Yes, I'm adding my own bit to Dylan. Only bc he was only mentioned a few times, and using my story I can build on his character. I just wanted him to have a lil story line in it. Lmao.
This is extremely unedited so I'm sorry if it's bad. I just don't have the time.
—
When Leah and Jared got upstairs, Jared went into the bathroom, and Leah patiently awaited for him to return by sitting on the bed.
When he entered the room, he went over to the night stand and dragged some clothes out to hand to Leah. She thanked him before removing the ones she was wearing, and quickly slipping her fresh ones over her naked skin. Jared removed his shirt. Once they was done, Jared went and sat beside Leah on the bed.
" How do you like the family?" He asked.
Leah looked up from her lap and her lips spread into a smile. " They're really nice," she said. " You seem really happy around them."
" I am," Jared said, placing his arm on her shoulders, and balanced his head on it.
Leah thought for a moment, and she felt she may as well mention it whilst she was at it. Maybe it was just her thinking things were a little weird- she had to be sure.
" Dylan's not much of a talker," she stated, and Jared lifted his head back up.
He stared ahead for a few minutes, before turning towards Leah. " Yeah, I know."
" Does he have a girl?" Leah finally managed to ask. She just hoped that Jared didn't notice she'd asked this before. Only, at the time, she was unaware of the boys identity. But now, there must have been a reason why Jared didn't want to tell her. Why he was keeping secrets from her.
Jared shot her a look, and she glared at him in slight fear. " You're at it with the questions again." Leah looked away from him and bowed her head at the ground. She should've known he wouldn't answer to her. It was pointless.
" Sorry." Leah apologised, and Jared took a deep breath before scratching the back of his neck. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minute, and Leah picked at the torn skin around her fingernail to ease the awkwardness.
"He did, but she died a few years ago." Jared surprisingly told her, and Leah brought her head up, and her light eyes met his.
" How?" Leah interviewed, intrigued, hoping she weren't taking it a step to far. She always managed to, without even realising it.
Jared moved away from her so the conversation wasn't tense, and grabbed a bottle of water from the night stand which had been there since this morning. He slurped some of it, before he placed the lid on top, and brought his eyes up to meet Leah's that were eager for more information.
" She killed herself, " he watched as Leah's eyes now widened instantly and her pupil shrunk. Jared shouldn't of told her that, but if he continued hiding minor things from her, the bigger secrets would seem more traumatising, and Leah was finally beginning to adjust to their way of life. Jared didn't want to ruin it.
" Oh.." Leah said so quietly he could barely hear her. She rotated her head in the other direction so Jared couldn't see shock written all over her face. She wished the bedroom was messy right now so she didn't have to sit there like a fool. If it was, she could of cleaned whilst they spoke. That way, she wouldn't show her incredulity and stun so much.
But no, she was forced to look at him, and become an actress for the next twenty seconds.
" Yeah," Jared let out a sigh. " We try not to bring it up. It's kind of a sensitive subject within the family."
Leah focused her gaze on Jared to see him looking the other way, still awkwardly touching the back of his head. So many questions raced through her mind. Why did she kill herself? Was it because of Dylan? Did he do something to her? The look on Jared's face told her it was a bad idea to ask that.
" Well, I'm sorry for bringing it up," she said, and Jared's eyes went back towards her. His lips pressed into a half smile and he shuffled over to her.
" It's okay, sweetheart," Jared cooed, bringing her face to his chest, and stroking her soft hair. Leah allowed herself to fall into his shoulder, and she inhaled the strong smell of dirt and sweat from being outside.
They stayed like that for a few moments, until Leah felt Jared's body tense around her arms. She looked up at his eyes, but they was turned the other way again, gazing into space. He appeared deep- angrily in thought, and Leah was quite worried about the sudden change.
" Are you okay, Jared?" Leah asked, her neck still arched back to stare at his face. It was painful, but she had to be sure. Things couldn't keep shifting like this.
Jared snapped his head towards her, and his dark brown eyes met hers. He took her arms from his back, and knelt on the ground so that he faced her. Leah jerked side to side as he messed with her body. Once she was twelve O' clock from him, he spoke.
" You'd never do anything like that, would you, Leah?" Jared told rather than asked, and Leah realised they were back on this conversation. After telling her, Jared must've realised that he'd probably planted a seed of a plan in Leah's mind without even noticing.
" Do what?" Leah played dumb.
" Kill yourself and leave me?"
Leah was taken back. How should she respond to this? She'd never thought about taking her life; it hadn't really occurred to her. But if life here was that bad that Dylan's girl took her own life, it must have been worse than this for her. Leah was happy here, wasn't she? She loved Jared, and he took good care of her. Leah wouldn't need to kill herself.
" No," Leah assured him. " I'd never do that."
Jared sighed and picked his legs up from the ground so that he could kiss her temple. He then lifted her arms up so she was now stood, and brought her in for another hug.
" Good," Jared said. " Because I wouldn't be able to live without you. And that would be selfish of you, wouldn't it?"
