by DD Cooper
I locked the door behind me and returned the key where I found it in Margaret’s room. I slowly closed the door behind me and berated myself for being so foolish. Perhaps Margaret liked the idea of having all her son’s stuff in one place, but if she cared so much about it, why did she leave it up there to rot and dust with age? It didn’t make much sense.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I walked slowly through the house, expecting to hear that sound again, but nothing came. It was quite strange to be alone in such a big place. I longed to have Jack’s hands around me. To feel his warmth. To breathe in his smell. I knew I’d feel much better with Jack by my side. I made my way back to our bedroom and took off the dirty clothing I wore and took what I thought would be a quick shower, which turned into a long bath. The bathtub was so big and spacious I couldn’t resist filling it up with hot water and just laying back, relaxing in its warmth. If I couldn’t have Jack’s warmth with me, this one would do just fine for now.
I relaxed in the tub, feeling clean and warm, and for the first time in a long time I wondered what death would feel like. The water was clear, and becoming lukewarm, so I didn’t think anything of putting my head under it. I tried to hold my breath for as long as possible, but quickly went up for air in no time. I wondered how anybody could drown themselves willingly. It seemed like it would take an incredible amount of will to just stay under water, when the biological need to come up for air was so strong. If one could have enough strength to stay under water, why couldn’t one have enough strength to keep living? It seemed much easier to me to keep breathing than to force myself to stop.
I closed my eyes and just relaxed for a bit, aware of any minute noise that decided to make itself known. Then I started to hear thumping from every side of the house it seemed. Thump from the left. Thump from the right. Thump from below. Thump from above. My body shivered with fear despite the warm water it was in. Thump. Thump. Thump. Someone was in the house and I was naked in the bathtub. Is it possible that they had already returned home? I quickly got out of the tub and dried myself off with a big fluffy towel. I put some fresh clothes on from the ones I hu ng in the closet and dried my hair with the towel as best as I could.
Thump. Thump. Thump. If I wasn’t going crazy, I would say that the noises were getting louder all around me. Just the sound of footsteps or whatever the hell it was, but creepily no voices. I slowly got out of the bedroom and listened again but this time I heard nothing. Then behind me. I turned around in the hallway but saw nothing.
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and quickly turned around to face its owner. Lucy’s bloody shattered head looked back at me and she hissed, spitting blood in my face as she did, “You killed me!”
I wanted to say that technically Jack was the one who killed her, but before I had a chance she put her arms around my throat, which I noticed seemed to be decaying, and she choked me. “Die, bitch, die!” she hissed in my face, splattering my face with more of her blood.
I woke up in the bathtub, water over my face, my own hands clutching my throat. I coughed a bit of water and had the strong desire to scream, but I seemed to have lost my voice. It was just a dream, Sophie, I told myself. It was just dream.
I shivered all over. The water was more cold than warm now and I got the hell out of the bathtub. I didn’t even remember falling asleep but now I felt like I was in some horror movie and there was a killer with an axe behind every corner. I quickly dried off, for real this time, and just kneeled down and cried. Hot tears streaming down my face, I sobbed and sobbed. What the hell was happening to me? Was it this creepy house I was in? Or was it me? My own guilt that made these things happen?
After having a good cry about it I quickly dressed and laid on the bed, my mostly wet hair on the fluffy towel. I wasn’t really sure what was real or not anymore. Did I actually hear any noises before? Did I actually go up to the attic, or was that all a dream, too? It couldn’t have been, could it?
I thought I might have been losing my mind. If only Jack was here, none of this would be happening. The little episode I had back on Ravenswood island was because I was all alone. And now I was all alone as well. I wished now that Rory had come with us, so I would never be alone, though I knew it would probably look weirder to his family then even just bringing me along.
Eventually, after hours spent being restless and afraid of every noise, which only got worse as the sun set and darkness came, I finally heard cars approaching and I waited by the open door for them to come in. Aidan and Jack helped get Brandon out and into a wheelchair and then they pushed him up the homemade ramp, using all their muscles to do so. It was quite a sight. Hunter carried a couple of bags of luggage without much effort, and last was Margaret, who looked upon her four sons with something that could be called either pride or mild disapprovement. I said hi to Brandon, and he nodded, but he seemed pretty out of it.
“Lots of painkillers,” Jack said as they wheeled him past me and to the room we prepared on the first floor. Hunter let his mother pass and she came in before him, a disapproving look on her face as she passed me that only I could see. I was glad Hunter was last, because if his mother was, I might have just left the door open and went upstairs to Jack’s room. Hunter grinned when he saw me. “I hope you didn’t get too antsy all alone in this big house,” he said as he went past me with the luggage and towards Brandon’s new room.
“A little bit,” I lied as I closed the door behind him. I followed him back to where they all were, tucking Brandon into bed. Margaret already sat by his side, making sure he was alright.
Aiden stayed behind a little bit while Jack joined me by the door. Hunter was still busy putting some of the luggage in the closet. “We won’t have to unpack these for awhile,” he said, and everyone in the room, especially Margaret, looked at him crossly. “What?” he said. “He ain’t getting out of that bed anytime soon.”
