25:

I held out my own hand and Paige twined my fingers with her own. Her handshake was soft and polite; much like her smile. She held my fingers a second or two longer while she studied me with her gaze. She smelled like roses and cloves. Paige turned away and walked back to her vanity mirror. The birds were still singing away and my ears were starting to hurt. I was nice and warm under a huge comforter of various pastels and I didn't want to climb out, but I had to do something about the noise.

Paige took something from her vanity and came back to me. She handed me a pair of headphones with puffy ears and shouted, "Put these on!"

She motioned to her ears and smiled. I quickly put the headphones on. I could still hear the birds singing, but it was much quieter and more soothing.

"Thank you," I said.

Paige watched my lips and nodded her head. She turned away and walked back to her vanity once more. I laid back down so I could see the bird cages coming down from the ceiling. There were all different sizes, colors and shapes of cages suspended by chains and cables. Some of the cages were on hooks, while others seemed to be free-floating through something deep within the ceiling. I tried to identify the birds within the cages, but they were all moving too quickly for me to even guess. Most of the birds were small and it looked like there were pairs of two or four in each cage. They were all different colors. Each corner of the room had a large cage that housed one or two more exotic looking birds. The larger birds did not appear to be singing, but they were moving and chattering as if the noise didn't bother them.

I was surprised that the room didn't have a strange odor with all the birds around. A floral scent seemed to be everywhere and it was very pleasing. I glanced at the floor to see if there were any bird droppings. I was barefoot and I didn't think Paige could keep track of every bird mess that might slip out of their cages. I didn't see any droppings and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Paige was putting on some eye liner and she smiled at me through the reflection in the mirror. I smiled back and waved at her. She mouthed something through the mirror, but I didn't know what she was saying. She picked up a silver platter of something from the vanity dresser and brought it over to me. They looked like little pancakes but she moved her lips to say, "Crum-pets!"

I nodded and took one. It had something like honey on it and it tasted very sweet when I took a bite. Paige shouted to me, "Break-fast!"

"Good!" I called back and gave her a thumbs-up.

She smiled and pointed at the plate for me to take another. I grabbed one but she was still pointing so I took another. She didn't seem satisfied until I had taken at least four, then she put the platter down in my lap like she wanted me to eat whatever I wanted.

I put the ones I took back on the platter while Paige turned away. I started to pick the platter up. I was going to tell her that I didn't want to take her whole breakfast, but she came back with a tall glass of milk and handed it to me. I put the platter down and took the milk. I opened my mouth but Paige turned to walk away and went back to the vanity.

I took a drink of the milk. It was warm and tasted very fresh. Paige took something else from the vanity and held it up for me to see. It was an orange that hadn't been peeled, yet. She looked at me for approval and I nodded. Paige walked back over and handed it to me. I once again opened my mouth to protest, feeling like a pig for taking all of her food, but she waved away the words before I could get them out.

Paige once again went back to her vanity and began working with some powders for her face. I watched her while I ate. She looked so beautiful and she moved so freely. She reminded me of someone from a fairy tale with all the birds around. Her walls were covered with silk curtains save for a large window to my left, which was open wide to let all the sunlight in. I looked out the window and I noticed we were on the first floor. We were on the side of the house that I usually didn't venture off to. The only furniture in the room was the large vanity where Paige was. A bathroom door was just to the right of the vanity. On the left was a short hallway that led to the bedroom door. I also noticed that I was in a large bed and there was a second bed to my right. My bed was very pretty and feminine, while the other bed had darker covers and looked very masculine. I wondered if Paige had a roommate.

As if my thoughts were heard aloud, I saw the bedroom door open and a very large man walked through. I recognized him as Roman because of the complex tattoo that ran up his arm and disappeared beneath his black vest. I wondered how much of his body was tattooed and if it was painful.

Roman didn't look at me but walked over to Paige at the vanity. He looked agitated as he leaned in closely enough to speak without raising his voice. I watched Paige shrug like whatever he said wasn't that important to her. Roman clenched his jaw and Paige went back to her makeup.

He moved past her and into the bathroom. Roman slammed the door to the bathroom. I looked at Paige through the mirror. She smiled and imitated my thumbs-up from before as if to motion that all was well. I glanced back at the bedroom door that Roman had left wide open. Nobody came in after him and Paige didn't seem at all concerned with the fact that she was still in an open robe wearing black lingerie.