" It would," Leah said. It would be so selfish.
" Say it."
" It would be selfish of me to do that to you,"
Jared smirked, and cupped her cheeks in his large hands. He pulled her in for a kiss, and Leah wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She moved back a little, and whispered in his ear.
" I'd never leave you, Jared."
—
Jared's alarm went off earlier than usual the next morning so they could join the family for breakfast. As soon as it rang, they got up and changed to meet everyone in the kitchen.
Whilst walking down the stairs, they could hear talking, and Leah assumed everyone had already gotten ready. She wondered if they'd be outed for arriving later than everyone else.
When they reached the bottom, Jared took her hand to take her into to kitchen. As Leah thought, everyone was already seated and eating their oatmeal. They all looked over at Jared and Leah's, and offered them a smile.
" Good morning," Gabriel greeted as they sat down across from Emme and Taylor.
" Good morning," Leah replied, and she noticed Emme give her a little wave. She returned one. Jared hooked his arm around Leah's waist against the chair.
Leah turned and noticed Dylan sat on the end, his arm rested against the table, gripping his cheek. It was as if he was still tired, and attempting to hold himself up. His greasy brown hair looked like it hadn't been brushed, and those bags under his eyes looked deeper than yesterday.
" So, Leah, where are you originally from?" Taylor asked, snapping Leah's head back towards them and away from the corpse at the end of the table. " We realised we don't know that much about you."
" Tennessee," she said quietly. She was nervous considering this was the first time Taylor had properly spoken to her.
" Nice," he said. " Who did you live there with?"
Silence immediately fell as soon as these words left his mouth, and the entire table turned to Leah. She felt Jared's arm tense against her skin, and when she looked up, he'd turned away from her. Leah notice Gabriel smirking at the end of the table.
" My boyfriend," she told him, so lowly he probably couldn't hear her. " M-my parents moved out the state."
Taylor rose his eyebrows, and stretched his arms far back behind his head. He stared over at Jared with a stunned expression, but Jared was aggressively slamming his spoon against the bowl. Leah noticed Dylan look up from the corner of her eye, and she whipped her head to see him staring over. His expression had also changed surprisingly; clear shock spread across his face. The first emotion Leah had witnessed from this boy.
" Well, isn't that a surprise," Dylan said, and Leah turned her eyes at the sound of his unusually deep voice. This was the first time the cryptic man had spoke, and his sentence was confusing to Leah. What did he mean by that?
Deafening silence hit the small kitchen again, and for a moment, everyone just ate. Until Emme decided to break it.
" Speaking of boyfriends, Taylor, are you not going to tell Leah and Jared about their inheritance?" Emme smiled, leaning into him a little. Taylor bowed his head down at her small body.
" I already told Gabe," he said.
" What inheritance?" Jared butter in, turning towards his father, but Taylor replied for him.
" My dad's house," Taylor explained. " Now he's passed, you own it. It's been ready for ages."
" Why didn't you tell me?" Jared's voice was quite madder this time, and Leah knew he was trying to tone it down. She just hoped this wouldn't turn into an argument. Leah had saw what Gabe was like with Theo when he'd been around.
" He was waiting for you to get a girl, sweetie," Lindsay interfered, protecting her husband.
" But Leah's been here for months," Jared pointed out, wafting his hand towards Leah's body beside him.
Gabriel finished his food and pushed his bowl to the side of the table. He ruffled his hands through his hair before speaking.
" I wanted to make sure she'd settled in," Gabriel said. " What if you'd already moved that night she tried to kill you? If it weren't for me dragging her off, you'd be dead."
There were a few muffled gasps, but Leah couldn't be sure who it came from. Her face turned almost purple as every set of eyes went in her direction again. She tried to pick up her spoon to carry on eating her food, but her shaky hands wouldn't grasp it firmly and it dropped with a clang, intensifying the rooms atmosphere even more.
" Well, the house is sorted," Taylor began again. "Just know that it's there whenever you want it,"
" Thanks, Taylor." Jared said.
Gabriel began to rise from his chair. He walked over to the rack to grab his coat. " We better get off out," he announced.
Everyone got up as well, so Leah figured she weren't finishing breakfast today. Gabriel kissed Lindsay's cheek before calling Dylan over to him. Leah's wide blue eyes followed them.
" Pull yourself together," Gabriel whispered angrily, whilst smacking his hand into Dylan's chest. " You haven't seen us all in ages."
Dylan didn't reply, and Gabriel just hurried him out the door before locking it.
Leah awaited Jared to come over to her, but he didn't. Jared simply grabbed his jacket with Taylor and unlocked the door before slamming it shut. So loudly it rang through the kitchen.
Leah's heart dropped, and a pang of sadness spread through her chest. She just stood there for a while, hoping he'd come back in, but he didn't. He was obviously pissed off.
" Could you girls clean the table whilst I just go put these away?" Lindsay's voice disrupted Leah, and she rotated on her heels to see Lindsay holding two large bags in her hand. Leah didn't have time to dwell on the forlornly feeling.
