《Welcome To The Family》Late Night Kitchen Conversation
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Gabe let out a deep breath as he rolled over for what felt like the thousandth time. He did not normally toss and turn, so I was unsure if he was dreaming. He would mutter something every now and then, so I assumed that he was. He only woke about an hour ago when Jared started to cry. He soon fell back asleep as I changed Jared and crawled back into bed.
I was staring at the bright red numbers of the alarm clock as I felt the mattress shift as Gabe rolled once again. This time he was facing away from me.
I could no longer stand to lie in bed and wait for sleep to come. I wanted to sit in the living room and read a book or at least grab a drink of water.
I slipped out of the bed and tiptoed over to the dresser. I pulled out a pair of Gabe's shorts and slid them on. I tightened the drawstring as much as I could to ensure they would not fall down. I could find my own clothes but I did not want to go searching in the dark and potentially wake up either Gabe or Jared.
I opened the door a crack and stepped out into the hallway. I squinted to see better in the dark hallway. A light was coming from the bottom of the stairs and I knew that someone must also be awake.
The stairs creaked under my feet as I walked downstairs. When I got to the bottom, I could see Jimmy sitting at the dining room table. He was pushing an empty glass from hand to hand. He looked up when he heard the stairs creaking. He tucked his long hair behind his ears, exposing that gruesome scar on his face.
"I wasn't expecting anyone else to be awake," I said.
"I couldn't sleep," he muttered.
I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water before sitting across from Jimmy. He raised a brow when he watched me pull out the chair.
"Why are you up?" Jimmy asked.
"I couldn't sleep either," I said. "I thought I would kill some time down here before daylight."
Jimmy smiled and it contorted the scar running across his cheek. I tried not to stare at it, but I know my attempts to act natural must have been futile. His smile disappeared and he ran his fingers along the deep indentation of flesh. I wanted to ask where it came from, but I knew that questions were not allowed.
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"Was it hard for you to watch that?" he asked. I gave him a puzzled look. He cleared his throat before clarifying himself. "Was it hard for you to watch us kill those people."
"Oh," I said.
I bit on my bottom lip to stop my jaw from hanging open. I wanted to make Gabe proud of me and act fearless in front of his family, but something about Jimmy tugged at my heart. For some reason I felt safe telling Jimmy the truth.
"It's not easy," I said. "Especially not at the beginning. I was so horrified at first."
"How long were you with the family before it happened?" he asked.
I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. Nightmare visions of Finn and my friends screaming for their lives flashed through my brain.
"Day one," I said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
I looked over my shoulder at the staircase. The walls to the house were thin and I wondered if Gabe could hear me. If he could, he probably would not want me talking to Jimmy about this.
"Can you keep a secret?" I asked in a harsh whisper.
The corner of Jimmy's lips twitched into a smile. He leaned in closer to me.
"Of course," he said. "What is it?"
"Noah did not go out and find me," I said. "I came here with a group of friends. They killed them all in front of me. Gabe asked Noah to spare my life because it was almost his twentieth birthday."
"He broke tradition for you?"
I nodded.
"That's kind of romantic," he said. "Gabe saw you and knew that you were the one for him."
He leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his hand along his jaw. His eyes darted to the side as he thought.
"I think I would have liked that," he said. "I'm really worried that Dad is going to bring me someone I don't like. What if I don't feel attracted to her?"
"I don't think Charles would bring home someone unattractive," I said.
"It's more than just that," he said. "What if she never loves me?"
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I smiled before taking a sip of my water. Jimmy let out a nervous laugh as he raked his fingers through his hair.
"I know I sound ridiculous," he said.
"I think they're legitimate concerns," I said.
"I just really want to be a good husband to someone."
I opened my mouth to speak, but the stairs creaked. Jimmy looked past me and I looked over my shoulder. Tommy was walking down the stairs. His hair was ruffled and he was yawning as he dug the heel of his hand into his eye. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stretched his arms over his head. He smirked as he walked toward us.
"I thought I heard voices," he said. "What are you two doing?"
"Neither of us could sleep,"Jimmy said.
"It's nice you're getting a little girl time, Jim," Tommy said before winking.
I curled my fingers tight around the glass. Part of me wanted to get up and punch Tommy in the face, but I knew better than that. It would come with severe consequences.
"Lindsay, why don't you go and get me something to drink?" Tommy asked.
"She's Gabe's wife," Jimmy said. "Not your servant."
"Lighten up," he said. "It gives her something to do."
"I should really be getting back upstairs," I said.
I moved to stand, but Tommy put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me back down into my seat. Jimmy scowled and I chewed on my bottom lip. Tommy did not remove his hand, but instead curled his fingers deep into my flesh.
"What were you two talking about?" Tommy asked.
"Lord of the Flies," Jimmy lied. I looked down at my hands as I struggled to keep a straight face. "It's also Lindsay's favourite book."
"You and that stupid book," Tommy said.
"I really should go back to bed," I said.
"And miss all the fun down here?" Tommy asked sarcastically. "Keep talking about your book. I am sure Gabe would love to know that you are talking to his wife alone."
"Lindsay is part of the family now," Jimmy said. "I can talk to her."
Tommy tilted his head back and let out a laugh.
"So you're taking this opportunity to learn how to talk to women, Jim?" he asked. "Your girl will never be as tamed as Lindsay. You don't have the backbone to do it."
Jimmy's nostrils flared. His grip was so tight on the glass that I imagined it shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.
"Don't be jealous," Tommy said.
The stairs creaked again, and I pushed Tommy's hand off of my shoulder. He crossed his arms over his chest as he turned to look. Gabe was coming down the stairs. He looked like he had just crawled out of bed. His eyes were barely open and he was only wearing pajama bottoms and no shirt.
"What are you all doing?" he asked.
"Just having a deep discussion," Tommy said.
Gabe stopped and raised an eyebrow. I stepped past Tommy and rushed into Gabe's arms. He wrapped his arms around me before resting his chin on the top of my head. I took in a deep breath of his scent. I did not realize how tense my muscles were until I relaxed against him.
"I was wondering where you were," he said. "I woke up and you weren't in the bed."
"I just wanted some water," I said.
"Let's go back to bed."
"Yes please."
Gabe loosened his grip on me. I glanced behind me to see that Tommy had his usual smirk.
"Were you guys giving my girl a hard time?" he asked.
"I wasn't," Tommy said. "But I can't speak for Jimmy."
"No," I said. "I'm just exhausted. Let's go back upstairs."
I got up on my toes to kiss Gabe. I laced my fingers through his and tried my best not to take off running and pull him upstairs as I so desperately wanted to get away from the kitchen.
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