I ate way too many crumpets and drank the whole glass of milk. I was going to get out of bed when the bathroom door flew open and Roman stormed out. He stopped when he saw me and he frowned. He looked like he hadn't noticed me until that moment. Paige turned away from him and went to one of the wall curtains by the window. She pulled the curtain open to reveal a large antique wardrobe. Paige opened it and leaned in to search for something. Roman still looked agitated as he stormed over to her. He was so tall that he bumped a couple of the bird cages along the way.

The birds screeched in protest. I watched as Roman leaned in again to try and talk to Paige. She was still leaning into the wardrobe and Roman's position right behind her looked a little compromising. I started to feel uncomfortable, thinking that I was witnessing a private conversation.

I moved again to get out of bed, but Paige suddenly snapped her head back and hit Roman in the nose. He backed up and grabbed his face. My eyes widened while Paige acted like it was no big deal. She took a yellow dress from the wardrobe and walked over to me. Paige took the tray from my lap and replaced it with the yellow dress. She smiled and nodded.

I looked down at the dress. It was very soft to the touch and it shined like silk in the sunlight. I glanced at myself and I realized I was the dress I had fallen asleep in was smudged with something brown like dirt. I looked back up at Paige and shouted, "Oh my!"

Roman stormed out of the room. I watched him leave and looked back at Paige. She was already going back to the vanity with the tray and empty glass of milk. I got up and held the dress out so I didn't get it dirty. I walked over to Paige and she pointed at the bathroom.

I went into the bathroom and closed the door. The bird songs were a little quieter. I checked myself in the bathroom mirror and I realized my face was also smudged with dirt. The side of my face that Stephanie had tried to ruin was mostly healed. I could still see some light scarring around my cheekbone and by my lower lip. I touched the skin with my fingertips. I could feel the scars just slightly. The scars weren't exactly ugly to me, but I was aware that my face no longer carried the natural beauty that it used to have. I made a mental note to ask Paige if I could have some of her makeup for touch-up reasons.

I put the dress down on the edge of the sink and used the toilet. I decided not to shower since I hadn't yet told Dean where I was and I needed to find him as soon as I could. The dirt covered the front of my dress and my face. I took my dress off and put it on the floor. I was grateful that I didn't smell bad and I hadn't smudged Paige's bed.

While rinsing the dirt from my face, I heard the sounds of arguing through the birdsong. I took my headphones off to listen a little better, but the birds were still too loud and I had to put the headphones back on. I still had my underwear on but no bra. I wondered if Roman had come back and I went to the bathroom door to try and lock it.

The knob started to turn just as I was about to lock it. I stepped back and covered my front as I shouted, "I'm in here!"

There was more shouting and the knob stopped turning. I grabbed the yellow dress to put it on quickly. I stepped into it and I was about to lift it up when the door opened slightly and Dean stepped in. I instinctively covered my breasts until he had closed the bathroom door behind him. I lowered my hands and came down for my dress. Dean went down on one knee and grabbed it for me. He lifted it up and waited for me to put each arm through the straps. He anchored the dress nicely over my shoulders, then he looked at me with a sense of concern.

I pointed at my other dress on the floor. He went over to pick it up. He looked it over and frowned. The bathroom door suddenly burst open and Sheamus ran in. He saw me and scooped me up into his arms. He twirled me around and set me back down. When I looked up at him in confusion, Sheamus just looked back at me with a mix of surprise and relief as he shook his head.

I looked at Dean, but his expression was in its usual hard to read state. Sheamus held the door open and I wandered out of the bathroom. Roman and Paige were arguing at her vanity. I couldn't really hear what they were saying with the birds everywhere.

Roman picked up something from the vanity and threw it across the room. I ducked down to avoid any debris. Paige picked up the empty glass of milk and threw it at Roman's head. He turned away to avoid it and the glass thudded against the curtain along the wall behind him.

Dean took me by the shoulders and directed me to the bedroom door. Sheamus came ahead of us and I followed him. I could hear Roman and Paige still arguing as we walked out. When we reached the hallway, Dean pulled the headphones off my ears. He tossed the headphones back into the room and closed the door.

There was a loud thud like someone fell against the wall. I looked at Dean and asked, "Should we go back in and stop them?"

"They're jus' playin' a role," Sheamus said.

"What do you mean?" I asked Sheamus.

"It's a game, Liz. They want to hurt each other," Dean answered before Sheamus did.

"But what if they go too far?" I was still worried.

Sheamus snorted laughter. I wasn't trying to be funny. I started hearing some weird groaning sounds coming through the wall, followed by thudding sounds that had more of a familiar rhythm.

"Oh," I mumbled as I hurried away.