I wanted to laugh but I held it back, though it would probably help take some of the attention away from what Hunter said.
“You can be so insensitive sometimes,” Aidan finally said and went back to seeing how Brandon was doing. It was hard to gauge Brandon’s reaction, but underneath the drug addled state, I thought I saw a hint of a smile.
Jack took me aside then and I followed him to the kitchen. As soon as the doors closed behind us I threw myself into his arms. “Oh, Jack,” I said. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“What’s wrong?” he said, still hugging me tight.
“This house. I was here all alone and I heard noises.” I didn’t want to tell him about my nightmare, or should I say daymare. I didn’t want him to think I was losing it again.
He loosened his embrace. “This is an old house, Sophie, it’s probably just settling or something with the pipes. I’ve heard it since I was a child.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling dumb. “I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. But I’m glad you missed me anyway.” He pushed his body against mine and leaned in close for a kiss. I returned it hungrily. It was good to have him so close again. I didn’t know if I could last another day without him. I kissed him and held onto him for dear life. I wanted him to take me right there on the kitchen table, but I knew it was impossible, with his whole family in the house. I pushed my desires back down, and untangled myself from his passionate embrace.
“Let’s go upstairs,” he whispered in my ear.
I was just about to take his hand when the swinging doors opened and his mother came in. Jack positioned himself behind me. I could feel his bulge rubbing against my back. I wasn’t the only one who was ready for some fun I thought and smiled.
Margaret walked past us as we adjusted our positions to let her walk through.
“Dinner will be at nine, in the main dining room,” she said sternly. “Lizzy is coming over to cook for us.”
Lizzy? I looked up at Jack with an obvious question in my eyes.
“That’s mother’s part-time maid slash cook,” Jack e
xplained.
“Oh,” I said. For some reason I didn’t think they had a maid, but it made perfect sense. I couldn’t really see Margaret or any of the her sons doing all the cooking and cleaning. Though Aidan was a chef, but I guess even chefs needed days off.
“We’ll go get ready,” Jack said and took my hand and took me the hell out of there. I followed him up the stairs to our room. He locked the door behind us and immediately started undressing me, starting with my top. “You smell so good,” he moaned as his hand cupped my boobs and he kissed my neck. His hard on was back, he was defiantly ready to have some fun, I thought.
“I took a bath,” I said.
“Mmm,” he whispered as he went down lower. “We should take one together one of these days.”
He unbuttoned my jeans and his tongue was on my sweet spot in no time, making me moan as I played with his hair, urging him on.
“I wanna fuck you so bad, baby,” he moaned, as he went up for air.
“Fuck, Jack,” I whispered, “just fuck me already.”
It didn’t take a lot to make Jack listen because immediately he lifted me up and carried me over to the bed. He quickly unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down just enough to reveal his gorgeous thick cock. My jeans and panties were on the floor in no time. Jack reached in the drawer for a condom and I waited impatiently as he put it on, using a little lube on the tip, though how wet I was, I hardly thought we needed it. The moment he entered my depths, I gasped in pleasure, and immediately felt like I was home. Jack fucked me long and hard, just the way I liked it, and once we were done, we lay exhausted in each other’s arms, breathing hard.
“Fuck, that was amazing,” he said as he breathed hard, his cock still semi hard.
“Can’t say I disagree,” I said as I made my way down to his crotch. Condom already off, I took his cum stained cock in my hands and into my mouth. I loved the taste of him. One of these days I’d let him fuck me without a condom, but pregnancy wasn’t something I was looking forward to, especially when I remembered how Josie’s had ended.
We stayed in bed until nine and enjoyed each other until we heard the bell announcing the dinner.
“Really?” I said.
Jack looked at me like it was no joking matter. “Really,” he said.
We quickly got dressed. I loved the thought that we were covered in each other’s kisses and other things. I loved that I had the taste of Jack in my mouth and he mine, and no one was the wiser. It was like our little secret. I gave him a long deep kiss and when we parted, we both sighed hard. It was hard to let him go once I had him, but social obligations needed to be met, and besides, I guess we needed food to sustain us as well, not just each other.
Halfway down the stairs I realized I was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt, though I did have the sense to put on a bra. “Shit,” I whispered to Jack. He looked back at me, his hand still in mine. “Should I change? Is this gonna be a fancy affair?”
Jack smiled, his grin wide. “You’re just fine. The only one who gets dressed for these things is my mother. The rest of us don’t care.”
“Fine,” I said, “but if she starts a scene...”
“I’ll be right there by your side. Don’t you worry about a thing, baby.”
We made our way to the dining room and I was a little intimidated by the scene. It was a candlelit dinner, it seemed. The table was already set. Margaret was sitting at the head of the table, dressed fancy as always. She wore a different outfit than the one from the hospital. Aidan was on her right, while Hunter was on her left. Jack sat by Aidan, and I sat across from him at the only other setting on the table: right by Hunter. I wished I could sit next to Jack, and by the look on his face he felt the same. I knew he didn’t want to sit so close to his mother, though, so I couldn’t see him trading places with one of his brothers. Brandon, unsurprisingly, wasn’t at the table. He was probably already asleep from all the pain meds they’d given him.
