Sincerely Me (A Jeff the Killer Story)

Chapter Twenty Six~*

1- Jamie

Day fifteen since Jeff and I agreed on a truce. So far, there hasn't been very many interactions between each other but if we end up in the same room at the same time, it's no longer tense and strained. Despite the still quietly burning pit of anger in my stomach about being left out of Jeff's mission, I must admit I'm thankful for the new turn in our relationship. He's even been civil to Gold, which was something none of us had expected.

I am starting to feel content at the mansion. All the rushing about and laboring under emotions that wanted to drown me has disappeared, as well as any attention I had gained for myself as a trouble maker. I can finally just relax and watch the other comings and goings.

Going down the stairs, I brush my hair out of my face. It's gotten surprisingly long since I chopped it all off, now coming to my chin. With the way it is and how it hardly gets in my way, it's a hairstyle I don't mind at all. Plus, Gold thinks it looks nice so I think I'll keep it for a while.

I go into the kitchen and notice it's empty, which I'm not surprised about. For such a large mansion full of people, you would think the kitchen and living room of all places would be full. But, then again, the diets of the people here are pretty far ranging, going from cannibals to vegetarians and everything in between, as well as those who seemingly never have to eat. The cabinets always seem to have an abundance so I'm not about to complain either way.

My stomach growls to remind me I need to eat something so I go from the cabinets to the fridge and freezer. After looking through for a couple of moments, I start to notice we have an abundance of ingredients for a familiar dish. I pause as I look inside the open fridge and debate with myself. It's been a while since I've cooked anything really and an even longer time since I had my mother's famous chicken noodle and dumplings soup. It was a recipe she had gotten from my grandmother who, as my mom always put it, "traveled the world, saw everything and only brought this back." I never asked her to clarify.

After several moments of thinking, I make up my mind and start grabbing the various different ingredients. With everything spread out on the counters and the island table, I get started on preparing the way I remember my mom doing. It was always a two person job, which wasn't necessary but always helpful. I try to ignore the pang in my chest as I remember that I'll never have my mom's help in making this. Tears prick my eyes. It's been too long since I properly thought about her.

I keep working despite the aching in my heart. There's nothing I can do to make this pain better except work with it. I start to mix the flour with eggs and water to make noodles and try to get the cutting board so I can cut the chicken up as well. It's steadily becoming more and more obvious to me that this is going to be quite the task.

"What are you doing?" A familiar deep, monotone voice asks. I look up to see EJ walk into the kitchen without his mask. He picks up a container of salt and shakes it a bit before setting it down and pointing out everything else. "You're making a mess.'

I smile sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just trying to make a soup. If you need me to, I can move over so you can make your own food."

Starting to grab my things to make space, he holds up a hand. "A soup? This looks like a lot of ingredients for a soup."

"It's a soup with a lot of working parts," I answer and look at the mess around me. "It's usually a two person job but it's just me so I'm making do."

EJ gives me a curious look before sighing and coming up beside me, looking at the chicken. Without even pausing, he grabs a knife and cutting board before adding, "You're hopeless, aren't you?"

I just smile, surprised that he's even offering me help. "I guess I am. That chicken needs to be cubed."

He nods and picks up the knife with the ease of someone who is comfortable working with sharp objects. With the speed and accuracy I have grown used to after all the training, EJ cuts the chicken into perfectly bite sized cubes. Satisfied with how he's doing, I go back to work with the noodles, adding ingredients to the flour as I go. I lay out flour and go to grab the rolling pin when Gold's face suddenly appears in the corner of my vision, startling me so much that I drop it on the floor with a sudden bang.