Family Comes First

Chapter 51: Tell Us Something

 Jimmy was taking a bite of a cookie as I came downstairs. I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him as he shoved the remaining cookie in his mouth. He pressed his lips against the top of my head. Carrie walked into the kitchen. She was rubbing her arms up and down.

"Good cookies, Julie," Jimmy said.

"James, don't ruin your dinner," Charles told him.

Jimmy chuckled and kissed my temple again. Charles went upstairs to wash up. Tommy walked in and I looked over at Carrie to see her chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes were staring down at the floor.

"Were you helping Carrie?" Jimmy whispered. I nodded. "Good girl."

Tommy glared at us as he walked over to Carrie. Her eyes grew large as he grabbed the back of her head and smashed his lips against hers. She struggled as she tried to push Tommy off.

He let go of Carrie as soon as he was finished and stomped up the stairs. Carrie crossed her arms so that she was hugging herself. Jimmy followed Tommy upstairs.

"Let's start dinner," I said.

She nodded and we walked over to the counter. We made dinner while the boys were all upstairs. When they came back down, we were almost finished.

Charles was the first one down. He picked Hunter up and cradled him as he sat down. Carrie stayed close to my side.

Jimmy and Tommy came down at the same time. They were chuckling and Jimmy was running his fingers through his hair. They both sat down at the table.

"Put this on the table," I whispered to Carrie as I shoved a bowl of potatoes into her hands. "Then sit down next to Tommy."

Carrie looked over at them before looking back at me. She shook her head. I smiled at her, and she stopped. She took in a deep breath before turning on her heels and walking toward the table. I grabbed the roast and brought it over to the table.

"Smells good, Juliet," Charles said as he handed me Hunter.

"Thank you," I said. "Carrie helped me."

"I know she's going to settle in well."

I placed Hunter back down in his crib. Bowls were being passed around the table. Carrie did not take any food so Tommy piled some on her plate.

"Eat," Tommy said.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"I told you to eat."

She was pushing her food around the plate with her fork. She looked over at me and I gave my head a slight nod. We were the only two who saw it. She hesitantly brought the meat up to her mouth before chewing it. I knew she would have a meltdown if she knew what she was doing.

"Tell us something about yourself, Carrie," Charles said.

"There's not much to say." She shrugged.

"Sure there is," he said. "Tell us something."

An awkward silence fell over the room. Carrie twirled her fork around in her mashed potatoes as she thought.

"I used to sing a lot," she said.

"Julie sings too," Jimmy said.

"Not often," I said as I could feel the heat rush up to my cheeks. Jimmy hasn't mentioned my singing since the car ride to Taylor's.

"You do it a lot," he said. "You're pretty good too. You sing to Hunter all of the time."

"You should sing something for us, Carrie," Charles said.

She shook her head.

"I couldn't do that," she said. "The only time I ever really sang was for my boyfriend."

Tommy brought his fist down onto the table. The plates and cutlery rattled. I gasped, and Carrie squeezed her eyes shut.

"Don't argue," he said. "Just do it."

"I....I can't do it," she stumbled over the words. "I was never any good."

"I can't expect much from you," he said as he ran his hand down his face. "It's your second day here. I haven't trained you right yet."

Tommy grabbed Carrie's wrist and pulled her onto her feet. Carrie screamed as she clawed at Tommy's arm. He pulled her away from the table and she fought against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward the stairs.

"No!" she screamed. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She dug her heels into the floor to try and stop Tommy. "Please, don't hurt me!"

"I'm just teaching you a lesson," he said.

"No! You're not going to brainwash me like you've done to Julie."

I looked over at Jimmy. His jaw was clenched. He was running his fingers along the chain around his neck. I reached under the table to rub his leg, but he did not seem to notice. Charles' lips were lifted into a faint smile. I was slightly relieved that Tommy was not harassing me for once.

"Tommy, don't make too much noise," Charles said. "Some of us want to get some sleep tonight."

"Don't worry," Tommy said. "I'll gag her."

"No!" Carrie begged. "Please, don't! Just let me go home! Please, just let me go home!"

Tommy threw her down onto the floor. He swung his one leg over her and pinned her down onto the floor. Carrie screamed as she kicked her legs out. She struggled as she tried to get out from underneath him. Tommy fished around in his pocket for his knife.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I watched him flip the blade out. He held her hands above her head with one hand. He sliced the blade down her collar bone. Carrie started to scream even louder.

"Just shut up," Tommy said, "and this won't hurt."

He hauled her back up onto her feet. Blood was running down her chest and seeping through the material of the dress. Her face was bright red as she cried. Her pleads were mumbled with her sobs. Tommy pulled her up the stairs. I felt like I was going to throw up when I heard the bedroom door slam shut.

I secretly hoped that Tommy would gag her. I did not want to hear what kind of pain she was going to be in.

"Julie, clean up the kitchen," Charles said.

He got up from his chair and went into the living room. I cleared the table and Jimmy stayed close to my side as I did the dishes. I could hear the faint sound of Carrie's sobs.

Please get used to it here, I thought to myself. Please. My family needs you to get used to it here.