Author's note: I just saw that sixteen people have read this story. I know it may not seem like a lot, but I am super happy. I want to thank every one of you individually for taking the time to read this story and I hope you're enjoying it. Comment to tell me your thoughts :)

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Jimmy came in the house an hour early to help me cook dinner. I peeled potatoes while he cut slices off some kind of chunk of meat and fried it up in a pan.

I didn't need his help. The social workers at the orphanage made me take special classes. They wanted to make sure I knew how to clean and cook when I was living on my own. Also, one of the families I was with when I was fifteen tried to teach me how to cook. They owned a restaurant and tried to get me to help out, but I preferred to go out drinking with my friends. After a couple months they couldn't take it anymore and sent me back. I wish I didn't fuck up so bad. I would be with them instead of in this house right now.

"Did you cook a lot before?" he asked me.

"No. I know how to, but I didn't" I told him.

"Why? If you didn't cook then how did you eat?"

"Me and my roommate lived off of take-out. " I looked over to the meat frying in the pan. "What kind of meat is this?"

He wrapped about the rest of raw meat he had and put it back into the fridge. Without looking at me he took the potatoes I had just peeled and dropped them in the boiling water. I crossed my arms over my chest. He wasn't going to answer my question.

"Jimmy?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," he asked looking down at the water.

"You didn't answer me," I said.

"So?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Why won't you? It's a simple question."

"Juliet," he snapped at me. "Leave it alone. And stop asking questions."

It was the first time he was angry with me. It sounded like the way Chales yelled and scolded me. I dropped my head and looked down at my feet. I could hear Jimmy walk over to me.

"Hey," he said putting his hand under my chin to lift my head up. His eyes were looking big and soft again. He leaned in to kiss me, but I backed away. He bit down on his lip and quickly turned his head to look back at the stove.

Charles and Tommy came into the house and walked past us to the table. Jimmy quickly joined them. I put the potatoes in a bowl and the meat on the plate. Jimmy was angry at me for rejecting him. I was scared to think about what he would do to me.

I brought the food over to the table and they quickly dug in. I sat down in the spot Charles forced me into the other day. Tommy passed the potatoes to me, I took a few, and then I passed them to Charles. Jimmy was starring down at his plate, he obviously didn't want to look at me.

I took a piece of meat off of the plate. It was tough to cut and when I started to eat it, it was incredibaly chewy. The taste was really different. There was sort of a sweet taste to it. It wasn't chicken, pork, or beef. Maybe it could be something like deer or duck. It could possibly even be squirrel. I've never ate any of those animals before.

Conversation was swirling around the table, but I wasn't paying attention to any of them. I was too focused on what kind of meat this was. Tommy's voice brought me back to reality.

"Don't you agree, Juliet?" he asked me.

"Agree on what?" I asked quietly.

"That parents put too much pressure on their kids. That's why all of those city kids need to go see some kind of head doctor and take some kind of medication."

"Um...yes...I guess some do."

It was a strange topic. I couldn't imagine how they got there.

"Not some. All of them do, honey," Charles told me. "City parents have high hopes for their children. They want them to exceed higher than they ever did. But why should they? They're no better than their parents. In our family there's none of that. What's expected of you is what everyone else in this family has already accomplished."

What did their family accomplish? Killing innocent people? Did they're entire family do that? What came first, the kidnapping or the murder? For them to give morals on how to raise children seemed hypocritical. Charles must have taught Jimmy and Tommy how to kill. Who else would have?

"Did your family ever do that to you?" Tommy asked me.

"I don't think so," I said. "I was too young to remember."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My parents died in a car accident when I was six."

"Who'd you live with after that?"

"Mostly in an orphanage. I had a few foster families."

"Why didn't you stay with any of them?"

I looked at Charles. He must not have told Tommy anything about me yet. From the way Jimmy was looking at me, I don't think he told him either. Charles nodded his head at me. I guess it's a gesture for him saying it's okay to tell him.

"None of them wanted to keep me," I told them.

"Why?" Jimmy asked me.

"I use to always run away. They didn't like that I did drugs and drank a lot either," I explained to them.

They all stayed quiet. Jimmy looked back down to his food and continued to eat, and Tommy did the same thing. Jimmy's eyes would flicker up at me.

"We're glad to have you as part of our family, Juliet," Charles told me.

I couldn't stop the smile from growing across my lips. I've never had someone so glad that I was part of their family. Even coming from a family of killers that was a compliment. I kept my head down so they couldn't see the heat rushing up tp my cheeks.

After dinner, I collected all of the dishes and put them in the sink. I began to wash them. Tommy ran up stairs to his room and Charles was in the living room reading a book. Jimmy came up beside me and grabbed a towel to dry the dishes and put them away. I'm glad he did. It took me a while this morning to find out where they all went after I had washed them. I didn't remember where I had put them, and it would take me a long time to figure out where to put them again.

Once I was done, I pulled the drain out and dried my hands on a towel. Jimmy wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer into his body. I could hear his heartbeat. Like his eyes it made him see human. Not like a murderer.

I could feel him press his lips against the top of my head. He moved them dangerously close to the cut on my forehead. I wiggled in his grip and tried to push him away, but it seemed to have no effect on him. He grabbed my hands and laced his fingers through mine.

"Come on," he said. "I want to talk to you."

Before I could answer, Jimmy guided me upstairs to his room. My heartbeat grew quicker. Did he actually want to talk or do something else?

He walked past me and sat on his bed, crossing his legs underneath him. He patted on a piece of comforter beside him. I slowly walked over and sat down beside him.

