When Jimmy reached over me to turn off the alarm, I rolled with him as he laid back down. I kissed Jimmy's neck and shoulder. The stinging of my arm kept me awake for most of the night. I knew I had to get on Jimmy's good side so that he would never do it again.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
I took my lips off his neck and climbed on top of Jimmy. My hair draped down into his face, and he brushed it over my shoulder.
"I'm so sorry about last night," I said.
"Why's that?" he asked. From the tone of his voice, I could tell that he was quizzing me to make sure I knew what I did wrong.
"I shouldn't have been asking questions," I said.
Jimmy smiled and his hand ran up my back. I leaned down and gave him a quick kiss.
"Good girl," he said. "I hate to say it, but we have to get up now."
I gave him one more kiss before I rolled off him. I made the bed as Jimmy went through the dresser drawers to find us clothes. I was shocked when I saw what he gave me to change into. It was a yellow sundress that stopped just above the knees. It was out of season to wear and I shivered. Jimmy handed me a cardigan to put over it. Jimmy had a smile on his lips as his eyes trailed down my body. It made the heat rush up to my cheeks. I was covered in faded bruises, but he still found me beautiful.
"You look so pretty," he said.
"Thank you." I got up on my toes to kiss him.
When we got down to the kitchen, Charles and Tommy were already at the table. Jimmy and I sat down. Tommy kept staring at me, but I tried to avoid his gaze.
Breakfast was soon over, and the boys were out the door. I cleaned all of the dishes and put them away. I took a look down at my dress. It was so nice, and one of the only things that fit me, and I did not want to get it ruined. I decided that I could skip cleaning the house for today.
I looked through the cupboards, and I found a few baking ingredients. I did not have a recipe, but I remembered the steps Lina and I always took when baking. It was a simple cookie recipe that did not require a lot of ingredients.
I mixed all of the ingredients and then separated the dough onto the sheet. I sat in front of the oven and watched them rise. A delicious smell filled the house. I really hoped that they were going to like it.
--
The food was already on the table when they came in. They washed up before we ate. None of them noticed the cookies until we were finished eating. I was collecting the empty plates and putting them in the sink when Tommy walked up to the counter.
"What are these?" Tommy asked, picking up a cookie.
"I was baking today," I said.
He bit into one and his eyes grew big. It was the reaction that I was hoping for.
"God dammit, Jim," he said. Jimmy said there was no cursing in the house, but I did not know if that counted as swearing. "Your girl is perfect. These are even better than Jenny's."
Jimmy and Charles each took a cookie. I was filling the sink with water as they scarfed down a few more.
"These are really good, Julie," Jimmy said.
"He's right," Charles said. "You did a good job."
I blushed as I dunked my hands into the warm soapy water.
"Thank you," I told all of them.
Tommy ran upstairs. Charles muttered something to Jimmy, but I could not make out what it was. Jimmy walked up behind me and slid his hands around my waist. He kissed my neck and rested his chin on my shoulder as I washed the dishes.
There was no time in my life when I felt happier. I had a caring family who wanted to support and protect me. Out of all the foster homes I have been in, I have never felt like this.
The stones of the driveway crunch, and Jimmy lifted his chin up off of my shoulder. I looked up at the window above the sink. Through the bars, there was a car pulling up the driveway. My heart jumped when I saw the words painted across the side of the vehicle.
Police.
"Dad!" Jimmy yelled after taking his arms off from around me. He ran towards the living room, but Charles was already walking into the kitchen. "There's a cop here."
"I saw," Charles said, walking over to the stairs. I wiped my hands on the dish towel. "Thomas! Come down here quick!"
Jimmy ran over to me and cupped my face in his hands. There was panic on his face and it made me scared. I have never seen him afraid of anything before.
"Julie, I know you're a good girl, but you need to go with Tommy right now," he told me. "You two are going to wait in the basement for a bit. Do what he says and don't dare make a sound. I'll be here when it is over. Do you understand?"
I nodded my head. Before I could speak, Jimmy smashed his lips against mine. I could see Charles giving orders to Tommy and Tommy was nodding his head. Jimmy ripped the towel out of my hands and spun me around so that I was not facing him. My vision went black as he wrapped something around my head; I quickly realized that it was the dish rag.
A hand grabbed my wrist and started running with me. It had to be Tommy because Jimmy was rarely ever this rough with me anymore. Every step I took was disorientating and I could not tell where I was going.
We stopped and there was a pain in my stomach and my feet were no longer touching the ground. He was carrying me over his shoulder down the stairs. When he finally set me down on the ground, he pulled me across the floor toward him. My back was pressed up against his chest and I could feel his legs against mine.
He did not hold me the way that Jimmy does. His hands roamed all over my body and were soon up to my chest. He was grabbing and squeezing me and I yelped out in pain.
"Shhh," he whispered into my ear. "You're not supposed to be making any noise, Juliet. You don't want me to have to punish you. Do you?"
I shook my head from side to side. The tears were burning my eyes and my bottom lip was trembling. Tommy kept his hands on my chest until he moved one to brush my hair off to one side. He started kissing my neck.
"God you're so hot," he said. "It's so nice to finally feel you."
I couldn't stop myself from releasing a whimper as he moved his hands down to my legs. I wanted to scream. Jimmy told me I was not allowed to make any noise, and a scream coming from the basement would definitely get the officer's attention. I was forced to stay quiet as Tommy touched me.
"It's not fair that Jimmy gets you," he said, sliding his hands up further on my thigh.
"Stop," I whispered. I had to say something. "Please."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "You aren't allowed to talk."
He moved my sweater to the side and kissed the top of my shoulder. A sharp pain exploded in the same spot. It wasn't until the pain dulled that I realized that Tommy bit me. He sunk his teeth as hard as he could into my shoulder. I shook even more as he brushed his lips up my neck to my ear.
"Tasty," he said.
That one word was enough to get me to start crying. The tears rolled down my cheeks and I could not stop myself from sobbing. Tommy's hand shot out over my mouth, and muffled my cries.
It felt like we were in that basement for days.