My cheeks were still hot as I made my way down the hallway with Sheamus and Dean following after me. Dean called out, "I'll get you some breakfast."

"I already ate," I told him over my shoulder.

Sheamus let out a sigh and replied softly, "Crumpets."

He made it sound like they were wonderful and he wished he'd gotten some. I turned to face him and said, "I'm sorry I didn't save you any. I didn't know you were coming."

I was headed to the stairs, but Dean took my hand to stop me. He told me sternly, "You need to come with me."

"Am I in trouble?" I asked.

Dean shook his head, but he had a weird look on his face. I followed him and Sheamus tagged along. I saw Uncle Trumbly as soon as we came outside. His back was to me and he was looking down at something on the ground.

Or rather, in the ground.

As we came closer, I could make out a large hold in the earth. There was a stick beside the hole that looked like it had been used to dig. Uncle Trumbly turned around and shouted as soon as he saw me, "Elizabeth!"

He sounded more relieved than mad. I couldn't understand why everyone was acting like I had just returned from a risky voyage and they were relieved to see no harm had come to me. I glanced down at the hole and I noticed it wasn't very deep. It probably would've gone mostly unnoticed except that there was something unusual inside of it.

A goldfish.

The fish was dead and lying on its side. At first, I thought it was my goldfish.

"Uncle Trumbly, why did you try to bury my goldfish?" I asked him.

He looked at me and answered, "I didn't do this, Elizabeth! You did! And this is not your goldfish!"

"What?!" I asked with surprise.

Dean came around so he could face me. He explained everything, "Yesterday, after we argued, I went back to our room and I saw that your goldfish had died. I flushed it down the toilet and went looking for you. I thought you had seen the goldfish and you were very upset about it. Naomi said you came to her room but you left because she had company. I didn't know where you were. We found each other again and before you went to sleep last night, I told you I would get you another goldfish. You said you didn't want one."

I nodded and Dean continued, "You woke up during the night. I thought you were sleepwalking, but you said you needed to use the bathroom, so I thought you were awake. You went into the bathroom and closed the door. I must've fallen asleep again, because when I woke up, you weren't in the bathroom."

"I don't remember that," I said.

Uncle Trumbly put out his hand and replied, "It's alright, Elizabeth."

Dean breathed through his nose like he was frustrated. He explained further, "I was looking for you when Matt and Jeff Hardy stopped me. They told me someone had stolen Jeff's goldfish."

I swallowed hard as Dean went on, "I thought you had probably taken the goldfish back to our room and put it there while you were sleepwalking. Jeff's small fish tank was gone too, so I though the goldfish was still alive. I went back to our room but you weren't there. Jeff's fish wasn't, either. That's when Sheamus came up to tell me he found a tank in the yard."

"Oh, no!" I cried, covering my mouth with my hand.

Tears formed in my eyes. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach. There were only a few times that I had ever carried things with me while I was sleepwalking, but I had never accidentally killed an animal in the process.

"It was an accident, Liz," Dean pulled me into a hug.

"I feel terrible! I'm so awful! I can't believe it!" I sobbed.

Uncle Trumbly cleared his throat. I tried to choke back my tears and pull away from Dean so I could listen to what he had to say. Trumbly sighed and told me, "Jeffrey isn't taking this personally, Elizabeth. I'll replace his tank and give him the money to buy another fish. For now, we'll just cover this one up and consider him buried."

Dean added quietly, "I didn't know you wanted to bury your goldfish or I would've kept its body, Liz. I'll be more careful about asking you what you want before I do things that involve you."

"I didn't think I wanted to bury him! I can't believe I did this! I can't believe it!" I was still in shock.

Sheamus tried to calm me by saying, "Yew were tryin' ta grieve yer pet, Liz. This one's buried ta show yer loss. So long as we leave it be, there's no need for ya to bury another."

I nodded but I still felt awful. Sheamus pushed the dirt over the fish and covered it up. I looked at Uncle Trumbly and asked, "Where is Jeff? I want to tell him myself how sorry I am."

"There's no need, Elizabeth," Trumbly answered.

"No, but I should, Uncle Trumbly! He might think I don't care if I say nothing!" I told him.

Dean shook his head and replied, "He doesn't think that, Liz."

"I think I need to go for a walk," I said quietly.

"I'll come with you," Dean immediately replied.

I took a couple of steps away before Uncle Trumbly said, "You wouldn't mind going into town, would you?"

"For the crib?" Dean asked Uncle Trumbly.

