New to the Family

Dependent

Author's note: I just quit my job so hopefully that means more time to write.

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The sound of a loud horn broke my concentration. Jared let go of my throat. I rolled my head to the side to see a large black truck was beside us. The door opened, and a short stocky man came out.

"Hey!" the man shouted. "Get off her!"

Jared loosened his grip on my throat. He stood up and dusted the dirt off of his jeans. I gasped for breath and held my aching neck. I struggled to get back up onto my feet. The man stormed over.

"Sir, I suggest you get back in the truck," Jared said.

"Help me!" I shouted. "He's going to kill me!"

Jared rolled his eyes. He grabbed my waist, and I beat his chest with my fists. I turned and grabbed his wrists to pull him off.

"Get off of me!" I yelled.

Jared's hand shot up over my mouth. I clawed at his hand, and tore his skin with my fingernails. My screams were muffled. The man stepped forward, and Jared pulled me back.

"Let go of her," the man said.

"Sir, we're just having an argument," he said. "Get back in the truck."

I shook my head from side to side. I caught a glimpse of Gabe standing next to his rusted green pickup truck in the driveway. He bent down and picked the shovel up off of the ground. He held it in a tight grip as he snuck up behind the man. I let out a louder muffled scream to try and warn the man. I pointed, and the man furrowed his eyebrows. Jared snatched my wrist and held it against my chest.

"You can't put your hands on a woman," the man said. "Now, let go of her."

Gabe crept up behind the man. He raised the shovel, and I let out another scream. I thrashed around in his hold. This man was going to die, and it was going to be all my fault. He was trying to help me, and it was going to kill him. The man reached forward to try and pull me away from Jared. Gabe cleared his throat, and the man turned around. Gabe swung the shovel. The man fell to the ground with a thud. The man's bloody face was a mess.

I could feel the warm tears roll down my cheeks. My knees wobbled, and my legs gave out underneath me. Jared let go of me, and let me tumble onto the dirt road. I sobbed as I looked over at the man's crumpled body.

"What's going on here?" Gabe asked.

"Leah got out somehow," Jared said. "You must have left the door unlocked."

"I didn't," he said. "Leah, how did you get out?"

"The door was unlocked," I lied.

Gabe crouched down next to me. Jared was towering over me with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Leah, let's first forget about you lying to us," Gabe said. "Why would you leave the house? You are not safe out here."

"Let me go," I said. "I promise I won't tell anyone anything. Please, just let me go back to Alaska."

Gabe chuckled and placed his hand on the top of my head. He ran his fingers through my hair. I wiped the tears off of my cheeks.

"You need to stop talking about Alaska," he said. "You're never going back."

"Please." I got on my knees and folded my hands in front of my face. "Please, just let me go."

Gabe shook his head. He leaned in close, and I took in a sharp breath. He grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my face.

"Just break already," he whispered.

Gabe stood up and dusted the dirt off of his jeans. He let out a deep breath, removed his baseball cap and scratched the top of his head. He looked down at the man's body.

"Get her back inside, Jared," he said. He put his hat back on his head. "We'll bury Theo after we sort out Leah."

"Should I put her back in the basement?" Jared asked.

"No!" I cried. "Please, don't put me back down there."

"It looks like that punishment works," Gabe said. "Why shouldn't we put you in the basement, Leah?"

"Please, I don't want to go back down there," I said.

"That doesn't answer my question," he said. "You disobeyed us. Why should we not punish you?"

"You can punish me, but don't lock me in the basement for days."

Gabe chuckled and looked over at his son. Jared had his arms crossed over his chest. His eyebrows were furrowed as he watch me beg at Gabe's feet.

"Get up," Gabe told me. "We're going back into the house."

My knees shook as I got back up onto my feet. A wave of nausea hit me, and I thought I was going to be sick. I was just steps away from walking into my punishment. Jared stretched out his hand, and we laced our fingers together. I could not upset Jared anymore. He was going to put me in the basement.

"It's nice to see you listening," Gabe said.

Jared had my hand in a crushing grip as we walked back to the house. We followed behind Gabe as he went through the back door of the house and into the kitchen. We walked in to see Lindsay standing next to the stove. She was waiting next to a tea kettle. Her large eyes grew even wider when she saw me walking into the house with Jared. Her eyes were still rimmed with red from her crying.

"I was wondering where you were, Leah," she said.

"She somehow made it outside," Gabe said. "I told you from the beginning that she was going to be quite a troublemaker. Jared, bring her upstairs."

"Yes," he said as he tugged on my arm.

"I'll be back down soon, Lindsay," Gabe said.

He kissed her cheek before heading up the stairs. Jared followed behind, pulling me along. My breathing was quick and ragged when I thought about how they were going to torture me. My arm already burned from the deep slashes I knew they were going to give me.

"Bring her to your room," Gabe said before going down the hallway. I watched him enter the bathroom.

Jared pulled me into his room. He let go of my hand and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Sit down," he told me.

I nodded my head and sat on the edge of the bed. Jared kneeled down in front of me. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my head. He cupped my cheek, and he shook his head.

"I never want to punish you," he said, "but I have to. I can't believe you did something so dangerous as leaving the house."

"I'm so sorry," I said. "Please, don't punish me."

"I have to. It's the only way you're going to learn your lesson."

Gabe came into the room with a black case in his hands. He unzipped the case, and I could see an array of syringes. He pulled out one of the syringes and a vial. He set the case down on the dresser and drew the liquid up from the vial. This must be what Gabe injected me with the night he kidnapped me.

"You don't think you need us, Leah," Gabe said. "You're going to see that you rely on us."