Los Angeles, California, a week earlier...

"He invited us to his cabin!" Gene struggled to cram his guitar case into the trunk of the taxi, his plump face glowing with excitement. "He liked it! He wouldn't have asked us if he didn't like it!"

Wes Rizzo's lips curled as he shot his friend a sideways glance. "He might just want to get rid of us up there in the woods. How many times have we showed up here, hoping to be seen? Ten? Twenty? He's probably thinking it's the only way to get rid of us."

"He was tryin' real hard not to show it, but he was digging it," gushed Hank, the drummer, skirting around the cab and flinging the door open. A car blared its horn, narrowly missing it. Unshaken, Hank hopped in the taxi. "Hollywood here we come! Marilyn Monroe, save a seat for me, baby!"

"We have to survive Michigan first," Wes mumbled, crawling into the cab after him.

He was trying to be as nonchalant as possible for the guys' sake. He didn't want to get their hopes up. They'd played so many gigs, auditioned so many times. Yet, inside he wanted to scream with excitement. He stared at the record company sign until it faded away behind them. SunRay Studios—this could be it—their big break.

***

St. Mary's Home for Unwed Mothers

"Enough! The girl is a liar," Sister Mary Helen seethed, her fist coming down on the table. The hollow thud shook the room. "How dare you even speak such treacherous gossip inside these walls! The devil is at work here. You must repent, or you will surely burn in hell!"

"She's only thirteen years old." Izzy pressed on, despite the frightening chill that was spreading up her back. "She's never even had a boyfriend. This is wrong, Sister. You can't allow her to return back to that—that monster. This should be reported to the police, it's a crime!"

Sister Mary Helen stood up, her face blotched with anger. "Did I not say enough! Dottie's father is an esteemed member of St. Augustine Church! The very thought of this nonsense is obscene and quite devious on Dottie's part. Wouldn't it be easy if you could all blame your flagrant deeds on someone else." She threw Izzy a disgusted look. "Leave these quarters at once!"

Izzy turned and fled the nun's quarters, her face hot, but hands frozen with a mix of anger and fear. No one was going to believe Dottie. The injustice of it all made her so upset, she found tears streaming down her face as she raced back up the staircase. She gritted her teeth to keep from screaming. She wasn't afraid of hell. St. Mary's Home for Unwed Mothers was hell on earth.

Suddenly out of breath, she leaned on the large stone window sill at the top of the stairs. A small bird, perhaps a sparrow, landed on the ledge just at that moment. It peered in at her, black eyes shining. What I wouldn't give to grow wings and fly away, she thought to herself.

Cocking its head, the sparrow pecked the window pane once, as if it had no fear of humans at all. Izzy smiled despite herself, pressing her finger to the window where its beak had been. The little bird spread its wings and dove into the trees, then soared to the vast lake beyond.

She breathed in deep as her eyes took in the beauty of the shimmering lake. A frantic thought crossed her mind. She needed to get out. She bit her lip, eyes on the horizon, studying the little islands that spread across the lake. She'd run away—take Dottie with her. They'd live on the island, she'd get a job somewhere—or maybe live off the land. Like a book she'd once read, The Swiss Family Robinson, a family who was shipwrecked on an island and build a home there in the trees.

An abrupt kick inside her stomach crumpled her train of thought. And raise two babies? Without any money or support? Her heart dropped and her throat tightened with despair. She was stuck there. There was no way out.

A dark tiredness took over her body, weighing down every step she took as she slowly walked back down the hallway. As if on cue, the dormitory door opened a crack and Gloria's head peered out. "Izzy," she whispered, a conspiratory look on her face. "Want to go to the lake?"

***

Izzy, Gloria and Rita tiptoed down the narrow back stairs, which used to be a maid's entrance back before the home housed unwed mothers. The gathering of cobwebs and dust showed it hadn't been used in a long time.

"We're free for about an hour," Rita whispered, " as long as we show up to lunch, no one will suspect a thing."

Dottie had been in a somber state when Izzy returned back to the room, refusing to move or talk to anyone. She'd been forced to see the doctor, kicking and screaming, the day before, after Sister Mary Helen received report she hadn't showed. It'd taken three nurses to carry her into the room. As much as Izzy wanted to protect her, she'd jumped at the chance to get out, regardless of how risky it was if they were caught.

"This is crazy." Izzy imaged Sister Mary Thomas stalking up behind them at any moment. Despite the sheer terror rising in her chest, a big part of her wanted to outwit the heartless nuns, to show them they couldn't control everything in her life. She felt like a part of her was waking up again, like the grip of despair was loosening.

The feeling intensified when they pushed the heavy door open, and a warm breeze hit her face.

"Isn't it just lovely?" Gloria threw her arms out, spinning around on the open lawn. The sun rays hit her hair, giving it a radiant glow.

Rita reached over and grabbed her arm. "Shush," she chastised. "At least wait until we make it past the trees and out of view of the window."

"This is crazy," Izzy exclaimed again. This time with a smile on her face.

They stared at each other, giddy with the fresh air. With elated giggles they raced off over the stones towards the trees, holding the hems of their gray dresses in their hands. The air filled Izzy's lungs, fueling her with energy, like it was coursing life through her veins. Rita and Gloria struggled to keep up, a little more weighed down in the middle than she.

