The Family Origin

Chapter Sixty-Three: JOSEPH POV

I was obsessed with watching Maisie. She never mentioned my plans to leave, but I knew she remembered. In her semi-conscious state, she told me she did not want to leave. I never mentioned my plans again because of her emotional reaction. This would not be a sudden decision. I would have to gradually show her we needed to leave this house.

Anxiety still sat heavy in my chest, making it difficult to breathe and causing my heart to pound. If Maisie told Miles - and he believed her - he would kill me. Maisie and Jasper were all that mattered to him anymore. He would hurt anyone who threatened to take them away, even me.

After breakfast, I always made sure to leave the house with Miles or after him. I needed to limit the amount of time they spent together alone so I could monitor their conversations to know if Maisie had told him about my plans. When we finished our chores, I rushed into the house before Miles. In the evening, I insisted on holding Jasper so that I could linger near them in the dining room or living room. Maisie refused to leave my side when my grandson was in my arms, clearly worried about me taking him away. When they went up to their room to sleep, I would sit silently in my room to try and listen in on their conversations. The walls of our farmhouse were thin, and I pulled the rocking chair closer. Miles was never one to speak much, so I would listen to their brief muffled voices until I could hear snoring.

Maisie refused to speak to me. She would softly smile but struggled to maintain any kind of eye contact. She would only nod or shake her head if I asked her any questions. How was I supposed to convince her she needed to leave if she would not talk? I decided I would use the opportunity of another murder to show her Miles was disturbed, but no one else came onto our property. I only ate small pieces of the meat, but it was still a challenge to swallow.

Miles had not physically hurt Maisie. He treated her like she was made of fragile glass that could shatter at any moment. He did not even raise his voice when speaking to her.

I was sitting at the dining room table, watching Maisie wash the dishes while I held Jasper. She was standing at the sink with her hands in warm water. Miles was close, leaning against the counter with his hand on her lower back. He was silent as he watched her work. I waited for them to speak, but neither said a word.

When Maisie finished and was drying her hands on the dish rag, Miles kissed the top of her head. She closed her eyes, and a smile spread across her face as she leaned into his chest.

Convincing her to leave this house was going to be a challenge.

–

Months passed, and no one else came onto our property. Miles remained on high alert for any outsiders, and his paranoia was still apparent, but no one ever showed. Since Miles had not killed anyone, I waited for a moment when he would hurt Maisie, but it never happened. She stayed happy, thinking his disturbed mind protected her.

Every day, Jasper was growing bigger and bigger. Worry sat heavy in my chest as I thought about him turning into his father.

The worry turned into doom when Maisie became ill. When she was unable to get out of bed because of her nausea, Miles did not panic because he recognized what was happening to her. How could she be having another baby already? How would I get Maisie and two grandchildren out of this house?

While we were doing our chores, I snuck into the house without Miles noticing. Maisie was not in the kitchen, and the house was quiet. I went up the creaky staircase and walked down the hall to their room, but there was still no noise. I knocked on the door before pushing it open.

Maisie was laying in the bed with pillows stacked behind her shoulders. Her blonde hair was tangled, and her skin was even paler than usual. Jasper was her chest, and Clara's knitted blankets covered them. Maisie's eyes widened, and her lips parted when she saw me enter. She tightened her arms around Jasper and raised her knees. Was this an attempt to shield him from me? Did she view me as the monster?

I forced myself to smile, hoping it would ease her worries. How could she be scared of me and not Miles? Would she tell him about me coming inside? I needed to be smart about what I said.

"Miles told me the good news," I said. Keeping the fake on my face caused a chill to run up my spine. "You are having another baby."

Maisie glanced down at Jasper. Now that I was closer, I could see he was sleeping on her chest. His eyes were closed, and two of his fingers were in his mouth. Drool was bubbled on his chin.

"Do you still feel ill?" I asked.

Maisie only looked up at me for a brief moment before returning her attention to Jasper. She shook her head but did not speak. I let out a deep breath before sitting on the edge of the bed. Maisie took in a sharp breath. She tried to push them to the other side of the bed, but I placed my hand on her knee. She stopped but chewed on her bottom lip.

"Maisie, you need to talk to me," I said. "Do you think I am going to hurt you?"

She did not answer but closed her eyes as she continued to chew on her lip.

"You know that is not true," I said. "Maisie, I would never hurt you. Since I met you, I have only ever done what I thought what I thought was best for you. That was why I brought you into our home."

"But you want to take me away," she said.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. Her hold on Jasper did not loosen, but he remained asleep on her chest.

"I still only what I think is best for you," I said.

"Leaving my family is not what is best for me," she said. "I have never been happier."

"You're happy?" I asked, and she nodded. "Are you not worried about Miles?"

Maisie broke eye contact for a moment to look at Jasper, but she looked back up at me.

"No," she said. "I know he will always protect me and Jasper. After this baby is born, he will also take care of them."

"He has never hurt you?" I asked.

She let go of Jasper so she could turn her arm toward herself. The sleeves of her nightgown were short, so I could see the three scars running down the pale skin of her forearm. I told Miles to cut her in an attempt to control her non-stop crying about Briar. He was hesitant to do it, but I convinced him to do it.

"Only when I deserved it," she said. "He never wants to hurt me."

"Maisie-"

"No," she cut me off. "Joseph, no. Do not make Miles sound like he is bad. He is not evil. I hate the violence. I hate that he has to kill people, but he has to do it to keep our family safe. He does not get joy from it. He is not like the men in the tavern who used to terrorize me for their entertainment. I know that he never wants to see me hurt. He loves me."

I pulled my hand off her knee. Her words were like a knife to the heart. The realization washed over me that I had caused all of this. My intentions of bringing Maisie into our home were good. I wanted to save our family, and I also wanted to give Maisie a loving family. She was so scared at first, so we had to show her this was where she belonged. Now, she was blind to what was wrong with Miles's mind.

This was all my fault. I saved my family, but this was not the family I recognized. What would Clara think if she knew this was what the Wilcox family had turned into?

My eyes burned with tears, and I refused to let her see me become emotional. I kept my head down before getting off the edge of the bed and rushing out of the room. I hurried out of the house before Miles noticed I was gone. My feet moved without thinking and brought me to Clara's grave so I could cry and tell her what I had done.