Family Comes First

Chapter 34: Vacation's Over

Once we got home, Jimmy and I spent the next three days in bed. Jimmy would get out of bed for around an hour in the morning and go outside. I would stay in the kitchen and cook breakfast as I waited for him to go back inside. We would eat fast, and Jimmy even helped me do the dishes so that we could go upstairs quicker.

We would come back downstairs when we got hungry again.

On the night before Tommy and Charles came back, we were lying in bed together. I was lying on my back, and Jimmy was leaning over top of me. He had his weight propped on his elbow and his fingers in my hair. I traced my fingers down his bare chest.

"You're so beautiful," he said. "You're going to be such a great mother."

"You're going to be a great father," I said.

He smiled and leaned down to kiss me. I slid my hands around his neck and deepened our kiss. He pulled away from me and kissed my forehead. I cupped his face in my hands and traced my thumb along his scar.

"We'll have good boys," he said. "You're a lot like my mother."

"You haven't told me much about her," I said.

I had to choose my words carefully. I have seen him get upset whenever someone mentioned her name. Charles told me about how upset Jimmy was after she died. It was such a sweet moment we were having, and I did not want him to get upset.

Jimmy's smile dropped for a second, but it returned.

"She died when I was nine," he said. "No one thinks that I remember much about her, but I remember a lot. I loved her so much."

"I'm so sorry, Jimmy," I said.

"Tommy and I used to get into the same bed at night and she would read to us," he said. "She'd give us a kiss goodnight, and then she would check on us a while later before she would go to bed. Tommy would always be asleep, but I was awake. I would pretend to be asleep because it was nice to hear her sneak in and give us extra blankets so that we would not get cold."

"That sounds so sweet."

"Yes, it was."

He took in a sharp breath. His eyes were shining with tears. He must never talk about her to anyone. I remembered the family saying he was too sensitive. He must be scared to talk about her.

"She used to keep journals," he said. "Tommy and I aren't supposed to know about her life before she came into the family. We wouldn't want our sons knowing that you worked in that club, would we?"

"No," I said.

"Good girl." He gave me a quick kiss. "Dad does not know that I found her journals. It was when I was a teenager, and I was looking through boxes in the basement for clothes that would fit me. I opened one of the boxes and found a stack of notebooks Mom was writing in. I took them up to my room without Dad or Tommy noticing."

"They must have been nice to have."

"It's like I have her here with me. But she wrote about her past, and I was not supposed to know anything about that."

I stroked his cheek and nodded. I was unsure if he would continue to talk.

"She had run away from her family a few years before Grandpa found her," he said. "She never really had a place to stay, and she had all of these boyfriends that would abuse her. She was so much happier once she got here. She's just like you. She finally has a real loving family."

"I love it here," I said.

"I know." He kissed me again. "Being alone for these past couple of days makes me want to get our own house even more. I love Dad and Tommy, but I like being able to stay just like this. It's so nice to be alone."

"Yeah."

He kissed me again, and I tightened my arms around his neck. His hand ran up my thigh and I giggled as he rolled us over.

--

Jimmy and I were sitting around the table after breakfast. Jimmy had pushed his plates to the side and told me to do the same. He grabbed the deck of cards and shuffled them. He taught me the rules to the game that he and Tommy always play after dinner.

He played with me at a slow pace and continued to explain and repeat the rules to me when it was my turn to play. He had tried to teach me before, but Tommy would get annoyed that it would take me so long. We played over and over until I got the hang of it. I even won a game.

When I heard the stones of the gravel driveway crunch, I picked up the breakfast plates and brought them over to the sink. Jimmy put the cards back into the pack.

Tommy was the first one to walk in. He had a bag thrown over his shoulder. He looked at Jimmy before smirking at me. I kept my focus on the soapy water as I washed the dishes. He set his bag down and walked over to me.

"I see that somebody has calmed down," he said wryly. He grabbed my arms and pulled them out of the water. He turned my arms over like he was examining my skin. "And no bruises or cuts either I see."

"Let go of her!" Jimmy's chair screeched across the floor as he stood.

"I'm just taking a look, Jim," Tommy said.

I tried to pull my arms away, but Tommy tightened his grip on my wrists. I gasped and looked over at Jimmy. He stormed over to Tommy and ripped him off me. I held my arms close to my chest and backed up against the counter.

"Stop touching my girl!" Jimmy yelled.

"Lighten up," Tommy said. "Gabe seemed to be touching her enough the other night and you weren't complaining."

Jimmy balled up his fist and swung at Tommy. He leaned back, so Jimmy's fist connected with the bottom of his jaw. I watched as he balled up his own fist and aimed for Jimmy's stomach.

The front door opened, and Charles walked in. His jaw dropped when he saw them fighting and slammed the door shut. Jimmy and Tommy backed away from each other.

"Not even home for five minutes and you two are already fighting?" Charles asked. "I expected more from you."

"Tommy keeps touching her," Jimmy said.

"I -" Tommy started to argue.

"I don't want to hear it!" Charles said. "Bring your bags upstairs and get outside. Jimmy, come out with me in a few minutes."

They both nodded. Tommy picked his bag up off the floor and headed up the stairs. Jimmy slipped his arms around my waist. I still had my arms against my chest. Charles focused his attention on me.

"How are you feeling, Juliet?" he asked.

"I'm feeling better," I said. Jimmy's arms tightened his arms around me. The other night Jimmy said I had to apologize for my behaviour at Noah's. It was the only thing that he mentioned about that night. "I'm sorry for the way that I acted at Noah's."

"We love you, Juliet," he said. "Remember to appreciate that."

I nodded. He picked his bag up. Tommy ran down the stairs and glared at Jimmy and I. Jimmy leaned down and kissed my cheek. Tommy's glare hardened as he ran outside. I looked up to see Jimmy smirking.

"Be ready to be outside soon," Charles warned Jimmy before he went upstairs.

Jimmy ran his hands up my back. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head up so that he could kiss me.

"Remember that you're my good girl," he said.

"I'm yours," I said.