Family Comes First

Chapter 32: Forced

 When I woke in the morning, all I could hear was the sound of the rain on the roof. I rolled over in the bed to see Jimmy curled on his side. The scarred side of his face was resting against the pillow. I got up and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He stirred, but he did not wake up. I moved a couple of strands of hair off of his face and kissed his neck.

Jimmy groaned and rolled onto his back, making me roll with him. His eyes were barely open, but he was smiling.

"What are you doing?" he asked before yawning.

"I woke up," I said.

Jimmy laughed before he rolled us over so that he was on top of me. He leaned down to kiss me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

He leaned down and continued to kiss me.

--

It was still raining by the time we got to Noah's. The men stayed around the dining room table playing cards, and the girls were in the kitchen baking.

Jared was running around with a large golden retriever that he must have brought from their home. They were running around in the rain and jumping into puddles. Lindsay muttered something about how he is going to catch a cold.

We could hear the men shout and laugh from the dining room, and we even shared a couple of our own jokes. The house was filled with the delicious smell of our baking. Lindsay had brought a plate of cookies into the dining room.

I looked out the window to see Jared sprinting toward the house. He must have finally gotten cold enough that he wants to come inside. He ran across the porch and into the house.

"Honey, don't run across the house in your wet clothes!" Jenny yelled out as she reached out for his arm.

Jared pulled his arm out of her grasp and ran straight into the dining room.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" he kept screaming until he made it into the dining room. Jenny was chasing him. Lindsay followed behind her, and Emme was close behind Lindsay. I did not want to be alone in the kitchen, so I followed.

"What is it?" Gabe asked.

"I saw two of them!" he shouted. "They were down by the road!"

"Two?" he asked, getting up out of his chair.

"Yeah." Jared nodded. "They're in their car."

"They must be hiding from the rain," Noah said.

I looked over at Jimmy to see that his face went pale. I remembered the warnings he gave me about the family. He said that they killed differently, and he must not want me to see this.

"Jared, go show us where you found them," Gabe said. "Jimmy, Tommy, and Taylor come with me."

They all nodded their heads and got up from their seats. I moved away from the doorway so that they could walk past me. Jimmy was the last one to leave. He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me to the side. He cupped my face in his hands. His face was covered in fear.

"Remember that I love you," he said. "All we ever do is what is best for you. Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"You love me and do what is best for me."

"Come on, Jimmy!" Taylor yelled out.

I looked over Jimmy's shoulder to see Taylor waiting impatiently by the door. The rest of them had already ran outside. Jimmy leaned in and kissed me before letting go of me and running out the door.