I had almost forgotten about the crib that Sheriff Sherman had offered me. The sheriff talked about having it delivered to the house, so I asked Dean curiously, "Do we need to pick it up?"

"I'll get Bray," Sheamus said.

Dean nodded as an answer to my question. Uncle Trumbly leaned into Dean and whispered something I couldn't hear. Dean called back to Sheamus, "I'll head out with Liz. Sheriff and his deputies can help me load it."

Sheamus made a curious expression at first, then a look of recognition crossed his face and he waved a good-bye to both of us.

"Be on your way, now! There's a chance of rain this afternoon," Uncle Trumbly pulled some keys from his pocket and handed them to Dean.

I followed Dean across the yard to an old red pickup. Dean opened the passenger door for me and helped me into the seat. He came around and got in on the driver's side. I had yet to see Dean's driving skills. I imagined him as one of those guys who could speed while still keeping himself on the road and on high alert.

I was completely wrong.

The drive into town usually took about 45 minutes. It had already been 30 minutes and Dean wasn't even at the halfway point.

"Aren't you going a little bit too slow?" I asked, trying my best not to sound too judgmental.

I didn't want to tell him that I was super bored and I was afraid we wouldn't make it back home by nightfall at this pace. Dean sniffed and replied shortly, "I'm not putting you and the baby in danger."

"But nobody's around!" I argued.

"There could be a deer. Or an antelope. Or a loose dog. Coyotes, maybe," Dean searched around with his eyes like one of them was bound to pop out just because they overheard him.

"This truck is old and built like a tank! I feel bad for the animal that dares to jump out in front of it!" I replied.

Dean didn't say anything. I looked out the open window at the sky. Uncle Trumbly was notorious for threatening the rain to come when there wasn't even a sign it was ever planning to arrive, but this time the sky was actually showing some signs of making good on Trumbly's threats. I looked back at Dean and said, "I don't know if the sheriff will let us take the crib if it's going to get rained on!"

"I'll put a tarp over it," Dean insisted on having all the answers.

I sighed and told him, "I thought you'd be like a race car driver or something."

"Race cars are for the track. There's no need to tempt fate when you're on the road," Dean surmised.

"We're not even on a real road! It's made of dirt!" I argued.

"You only go fast on a dirt road when you want your ass to get flipped over!" Dean shot back.

"I'm not asking you to break any laws! I just think you could go above twelve miles per hour!" I countered.

Dean pumped the brakes and we slowed to a stop in the middle of the dirt road. He got out of the truck and slammed the door. He turned his back on me and just stood outside the truck for the longest time.

"Dean? Dean!" called to him.

He refused to respond to me. I opened my own door and tried to get out. The sun was outrageously hot and the humidity was high because of the gathering storm. I didn't realize I was sweating so much until I felt the moisture along my skin as I walked around to find Dean. His arms were folded and he glared at me when I came close. I sighed and told him, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I just don't want to be out all night."

"It doesn't take that long to get into town, Liz," Dean grumbled.

"I know. I'm sorry," I told him again.

He looked away and watched the countryside. I started to feel light droplets coming from the building storm. I turned back to the truck and said, "I'm getting back in. I don't want to get rained on."

"It's just water," Dean reminded me.

I left him and went back to the truck. I was getting in on the passenger side when I noticed that Dean had left the keys in the ignition. I slid across to the driver's side and turned the engine over.

Dean whirled around and practically leaped onto the door of the truck. He shouted at me through the window, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm just warming it up for you," I responded.

I tried to reach the pedals but I was too short. I turned the wheel a little bit and pretended like I was driving down the road. I bounced up and down a little bit for emphasis. Dean studied me closely while I pretended to wave at other cars passing by. I put my hand on the gear shift and made noises with my mouth like I was moving it about. Dean relaxed and asked more quietly, "Do you know how to drive, Liz?"

"Daddy thought the stick shift was the devil's penis. Ladies aren't supposed to be touching it," I informed him.

Dean snorted laughter and I couldn't help smiling.

"Stand up," Dean motioned for me to move forward.

I stood the best I could while Dean opened the driver's side door and climbed in. I sat down on his lap and he rolled up the window. He put my hands on the wheel. I couldn't reach his feet on the pedals, so I curled my feet behind his calves to feel his movements down below while he took one of my hands from the wheel and put it on the stick shift. He curled his hand over mine on the stick and said, "If this is the devil's penis, it's pretty damn stiff."

I laughed out loud and Dean let out another short chuckle. He put the truck into gear and we started moving forward. It was a weird sensation to be on the driver's side watching the road disappear somewhere under the wheels. We hit a dip in the road and I bounced up. I bumped my head on the ceiling of the truck and I came down a little too hard on Dean's crotch.