" Sure," Emme agreed.
Lindsay smiled sweetly before exiting the room, and Leah was left with Emme. There was something about being alone with Emme that scared Leah for some odd reason. She didn't know what Emme might say; she was hard to read. But what Leah did know that it was probably something that would make her feel uncomfortable. Something she wouldn't want to answer.
" Sorry about Dylan, by the way," Emme said to her from across the room. "Sometimes he doesn't think before he speaks. I'm surprised Jared wasn't mad."
This made Leah's eyes widened slightly as she grabbed the spoons. Emme was apologising for Dylan. Leah knew Taylor wouldn't be happy about Emme pointing out a mans mistakes.
" Oh.. it's fine," Leah said.
Emme just scrunched her nose up and put the bowls in the sink. Leah watched her clean them for a moment, and she thought that maybe she could ask. Ask about Dylan. It was driving her crazy the mysteriousness that lingered within this middle- aged man. Yeah, his wife killed herself, but why? How?
Emme clearly didn't have a problem with saying things she felt behind their back, because Leah reckoned maybe Emme didn't really realise she was doing it. It was just the way she was wired.
Leah slowly shuffled her feet across the floor towards her, and cleared her throat nervously before speaking.
" Did you know Dylan's girl well?" She finally said, and Emme dropped the dishes in the sink. She stayed that way for a moment, staring forwards, and Leah glared at her for a while. Emme picked up the dishes again.
" Not really," Emme handed Leah a bowl. " She died before I had the chance to know her."
" I know," Leah said.
Emme pulled her face. " You know about her killing herself?"
" Yeah,"
Emme cleansed another dish through the warm water, and let out a slight chuckle. Leah looked at her confusedly, but just waited for her to speak.
" Janina wasn't like us," Emme said. " she couldn't fit in."
" Do you think that's why she did it?"
" I don't know. I heard Dylan use to rape her a lot, that could be why," Emme blurted out, and Leah silently sucked her breath in. Emme clearly had no barrier when speaking about sensitive subjects. You'd think she would considering she's most definitely been raped by Taylor herself.
"Oh.." Leah cringed at Emme's words. She remembered the first time Jared forced himself up on her. She felt so defenceless, and unable to do anything. It was torture, but it was her own fault. She shouldn't of locked herself in the bathroom all day.
It didn't make it feel any less better though.
" I mean, Janina was kind of always messed up from the start," Emme pulled out a cup, and poured herself a glass of water.
Leah furrowed her brows. " What do you mean?"
Emme turned and walked towards the table. She pulled out a chair and took a seat, and Leah followed her, her eyes not leaving Emme.
" She was young when Noah took her, like you. Except she'd just turned 17. Noah didn't plan to get Dylan's girl that day, but when he saw her exploring the woods with her friends, facing the farm, he knew she matched Dylan's type perfectly. Without question, he just took her."
Leah didn't take her eyes of Emme as she eagerly swallowed Janina's story.
" I only met her twice, but the first time I did, she acted really strange."
Emme took a minute, scrunching her eyes and nose up, as if she was picturing the memory again. Leah's eyes were beckoning her to continue, her hands gripping the side of the chair she sat on.
" Her eyes wouldn't stop twitching, and no matter how much I talked to her, she didn't say more than two words to the entire family. Unless, Dylan made her. She kept playing with her fingers and muttering nonsense."
Leah removed her hand and pushed her glasses up her face, but was still deeply staring at Emme. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest, and she tried to stay calm. It was stupid getting nervous over a story.
" What do you think made her that way?" Leah asked, genuinely curious.
Emme sipped her water, but she didn't shut her eyes. She was just glaring at Leah.
" Like I said, I'm not sure," she said. " her friends were taken back to the farm by the rest of the boys. They were killed in front of her, so I guess the memory traumatised her enough to send her mad."
" That's awful.." Leah didn't think the words through before they left her mouth, but Emme's expression didn't react to it.
" That's selfish," Emme corrected, raising an eyebrow at Leah. " She didn't give Dylan a chance. She wouldn't let him show her that he was just trying to keep her safe."
Leah took a moment to take in what she'd just heard. Her eyes wouldn't blink, and she felt a drop of sweat slide down her forehead.
" I don't really know that much about her, only that she was a screw lose," Emme giggled. " but Jared lived with them at the time, so if you're that interested, you should ask him."
" I don't think Jared would want to talk about it,"
" That's true," Emme said. " you don't want to risk getting punished. I heard that happened a lot to you when you first arrived."
Leah felt as her cheeks heated and they instantly turned a crimson red colour. Somehow, Emme's words angered her, and she dug her nails into the palm of her hands, and unclenched her teeth.
" I'm better now," Leah told her. The way she said it was quite defensive. She didn't want Jareds family thinking she wasn't fit to be a part of them.
" I'm sure you are," Emme smiled, before moving from the table.
Before Leah could speak, Lindsay entered the room again to help with the cleaning and the conversation was put to an end.