Welcome To The Family

Talking to Jenny

 My knee was bouncing as I sat on the ratty worn-down couch. The tea sloshed in the cup as my hand trembled. Jenny sat across from me in a rocking chair. She was leaning forward with her elbows resting on her knees as she watched me. The air was thick with humidity, so I did not know why she would give me a hot drink. I set it down on the table.

When I entered the living room, I took note of the thick bars on the large windows. They had turned this house into a cage.

"Are you not thirsty?" Jenny asked, gesturing to my mug.

"It's too hot," I said.

"Do you want me to get you a glass of water instead?"

Jenny insisting on getting me a drink seemed odd. It was like she was trying to comfort me with liquids.

"All I want is to leave," I said. "You have to show me how to get out."

"Lindsay, there is no reason to leave here," Jenny said.

"I have a family that I need to get back to."

"Your birth family."

I raised an eyebrow.

"My birth family?" I asked.

"Yes, your birth family," she said. "The family you are born into is your birth family. This is your true family."

My true family? They sounded like members of a cult. This must be some kind of brainwashing technique.

"Don't let Gabe hear you talk about your birth family," she said. "He won't be too happy."

My arm throbbed at the thought of an unhappy Gabe. He would probably take his anger out on me. I could not spend my life being a mindless slave for Gabe.

"Gabe is always going to punish me?" I asked.

"He never wants to punish you," she said. :He only punishes you when he needs to. Like when you misbehave."

"Has Noah ever punished you?"

Jenny let out a deep breath as she sat up straight. She turned her arms out toward me. I do not know how I did not notice the thick white criss-crossing of scars over her skin. It sickened me to think that Jenny must have endured twenty years of this torture.

"I was like you at first," she said. "I was terrified. I was always disrespectful toward Noah."

"You shouldn't have to obey him like some kind of dog."

Jenny shook her head and laughed. She tucked a strand of her greying hair behind her ear.

"We're not dogs," she said. "They protect us and we take care of them."

This woman was so sick. They had warped her mind into making her believe that this is what she wanted. They were going to try and do the same thing to me.

"What about your birth family?" I asked. Maybe I could bring her back to reality. "Don't you miss them? Isn't anyone looking for you? Don't you want to go home?"

"I am home," she said. "I don't love my birth family. They were a bunch of drug addicts that kicked me out when I was a teenager. I was selling myself on the streets when Noah's father found me. I would have been dead if I wasn't saved."

"I would rather be dead."

"Lindsay!"

It was true. I didn't want to die a brutal death, but at least it would have ended everything. Now I was doomed to live a horrible life.

"My friends are all dead," I said. "I should have died with them."

"No," Jenny said. "Gabe saw something special in you and wanted you. You should be happy about that."

I took in a shaky breath to try and stop the tears. Images of Alyssa and Wyatt begging for their lives flashed in my mind. They were dead because of me. I was the idiot who wanted to go into the house. I was the one who convinced Finn that it was okay to enter. He had to die slowly because of my mistake.

I wiped the tears off of my cheeks. Jenny did not say anything. She watched me as I buried my face in my hands and cried.

I don't know how long I was crying, but I did not hear until I heard the door open. I kept my hands on my face as I heard footsteps.

"She's really upset," Jenny said.

Rough hands grabbed my wrists, and I knew it was Gabe. He pulled my hands away. Through my blurry vision, I could see Gabe kneeling in front of me. He cupped my face in his hands and wiped my tears away with his thumb.

"Hey," he said. "There's no reason to be upset."

There were plenty of reasons to cry, but I did not want to say anything to Gabe. It would upset him and he would punish me again.

"You know what is going to cheer you up?" he asked. "Our wedding tonight."

I ripped his hands off of my face as I shook my head.

"No," I said.

"No, I promise that it will," he said.

"Sweetheart." I looked up to see Jenny standing in the doorway. "Why don't we get you ready?"

I shook my head. Gabe kissed my forehead before standing up. He grabbed my hands and pulled me up onto my feet. He wrapped his arms around me in a crushing hug. The smell of dirt and grass filled my nose.

"Go get ready," he said. "I'll see you down here soon."

He kissed the top of my head. He kept his arm around my waist and ushered me over to Jenny. I shook my head and dug my heels into the floor. Gabe sighed and lifted me up.

"Lindsay, behave," he warned me.

"No!" I screamed.

I knew it was daring, but I could not stop myself. I did not want to get married to Gabe.

Gabe carried me down the hallway and over to the staircase. I tried grabbing at the banister as he carried me up the stairs. He twisted his body so that I could not reach the railing.

He tossed me down onto the bed when we got into his room. A pile of yellowing white lace was next to me on the bed. My heart pounded when I realized it was a wedding dress. They were really going to make me do this. Gabe kneeled on the bed in front of me.

"You better not be crying and screaming when you get downstairs," he said. "This is a happy occasion and I don't need you ruining it. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back.

"Do you understand?" he repeated himself.

"Yes," I said.

"Good," he said with a smile and let go of my hair. "Don't give Mom any trouble or Dad is going to have to come up and deal with you. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good girl."

He got up off of the bed. He winked at me before he left the room. Jenny walked into the room with a brush in her hands and another piece of lace. She set it down and I saw that it was the veil.

"Let's get you ready," she said.