Family Comes First

Chapter 20: We're All Safe

"Dad, we have guests," Jimmy called into the living room.

The girls and the man were standing in the kitchen. Their eyes were going over every detail of the old farmhouse. Jimmy extended his arm out toward the table.

"Have a seat," he said.

They each pulled out a chair and sat down. The floorboards creaked as Charles walked into the kitchen. I imagined that Tommy would come down any second. I could not see him missing this opportunity. I wished that Jimmy would tell me to go upstairs. I hated looking at their faces and knowing that they only had little time left to live.

"Who is it?" Charles asked.

"Their car broke down a few miles away," Jimmy said. "They're going to spend the night here and then go into town in the morning."

"Of course," Charles said. "No need for them to freeze in the cold."

His voice sounded a lot sweeter than I have ever heard. Even when he first talked to me at the club, he did not sound this nice. Scott reached across the table and shook Charles' hand.

"I'm Scott," he said. "This is Brittany and Erica."

"My name is Charles," he said. "This is my son Jimmy and his wife Juliet."

Charles pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Where are you all from?" he asked. Jimmy pulled out a chair. I did the same, but Charles' hand shot out and stopped me. "Juliet, get our guests a glass of water."

I nodded and went over to the counter. I filled three glasses with water and brought them over to the table. I sat down next to Jimmy. The stairs thudded as Tommy came downstairs. Everyone turned to look at him. He walked in and raised an eyebrow.

"Their car broke down," Charles told Tommy. "This is Scott, Erica, and Brittany. This is my youngest son Tommy."

Tommy leaned against the counter. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked like he was observing us.

Erica's mouth was slightly ajar as she looked around the kitchen. Brittany took a sip of her water. I wished she was able to persuade the others to sleep in the car. It would have stopped them from having this terrible fate.

"Where are you from?" Charles asked them.

"Vancouver," Erica said.

"Canadians," Jimmy said. "What are you doing all the way down here?"

"We're on vacation," Scott said. "We left this summer and took the first semester off so that we could travel around North America."

"Sounds like fun," Charles said. "But you must miss your family."

"We're university students," Brittany said. "They aren't calling us every hour to see how we are. They're used to having us out of the house."

"When's the last time you talked to them?"

"Yesterday."

"How long have you been gone?" Jimmy asked.

"This is our fourth month on the road," Scott said. "We should be back home in a couple of months. Brit and I are getting married in February."

Erica's hands shook as she brought the glass of water up to her mouth. She was nervous, despite the fact that she is the one who convinced them to come into the house. I prayed she would change her mind and beg to leave. The doors were locked. Even if they wanted to leave they would not be able to.

"Jimmy, Tommy," Charles said. "Come upstairs with me. We need to make sure that the spare room is in shape for our guests. I'm sorry, but there is only room on the bed for two people. One of you will have to camp out on the couch."