Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bobby opened a door in his home, smiling as Claire and John carried their twins inside. "They should sleep well in here." He adjusted one of the furs in the cribs from when his siblings were small, watching as John and Claire laid their children in the beds.
Claire gently kissed their heads, and wrapped her arm around John's hips. "You've lost weight again." She whispered, digging her fingers into the ridge of his hipbone.
He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "No, I'm just getting in shape again."
Bobby walked with them out of the bedroom, handing them a couple cups of tea as they all settled down in the living room. "Grandfather told me something interesting tonight." He started, pulling on a hoodie as he took a seat in his easy chair. "John, you're more than just a quarter Cherokee… you're almost half. And also, there's something in your past that causes your eyes to change so much. It's not a DNA trait…"
John's brow furrowed, and he leaned forward slightly. "What do you mean?"
Claire bit her lip, remembering how she'd over heard her father and Asher had been speaking about how Jacob had been known to try anything if it meant getting a little money out of it. "John, was there ever a time when Jacob was nice to you?"
John met her gaze, thinking back and unlocking a few of the door he'd closed long ago. "When I was three… he kept giving me grape juice… but it tasted weird… he'd ask me questions too. Like, how I felt, or what I was thinking… he took my bedroom door off, but I never thought anything of it."
Bobby thought for a moment, and set his mug down. "Sounds like a drug trial…"
John shook his head. "He wouldn't have… of course he would." He growled and let Claire place a blanket over his shoulders. "He would've sold me into slavery if it meant making a couple bucks."
Bobby looked over John's torso, taking in the scars on his chest. "He wasn't exactly a good guy, was he?"
Claire watched as John stood and left the room, listening as he closed the front door to the home and stepped into the rain. "His father was abusive… he's the one who gave him those scars." She swallowed as a muffled scream escaped her husband. "He forced John into a lot of stuff he didn't want to do."
Bobby nodded. "That explains a lot." He sighed and stepped toward the front door, peering through the window in the door to see that John was sitting on the steps to the porch and shivering against the cold of the rain. "You guys can stay the night if you'd like. John shouldn't drive like that, and knowing him, he won't let you drive."
She smiled and pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders. "Thank you." She sighed as John started to rock to keep himself warm. "We'll need it."
John coughed as he laid down in the bed with Claire, his skin like ice against her. His chest ached as he hacked, goosebumps rising on his flesh when Claire pulled an elk hide over his shoulders. "Cold…" He stuttered, still shivering.
"Don't you dare touch me with those ice cycle hands." Claire mumbled, snuggling farther into the bed as he tried to get closer to her. "I'm still hormonal and you do not want to piss me off."
John curled his lip at her, before he rolled over and tried to fall asleep.
