New to the Family

A Knock

Author's note: sorry it has taken me so long to update. I just wrote my nursing license exam (and passed...yay!) so I have been M.I.A because of studying. I have also spent a lot of my time on my new novel "Day After Day". Thanks to everyone reading!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Lindsay managed to stop crying before the boys came in from outside. She stayed quiet and stared at her plate during dinner. The rest of the family was smiling and joking as they were eating. I found myself staring at her and my chest ached watching her have to silently mourn her son.

After dinner I was washing the dishes. Jared leaned against the counter as he watched me. I was humming to myself, and when I glanced up I could see Jared smiling.

"You really like music, don't you?" he said.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I do."

Jared looked around the kitchen to see that it was just the two of us. He leaned in closer to me. My glasses were slipping down my nose and I tried to push them up with my arm.

"Maybe we can go out to the shed soon," he whispered.

I smiled. Jared already trusted me enough to possibly bring me outside. I thought after my stupid attempt to escape he would never bring me out again.

"Would you like that?" he asked.

I nodded. I pulled the stopper out of the sink and dried my hands on a towel. Jared wrapped his arms around me in a crushing hug before kissing my temple.

"No!" Lindsay called out from the living room. "No, you cannot do this."

"Shut up!"

Gabe's voice was so loud that it was booming through the house. Jared tightened his arms around me. He put one hand on the back of my head and held me against his chest. Lindsay continued to scream as Gabe dragged her down the hallway. I peered past Jared's arm to see him pull her up the stairs.

"You can't do this," Lindsay said. She was shaking her head as the tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Please, Gabe."

"I told you to be quiet," he said.

Lindsay got one hand free and started to pound into his chest. She swung one leg out and kicked Gabe's shin. He let out a deep breath before leaning down and throwing Lindsay over his shoulder. She let out another scream and balled up her fists and beat his back. Gabe seemed unphased as he walked up the stairs. Jared kept a tight hold on me until we heard a door slam shut.

"Follow me," Jared said as he grabbed my hand.

I stayed by Jared's side as we walked down the hallway and into the living room. Jenny was sitting in her chair rocking back and forth. She coughed, and I could see that her skin was turning pale.

"Sit on the couch," he told me. "I am going to put Grandma to bed."

I nodded my head. I sat down on the couch, and I watched as Jared walked toward Jenny. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up onto her feet.

"Come on, Grandma," he said. "It's time to go to bed."

Jenny's thin lips lifted into a smile and she put her hand over Jared's. Her feet dragged across the floor as they walked out of the living room.

I sat alone in the room. Lindsay's cries and screams were audible downstairs. I did not want to imagine what Gabe was doing to her up there. My fingers traced along the scars on my arm. I was cut deeply as a punishment. It was a punishment that was taught to Jared by Gabe.

I covered my ears with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut. I leaned forward so that my head was resting against my knees.

It's okay, I kept repeating to myself.

I don't know how long I was rocking, but I jumped when a hand touched my back. I looked up to see Jared was sitting next to me. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. His hand ran up and down my back.

"Hey, it's alright," he said. "You're safe."

"I'm worried about Lindsay," I said.

"Mom is going to be okay," he said. "Dad would never do anything to hurt her."

He pulled me back and cupped my face with his hands. I did not realize I was crying until Jared wiped away the tears with the pad of his thumb.

"It's going to be okay," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course it is," he said. "I am going to take care of you."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. This kiss was different from the way he typically kisses me. It was deep and hungry. I struggled to keep up as he used his tongue to part my lips. He pushed me back so that I was lying on the couch and he was on top of my body. His lips trailed down my neck and onto my collarbone. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from moaning.

I could still hear Lindsay's cries. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on Jared's lips instead. His hands roamed down my body. His one hand grabbed my thigh and pulled it higher up. I pressed my hands against his chest as his other hand crept under my shirt.

"I've always wanted this," Jared said in between kisses.

The heat rushed up to my cheeks and I heard myself giggle. Owen always used my body for his own personal needs. He persuaded me to lose my virginity to him on our second date. Since then, sex was always a big part of our relationship.

It was not like that with Jared. He always wanted to care for me and take care of me. He wanted me for more than just my body. My bad attitude forced Jared to wait so long.

"Tell me you love me," he said.

"I love you, Jared," I said.

He stopped kissing me, and propped himself up on his one elbow. He reached for his belt and started to undo the buckle. I leaned forward and kissed his neck. A small moan escaped his lips.

The sound of someone pounding on the door made both of us freeze. Jared waited a second before the knocking started again. He let out a deep breath and began doing up his belt.

"You've got to be kidding," he muttered.

He got up off of the couch and held his hand out. I raised an eyebrow.

"Come on," he said. The person was still banging on the door. "Stay behind me and don't say a word."

I took his hand, and he helped me up onto my feet. He had my hand in a crushing grip as he pulled me behind him to the front door. He pushed me behind him before he opened the door. I could barely see over his shoulder.

There were two young men, that appeared to be around Jared's age, were standing at the other side. The one man had sunglasses resting on top of his head despite it being dark out. His lips spread into a wide smile when he saw us. I could feel Jared's body tense.

"So sorry to bother you, but we seem to be lost," he said. "There's no signal out here so we can't pull up a map on our phones, and you're one of the only houses around here. Do you know how to get back to town?"

"Come in," Jared said, opening the door a little wider. "We should have a map somewhere you can have."

"Thanks, man," the man with the sunglasses said.

My stomach twisted as they stepped into the house. They were walking into their death, and I knew this time they were going to force me to watch.