I woke up with cramps in my lower stomach. I didn't have a calendar, but this told me that I've been in this house for a week. I was in the bathroom going through the cupboards when Jimmy walked in.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
"I...um.." I scratched the back of my head. "Do you know what a tampon is?"
"Oh." Jimmy's eyes grew big. "I heard about this"
My cheeks reddened as he opened one of the cupboards under the sink. He grabbed a box and set it down on the counter. He didn't say anything to me as he left the bathroom.
When I was finished, I went back into the bedroom. He had on a pair of jeans and no shirt on. His back was to me. He turned around when he heard me.
My eyes locked onto his chest. He had a long silver chain around his neck, and at the end of it was a key. It must be the key to the doors. They were wearing them so that I would not be able to steal it. I was going to have to find a way to get it off of his neck.
He pulled his shirt over his head. He reached forward and grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. My heart jumped as my feet stumbled, and it wasn't a very graceful way for me to come over to him. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips against mine. The thought to push him away was slowly leaving my mind as I realized that it was no use. I stood still with my hands pressed against his chest.
"You're so beautiful," he said before kissing my temple. "I'm so lucky to have you."
My lips lifted into a faint smile, but I quickly wiped it away. I can't let myself accept compliments from a murderer. I refuse to lose my mind that way.
Someone banged on our door. A groan came from Jimmy's throat and I lifted my head to look at the door.
"We're coming, Tommy," he shouted. He slid his hands around my neck and pulled me in for another kiss. "We better get going."
I nodded. He grabbed my hand, and he pulled me toward the stairs. Tommy and Charles were already at the table eating. Charles had a paper in his hand. Jimmy shoved a bowl of porridge into my hands and I sat in my usual spot.
My heart felt as if it jumped into my throat. Nothing is usual about this place. I cannot think that way. I will only have a couple more days here before somebody finds me.
As I ate, I looked around at all of them. The same silver chain was also around Tommy and Charles' neck, poking out from the collars of their shirts. They all had a key on them.
"Taylor says that Emme is pregnant," Charles read from the paper, which must have been a letter. Their eyes lit up and Jimmy and Tommy high-fived each other across the table. "They already moved into their place, so it'll be good if they can have a boy soon."
"That means Juliet should be pregnant soon," Tommy said.
I gagged on my breakfast. Tommy smirked. Jimmy scowled as he ate the rest of his porridge. I should have assumed that they would want children.
"Juliet has only been here for a week," Charles said. "It's more important that she gets settled here before she starts giving me grandchildren."
"What if I don't get settled?" I asked.
"Don't worry," Charles told me. "You'll be settled here before you know it. We are your family and we love you."
All of their eyes were staring at me, and it felt like acid burning through my skin. I have no idea how to respond to that.
"Juliet, what should you say?" Jimmy asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Thank you?" I guessed.
"No problem," Charles said. "Now boys, I think we should get out there and start working before we lose the day."
They all got up and left their bowls on the table. Jimmy kissed my cheek before putting on his jacket. I watched as he pulled the key out from underneath his shirt and unlocked the door. I picked up the bowls and washed them. I watched them through the bars as they headed out toward the barn.
--
I spent the whole day scrubbing the house clean as I thought about the keys. I had to find a way for Jimmy to take his key off. He slept with it on, and I'm pretty sure if I tried to pull it over his head while he slept he would wake up. Maybe he took it off when he showered, and I could sneak into the bathroom.
When my stomach grumbled I began to make dinner. There weren't many clocks in the house and I never took note of the time Jimmy would come in to help. I guessed it would be appropriate to start dinner. When they entered the house, I was almost done cooking.
Tommy and Charles went up to their rooms to wash up. Jimmy slipped his arms around my waist. He nuzzled his face into my neck. His normal smell of dirt and sweat filled my nose. I couldn't believe that I started familiarizing myself with his scent.
I knew I was imagining it, but I felt like I could feel the key around his neck pressing up against my back.
"How was your day?" he asked.
"It was okay," I said.
He kept his arms around me as I stared down at the frying pan full of vegetables. He kissed my cheek before going to our room. I started putting food on the table. Tommy came down, and then Charles. They pulled out their chairs and Jimmy came thudding down the stairs. He gave me an odd look when he saw that I was still standing, so I sat down in my chair.
"It's so nice having a girl around again," Charles said as we were passing the food around. "There's nothing better than coming inside to a home-cooked meal."
"Yeah," Tommy said. "We no longer need to go to Jenny or Lindsay if we want a good meal."
