Chapter 60

 I was barely conscious when Miles came into the bedroom. He was silent as he moved around the room, changing his clothes. My eyes were heavy with exhaustion, and my crying did not help. I had been drifting in and out of sleep since Joseph told me to rest.

Hours must have passed because the room was flooded with darkness when I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes. I groaned and stretched my arms over my head.

A noise came from downstairs. My brain was soggy with sleep, and I rubbed my temple as I tried to decipher the sound. It was a pounding, but not like the knocking from earlier. A few quick pounds echoed through the house, but a few minutes passed before it happened again.

I yawned as I pushed myself to the edge of the bed. I grabbed the alarm clock, and in the moonlight, I could see it was almost ten o’clock at night. How did I sleep so late?

I dragged my feet over to the crib. When I peered in, I could not see Jasper. I dragged my fingers across the crib, wondering if I had lost him in the darkness. There was nothing, and my heart pounded.

I rushed out of the room and down the staircase. In the kitchen, multiple oil lamps were on the counter to provide light. A new piece of glass was in the window. I froze and furrowed my brows as I watched Miles and Joseph work. They were installing metal bars into the window frame. Joseph looked over his shoulder at me, but Miles was focused on the work.

“What is this?” I asked.

“We are making the home more secure,” Joseph said. “Nobody will be able to come in through the windows again.”

I nodded as I ran my fingers through my hair. Having my only view of the outside blocked by the thick metal bars would be an annoyance, but I was glad Jasper would be safe. The man was so angry when he broke the window and tried to crawl into our home.

Jasper’s small noises came from the corner of the kitchen, and I turned to see the small crib in the corner. I rushed over to see he was laying on his back and sucking on his fingers. He was smiling as drool rolled down his chin. I ran my fingers over his thin dark hair. Luckily, the noise did not seem to bother him.

I stayed leaning over the side of the crib as I grazed my fingers over his soft skin. Knowing that he was safe and happy caused the remaining anxiety about the intruder earlier to leave my body. My muscles were no longer tense, and the nauseating twist in my stomach disappeared. All of my attention was focused on my baby, so I jumped when a hand touched my lower back. I straightened and turned to see Miles was close behind me.

“Maisie, it is late,” he said. “You should go upstairs.”

“Are you coming with me?” I asked.

He shook his head. There was no indication of worry in his expression, but dark circles were forming under his eyes. He had to be exhausted. I pressed my palms against his chest and leaned in closer. His one hand rested on my hip, and he reached forward to brush a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“I need to make sure all of the windows are secure first,” he said.

“All of them?” I asked.

“Only the windows down here. No one would be able to reach the windows upstairs.”

“It cannot wait?”

“Maisie.” A threatening edge was in his voice. “I do not need you questioning me. Go upstairs. Bring Jasper with you. I’ll be there once we are finished.”

I broke eye contact as I nodded and looked down at my feet. He kissed the top of my head and took a step back. I picked up Jasper and cradled him to my chest. Trying to convince him to get some rest was pointless. He was already stressed about the intruder today, and I did not want to make it any worse.

Miles was silent as I walked toward the staircase. I took a quick glance behind me to see Joseph was watching me. I kept my head down and went back up to the bedroom.

–

I struggled to adjust to having the bars on the window. Not only was my view of the farm blocked, but the sun pouring through the windows caused harsh shadows to fill the house. It was starting to feel like a cage instead of our home.

Miles’s attitude had taken a sudden turn the day after he installed the bars. At night, he would silently stand by the windows with arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the farm. I tried to pull him away, but he refused to move. His temper had become shorter with both me and Joseph. He quickly became frustrated, and his voice was cold when he spoke to us. It became easier not to speak. A few times, he would grab my wrist to drag me upstairs, but he never hurt Jasper. He treated him like he was fragile and could easily shatter.

Miles brought Jasper upstairs one night after dinner while I washed the dishes. Dinner had been uncomfortably quiet. Neither Miles nor Joseph spoke, and I pushed my food around my plate with my fork. Joseph kept his gaze down and refused to look at either of us.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Joseph chewing on his lip as he spun his empty glass. His attention was focused on the staircase. Once I was done with the dishes, I wiped my hands on the rag before walking over to the table. He looked at me when the chair screeched across the floor.

“Why is he so upset?” I asked as I sat.

Joseph let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, refusing to look at me. My heart was beating faster, and I could already feel the sweat building on my palms.

“Did something happen?” I asked, but he did not answer. “What are you not telling me?”

“It’s not important,” he mumbled.

