynn's appetite for either 'normal' or lesbian sex had never been high. A 'naturally low libido' her magazines had called it. Her feelings for Sam were, however, ones of genuine love and she had consciously forced herself to provide him with a full, if not over-active sex life. Most of the time she enjoyed it. Sam was a considerate lover, gentle and sensitive, recognizing her aversion to uncontrolled passion. He did, however have a high libido and was prone to become sullen and difficult to please if not satisfied sexually several times a week.

When they were married, Lynn had told herself that Sam must never have cause to complain on that front, and until the beginning of her pregnancy, had worked hard to live up to this aim.

This had been difficult for her. Her experiences of sex before she met Sam had not been good at all. Already coloured by her nascent lesbian tendencies, Lynn's rejection of most men before Sam and all afterwards had been a direct reaction to the one secret in her life which she guarded even more carefully than the truth of her sexuality.

Not her mother, not her best friends, not even her husband Sam knew that Lynn had been raped when she was eighteen.

*****

It had happened on the night of her friend Carol's eighteenth birthday. There had been a party at a local pub to which all the gang had been invited. Lynn, without a current boyfriend, had been forced to repel unwanted advances from boys all evening. One boy, a testosterone-and alcohol charged twenty-one year old, had been particularly persistent. Stuart - Stu to his few friends - was a former pupil at her school and fancied himself as a ladies' man. He had gate-crashed the party late into the evening and had been making a nuisance of himself ever since. Older and shorter than Lynn, he had always fancied her and had tried to get her to 'go out' with him on dozens of occasions.

Lynn had wanted none of it. Apart from his terrible reputation for 'not taking 'no' for an answer', she disliked his arrogant attitude, thought his motorcycle leathers common and hated the way his breath reeked of cigarettes. True, he had a strong, powerful body which many girls found sexy, but this made little impression on the ascetic Lynn.

On the night in question, Stuart had arrived drunk and it seemed, also stoned. He and two larger, older friends, also in leather jackets, had forced their way into the pub's private function room and the three of them had gone straight to the bar where they downed even more beer before turning their attention towards the dance floor.

Spying Lynn and a small group of her friends in the far corner, Stuart had worked his way through the crowd until he was close by Lynn and had begun to dance. As the music went on, he had subtly managed to maneuver himself between Lynn and her friends until she had suddenly found herself dancing with him alone. At this point, intimidated by his size and drunken condition, Lynn had made the fatal mistake of dancing with him further instead of breaking away to rejoin her friends.

The music changed to a slow dance. Lynn made to return to her girlfriends but before she could get away, Stuart had grabbed her and pulled her against his chest. Lynn smelled the sour odour of tobacco on his breath and tried to keep him at a distance. Stuart had been too strong for her however, and as the bodies around them swayed to the romantic music, he held her very tightly against him, grinding his obvious erection into her stomach. Lynn had struggled to pull away in a dignified manner, but Stuart had held her firmly.

Eventually she gave up struggling, determined to break away when the music changed, but then suddenly felt his strong hands falling to her buttocks where he kneaded her cheeks. Lynn's body went tense and she tried to push him away, but Stuart held her firmly. A lecherous smile crossed his face and to her horror she felt him try to slide a finger under her skirt and between her upper thighs.

This was too much for Lynn to bear. Pushing herself suddenly backwards, she slapped Stuart across the face with the palm of her hand. Although the blow was not hard, he reeled back in shocked surprise, caught his ankle on a nearby chair leg and fell backwards onto the floor where he sat bolt upright, his head spinning. Seeing Stuart on the floor, the other dancers roared with laughter as Lynn rushed back across the room to where her friends were standing. Protectively, they had rallied around her, watching the look of hatred on his face as Stuart pulled himself to his feet before he and his friends unsteadily left the pub, cursing all around them.

Lynn had spent the rest of the evening dancing with her friends, keeping away from all the boys. She had felt uneasy and, when the music had stopped and it had been time to go home, she had hung back, waiting. Carol, a little unsteady herself, at length came over with her boyfriend Steve.

