Family Comes First

Chapter 43: Taylor's Arrival

Jimmy helped me scrub the blood off of my body. I needed his help getting back onto my feet after. I looked down at the bathwater to see it was a mixture of blood and dirt. Jimmy wrapped a towel around me. He gave me a kiss before walking into the bedroom.

I brushed my hair and braided it. I went into the bedroom to see Jimmy looking through a drawer. He pulled out a dress for me to wear. I pulled the dress on. Jimmy wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you so much," he said.

"I love you more," I said.

"That's not possible," he said. "I am so proud of you."

I smiled and rested my head against Jimmy's chest. It had been months since he had said anything so nice to me. I was the one who screwed up and cooked Tommy the rest of the meat, but now I got them a whole new body. They already dragged another body into the basement, but I got the girl. She would have run away if it was not for me.

"We should go downstairs," he told me.

"Okay," I said.

He laced his fingers through mine and we walked down into the kitchen. Charles was leaning over the sink washing his hands. He was scrubbing his hands with a bar of white soap that was turning a light pink.

"Tommy is finishing up downstairs," he said. He looked over his shoulder at us. "Help him finish up, Jimmy. My knee is bothering me again."

"I will," Jimmy said.

He snaked his arm around my back and helped me sit down on the kitchen chair. Jimmy had not been this cautious with me since he first found out that I was pregnant. He gave me a quick kiss before going down to the basement.

I rubbed my stomach as I watched Charles continue to wash his hands. A large pool of blood stained the floor. I was expecting Charles to turn around and start ordering me to clean the blood. Instead, he turned around drying his hands on the dish towel.

He stepped over the pool of blood and pulled out one of the chairs. He sat across from me and cracked his knuckles.

"My, my, my, Juliet," he said. "When I brought you into this house, I never expected you to be killing someone. Don't get me wrong, you were quite a fighter when I found you in that perverted club."

"I'm sorry," I said, lowering my gaze to my belly.

"You should be," Charles said. "Juliet, you put yourself in so much danger. Not only you but your baby too. Women have a specific role in this family, and men have a certain job to do. They are in charge of hunting. The women don't do that. It's like Jimmy doing all of the cooking, cleaning, and carrying the baby. It's not right. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do," I said quietly. "I'll never do it again."

"Good," he said.

I glanced up to see that Charles had his fingers tented in front of his face. I swallowed hard and tried to keep my head up. I was anticipating that he was going to make Jimmy punish me or he would even do it himself.

"Don't worry, Juliet. You won't be punished," he said. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Charles chuckled to himself. "Marilyn used to get the same look. I would talk to her and she would panic that she would be punished."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't be," he said. "I like having you here, Juliet. You remind me a lot of her. It's only a few months after you give birth that I go get Tommy his wife. How do you feel about that?"