Chapter Six

“Do you want anything special for dinner?” He was pulling out different ingredients from the fridge as she stood there and stared at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Right. Want to try that one again?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Well, now we’re lying.

Just be honest.

What’s honest? I don’t know what we want, do you?

Everyone just shut up!

They all turned to look at Compassion and Caring. She didn’t yell ever, that’s why she was C&C.

There was a growl from the alien part of her mind. She walked over and wrapped C&C in her arms because sometimes you had to love yourself.

“Jessie?”

Cole’s voice pulled her out of her head. Sometimes she wished she could get lost in there, but who would care of Mia?

We should leave before he knows what we really are.

Grow a backbone.

I’m going crazy, but at least she was used to hearing those two voices, one was fear, and the other was disgust. She was getting tired of both of them.

“I want a moment to feel normal. To sit on the floor and eat delivery and laugh. Is that too much? To be able to blow bubbles on my baby’s belly and not fear that someone will come into the room and hit me because we’re making too much noise. Don’t pay me any mind. What are you doing?”

He was putting everything back in the refrigerator. Then he pulled out a menu.

“Let’s order out.”

“I…I’m sorry we have lots of food in the fridge. We shouldn’t waste it.”

“Jessie, will you tell me about your childhood?”

Don’t tell him. He’ll make us leave.

Fear. She agreed with her, but she was going to tell him anyway. Why? Because she was tired of holding things in, pretending she lived a good life when she was surrounded by misery, doubt, and confusion. She took the menu, it was for a Chinese restaurant not too far away. She poured over the menu before she finally decided on steamed dumplings and wonton soup.

“Do you like chicken, beef, or shrimp.”

“Beef and shrimp.” Those were the meats she only got to eat when she went to Deja’s for dinner.

He ordered making her eyes open wide.

“Who’s going to eat all of that?”

“We are.”

She nodded and refused to look down. Her mother was constantly on her about her weight. She was going to ignore her mother’s voice in her head and enjoy dinner.

He turned on the television to a comedy show, and they watched it until he excused himself to go meet the delivery driver. She got back up and went to look in on Mia who was still sleeping peacefully. This was how she slept when she was in the back room of the club. At home…at her grandmother’s house, she tossed and turned.

How could she have conned herself into believing that her mother had changed? That she would love Mia so much that she would want to protect her. She slipped out the room leaving the door cracked enough that she would hear if she cried.

Cole came in carrying bags and a bottle of wine. “I stopped by the club and picked this up. I thought with the day we had, we both deserve something to help us unwind.

She didn’t drink, she couldn’t afford to do it living with her mother it was just unsafe, and after she had Mia, it became a matter of life or death to stay sober.

“I’d like that.” She gave him a smile. He was making her feel like she was cared for. This was like a first date, but it wasn’t, and she would have to continue to remind herself of that fact.

There was a pause as she waited for the voices to say something, but they were silent. They were having a hard time believing how nice the night was turning out. He grabbed a few paper plates and sat two beautiful wine glasses on the table.

She laughed.

“What’s funny?”

“You have paper plates, the good ones I must admit, and you paired them with beautiful wine glasses. It’s different, unique. I love it.”

“Floor or table?”

“Table.” The floor felt too intimate. If they sat there, she might not be able to remind herself this wasn’t a date.

He shot her a grin letting her see his sharp teeth for a minute before they sat down and started making their plates.

He poured the wine and gave it to her with a flourish.

“Cole is this what you wanted to be when you grew up, a bartender?” She was flushed. His foot was rubbing against her ankle, it was so simple, but her temperature was rising.

“I didn’t get a choice in what I was going to do. I was born knowing. Then we opened this bar, and I realized we needed a bartender, and I wanted to do it. It was the first time in my life that I got to make my own decision. I like tending bar, and I’m good at it. I like it even more since you have come around.”

Her smile brightened. She picked up her glass and sipped the wine. It was good, so she took another sip.

“When I was a child, everything was a secret. I couldn’t talk about my mother, I couldn’t talk about our home, and I couldn’t talk about my sisters and brother that went missing.”

“You have siblings?”

