Welcome To The Family

All Night

The days dragged on. We would get up early, I helped Jenny cook breakfast, we ate, and then we cleaned and cooked all day while the men were outside. I did not mention leaving again. I actually did not say much. Jenny tried to force conversation, but all she did was babble on about how much she loves Noah and how happy she was.

Gabe would force himself on me at night and then I would lie awake all night in bed. My bones ached with exhaustion as I had not slept for more than a few hours at a time in over a week. The images of Finn and my friends being brutally murdered were playing through my head at night.

Gabe took notice of my exhaustion one morning. We were changing into our clothes when he took a long look at me. He cupped my face in his hands and he pressed his thumbs into the dark bags that had grown under my eyes.

"How have you been sleeping?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and pulled his hands off of my face.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"A bit," I said.

He pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head before letting go of me. He laced his fingers through mine and dragged me out of our room and into the kitchen. I began to help Jenny with breakfast.

Noah came down the stairs. Gabe walked over to him and said something to him in a low voice before looking over his shoulder at me.

"Good," Noah said. "Let's keep it that way for now."

Gabe nodded his head before sitting down at the dining room table. Taylor and Dylan came down while we were cooking.

We ate breakfast in silence. I was cleaning up when Noah whispered something into Jenny's ear. She nodded her head and joined me in cleaning.

--

I curled up on my side when Gabe finished forcing himself onto me. He surprised me by getting out of the bed after and going over to the dresser. He pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts that I had packed in my bag for my road trip with Finn. Gabe dropped the clothes on the foot of the bed before pulling on his own clothes.

"Get up," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Don't ask me questions," he said. "Just get up."

I scurried to put on the clothes. I was happy to not be naked around Gabe anymore. He slid his arm around my waist as we walked downstairs.

Noah and Jenny were sitting on the couch and each had a novel in their hands. I noticed that the covers were worn and tattered. I wondered how many times they have read these books.

Noah looked up when he heard us enter. He put his hand on Jenny's leg and she raised her head. Our eyes connected before hers darted away.

"We will let you two have the living room," Noah said. "I'll be down around two o'clock. You can go to bed then, Gabe. Let's go, Jenny."

They stood up and Noah grabbed Jenny's hand. Jenny kept her eyes cast down on the floor as they walked past us. I looked up at Gabe to see him sigh.

It took me a second to realize their plan. They were not going to let me sleep. They were going to force me to stay awake all night. They were planning on wearing down my already crumbling mind.

I wrapped my arms around Gabe. He stiffened in shock before embracing me. I had to convince him not to do this.

"Can we go to bed?" I asked.

"Linds, no questions," he said. "Now, sit on the couch."

"Please, I am so tired."

"Sit down."

"We could-"

Gabe grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head back at an awkward angle so that I was looking up at him. He scowled. My heart pounded as I sucked in my bottom lip. I needed to stop making him mad.

"I said sit down," he said.

He pushed me toward the couch. I sat, and he flopped down next to me. He stretched his arms over his head and placed one arm around my shoulders. I tensed as my fingers fiddled with each other. I shimmied forward so that I was sitting on the edge of the seat.

I needed to get Gabe to bring me back upstairs. I needed to sleep to save my sanity.

"Relax, Lindsay," Gabe said. He put his hand on my back. "I don't plan on punishing you for anything."

"I thought I already showed you that I loved you," I said. "Remember? Down in the basement I proved that I loved you."

"I know that," he said. "This is to help you remember that you belong in this family."

I buried my face in my hands. Gabe rubbed my back. I bit down on my bottom lip to stop myself from crying. I could never win in this family.

"What if I show you that I love you again?" I raised my head. "If I do that can we sleep tonight?"

"No," he said. "Now, let's play a game."

Gabe got off of the couch and grabbed a deck of cards off of the bookshelf. He sat back down and pulled the coffee table closer to us. We did not say a word as he shuffled the deck of cards. He dealt me some cards before explaining rules to a game I have never heard of before.

I could already tell my tiredness from barely sleeping for over a week. I had trouble following the rules and Gabe had to look at my hand of cards a few times to see if I could play. My brain was foggy as I tried to learn this new game.

There was no clock in the living room, so I did not know how much time passed. Gabe did not talk to me about anything other than the game.

Hours must have passed. The house was silent, until the stairs creaked.

Noah came down the stairs. He ran his fingers through his greying hair. Gabe took the cards out of my hands and put them back in the deck.

My heart pounded hard when I thought about being alone with Noah. I was uncomfortable around all of them, but I somehow seemed more relaxed around Gabe. Something about Noah made me feel even more uneasy. It was probably because he was the one in charge of teaching his sons how to torture women.

Gabe stood up from the couch. I grabbed Gabe's arm and stood. My eyes darted between Gabe and Noah.

"You can go upstairs, Gabriel," Noah said.

Gabe nodded his head. He cupped the side of my face, but I pulled his hand away and shook my head.

"Please," I said. "Please let me go to sleep."

I could not stay up all night. They were going to try and break me. I was just playing cards with Gabe, but I had no idea what kind of plans Noah had waiting for me.

"I'll see you in a few hours," Gabe said.

"No, please," I said. "I'm so tired."

"I will see you in the morning," he said.

He leaned down to kiss me. He stepped past me and headed down the hall. He and Noah nodded their heads as Gabe walked by him. I crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed my arms.

Noah looked at me and gave me a wicked smile.

"Come with me to the kitchen, Lindsay," he said. "I want to talk to you."