Chapter 18

She picked Christian up and put him in his car seat. Then, she picked up his bag and headed out to the car. Jesse came out right behind her and saw her basically just going through the motions. He had just ruined a perfectly good evening. He drove them to the park where the ladies he had spoken to had set up the party for Christian. When Renee got out and saw everyone, she plastered her fake smile on her face. Jesse hated it. He came around to take Christian so that he could speak to her before they went up to everyone.

"Please, don't let earlier ruin this evening. I planned this surprise out for you more than Christian. He isn't going to remember this, but you will. Can we please just have a nice time?"

Renee responded with a simple, "Okay."

They walked up to the party and everyone greeted them. Renee sat with the other moms from her group. They had put together a nice little party. There was a cake and a special cake just for Christian. They had a little cookout while the men threw back a few beers. She ignored Jesse for the rest of the night, deciding to do exactly what he asked her to. She had a great time talking to everyone but him.

"Tabitha, do you want to take pictures of Christian getting into his cake?" Lizzie asked.

"Most definitely," Renee answered.

"You know, I looked for you online the other day, but I couldn't find you," Lizzie said.

"Oh. I don't have an online account. I don't have any interest in having one. I'm kind of a private person."

"What about Mark? Does he have one that we could send a friend request to and reach you that way?" Lizzie asked.

Renee had to stop and think about who Mark was. She almost asked Lizzie who she was referring to. It had taken her a long time to get used to people calling her Tabitha, but she had never really gotten used to hearing people call Jesse by Mark. They didn't address each other by those names at home.

"No. Mark is also a very private person," Renee replied.

"Well, okay. I know some other people like that. No biggie. Would you be okay if I posted the pictures on my account?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't. I mean, if we aren't in the pictures, then I'm okay with it, but I just don't want our pictures out there. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I respect your privacy. I won't include any pictures of you guys, okay?"

"Thanks, Lizzie. I appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem," Lizzie said as she walked away.

Renee had seen how Lizzie had looked at her like she was crazy, but she couldn't tell her that she couldn't put her picture up online. If she did and someone saw it, then it might lead someone to her. If that happened, and Jesse found out about it, she knew he would run. He would find her eventually and brutalize her in the worst way, by killing Kevin. She didn't think he would hurt Christian, but who knew what he would really do if it came down to it?

She looked around and saw everyone laughing and joking and felt out of place. She liked a few of the women here, but she didn't really know any of them. None of them knew the real her. She had to hide who she was out of fear of letting something slip. She was claiming a husband she didn't really have and didn't even have a fake ring to wear. She was claiming a life that she had never lived and was having an all-around hard time remembering to respond when people called her by Tabitha. She sighed and saw Jesse looking at her as he continued to throw back the beers. She shifted, uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her.

Was he a mean drunk? The way he was putting them down, she wondered if he would be able to drive them home. He hadn't allowed her to drive the entire time he had kept her, even though she had a valid driver's license under her fake name. If he continued like he was now, she was going to insist on driving them. No way was she going to let him drive her and Christian while being drunk.

She stood up and walked over to the park area. No one was talking to her anyway. They had all gathered into their own groups. Lisa was watching all the babies. She was going to take a few minutes to herself. She started walking through the trees and enjoying the park itself. It was beautiful. The only time she ever got to go out was when Jesse took her somewhere. Even meeting the other women required him to drop her off and pick her back up. She took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, breathing in the flowers and scents from the trees.

She jumped when she felt arms slide around her waist. She smelled beer and her nose wrinkled. But, when she turned, it wasn't Jesse that had wrapped his arms around her. It was Patrick, Rebecca's husband. He smiled at her and she frowned. What the hell was he doing?

"So, I was talking to Rebecca, and I don't know if you know this or not, but we are swingers. I think you are a gorgeous woman and wanted to know if you might be interested? Rebecca is okay with hooking up with Mark," Patrick said, smiling at her.

"Um, thanks for the offer, I think, but no," Renee said as she pushed on Patrick's chest.

"Oh, come on. At least think about it?"

"I'm a one-man kind of woman, Patrick. So, again, thanks for the offer, but no."

With that, Renee pushed on his chest hard, breaking his hold on her. She walked back up to the party, feeling a little shaken by what had just happened. She didn't know that Jesse had seen Patrick walk up and put his arms around her. He hadn't moved close enough to hear what was being said, but he didn't like the fact that Patrick had been with Renee. Were the two of them hooking up behind his back? His anger blinded him and it took everything in him not to make a scene. He would find out the truth later tonight.