Family Comes First

Chapter 8: A Disturbing Souvenir

Jimmy insisted on drugging me last night. I begged and pleaded for him not to, but he held me down and forced the needle into my thigh. It was the only reason that I slept all night. My head was heavy when his alarm clock went off in the early morning. I held my temple as I rolled out of bed.

Jimmy pulled out clothes for me and set them on the bed. I put them on, and like usual, they were much too large for me. My small frame was swallowed up by these clothes. Where did they get them from?

When we entered the kitchen, Charles was sitting at the table. He had a book in his hands and an empty bowl in front of him. His eyes were locked on the book and he did not look at us as we entered.

Jimmy grabbed the box of cereal that was sitting on top of the fridge. I grabbed two bowls from the cupboard. Why did I do that? How did I already settle into their routine?

Tommy came down the steps a few minutes later. He smirked at me as he walked past the table. I looked over at Jimmy to see that he was not paying him any attention. When Tommy sat down he continued to stare at me. I picked up my bowl and brought it over to the sink. Jimmy followed behind me. He placed his hand on my hip as I filled the sink full of water.

"Are you going to behave today?" Jimmy asked me.

I kept my gaze down at the sink. My fingers were curled against the edge. Jimmy grabbed my chin and pulled my head so that I was staring at him. His eyebrows were furrowed.

"Answer me," he said.

"I'll be good," I muttered. I knew it was what he would want to hear, and it was how to get him to step away. He let out a deep breath before letting go of my chin.

"Don't have an attitude with me," Jimmy said.

"I don't have an attitude," I said. "I just don't want to be here."

"Juliet!" Charles yelled out.

I bit down on my lip as my heart felt like it was slamming against my ribcage. I grabbed my injured arm and cradled it to my body. Charles shook his head as he walked toward me.

"This is your home," he said. "This is where you belong. You are not going anywhere. We have to keep you safe from the outside world. There is so much out there that wants to hurt you."

I nodded. My arm was already throbbing as I awaited my punishment. I held onto my breath as Charles stepped closer to me. He stepped in between Jimmy and I. He glared at me as he placed his bowl in the hot soapy water. My fingers curled tighter into my wrist.

"If you disrespect James again you will be punished," he said. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," I said.

"Good girl. Now, boys, let's get outside."

Charles walked toward the door and I let go of my breath. Jimmy kissed my temple before following his father. Tommy grumbled something before getting up from the table with his bowl still half full of cereal.

I watched as they left the house. I waited a few minutes before checking to see if the door was locked, and of course, it was. I wondered if they would ever trust me enough to keep the door unlocked.

They must keep a spare key somewhere in this house, and I was going to find it. I already checked Jimmy's room, and all I found was that necklace. Tommy or Charles may have one hidden somewhere.

I ran up the stairs and into Tommy's room. His room was in pristine condition, everything was so organized, so I had to be careful. Did Charles punish the boys when they were little if their rooms were not clean? I had never seen boys take such good care of their room.

I lifted the knick-knacks that were scattered on top of the dresser. At the end of the dresser, there was a picture frame. It was two little boys playing in a pile of leaves. I could tell that it was Jimmy and Tommy. They looked to be about eight and six years old. It was odd to see the side of Jimmy's face so smooth and missing the thick jagged scar. How did he get disfigured like that? It was hard to know that I was looking at a picture of two future murderers.

I set the picture down and went through Tommy's drawers. There were no keys anywhere. Next to the picture was a little wooden box. Roses and leaves were engraved into the top of the box. I picked it up and slowly lifted the lid to the box.

My hand shot up over my mouth to stop myself from screaming. The box was filled with teeth. They varied in size and colour. Some were yellow, but the ones on the top were white.

My stomach seemed to be sliding up into my throat as a wave of nausea hit me. The white ones must be from the man and woman that they killed the other night. It was awful enough that they killed people, but Tommy took a souvenir from them.

Without thinking, I let go of the box and dropped it. As the box hit the ground, the teeth dispersed all over the floor. I fell to my knees and started to frantically collect all of the teeth. A shiver ran up my spine every time I touched one. They all come from an innocent person's mouth. It belonged to someone's smile at one point in time.

Once I was sure that I got all of the teeth back into the box I put it back on the dresser. I ran back to our bedroom and headed straight to the bathroom. I locked the door behind me. I leaned over the toilet and began vomiting. The few contents in my stomach left my body.

With the back of my sleeve, I wiped my mouth and then rolled over onto the floor. I wanted to curl up and cry, but I could not let them do that to me. I needed to stay sane when I escaped. The police were going to have enough trouble believing what goes on in this house. Being hysterical would not help.

I got up off of the floor and washed my hands. I thought about going back into Tommy's room, but I doubt I could handle it. I walked to Charles' room but stopped at the door. I didn't want to find out any surprises. I turned around and headed back down the stairs.

I grabbed a broom and started cleaning the kitchen as I thought about my freedom.