Out of the open lawn, Izzy slowed to a walk, her hands brushing along the coarse bark of the pine trees. The lull of the waves lapping up against the shore carried to her. Spread out before her was the lake, crystal clear. The wind picked up as she stepped out of the trees, whipping her long hair wildly around her.

Gloria burst out shortly after, her shoes already in her hands. "Come on!" she yelled, her voice faint as it was carried away by the wind.

She ran down to the shore, tossing her shoes to the side. Hiking up her dress she waded into the water, squealing as the waves reached higher and higher up her long legs. "Come on!" she called again, her gold hair blowing in her face as she turned.

Izzy ventured out to the water, a little more cautiously. She took off her shoes and set them down on a huge flat rock that jutted out of the coarse sand. She winced as the icy water touched her foot. "How can you stand it?" she yelled to Gloria, laughing.

Rita sat on a wide rock, legs spread in front of her, basking in the radiant sun. "You two can go on in that icy water if you want to," she called in a wind whipped voice, wiping sand from her foot. "I'll enjoy it from here." She smiled. "Besides, I never did learn how to swim."

Izzy yelped as the waves hit her legs. It took her awhile to make it out to where Gloria stood, in water up to her knees.

Gloria gave her another conspiratorial grin, and her eyes lit up like they did every time she was about to do our say something outrageous. "Can you swim?"

"Yes," Izzy said. "I'm no Tarzan, but I can keep afloat."

"Good." With a scream of anticipation Gloria dove into the water, the splash hitting Izzy square in the chest, making her echo the scream.

Gloria's long arms and legs carried her as she paddled out into deeper water. She stood, the water up to her shoulders. "Ah, this is so refreshing. I don't think I'll ever go back." Her eyes narrowed at the foreboding stone building behind Izzy.

Izzy took a deep gulp of air and dove into the water, the chill making every nerve in her body jump to attention. She came up next to Gloria, her head cleared by the icy plunge, eyes focused on the building. "I absolutely hate that place." She spat, her teeth chattering uncontrollably as she hugged herself.

"I imagine Alcatraz looks something like that," Gloria said darkly. "Only they have the fortune of being run by prison wardens instead of nuns."

Izzy chuckled next to her, smoothing her hair down with her hands.

Gloria turned to her, her green eyes filled with something Izzy couldn't make out. "We could swim away, far away. Maybe to an island or—."

Izzy chuckled. "I'm not that great of a swimmer. The waves pick up just a little ways beyond here, there's no way we'd make it. Believe me, the thought has already occurred to me. Unfortunately, we're stuck here until our babies are born."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Gloria said.

Something about the tone of her voice made Izzy stand on guard, sensing there was more behind her words. She fidgeted in the chilly water. "You've got your Billy back at home," she said softly, searching Gloria's eyes. They had suddenly taken on a far away look.

"This water is numbing, isn't it?" Gloria ventured out further, her voice dry.

"I think we should go back," Izzy said, her neck tingling. She grabbed Gloria's arm. "We have to change before lunch, we—."

Gloria pulled away, her back to her. "You go back." She dove into the water.

Shocked, Izzy watched as she swam out further into the water. Was she mad! The blood drained from her face as she watched her go. She was going to kill herself!

"Gloria!" Rita yelled from the shore, pulling herself off of the rock. "Get back here!"

Izzy looked from Gloria, who was swimming determinedly out into the waves to Rita, who was swinging her arms furiously from the shore. Her heart was thumping so hard she thought she would faint and be pulled down lifelessly into the water herself.

With a deep breath, she threw herself at the water, swimming after Gloria. The bottom grew deeper and deeper underneath her. The waves bounced her up and down, causing her to gasp for breath before she was plugged under and bobbed back up again. "Gloria!" she screamed desperately into the waves. "Gloria come back here!"

The waves were growing larger, she couldn't see her anywhere.

"Izzy!" came Gloria's voice from her left. She had pulled herself onto a gigantic rock that sat just inches from the top of the water. "Over here!"

Izzy struggled to turn herself around, but she'd gone past the protection of the island and the waves had changed direction. A strong current was pulling her the other way, further out into the deep waters. The waves started cresting and crashing down on her, throwing her under and spinning her around. The more she struggled, the more she seemed to be tossed about. With one last desperate gasp of breath, she let current carry her, visions of her family floating into her mind. They would be sorry they'd sent her to this place, when they found she'd drown. Then another thought occurred to her. They'd assume she'd drowned intentionally.

With one last burst of energy she threw herself to the surface for air. At the same moment, a strong arm wrapped around her chest from behind, pulling her backwards. She flung herself around frantically, trying to grab onto whoever it was behind her.

"Stop or you'll kill us both," a man's voice growled.  

Thanks so much to all of you who have stuck with this story, despite the time between updates. I'm trying to get one out a week, but rest assured I will finish. What do you think about Gloria? She is a pretty complex character isn't she? Please vote if you feel the story deserves it, and comment. I have gotten some great feedback through comments in this story, as well as Winter Rose. It helps me out a lot to know what readers are thinking! Again, thanks so much for reading!