Family Comes First

Chapter 4: A Beginning of a New Ordinary

 There was a loud crash that woke me up from my unconscious state. It was if someone had slammed something heavy onto the ground.

My temple ached and my wrist was throbbing. I pressed my fingers against the swollen skin on my wrist. I looked at myself to see that I was wearing a large T-shirt and my underwear. The blankets were draped over my body.

"What?" I heard Charles yell from downstairs.

"I...I...I didn't know that it was that much," Jimmy's voice said.

"Don't be an idiot, boy! You better not kill that girl. You know that she is the only one that you get. Go upstairs and check on her."

I closed my eyes. I listened to the stairs creak as Jimmy came upstairs to the room. The door opened and then clicked shut. I listened as Jimmy walked around the room. The bed dipped as he sat down next to me. His fingers grazed along my cheek, and a shiver ran up my spine.

"Juliet," he whispered.

I groaned and swatted his hand away from my face. Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. I held my aching head and curled up into a ball on my side.

"You're alright," he said. "I am so sorry. I promised that I wasn't going to hurt you and I do something as stupid as this."

I closed my eyes and I could see Jimmy with his blood-soaked hands. That innocent girl must be downstairs. They must have killed her like they had killed that man. There was still a chance that she was in this house. They may have spared her to be Tommy's wife. I needed to find out. If there were two of us, we could escape together.

I pushed the blankets off of my body. I propped myself up on my elbow and tried to shimmy myself off of the bed. Jimmy grabbed my arm and pulled me back. His rough hands wrapped around my wrists and pinned me against the bed. He threw his leg over me so that he was leaning over me. His hair was falling out from behind his ears. His grotesque scar was almost hidden.

"Woah there," he said. "Where are you going?"

"Get off of me," I said.

"Juliet, you need to rest," he said. "You must be tired."

"Please, let me go," I said.

"Rest, sweetheart."

Jimmy leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Where's that girl?" I asked.

"What girl?" he asked.

"The girl from last night."

Jimmy let out a deep breath. He let go of one of my wrists and ran his fingers through his hair. I balled up my fist and punched him in the chest. He did not flinch.

"First off, no asking questions," he said. "You need to trust me that I am taking care of you."

"Did you kill her?" I asked.

"You're not listening," he said. "If you keep asking me questions I am going to have to punish you, which I really don't want to do."

There was a knock on the door. Jimmy loosened the grip on my wrists.

"Yeah?" he called out.

"Dad wants to know if you'll be outside soon," Tommy said through the door.

"I'll be out in like twenty minutes."

"Alright."

I listened to the stairs creak as Tommy left. Jimmy kissed me before pulling me up to the edge of the bed. My head was pounding and my muscles ached. Jimmy let go of me and pulled a dress out of the closet. He grabbed the bottom of my shirt and I pushed him back.

"Juliet, don't do that," he said. "You need to respect me."

"I can do it," I said.

I snatched the dress out of his hands. I pulled the shirt over my head. I covered my chest with my arm before I put on the sundress. I pushed myself up off of the bed and my knees wobbled. Jimmy snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest.

"Let me help you to the bathroom," he said. "There's a toothbrush and everything for you."

"I can walk on my own," I said.

"No, you need me."

Jimmy pulled me over to the bathroom connected to the bedroom. Jimmy kept his arm around me as he handed me a hairbrush. I brushed out the tangles in my hair and tucked it behind my ears. He gave me a toothbrush. I brushed my teeth as fast as I could while he held onto me. He kissed my temple before pulling me out of the room.

I held onto the banister of the stairs and I took a shaky step. Jimmy shook his head. He leaned down and slid his arm under my knees. He picked me up and curled me into his chest.

"I can't have you hurting yourself," he said. "Don't try to come upstairs while I am gone. I don't want you to fall."

Jimmy set me down when we got to the bottom of the steps. He guided me into the kitchen. Tommy was sitting at the dining room table shuffling a deck of cards. Jimmy pulled a chair out at the table. He put his hand on my shoulder, forcing me to sit.

"What are you still doing inside?" Jimmy asked Tommy.

"I was waiting for you," he said. "I wasn't sure if you would need help."

"I've got this covered."

Jimmy walked over to the counter and grabbed a bowl. He set the porridge down in front of me.

"You need to eat," he said.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"It's not an option."

Jimmy crouched down beside me. My stomach twisted and I bit down on my lip. I squeezed my eyes shut. Jimmy grazed his fingers along the bare skin of my arm.

"Try to rest," Jimmy said. "You don't have to do any chores. I am going to come in early and help you with dinner. Understand?"

I opened my eyes and nodded. Jimmy kissed me again before standing. Will this guy ever keep his lips off of me?

"Let's go, Tommy," he said.

His chair screeched across the floor as he stood. I watched the two of them put on their coats before going out the backdoor.

I looked around the empty house before standing. My legs shook as I walked toward the door. I grabbed the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. I banged my fist against the door and let out a cry.

There had to be another door. I stumbled as I went across the kitchen. I leaned against the wall to stop myself from falling over as I made my way into the hall. There was another door sitting at the end of the hall. I nearly fell on my face as I ran to the door. I grabbed the handle and jiggled it, but it wouldn't budge.

My knees gave out underneath me and I crumpled onto the floor. I sucked in a deep breath and a tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it away before burying my face in my hands.

They had me locked in this house. They planned on locking me in here forever. I had to find a way out of here.

I struggled to get myself back up onto my feet. I went into the room across the hall to see that it was a living room. A tattered couch sat along the wall next to a recliner. There was a giant bookshelf overfilled with books. There was a large window that was covered in bars.

I could feel myself sway and the throbbing in my head was overtaking my body. I dragged my feet over to the couch. I lied and curled up into a ball.

Whatever Jimmy had drugged me with had taken over my body again.