Family Comes First

Chapter 5: A New Family

"Juliet."

I opened my eyes to see Jimmy kneeling on the floor next to the couch. His fingers were tangled in my hair. I sat and pushed him away from me. I dug the heel of my palm into my eyes as I yawned. Jimmy chuckled.

"I came in to help you with dinner," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"I need to get home," I said. "People are going to be wondering where I am."

Lina must be worried that I never came home from work the other night. She may have thought that I went home with Donavon, but when I did not come to work tonight she would know that I am missing.

"No one is looking for you," Jimmy said. "No one in your old life loved you."

"My roommate has probably called the cops," I said.

"Juliet, I am not going to keep talking about this," he said. "Let's go make dinner."

Jimmy grabbed my arm and pulled me onto my feet. He laced his fingers through mine and we walked into the kitchen. Jimmy opened the fridge and pulled out some vegetables and a slab of meat. He dug through a drawer and pulled out a small knife. He handed me a potato and a knife.

"Peel those," he said.

I nodded my head and walked over to the counter. I watched Jimmy as he grabbed a pot and a pan and put them on the stove. He sliced pieces of the meat and fried them in the pan. I dumped the potatoes into the boiling water.

"Did you cook a lot before?" Jimmy asked.

"Not really," I said. "I know how to cook, but my roommate and I lived off of take-out."

Lina could not cook. She one time tried to make pasta for her boyfriend, but overcooked the noodles and burned the sauce. I had to save her and make her a whole new meal.

"I saw you did not eat your porridge this morning," Jimmy said. "I told you to eat it."

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"You need to eat," he said. "I don't want you to get sick."

I looked at my hand to see the small knife was still in my grip. I could stab Jimmy and run out of this house, but I was still probably locked in. Charles would come in and see his dead son and would murder me.

My thoughts were cut off when Jimmy grabbed my wrist. He ripped the knife out of my hand and tossed it in the sink. He grabbed my chin and lifted my head to face him.

"I love you," he said.

He leaned in to kiss me. He pressed my back against the counter. I pushed my hands against his chest. I rolled my head to the side so that his lips were on my cheek.

The backdoor opened, and Tommy and Charles walked into the kitchen. Jimmy took a step away from me. Tommy and Charles hung up their coats on the hooks beside the door. They sat down at the kitchen table.

"Bring the food to the counter," Jimmy said.

He kissed my cheek and joined his family at the table. I grabbed a fork and picked the fried meat out of the pan. I could not really tell what it was, but it kind of looked like beef. I put the potatoes into a bowl and carried them both over to the table.

"Thank you, Juliet," Charles said. "You're fitting into this family quite well."

"Come sit down," Jimmy said as he pulled out one of the chairs.

I took a step away from the table.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"You didn't eat your breakfast," Jimmy said. "You need to eat."