We started our meal with some soup. Aidan, who was a vegetarian, had his own soup made. I joined him and was glad I wouldn’t have to eat scraps.
“You’re a vegetarian, too?” Aidan asked me, a pleasant surprise on his face.
“Yeah, I never liked meat, and I liked animals, so it seemed like a good fit,” I said.
Aidan nodded. “Same here.” I looked at him, really looked at him now. His hair was the lightest of all four brothers. Almost blonde. He had great handsome features just like the rest of his brothers, and beautiful blue eyes. I almost got lost in them, I had to look away. I wondered how a guy like him managed to stay single for long. I remembered hearing his brothers tease him about his lack of dating. I guess he was too focused on his work. I wondered if Rory would like him, since he was obviously into guys as well as girls, though since he slept with Jack and me, that might be a little too weird. I put the thought out of my head, though I couldn’t help but picture Aidan and Rory hand in hand, even though Rory was thousands of miles away and had never met the man.
Margaret, of course, looked upon me and Aiden disapprovingly as she sipped chicken soup. “Animals are meant to be eaten,” she said sternly. “But in this household, we accommodate all kinds of beliefs.”
Beliefs? Well, at least she didn’t say “lifestyles,” I had to give her credit for that. Jack and Hunter seemed to agree with their mother, enjoying their chicken soup, lapping it up ravenously. I wished now that I was the one sitting next to Aidan and not Jack, since our food preferences were the same. Could have made the food thingy a lot easier, instead of having to pass the plates with veggie dishes from one side to the other. Aidan seemed to take it in good stride.
“So, do you own a restaurant?” I asked him, curious.
“Yeah, it’s right in the middle of New York City. And yeah, it’s veggie only. I’d love it if you and Jack decided to stop by sometime.”
“I’d love that as well. I’ve never been in a veggie restaurant before.”
“What?” Aidan looked shocked. “Why not?”
“They didn’t have them where I grew up,” I said. When everyone waited for me to continue, even Margaret, I did. “It’s a very small town down in Minnesota,” I said. “I’m glad I got out of there.”
“I couldn’t imagine living anywhere but New York,” Aidan said. “It’s my home.”
Hunter laughed. “Oh, Aidan, must you always be so dramatic?”
“Enough,” Margaret said sternly. Everyone went quiet. “Can’t we have a nice quiet dinner without a fight breaking out?”
“That wasn’t a fight, mother,” Hunter said, but when he saw the look Margaret gave him, he immediately shut up.
The rest of the dinner was a non event, thanks to Margaret’s stern request. I couldn’t wait until I was back in Jack’s room, in his arms, laughing about how stuck up and serious his mother was. Though once I remembered what she actually did to Jack as a child so she could live such an extravagant lifestyle, it only made me sick to my stomach. The thought that she could get away with betraying her own son like that, it just made me incredibly angry.
“You okay?” Jack whispered across the table when Lizzy came to take away our plates. She was middle aged, with red hair. Her hair reminded me a bit of Lucy, and that made me feel even worse.
“Yeah,” I blushed as Lizzy took my plate. “I’m fine.” I took a huge gulp of the mineral water by my side and felt a lot better for it. “Just fine,” I added for good effect.
Margaret excused herself and wished us all a good night. It was time for her to retire to her chambers, she said, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she left the room.
Jack immediately put a hand on mine across the table. “We survived,” he said. “That’s all that matters.”
“I’ll go check on Brandon,” Aidan said and left as well.
“Meet us in the media room,” Hunter yelled after him. And then to me: “You’ve gotta see some of Jack’s best moments. Though I bet you’re already familiar with his work.”
“Actually,”
I said. “I’m not. Let’s just say I lived a sheltered existence.”
“In that case, this should be very entertaining indeed,” he said and smiled wickedly.
Jack put an arm around me as we followed Hunter to the supposed media room. “What did you do now, Hunter?” He yelled after him as we tried to catch up.
It seemed like Jack wasn’t going to be having too much fun, while the rest of us definitely would.
Once we entered the media room I was more than a little taken aback. It was like being in a little theater. With theater seats included for good measure.
“Popcorn, anyone?” Hunter asked as he turned on a popcorn machine that I didn’t even notice being there. “What the hell, I’ll make enough for everyone whether you want it or not,” he added.
I took a seat next to Jack in the front row. It felt weird. I felt like I was in some kind of surreal movie or something. Aidan joined us, sitting by my side, while Hunter sat by Jack’s.
“I wish Brandon could see this,” Hunter said. “Hopefully he gets better soon.”
“The doctors say he should be ready for rehab therapy in a couple of weeks, and things can only improve from there,” Aidan said.
“Oh, the lights,” Hunter said as he got up and turned a switch off.
We were in near darkness now, the only visible light coming from the huge screen in front of us. It wasn’t really a screen. There was projector behind us, and it was a huge flat surface that captured the images. Just like a real movie theater, I thought, only on a smaller scale. Still impressive, though.