“Then why will you not tell me?”

Joseph shifted his weight in the chair as if he were uncomfortable sitting across from me. My chest tightened as I tried to prepare myself for whatever he was going to say. How bad could it be? It seemed like our family had already survived the worst.

“The man who tried to come through the window had money on him,” Joseph said. “Miles used the money to buy the bars to secure the window, but I also took some of it.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. Nausea was twisting my stomach into a knot.

“Why is that a problem?” I asked.

“I did not know that Miles had already counted all the money,” he said. “He confronted me about it the next morning. He thought I wanted the money to buy alcohol and told me I could not be wasting the money on such pointless things. But that was not why I took it.”

“Then why did you take it?”

Joseph sighed before he shook his head. I nervously picked at the skin around my nails as I anticipated his answer. My movements caught his attention. He reached across the table and grabbed my hands. I took in a sharp breath, and my eyes widened. I tried to pull away, but he did not let go.

“I wanted to go to the butcher,” he said. “We cannot keep doing this, Maisie. This is not right.”

Joseph did not need to explicitly say what he meant. He wanted to end the cannibalism.

“We have-,” I started.

“No,” he cut me off. “Maisie, you know that is nonsense. We do not have to do this.”

My heart was pounding even harder as a lump formed in my throat. I tried to pull my hands away again, but Joseph tightened his grip. I took a quick glance over my shoulder at the stairs. Could Miles hear him? He would be furious if he heard what his father was saying.

“Maisie,” Joseph said in a hushed whisper. “You know he is not going to stop.”

“Joseph-“

“Maisie, he is not going to stop.”

“Joe-“

“Do not try to convince me otherwise.”

He was not going to let me speak. A crease formed between his brows as he leaned forward. His gaze drifted from me to the staircase.

“He will never stop,” he said. His voice was still low. “Neither of us can convince him otherwise.”

The tightness in my chest increased, and my breath was shaky. The meat was my idea, and I had not thought much about it in months. Like everything else in this house that once seemed strange, it became a normal part of my life.

“I brought you into our home for a purpose,” he said. “I wanted to save our family, but I also wanted to save you. You were so beautiful and so alone. I knew you would be perfect for Miles.”

I tried to pull my hands away, but Joseph would not let me move. His grip on my hands was so tight that my knuckles were starting to ache. He was going to force me to listen to his ramble.

“You were perfect for Miles,” he said. “But this is not the same Miles. He has been different since that intruder killed Clara. I did not stop his killings because they were keeping the family safe, but this has now been going too far.”

I wanted to speak, but I did not know what to say. Miles had changed, but everything he did was to keep us all safe. If I could talk, my voice would crack and squeak.

“I cannot let this happen to you,” Joseph said. “I cannot let this happen to you or Jasper.”

Was he drunk? His breath did not smell like whiskey, and it had been a long time since I had seen any empty bottles.

“I was afraid our family would not survive,” he said. “But you have Jasper. He is a Wilcox. We can keep this family alive.”

I raised a brow, and Joseph leaned in even closer.

“You cannot raise him to think this is normal,” he said. “Miles will not change, but do not let Jasper turn into him.”

“Joe-” My voice cracked, but I needed to say something.

“Maisie, we need to leave. You, Jasper, and I will get out of this house.”

I yanked my hands away, and I was able to get out of Joseph’s grasp. He reached forward, but I scrambled back. The chair knocked over, and my knees were shaky as I stepped back. He held his hands out as he stood.

“Maisie,” he said.

His voice had a warning tone like he was afraid I would tell Miles. How could he ask me to do that? He brought me here. Why would he want to take me away? I shook my head as I took another step back. My legs were wobbly. I could not collapse on the floor. I needed to get upstairs, but would I tell Miles?

“No,” I said. My voice was soft and sounded so far away. “No.”

It was the only word I could form. My eyes burned with tears. Would Miles be upset if I started screaming and sobbing? Would he understand?

“Take a deep breath.” Joseph stepped around the table. “I need you to think about this.”

“No,” I said. My voice was a little bit louder. “No. No. No.”

“Do not be like this,” Joseph said. “Do not get upset.”

I clutched my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart. If I came upstairs frantic, Miles would immediately know something was wrong.

“No,” I said. Why could I not say anything else?

“Maisie, listen-“

“No!” I cut him off. A warm tear rolled down my cheek, but I could not convince myself to let go of my dress to wipe it away. “No!”

The floor upstairs creaked as Miles rushed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I did not turn, but watching the colour drain from Joseph’s face, I knew Miles was furious.