They were two more names that I did not recognize. It must be more family, like Taylor and Emme. I hoped that it was not another family who was kidnapping girls too.
"You did get me a good one," Jimmy told his father. "Beautiful and a great cook."
"I do have to admit that it benefits us all," Charles said, chuckling. "Her food is delicious and she's a lot better to look at than each other's face all day."
I had a tight grip on the fork as I picked at the food on my plate. They were talking about me like I was some kind of object.
They were all laughing as they shoveled food into their mouths. I should put something in their food to poison them. All I had was the cleaning supplies. They would surely taste it and then punish me. I would have to earn their trust in order to get that key.
"Since Taylor's having a baby, can we visit them soon?" Tommy asked.
"In a few months, yes," Charles said. "We need to make sure that Juliet is settled first."
"She's doing a good job so far," Jimmy said.
"I noticed that she is not screaming and fighting back like most do," Charles said. "I thought you were going to have your hands full with this one, but I appear to be wrong."
I looked at them and forced a smile on my lips. Jimmy's face beamed as he also smiled. I was already earning their trust. I would not get out of here kicking and screaming. I would have to have them trust me enough to be able to convince them to keep the door unlocked one day.
"I'm trying," I said. I knew it would please Jimmy.
"Obedient too," Tommy said. "Wow, you're lucky Jim."
When dinner was done, I began cleaning. Jimmy was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes followed me as I worked. He did not say anything, but he watched me as I washed all of the dishes.
Once I was finished, he stood up straight. He laced his fingers through mine. He did not grab my wrist in the painful way he usually did. He pulled me upstairs to the bedroom.
"Lie down," he said as he closed the door behind him.
My heart pounded in my chest. I was going to try to earn their trust, but I had my boundaries. He probably thinks that he has already turned me into the perfect woman that will do whatever he wants. I was going to put up a fight if he tried to rape me.
Jimmy raised an eyebrow at me, and I knew that I was taking too long to do it. My knees shook as I got on the bed and laid down on the side that I slept on. Jimmy sat down on the edge of the bed and was leaning over me. His long hair was coming out from behind his ears. He traced my jawline with his fingers.
"I'm so proud of you," he told me. His lips were spread into a wide smile. "I was nervous about getting a wife because I was not sure how long and how much work it was going to take to get her settled here. But you're such a part of our family that you settled in right away. You're perfect, Juliet."
"Julie," I corrected him.
I bit my tongue after I said that. I always preferred to be called Julie, but I only ever told my friends to call me that. Why did that slip out of my mouth so easily? I had to make sure that this pretending to settle in was not turning into reality for me.
"Julie." He tried out the word on his tongue, and managed to smile even more. "I like it."
He leaned down to kiss me again. I turned my head to the side so that his lips brushed against my cheek. He kissed my jaw before trailing his lips down to my neck. His hands slid up my side to my chest. I grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands off of me. When I let go, he put his hands back onto my chest.
"Please," I said. I made my voice wobble so that it sounded like I was on the verge of tears. "Please, don't do this."
Jimmy pulled back and I could see the hurt expression on his face.
"Don't do what?" he asked.
"I know you've already forced yourself on me when I was unconscious," I said. "But now that I am awake, I want to wait."
"Wait." Jimmy's face went pale. "Did you hear me talking to Tommy the other day?"
I nodded. I forced a tear to roll down my cheek. Jimmy's jaw dropped and he was shaking his head.
"No, no, no," he said. "Julie, I was lying. Dad did tell me that I was supposed to do that to you - and I was going to - but you just looked too sweet. Too sweet and innocent. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I kissed you. You are too beautiful. But please believe me Julie, I never touched you that way."
Relief washed over me and I could not stop smiling. He was most likely lying to me, but I wanted to believe that it was true. I had to remind myself of what he was: a murderer. He should have no problem raping a girl. He was probably lying to me to keep me calm.
"Really?" I choked out.
"Yes," he said. "Do you want to be sedated tonight?"
"No," I said, shaking my head.
"Good girl."
He kissed my forehead. He got up off the bed and passed me one of his T-shirts. I changed into it and crawled into bed. Jimmy pulled me toward him and forced me to put my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and was playing with my hair.
I closed my eyes and ran my hand up his bare chest. I curled my fingers around the key. Jimmy must have thought I was asleep because he chuckled and then kissed the top of my head.
It was just another way I was outsmarting these monsters. I was going to have my freedom soon.