Truth Comes Second

In Need of a Plan

Author's Note: Avoiding the impending doom of midterms by writing instead. Hope you all enjoy!

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Julie's POV:

I could barely focus during breakfast. Anytime Carrie got up from the table to retrieve something from the fridge or off of the counter, I panicked that she would be heading to my room. It was irrational, but I couldn't shake the idea from my mind. If she knew that Jimmy was in her apartment, she'd call the police in a heartbeat before she'd give me the chance to explain. Jimmy wasn't the problem, Tommy was.

I tried to help Carrie clean up breakfast, but she didn't let me.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, go rest up," she said. "I know you must be tired."

"Thank you."

I picked Hunter up out of his highchair and slowly made my way over to my room. I opened up my bedroom door a crack before I slipped in. Jimmy was lying across my bed. He had on his jeans, but he hadn't put his sweater on yet. A silver chain was shining around his neck. A key was dangling on the end.

Old habits die hard, I thought

I sank down in the bed next to him. He snaked his arm around my wait and kissed my temple. I shifted Hunter's weight in my arms so that he was resting comfortably. Jimmy pick up a stuffed monkey, one of the many stuffed animals that Carrie bought Hunter, off of my night stand and handed it to Hunter. Hunter's tiny hands reached out and grabbed the plush toy before he let out a giggle.

"I haven't heard him laugh before," Jimmy whispered to me.

"He started last month," I told him. "It's really cute."

"I feel like I've missed so much."

"You don't have to miss anymore."

Jimmy rested his cheek against the top of my head. We sat in silence before he said anything, but I didn't care. I was in bed with my family. I never thought this was going to happen again.

"I honestly don't know what to do, Julie," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It seems like every cop is looking for Tommy and I. It's too dangerous for us to be together. I don't want you losing Hunter."

"Jimmy, I don't want to lose you either."

"Carrie's going to catch me if I keep coming here."

I bit down onto my cheeks. My stomach felt like it was twisting itself into a knot. It was a miracle that Jimmy found me, and I was not going to let him leave.

"Give this thing a month, two months at the most," I told Jimmy. "Everyone will forget what happened. No one will be looking for you. We would just need to find a place to live."

"I have a place," he said. "That's where Tommy and I are staying."

"I don't want to be near Tommy."

"And I don't want Tommy near you. I'll think of something to do."

"You could kill him."