Family Comes First

Chapter 2: Brought to the Farm

 I groaned as something wet brushed against my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to see Charles leaning over me. He smiled before wiping my face with a warm cloth. My temple was throbbing and I struggled to keep my heavy eyes open. I rolled my head to the side, looking away from Charles. There was a large dresser and a rocking chair in the corner of the room. I was lying on top of the bed.

My muscles screamed out in pain as I raised my arms to push him away. My hands were pressed against his chest, but he did not move.

"Where am I?" my hoarse voice croaked.

"You're home, Juliet," he said.

I gasped when he said my real name. Charles chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair. The bile was rising in the back of my throat as Charles leaned in closer. He smiled, revealing his yellowing teeth.

"I looked in your wallet and saw your driver's license," he said. "We don't like liars in this family, Juliet."

"Where am I?" I asked again.

"I already told you. I've brought you home." His warm breath fanned across my face. "Don't worry. You are safe here. You're finally safe from the outside world."

"Let me go," I said. "You can't do this."

I propped myself up on my elbow and pushed myself away from Charles. The blanket covering my chest slipped down. I clutched the blanket in my hand, and my thumb brushed across the bare skin of my chest. My heart pounded. I was naked underneath the blanket. Charles smirked when he saw my realization.

"I was just cleaning you up," he said. "I can't have you meeting my son looking all dirty."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Jimmy," he said. "He's my oldest son. You see, Juliet, we have a tradition in this family. On our son's twentieth birthday the father, who is me, goes out and saves a girl from the outside world and brings them into this family."

My head was pounding. I squeezed my eyes shut and I tightened my grip on the blankets.

"You are now going to be Jimmy's wife," he said.

My eyes flew open. Charles was staring at me with a smile plastered across his lips. I swallowed past the lump that was forming in my throat. This man was psychotic. This had to be a dream. There was no way any of this could be real.

"No," I said. "I need to get home. My roommate is probably worried that I never came home last night."

"Don't you realize that your roommate doesn't care about you," Charles said. "No one in your life cares about you. That's why you need us. Jimmy is going to love and take care of you."

"No."

I shook my head, and it caused the sharp pain in my temple to grow worse. I gritted my teeth. Charles stood up from the edge of the bed.

"I'm going to go get Jimmy," he said. "He can explain everything to you."

"Please," I begged. "Please, I need to go home."

"I already told you that you are home." Charles walked over to the bedroom door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You need to behave. You will realize that in this house there are consequences for every action you make."

I let out a shaky breath as he exited the room. I gathered the blanket and wrapped it completely around my body. I shimmied my way to the edge of the bed. I placed one foot on the cold floor and pushed myself onto my feet. My knees wobbled as I tried to steady myself.

My eyes scanned the room. There was a window, but thick bars were blocking the view. I did not have enough energy in my body to lift my feet and take proper steps. I shuffled over to the window. I wrapped my fingers around one of the bars and gave it a yank. It did not budge. I groaned and tried pulling on the bar again.