"Are you okay, Lynn?" she asked.

"I'm worried Stu is out there, waiting. He was horrid tonight."

"I know. I saw what happened. I'd ask you to stay with me tonight but...." her voice dropped to a whisper ".....I've got company." Carol nodded her head towards Steve, winked and grinned. Lynn grinned back.

"I understand. I'll be okay."

Carol suddenly turned. "Hey Mike!" She called out. "Mike! Come over here!" Her younger brother looked across the room at her call. "Fancy escorting a beautiful lady safely home?"

Mike eagerly joined them. "Sure. Love to." He said, smiling at Lynn.

Lynn smiled back. Mike was only seventeen and shouldn't really have been in the pub at all. Lynn knew Mike had always been slightly infatuated with her. She found him sweet and unthreatening and, she had to admit, rather attractive despite being nearly two years younger than her. During one party earlier that year she had slow-danced with him and had allowed him to kiss her on the dance floor, but no more. Tousled blonde-haired, dressed in a tight white T-shirt and pale blue jeans, Lynn thought he looked really handsome for a younger boy and would certainly be a lady killer when he was older – actually she was surprised how attractive she found him now.

After much kissing goodbye to Carol, accompanied by even more winking and nodding at Steve, Lynn and Mike left the warm pub and started to walk along the brightly-lit pavement. They walked slowly in the broken moonlight towards Lynn's parents' home. Mike was talking too much, a little drunk and a lot infatuated. Lynn smiled indulgently and allowed him to take her hand in his as they walked along the brightly lit pavement. The light grew dimmer as they passed beneath the broken lamp post outside the school grounds and their pace slowed.

Mike's arm hesitatingly snaked around Lynn's waist as if he didn't want her to notice it happening. Lynn smiled inside and let it happen. Mike was, after all, unthreatening and, if she was honest with herself, she felt strongly attracted to him that night. Her arm slid around his waist in reply and their pace slowed further as their bodies pressed lightly together while they walked.

Reaching the edge of the school grounds, the light grew dimmer still and without a conscious decision, they found themselves stopping. Before Lynn had realized what was happening, the two of them were locked in an embrace, kissing tenderly. Mike's arms were around her waist; hers were around his neck. They melted into each other, their tongues entwining, their eyes closed.

Their bodies pressed together tightly as they kissed and Lynn felt without fear Mike's hardening erection. She wondered whether he would try and go further, and how she would react if he did. She wouldn't mind, she decided, if he wanted a little more. That night she would not resist – up to a point.

Feeling warm inside, her eyes closed and she lost herself in his embrace. Mike's hands slipped clumsily to her buttocks in the darkness and he pulled her firmly against his body. Lynn, always slow to respond, allowed him to rub himself against her as they kissed. His hand rose to her breasts and he squeezed them – a little too firmly – then sneaked his hand under her top in search of her brassiere.

Suddenly, with a roar of engines that shattered the silence of the night, two powerful motorcycles screeched to a halt, one in front of them, one behind.

Lynn and Mike flew apart and turned to face the alarming strangers as they rapidly dismounted from their bikes, Mike, despite his smaller size, gallantly leaped between Lynn and the two white-helmeted leather-clad men that now aggressively approached them.

Bravely, he squared up to the stocky young man who appeared to be in charge.

"Hi!" He said, friendly but firmly. "You looking for us?"

In reply he received a tear-jerking head-butt from the man's helmet across the bridge of his nose. Mike's knees buckled instantly and he fell like a stone onto the pavement, his head landing with a sickening crack. He lay there motionless.

"Mike!" Lynn cried out and began to run towards his fallen body but found her motion checked by the powerful grip of the huge leather-clad biker who, despite his enormous size, had reached her back unnoticed. She struggled, kicking back with her heels and throwing back her head, but it was useless. She shouted. She screamed and was rewarded with a hard back-handed slap across the face, leaving a red mark on her right cheek. But the man held her firmly, squeezing her more and more tightly with every move she made until she found it difficult to breathe.