Welcome To The Family

Eat

 Emme barely looked at me as I sat down. I let out a deep breath and my eyes darted over to Jenny. She was at the counter tidying up the mess from breakfast. Jared was at her feet and pulling at her jeans to try and get her attention.

"Emme," I said.

She did not look up at me. I reached out and placed my hand lightly over hers. She glanced up from her plate at me. I gave her a soft smile.

"It's going to be okay," I said.

"What did they do to you?" she asked.

I raised a brow.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You look happy here," she said.

"I am happy," I said. "And you will be too."

Emme started to laugh. I pulled my hand off of hers in confusion. She ran her fingers through her short curly hair. Her nose twitched in a wiggle.

"Fuck that," she said. "I am never going to be happy here."

Emme rolled up her sleeve to reveal the gauze wrapped around her arm. A trail of blood was shadowing through the white material.

"How can you be happy when someone is hurting you like this?" she asked.

I looked back at Jenny to see that she was not paying attention to us. We were talking so low that she probably could not hear us either. She would probably be angry at me for what I am about to do.

I pulled up the sleeve of my sweater to show the criss-crossing of thick white scars across my arm. Emme's eyes grew wide. Her nose twitched again, and I wondered if it was some kind of tic she had. She reached out and grazed her fingers along the scars. She would probably be horrified if she saw the "Wilcox" that was scarring my stomach.

"They've done that to you?" Emme asked.

"Only when I need to learn a lesson," I said.

"You must realize how fucked up that is, right?"

I pulled my arm back and covered it with the sleeve. I bit down on my bottom lip. I looked over to see that Jenny was no longer in the kitchen. I could hear the floor creak as she walked around upstairs.

"Don't swear," I said. "That will get you punished."

"I need to get out of here," she said.

"There's nowhere to go. This is our family."

Emme sighed and shook her head. She stood, and I grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked down at me with furrowed brows.

"You need to eat breakfast," I said.

"I'm not hungry," she said.

She ripped her arm out of my grasp and rushed over to the back door. I sighed as I stood. She was pulling on the doorknob, but the door was locked. She banged the door with her fist. She jumped when I put my hand on her shoulder.

"You should sit down," I said.

"I need to get out of here," she said.

She let out a cry and pounded her fist on the door. The stairs creaked and I looked over to see Jenny standing at the top of the stairs. She pulled the radio out of her back pocket and pointed at it. It was her silent way of asking me if I wanted to call the men inside. I shook my head. I wanted to calm her down so that she does not get punished.

"Please, eat your breakfast," I said.

Emme did not answer me. She let out a cry as she kicked the door. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door.

"Emme, I'll explain everything to you," I said. "I'll tell you what you need to know, but you need to sit down."

"Unlock the door," she said.

"I can't. Only the men have a key."

Emme rolled her eyes and walked back over to the dining room table. She sat back down in the chair and buried her face in her hands. I raked my fingers through my hair before walking to the table. I rubbed my hand across my stomach. She looked up to see me resting my hand across my belly.

The stairs creaked and I looked over to see Jared hurrying down the stairs. His teddy bear was clutched in his hands. He rushed over to me and held his arms up. I picked him up and rested him on my hip. Jared put his thumb in his mouth and rested his head on my chest. Emme's face went pale as she watched us.

"You're so fucking crazy," she said. "I can't let them do that to me."

"Emme, you are going to be happy," I said. "I was just as scared as you."

"And then you lost your mind."

She shook her head and pushed the plate away from her. I reached forward and pushed the plate back. Emme looked up at me and raised a brow.

"Eat," I said.

"What's in it?" she asked.

I looked at the plate of scrambled eggs and toast. I was thankful that there was no meat on the plate. I did not know how to lie about it. It would probably be awhile before Taylor would reveal the truth.

"It's just eggs and toast," I said.

"Nothing is in it?" she asked.

"What would we put in it?"

Emme shrugged. "I don't fucking know."

"Eat, and I would stop swearing if I was you."

Emme's hand shook as she picked up the fork. She moved the food around the plate before eating the eggs. I smiled and set Jared down on the floor. He whined and clung to my leg.

Jenny came down the stairs. She smiled when she saw Emme eating. She went over to the counter and I watched her boil water to make tea. I pulled out the chair across the table and sat down. Emme kept her gaze down on her food as she ate. Jenny sat down next to me after setting a mug of tea in front of Emme.

We watched as Emme ate her food. We looked at each other and smiled.