NIGHT TERROR

Pregnant Jemma Llewellyn, 23, from Basildon, was sound asleep when a predator pounced…

HARRIET ROSE-GALE

My period was late and I was starting to suspect I might be expecting.

‘Just do it,’ my friend, Missy said, pressing a pregnancy test into my hand and pushing me towards the bathroom. ‘Ok, ok,’ I sighed, reluctantly. I locked the door and sat down on the toilet, peeing on the plastic stick and anxiously waiting for the result. Within a minute, two blue lines appeared on the stick. ‘It’s positive,’ I said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

I was 20 years old, and I had been with my boyfriend, Jay, for three years, but we hadn’t planned on starting a family of our own.

It took me three days to pluck up the courage to break my pregnancy news to him.

‘That’s amazing,’ he smiled, when I finally blurted it out, wrapping his arms around me.

I was nervous telling my mum, Sharon, but once she’d got over the shock she was supportive.

As the weeks passed, my bump grew and Jay and I stocked up on nappies, wipes, blankets and babygrows in preparation for our little one’s arrival.

When I was seven months gone, Mum invited me round hers for a girly night in.

‘We can watch trashy TV and have a good old natter,’ she said.

‘Sounds perfect, Mum!’ I smiled.

‘Uncle Richard won’t be there though, will he?’

My uncle, Richard Wallis, 36, had been crashing in Mum’s spare room for a while.

I’d never been close to him – he’d always creeped me out so I made sure to keep my distance.

‘Don’t worry I’ll make sure he’s out,’ Mum assured me. ‘It’ll just be me and you.’ As I walked through the front door at Mum’s, the smell of a delicious home-cooked meal made my stomach rumble.

‘Yum, what’s for tea?’ I asked, strolling into the kitchen.

‘Sausage and mash, your favourite,’ she smiled, plating it up.

We tucked in and then flopped onto the sofa and flicked on the TV to watch Friends.

‘How about some chocolate?’ Mum asked, opening a bar of Dairy Milk.

‘Ooo go on then,’ I said, popping a few squares into my mouth. After a few hours, Mum called it a night and headed up to bed.