"Fuck!" he roared.

The truck lurched forward and I grabbed the wheel to regain control. I started to panic as I said, "Dean! I don't know what to do!"

The rain started coming down suddenly. It engulfed the windshield and I could hardly see out. Dean pumped the brakes and we came to a stop.

I turned my head to look back at him as I asked, "Are you okay?"

"What about you? Your head?" he reached up to touch my hair.

"I'm fine," I said.

He rubbed the top of my head for a second, then he ran his fingers through my long hair. I turned to see that the passenger window was still rolled down. I started to move off of Dean's lap as I said, "I'll get the window."

He grabbed my hips to hold me in place.

Dean pressed his lips to the back of my neck and kissed the moisture there. I still wasn't wearing a bra so he was able to kiss between my shoulder blades. I could feel him getting hard through his coveralls.

Dean reached under my dress and slipped my underwear between his fingers. He guided them down and let them fall once they were out of his reach. I picked them up with my toes and took them in my left hand. Dean took my underwear from me and wrapped it around the stick shift.

I gasped and pretended to be shocked as I joked, "You can't put my underwear on the devil's penis!"

Dean laughed and kissed the back of my neck once more. The rain was really coming down hard and water was gathering on the passenger side through the open window. Dean didn't seem to care as he leaned into my ear and whispered, "Stand up."

His breath was hot against my cheek. I sat forward and clutched the wheel while Dean got to work on his coveralls. He had them pushed down to his ankles quickly and he took my hips to guide me back down to him. He asked before he came in, "You wet?"

"You mean from the rain?" I was confused.

"I meant inside, Liz. I don't want to hurt you," Dean replied.

"Um..." I couldn't really tell.

"Take a seat beside me," Dean guided me away from his lap.

"Okay," I said, unsure where this was going.

Once I was next to him, Dean turned me to face him and he lifted my left knee so he could open my legs. He came down on top of me and pressed his lips to my own. We kissed for several minutes until I could feel the water from the passenger window soaking through my hair and the back of my dress.

"Dean, the water," I pointed up at the window.

He reached out to roll the window up. Dean had only moved the handle a couple of times when he suddenly froze. I didn't know why until I heard a voice from outside call out, "Oh, shit!"

Before I could process that someone was near the truck, Dean had sat back up and pulled his coveralls back on. He linked them up quickly and he reached out to help me up. The rain was still coming down so hard that I couldn't see who was there, but I could hear them yelling, "It's you! The gorilla beast motherfuck-"

The voice stopped short. I rolled down the passenger window and I caught sight of AJ standing at the side of the dirt road. He was drenched from the rain and he turned pale when he realized it was me.

"Oh, uh...hey, there, Liz," AJ gave me an awkward wave.

I glanced back at Dean. He was stone faced and his jaw was set. I looked back at AJ and he was walking towards my window with a smile on his face. AJ must've seen Dean first and started name calling thinking he was alone. AJ looked like he was hoping I would forget what he said as he asked politely, "You having engine trouble or something?"

AJ didn't dare look at Dean. I was surprised that Dean didn't tell him to f-off or something.

I shook my head and replied, "Dean and I were headed into town to pick up a crib from the sheriff."

"Right," AJ swallowed hard.

He glanced down at something to my left. I looked back and I saw that my underwear was still wrapped around the stick shift.

Dean grabbed the underwear and wretched it off of the shift. The fabric strained so hard that it tore away and a section of the crotch still hung from the shift. I turned my attention back to AJ and moved so he couldn't see the stick shift anymore as I asked, "Where are you headed?"

"To...to my grandma's," Dean stuttered, then he gathered himself and finished more easily, "I take her groceries. She lives just a couple miles down the road from your uncle."

"Oh, how nice of you! I bet we're in your way," I said.

AJ nodded slightly, but realized he was being rude by responding with an affirmative. He tried to recover his politeness by adding, "It's no big deal. I mean, I was going to offer help if you were struggling, or ask you to move if you weren't."

"Sure thing!" I gave him a big smile.

"Thanks," AJ mumbled.

Dean had already started the truck by the time I looked back at him. He put the truck into gear and AJ had to jump back to avoid getting thrown by force as Dean ran a complete turn around and sped off back the way we came.

I looked out the back window and I saw that AJ was still standing, but he was covered in mud. Dean didn't even bother to look as he asked, "He alive?"

"For now," I answered.

"Pity," Dean growled.