“I had siblings I doubt they’re alive anymore.” She lowered her head looking at the table. The wood grain keeping her attention.

You can’t tell him.

He’ll blame you for keeping the secret.

He’ll say we should have gone to the police.

It’s not your fault, you were too young to do anything.

She looked into the eyes of the last voice. She knew on some level that she was too young, but that didn’t stop the guilt. She would always wonder what would have happened if she had told a teacher.

Pain and maybe death.

Cole was silently cleaning up the table and putting the food they didn’t eat away. When he was done, he came and took her hand helping her stand. He picked up the wine glasses and the bottle and led them into the living room.

She sat on the couch with him sitting next to her. He pulled the coffee table closer and watched her.

She stared at him not saying anything.

“You can trust me, Jessie.”

“I know. I don’t trust myself, and I’m scared that you’ll be disappointed or disgusted with me when you find out.”

“I won’t.”

She nodded looking around the room.

“Why is your house a ranch?”

“When we fought planet side there was one position that could only be accessed if you climbed. It was several hundred feet in the air. I climbed it every time. With lasers and G-bombs going off around me. I had to fight the drones that were sent to kill me. When I finally had a choice of where to live I wanted to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. Declyn understood, and I ended up with this house.”

She nodded, nothing he said made sense but she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“I had four sisters and one brother. I think there was one or two before me, but I can’t be sure. When I was born, I was premature and sick. People used to come up to me and say I was the lucky one and they knew I was a blessing to my mom. When I finally got well I was maybe four or five, but then I picked up weight. My mom never knew why and I still don’t know why. All I know is she used to look at me and sneer in disgust because I was fat.

“The first time she got pregnant I was overjoyed. I would have a sister or a brother. She came home from the hospital without the baby. Several days later she smuggled it into the house and swore me to silence. She said no one could know about the baby or they would take her. Neighbors would come and bring her food and alcohol while I sat upstairs making sure the baby didn’t cry. Then one day my sister disappeared.”

Her heart was beating fast as she cried for the sister she never had a chance to know. Cole slid over on the couch and opened his arms. She dove into them clutching his shirt as she cried harder.

“It happened again and again. I didn’t know where they were going and all I could do was cry at night because they were gone. As I got older, I started to have suspicions. What could I do? If I went to the police and told them, it was my mother’s word against mine. I didn’t have any proof, and the whole world thought they died. All I could do was pretend that I was delusional.

“Then I got pregnant with Mia. Everything changed I became paranoid even as I told myself that there was nothing to be paranoid about. Yesterday she told me that Mia was beautiful and would bring in a large sum. I fled I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t trust the police because my mother lies so fluently.”

Cole’s hand was stroking her back making her feel better, reminding her that she did the right thing when she came here.

“Why do they want Mia.”

Shivers took her over, she was freezing. How could she tell him how depraved humans could be? He should know he was human. How could he seem so innocent yet fierce at the same time?

“There’s a ring of perverts who like children. You understand?”

His eyes blazed as his hand came to a halt on her back, but he shook his head no. It was as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“They like to touch children and do things to their bodies that shouldn’t be done.”

“They try to mate with children?”

She swallowed hard. His eyes seem to be burning while his teeth appeared to be growing longer. His hand started caressing her back again.

“There’s no mating. They’re sick, and the children are disposed of after they turn a certain age and no longer excite them. You might not believe me, but one night recently I heard my mom talking about it. That’s when I knew I was right and that I had to leave. I thought I had more time to get more money stashed away.”

“Do you think they will come after you if you leave?”

“Yes, they are already coming after me. It will only be a matter of time before they figure out where I went. I have to leave I don’t want to bring them here.”

“This is the safest place for you and Mia. I’ll protect you.”

“I don’t want you hurt.” That was whispered against the side of his neck.

“Have you forgotten what the cop at the station said? It would take a Mack Truck to hurt me.”

“A gun is a Mack.”

He handed her glass to her, and she drank some more liking the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she asked for a refill, he shook his head.

“You’re a light weight. It’s time for bed.”

One more night to sleep in Cole’s arms before she ran again.