Author's note: Sorry for such a short update. Sad to say there aren't many updates left!

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Carrie and I waited around the table as Jimmy and Tommy buried Charles in the backyard. Hunter was fast asleep, but I kept him in my arms. We sat in silence, unsure what to say to each other.

Tommy came back into the house first. His clothes were caked in dirt. He pulled his shirt over his head; the key dangled against his chest.

"Carrie, get upstairs," he told her.

She nodded her head before give me a soft glance. I knew she wanted to hug and say goodnight, but we couldn't. She went up the stairs and Tommy followed close behind her. The door slammed shut, and then I didn't hear another word. Hopefully, Charles' death has made him sensitive enough to leave Carrie alone for the night.

Jimmy came into the house rolling up the sleeves to his shirt. He didn't look at me and went right over to the sink. He began to scrub his hands clean. I got up and started walking toward him. He dried his hands on a towel and I poured him a glass of water. He pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. I set the glass down and sat on Jimmy's lap. He ran his hand up my leg and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Jimmy," I said breaking our silence. "Are you okay?"

"Julie, I don't want to talk about it," he told me.

"You need to talk about it. It's the only thing that will help."

"How would you know?"

I lifted my head off his shoulder and turned to look at him.

"Both my parents died," I said.

Jimmy bit down on his lip and looked down at his jeans. He reached for the glass and gulped down the water.

"You and Hunter should get to bed," he said.

"I want to make sure you're alright though," I said.

"No worries. I'll come up with you."

I gave him a faint smile and I could see Jimmy force himself to smile back at me. I got up off of his lap and grabbed his hand. We walked up the stairs together and into our room.

I set Hunter down in his crib and tucked the pillows around him. Jimmy peeled off his clothes and crawled into bed. I did the same, not bothering to fish through the drawers for pajamas. Once I was in bed, Jimmy snaked his arm around my waist. He pulled me tight against his chest and buried his face in my neck. I could feel Jimmy's warm tears run onto my skin.

--

Jimmy hadn't set an alarm for the morning. I woke up to see the sun peering through my window. The bars were shadowed on the floor.

Jimmy was sitting in the rocking chair with Hunter. He was making faces at him and cooing at him. My lips curled into a smile and I propped myself up on my elbow. Jimmy's eyes light up when he saw me.

"Look Mommy's awake," he told Hunter.

Hunter giggled and shoved a chubby finger in his mouth. Jimmy got up out of the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked down at Hunter and smiled before he looked up at me with his soft brown eyes.

"It's going to be hard without Dad," he said. "But this is how it has to go. It's the only way the torch gets passed to the oldest son. One day I'm going to die and Hunter is going to have to take over."

"I don't want to think about that," I told him.

Jimmy leaned in and lightly pressed his lips against mine.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, sweetheart," he whispered.

I slipped my arms around Jimmy's waist and pulled myself closer to him. I rested my cheek against his shoulder.

"I was thinking we could give Hunter Dad's old room," he said. "It would stop our room from being so cramped."

"I think it's cozy."

Jimmy chuckled. "Hunter won't think so when he gets older."

I squeezed my eyes shut. I only had two days before Jimmy had to go into town. Tommy's plan must be ruined now. Jimmy wouldn't leave me alone in the house with Tommy. He'd make Tommy go into town with him.

"Jimmy," I said.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Never let me be alone with Tommy."

"Why?"

Jimmy put Hunter down on the pillow and then grabbed my shoulders. His fingers curled into my skin as he made me look him in the eye. His face had gone pale and his eyes grew large.

"What did Tommy do to you?" he asked.

"He didn't—"

"Julie, don't lie to me!"

"I'm not!"

"Don't raise your voice at me," he scolded me. "And don't you ever lie to me either. Carrie is here to distract Tommy. He must be leaving you alone."

I nodded my head. Jimmy kissed my cheek before picking up Hunter.

"You better get changed," he said. "The day is wasting away out there."

I climbed out of bed and grabbed some clothes. Jimmy smirked at me as he watched me change into a pair of jeans and one of his T-shirts. I followed him as he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Carrie was standing in front of the stove, and a thick smell of pancakes and syrup filled the air. Tommy was at the table and he was shuffling the deck of cards. I went over to the counter and pulled out the plates and began placing them on table.

Jimmy and Tommy were silent as they sat at the table. Carrie and I place breakfast on the table and they began to dig in. I sat down in my chair and I glanced down at the end of the table. An empty chair sat there. It would be empty until Hunter was old enough to sit there. I hope Tommy would let me see that.

"Did you tell Noah yet?" Tommy asked Jimmy.

He shook his head before shoveling a mouthful of food. "I'll write them a letter tonight. We're going to have to go into town a few days early so I can mail it."

"We?" Tommy asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. We," Jimmy said. "I can't go alone."

"I don't want to leave Carrie alone."

"She won't be alone. Julie is here."

I tried my best to not let my lips lift into a smile. Jimmy was protecting our family and he didn't even know it.

"You seriously can't do some groceries alone?" Tommy asked.

"Why do you want to stay home so badly?" Jimmy asked back.

"It'll be my first day alone with Carrie," Tommy said. "I bet the first day you had alone with Julie was pretty great."

"You won't be alone though, Julie is here."

"Can I go to town with you?" I asked Jimmy.

"No," Tommy snapped. Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows at him. "Jim, she can't. That goes against every tradition our family has."

"Sorry, Julie," Jimmy said. "You have to stay home and look after Hunter."

"We could bring Hunter," I pleaded.

"No, it's too much hassle. You need to stay home and stay safe."

I'm not safe here! I wanted to scream out. Jimmy was protecting us and now he doesn't realize that he's tearing apart our family.

"I'll stay home and watch over the girls," Tommy said. "I'll make sure everything is okay."

"Fine," Jimmy muttered. "I won't be long tomorrow anyways."

Tomorrow?

The world started to spin. I grabbed my stomach and squeezed my eyes closed and swallowed hard. A lump was forming in my throat and I could feel my mouth fill with bile. I covered my mouth and ran to the bathroom. I got down on my knees and began throwing up. Jimmy was right behind me. He held my hair away from my face and was rubbing my back.

"Julie, what's wrong?" he asked me.

I gripped the seat of the toilet and felt my body shake. I opened my mouth to speak and a bitter taste filled my mouth.

"Maybe you're pregnant again," Jimmy told me. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was smiling. "They say one life ends so that another begins."

The warm tears began to roll down my cheeks. Jimmy cradled me into his body as he sat down on the floor. I grabbed his shirt and began to ball like a baby. I only had one day left with my family before Tommy took me away.