Chapter 56

 Carrie was gone when Jimmy and I came back into the house. A line of blood was splattered across the floor. I’d have to spend tonight scrubbing it away.

“I have to go outside and finish a few more chores,” Jimmy said. “You’ll be okay in here by yourself?”

I looked up the stairs. I couldn’t hear them, but Tommy and Carrie must be in their room. What he was doing to her?

“I’ll be fine,” I said, giving him a faint smile.

“That’s my girl.” He leaned in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll only be an hour.”

I set Hunter down in his crib and watched as Jimmy left the house. I grabbed a bottle of bleach out from under the sink and I grabbed an old rag. I got on my knees and scrubbed the blood off the floor.

I could hear Tommy moving around upstairs. Every step he made would cause the floor to creak and my stomach would twist in a knot. He was going to take me away tomorrow, and there was nothing that I could do.

No.

I couldn’t think that way. I couldn’t believe it. Jimmy and Hunter were the best things to ever happen to me. I was not going to lose them because of Tommy.

I couldn’t ask Jimmy to protect me because that would result in Tommy killing Hunter. If Tommy was going to take me out of this house, I was not going to go without a fight. He did not want Carrie because she fought back and argued.

The only option was to get rid of Tommy completely. I’d have to kill him. Jimmy may not trust Tommy, but he would be furious at me if I killed his brother. I’d have to make it look like an accident, but that would be impossible. Maybe I could make it look like he had fallen down the stairs, but I do not know how to pull that off.

What would happen to Carrie? Would she stay here with us?

My thoughts were cut off when Tommy came running down the stairs. He stopped when he saw me on my hands and knees. His lips curled into a smile and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you excited?” Tommy asked.

I bit down on my lip and started scrubbing the floor even harder. The sharp smell of bleach burned my eyes and nose. Tommy bent down next to me so that he was sitting on his heels. I tried not to look at him.

“I’m going to go out and talk to Jimmy,” he said. “I know he’s nervous about leaving you alone with me tomorrow. His worries are about to go away.”

I glanced up at him before looking back down.

“I’m going to tell him I’m following what he did to you,” he said. “I’ll tell him that I am going to spend all of tomorrow taking care of Carrie. He’ll think that she’ll be warming up to me. He’ll have no idea what is going to happen.”

A tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it away with the back of my hand. Tommy reached out to pet my hair. I flinched under his touch. Tommy took a fistful of my hair and pulled my head back so that my neck was at a painful angle.

“Don’t cry, Jules,” he said. “Everything will be perfect soon.”

Tommy let go of my hair and threw me onto the floor. I watched as he stormed out of the kitchen. I finished cleaning the blood before starting dinner.

By the time I finished putting the food on the table, Jimmy and Tommy came back inside. They were laughing. What did Tommy say to Jimmy?

Jimmy sat down in his seat and Tommy picked up his plate and loaded it up with food.

“I’m going to bring some food up to Carrie,” he said. “I told her to rest, but she’s probably hungry.”

“No problem,” Jimmy said.

Tommy nodded and went up the stairs with his plate of food. Jimmy began to dig into his meal. I pushed my food around my plate with a fork. The knot in my stomach was too tight to eat. Jimmy looked up and noticed me not eating.

“Julie, you need to eat,” he said.

“I’m not very hungry tonight,” I said.

He dropped his fork on his plate, took a gulp of water, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I gave him a faint smile to reassure him.

“Julie, don’t lie to me.”

I let out a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair.

“Do you really need to go into town tomorrow?” I asked.

“Sweetheart, we’re running low on supplies,” he said. “I need to go into town soon.”

“And Hunter and I can’t go with you?” I asked.

“We’ve been over this. It’s not going to happen.”

“I really don’t want to be alone with Tommy.”

“Stay in our room with Hunter. Tommy should be busy with Carrie anyways.”

I nodded and took a bite of my food. I wished that I still had my precious lock on my bathroom door.

“Carrie looked like she was really hurt,” I said.

Jimmy’s face softened and looking into his big brown eyes made my bottom lip tremble. I was going to miss those eyes.

“She’s going to be okay,” he said. “Tommy had to do it. Carrie had to learn that she can not say those kinds of things about this family. She’ll be more respectful after.”

I nodded and looked down at the plate.

“You want to go to our room after dinner?” Jimmy asked. “You look like you could use a long night of sleep.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep a wink tonight.

“Jimmy?” I asked.

“Yes?” he asked before shoving another forkful of food into his mouth.

“Can you read Lord of the Flies to me tonight?”

“Of course.”

—

Jimmy never bothered to ask me what was wrong in the morning. As soon as his alarm went off, I rolled on top of him and buried my face in his neck. I took in a deep breath of his scent. His arms wrapped around me for a quick hug before he rolled me off him. I followed him around the room as he got changed and wrapped my arms around him whenever I got a chance. He chuckled before turning around to kiss me.

“You’re clingy today,” he said. “I like it.”

“I love you.” I nuzzled my face into his chest.

“I love you too,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “You better get changed.”

Jimmy opened the drawer and handed me a pile of clothes. I pulled off my clothes and changed into the jeans and T-shirt he gave me. Seeing that it was one of his old shirts gave me a sense of relief. At least I would have something of his that I could hold onto.

I picked up Hunter and grabbed Jimmy’s arm and followed him down the steps. Tommy was already at the table eating a bowl of cereal. My grip tightened on Jimmy’s arm. Jimmy sat down in his seat and I grabbed us a couple of bowls.

“What time are you heading out?” Tommy asked.

He was already eager to get us out of the house.

“Right after breakfast,” Jimmy said. “I’ll be home for dinner.”

I curled Hunter tighter into my chest. I could not bring Hunter with us. Tommy would eventually hurt him. Jimmy would do a better job raising him.

“Is Carrie awake?” Jimmy asked.

“She was still asleep when I came down here,” he said.

“Remember to be kind to her today. It’ll make her act a lot better.”

Tommy nodded. I saw him take a quick look at me and smirk. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and held Hunter to my chest.

I looked over at Jimmy’s bowl to see that it was almost empty. He was going to have to leave soon.

“Do you want more cereal?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “I’m good.”

“Are you sure? You need your energy for the day.”

“I’m good, Julie.”

He took the last spoonful of cereal and tilted the bowl back to drink the milk. He slid the bowl over to me, and I gathered them before putting them in the sink. Jimmy was already sliding on his faded plaid jacket. I placed Hunter down in his crib, ran over to him, and hugged him. He chuckled and patted my back.

“Julie, I’ll only be gone for a few hours,” he said. “You’ll see me soon.”

No. I was never going to see him again.

“I’m going to miss you.” I struggled to stop my voice from wavering.

“I’ll miss you too, sweetheart,” he said. “I love you.”

I got up on my toes and kissed Jimmy. I moved my hands up so that my arms were around his neck. Jimmy’s arms tightened around my waist as our kiss deepened. I wanted him to feel the desperation in my kiss. He needed to know that I needed him here.

My heart dropped when he broke our kiss.

“Goodbye, sweetheart,” he said before kissing my forehead.

He pulled my arms off from around his neck and turned to the door. He pulled the key up over his head and unlocked the door. I looked over my shoulder to see Tommy standing behind us.

I went over to the sink and watched Jimmy through the bars on the window. He climbed into the truck and pulled out of the driveway. I squeezed my eyes shut when he was out of sight. Tommy slipped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek.

“Julie, get upstairs and pack your stuff,” he said. “Be quick.”