Jimmy tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, and leaned in to kiss me. My body went frigid. In a weird way I've gotten use to him kissing me, but being on his bed made me nervous.

"I'm sorry about your family," he whispered. His face was just inches away from mine. I could feel the heat from his breath as he spoke.

"Why?" I said sliding down on the bed; trying to get farther away from him.

"Losing people you love is difficult. I can't imagine what it would feel like if I lost my entire family."

"What about that girl? She could have had a kid. Or maybe a husband. And there was that man too. Some family just lost the ones they loved. And why? Because you killed them."

Jimmy bit on his lip and closed his eyes shut. He curled his fingers into the comforter. He was angry now. Would he hurt me?

"Juliet, I wish you wouldn't say that," Jimmy told me.

"Why? It's the truth. You're a fucking murderer," I said with venom in my voice.

"No! Juliet, you don't understand. Our family does some things differently. You won't disrespect them like that again. Okay? And another thing: watch your language. We don't swear in this house," he scolded me.

The thing that scared me the most was how he said our family. I didn't want to become one of them. Anytime I thought about staying here for the rest of my life I was terrified.

I shook my head. I wanted to walk away, but I can't. Where would I go? I was stuck in this house. I couldn't get a breath of fresh air. I have to breathe the same air that's been in this house for God knows how long.

"I don't want to be here," I mumbled.

"We're your family now," he told me.

I let out a deep breath and rolled my eyes.

"I don't have a family anymore. And I don't need a new one. Do you understand that?" I asked angrily.

Jimmy got off the bed and shook his head from side to side. He ran his hands through his long brown hair.

"Why do you need to be so stubborn?" he yelled at me.

"I'm not stubborn," I protested.

"Yes. Yes you are. We are trying to be nice to you and let you into our family. But what do you do? You disrespect that! You don't understand everything and you still call us murderers. Juliet, you need to learn to adapt here. It's best for you," he explained to me.

I dropped my head. I couldn't stand to look at him anymore. How could he expect for me to adapt here? It's normal for him because this is where he grew up, but it's not right for me. I don't care if he says he's not, but he is a murderer.

He leaned down over me, putting his hands down beside me on the bed. He was trapping my body in with his. He leaned his face in closer to mine, like he was going to kiss me. I slid up the bed trying to get farther away from him. He brought his hand up to my face and I swatted it away from me.

Jimmy backed up from the bed and I could hear him walk over to the bathroom. I kept my head down and curled my knees up to my body. I pressed my forehead against my knees and took a couple deep breaths in and out.

He quickly came back into the room and sat down in front of me. I heard him undo a zipper. My heart jumped when I realized he was going to drug me. I uncurled my knees and threw my legs off of the bed. I had no idea where I was going to run to. All I know is that I'm not going to sit here patiently while he injects me.

I managed to get on my feet and take a few steps before Jimmy grabbed my arms. He pulled me back down onto the bed. He threw one leg over me, just like the way Charles did on the night he took me. I pushed on his chest with my hands, but it didn't make a difference.

My fists started to pound into his chest. I would have screamed, but no one was going to hear me. Only his family, and that could make it worse. Jimmy grabbed one of my arms with his warm, sweaty hands. I dug my nails into his arm until the skin started to tore and bleed. Jimmy pulled my hand away, and both of my arms pinned up over my head.

"Juliet, stop. You're making this difficult for yourself. I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry. I'm just going to help you sleep," he told me soothingly as I fought against his grip.

Tears started to slip out of my eyes and my body broke out into sobs. I felt a sharp pinch in my arm as he pireced the needle through my skin. My vision had become blurry because of the tears.

Jimmy's weight left my body. I wiped my eyes quickly and looked around. He wasn't there anymore. He must have gone into the washroom. I sat up and slid myself down the bed. My head was feeling dizzy, but it wasn't as bad as last night. My vision started to spin.

I struggled to walk, and ended up dragging my feet across the ground. I couldn't get a steady balance. My back was hunched over and I had to put my hand up against the wall to stop myself so I wouldn't fall over. I almost got to the bedroom door, but Jimmy came out of the bathroom door. He squeezed my shoulders to help keep me off the ground. I stared at him coldly.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked me, chuckling under his breath. He put his arms under my knees and lifted me up off the ground.

"No," I whined. It was all I was capable of doing, but it caused him to curl me closer into his body. I felt pathetic as he carried me over to the bed.

He placed me down, and I rolled over onto my side and scrunched my body together. It made me feel like I was protecting myself. Like a turtle inside of its shell.

Last time Jimmy drugged me I was already passed out. He must have not given me as much this time. My heart started to feel like it was going to beat out of my chest. How long would I be conscious? Whatever horror he did to me last night I was now going to be awake for. I'll know for certain what he did.

Jimmy sat down on the bed and my back was to him. He took my arm in his hand and slowly rolled me over to face him. He was trying his hardest not to hurt me. Why drug me and then be careful not to hurt me?

He slid me foreword so that I was curled up into his body. He was warm and I had my head on his chest. I could feel his steady heartbeat. I felt like the puppy children were always trying to cuddle with and all it wanted to do was squirm free.

I closed my eyes tightly; trying to pretend like I wasn't here. With his warmth and heartbeat I felt safe. I was curled up with a murderer who had just drugged me, but I felt safe. It sounded ridiculous when I said it in my head. I don't know how I could possibly feel this way.

His fingers grazed down the side of my face. It caused a shiver to run up my spine. I tried to convince myself that if he was going to rape me, he would have already tried to make a move.

I felt relieved as I began to fall asleep.