The Family Origin

Chapter Fifty: MAISIE POV

Thankfully, Joseph was upstairs while Miles dismantled the body. My stomach was twisted into a tight knot and a terrible tightness was in my chest while I waited for Miles to come back inside. The more I thought about my idea, the more ridiculous it sounded.

Could we actually do this? Could we go through with this plan?

I stayed in the kitchen, staring out the window as I waited. When Miles came inside, a bloody cloth was in his hands. Crimson splatters were across the front of his shirt. He dropped the bloody cloth into the sink, and I cringed as I looked away.

Why would I ever suggest this? Would this actually fix our hunger?

"There is more," Miles said. "We can put it all in the ice box, but you can cook this for dinner."

I rubbed my hand along my temple as I focused on my breathing to push away the nausea.

"This was a good idea," Miles said. "Start cooking, and I will finish up outside."

Turning back around, I took another look at the blood on Miles's shirt. I cleared my throat before speaking because I did not want my voice to crack or squeak.

"Bring a shirt outside so you can change," I said. "Your Father is upstairs. I think he is asleep. You should probably not let him see you covered in blood."

"I will," he said. "Start cooking. I am starving."

Miles kissed my forehead before going up the stairs. I took a few more deep breaths before stepping toward the sink. My steps were slow as I prepared myself for what I was going to see. Streams of blood ran from the bloody fabric and into the drain. Leaning in closer, I could see the fabric was a piece of Oliver's once-white shirt. My hand trembled as I reached forward and peeled back the fabric.

I am unsure what part of Oliver's body was sitting in the sink. Miles had peeled the flesh off whatever it was, leaving a slab of meat. It almost appeared like the roasts I would make with Clara, so that was how I would cook it.

Miles and I said nothing to each other as he went back outside. While cooking, I kept focusing on my breathing to stop myself from either panicking or vomiting. Thankfully, I managed to make dinner without being sick.

When Joseph came downstairs, it looked like we were having a normal family dinner. Miles was no longer in blood splattered clothes, and a full meal was on the table. Joseph noticed that the meat did not taste quite right, but Miles made up excuses. I stayed quiet as I forced myself to eat the meat. Despite taking very small pieces, the meat was incredibly difficult to chew and hard to swallow.

We only needed to do this for a little bit. I needed to remind myself of that. This was only to keep us healthy until we could afford more meat.

I was unable to look at Joseph, so I hurried up to my room after I finished washing the dishes. Another rush of anxiety caused my stomach to twist into a knot when I thought about how he would react when he discovered the truth. Would he ever know what we had done?

I moved around the dark room as I changed out of my clothes. I crawled into the bed and clutched the blankets to my chest. Every time I closed my eyes, the bloody scenes from today flashed through my mind. How could so much happen in only a few hours?

The door opened and softly clicked shut. I listened as Miles moved around the room, but I did not open my eyes. The bed dipped, and Miles slid his arm over my waist. He pulled me back into his warm chest. His nose was pressed against the back of my ear, and his breath was hot against my neck. I sighed as I enjoyed the feeling of having him close.

"It was a great idea," Miles said.

"Let's not talk about it." I cut him off before he mentioned it more. I wanted to gloss over the details of our dinner. "Today has been exhausting."

Miles chuckled. The sound was low, and I probably would not have noticed it if his mouth was not so close to his ear. I had not heard him laugh since Briar's death. The simple noise reassured me that our family was returning back to normal.

"It was a good day," Miles said, his grip on my waist tightened. "I am prepared to keep doing this. We are all safe and we are all healthy. That was all I ever wanted."

I bit down on my lip, deciding it was better to stay silent. If this made him content, I would let him believe I supported the idea. In the morning, he would realize we should not keep this ridiculous plan.

Miles moved his hand so that it was covering my abdomen. Stretching out his thumb, he rubbed my stomach. It was the same thing he did every night when I was first pregnant with Briar. The movement caused my heart to flutter in my chest.

"We are going to have another baby soon," he said. "After what happened to Briar, I need to make sure my family is healthy. I don't want to lose another child like that again. I have to do whatever I can to keep you safe."

Hearing Briar's name no longer made my eyes burn with tears. I loved her, but Miles and I would have more children soon. Neither of us had explicitly mentioned having another baby, but this was part of returning to back to normal. Once again, I would have the family I always dreamed about.

"What if we had a son?" I asked. My voice seemed far away like it was in a dreamy state.

"I would love that," Miles said.

"We could have a couple of sons."

"Of course we will."

Miles kissed the side of my neck. His lips were soft against my sensitive skin, and goosebumps spread across my arms. I kept my eyes closed and enjoyed the feeling of Miles against my body.

Our life was returning back to the life I learned to love. The life I had always wanted.

–

A week of dinners passed, and Miles gave Joseph vague answers whenever he questioned the strange cuts of meat. While we ate, I kept my head down to avoid looking at Joseph. Swallowing the chewy meat became easier, and the taste became less strange.

Miles and I never spoke about the meat again. Despite it being my idea, he knew that I did not want this to be a permanent solution. If we never did it again, we would also never need to confess to Joseph what we had done.

One night after dinner, I was washing the dishes while Miles and Joseph were sitting at the dining room table. They were playing a game with a deck of cards. Every time I looked over my shoulder at them, my smile grew wider. Before all the terrible things happened to our family, I often saw them playing cards while Clara and I cleaned up dinner. These small glimpses into the return of our happy lives made a warmth spread through my muscles and my heart flutter.

This was all I ever wanted, and it happened because of what we decided to do with Oliver's body.