She struggled with reading aloud, more than anything. The words jumbled in her head before they made it to her mouth. Deca huffed and puffed in frustration, she didn't like not being good at this. Jim was so patient, he sat with her and encouraged her as she went through the dictionary.
"Did Jane have trouble?" Deca asked him. Jane was by herself on the couch reading one of the books with the gold spine.
"Of course, readings hard for anyone just starting. Take it slow, sound them out. Don't worry about me, just focus on the words." He gave a small smile, he gave her confidence. She nodded and continued on the word she had been working on for more than two minutes.
"Bo-bom-bom." She started to stutter, her cheeks flushed.
"Bom-bombard." She exhaled the word after it had been stuck in her throat for what seemed like hours.
"Great job, kid." Jim exclaimed, as he patted her back. Deca's cheeks were pulled back into a wide grin, she was so relieved.
"More." She said as she started on the next word.
Deca and Jim sat for another hour, she struggled with some words and others she picked up instantly. He praised her and encouraged her when she got frustrated. Jane kept looking over at them from her books.
"Can I be done?" Jane called to him from the couch.
"How many?" He asked.
"Three, four soon." She replied.
"Finish that one and we're square." He told her. She nodded and continued reading about Peter Rabbit.
After she was finished she went over to the kitchen table and sat across from them. Jane let out a sigh, Jim and Deca looked up at her.
"You ok?" Jim asked. Deca frowned. She tried her hardest to shut out Jane's thoughts, but she couldn't help feeling her energy. Jane's sour mood filled the cabin and encircled Deca like smoke.
"Hungry." Jane replied.
"Oh, its already 8:30. I'll get dinner going, you two wash up." Jim said getting up, tossing an empty beer can into the bin on his way to the freezer.
Deca and Jane both walked towards the bathroom. Jim found himself in a good mood, he left work early and it was a sunny day. He thought Deca was a good addition, she wasn't as rebellious as Jane and she had a good attitude.
He put the three potpies in the oven and grabbed another beer. He could hear the girls washing their hands. He dropped onto the sofa and couldn't help himself from grinning.
Deca joined him on the sofa. She was still sleeping on the couch, he called a guy at the furniture store he went to high school with. The guy got him a pretty good deal on a little twin bed, he was going to pick it up tomorrow.
Jane came out of the bathroom and rolled her eyes. She sat on the other couch and pulled her knees to her chest. She had been moody all day, but that wasn't out of the ordinary for her. He told her last night that Mike couldn't come over. She was still weak from the gate and needed rest, and he didn't like kids coming over unsupervised.
Deca felt tired, her head pounded from constantly trying to shut out their voices. Listening to people's thoughts was second nature, she finally let go and let Jane's thoughts fill her mind. Her stomach dropped when she heard what she was thinking.
Mouthbreathers. Jane thought as she looked over at Deca and Jim. She rolled her eyes. She didn't like that Jim was spending so much time with Deca. Jane was angry, she felt ignored all day. She was mad at him for not letting Mike over and she wanted him to do lessons with her.
Deca got up and went to the bathroom. She sat on the side of the tub and felt guilty. This was Jane's home and Deca was intruding. She was sad that she couldn't see Dustin, but she knew Jim was just trying to protect them, Jane especially.
The timer on the oven dinged and Deca could hear Jim get up to take the pies out. She didn't want to go out, she wanted to sit on the floor and never let Jane see her again. Jane was her sister, it killed her that she was upset with her.
"Tell Deca food's ready." Jim told Jane. She sighed and got up. She knocked on the door. Deca didn't answer, she didn't want to upset her anymore.
"Food's ready." Jane said, she turned away and started walking towards the table. Deca just sat on the floor with her knees to her chest. She felt awful, Jane was hurting because of her.
Jim put the pies on the table and Jane grabbed the forks off the counter and set them down in three places. They sat down and started eating.
"Mike can come over tomorrow. But you've gotta stick to the rules. No outside." He told her, she raised her head and smiled. She nodded and took a bite. Jim knew the Wheeler kid was good, but he didn't like how risky it was to have him over while Jim was at work.
"Deca, it's gonna get cold." Jim called. He took another bite and then he just got a terrible feeling. It hit him in the gut like battering ram. He got up and knocked on the door. He didn't get an answer, he knocked again, harder.
"Deca, everything ok?" He asked. He tried the door knob and it was locked. He looked towards Jane, her eyes were wide.
"Do the lock." He told her, she nodded and raised her hand. She focused on the doorknob and the lock clicked.
Jim opened the door and saw that the bathroom was empty. His heart dropped. He looked behind the tub, he pushed Jane's door open and looked around her room. He looked in his own room, even the closet. He was frantic.
"She's gone." He repeated a few times as he paced around the house. He went back to the bathroom and noticed the window was open. He squeezed his fist and ran towards the door.
"Go to your room, lock the door." He told Jane, she did as she was told. He grabbed his gun and flashlight from his belt and ran outside.
"Deca?" He called out, he held his revolver forward, his other hand holding the flashlight. He walked around the side of the cabin. He stood in front of the bathroom window. It wasn't very high up but he still wondered if someone climbed up there to get her.
Maybe she ran away. A voice in the back of his head ringed. He feared that she was lost in the woods. Things were going fine, he thought, why would she run?
It rained today, the soil was still a bit damp. There was a foot print in the mud, it was a small foot, Deca's. It pointed towards the back of the cabin. He walked forward, pistols still drawn. He took cautious steps, trying to not make noise.
He turned the corner and saw nothing. He pointed his flashlight at the ground looking for prints. He didn't see any. He growled in anger. He put his flashlight up and looked around him.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw something white. He turned towards it and saw that it was Deca. Sitting on the ground in her white long sleeved tshirt. She was turned away from him, hugging her knees.
"Deca," He let out a sigh of relief. She didn't turn towards him. He walked towards her and knelt next to her. She looked up at him frowning, tears on her cheeks.
"Why'd you run out? You scared the hell out of me." He tried to keep his voice low but he was angry.
"She is hurting, I'm hurting her." She replied. Jim was confused, he didn't know what that meant.
"Jane is hurting, it makes her sad to see you giving me lessons. She wants to be her with you, she doesn't want me here." Deca's voice shook.
"That's not true." Jim said.
"It is, I can hear it. She is jel-jealous." Deca said remembering one of the hard words she'd read.
"You keep going in people's heads, sometimes you won't like what you hear." He told her.
"I try hard to shut you out, but it makes my head hurt. I can't help that I listen." She sniffled. Jim didn't know how to reply.
"You are good, she loves you a lot." Deca told him, he nodded. It meant a lot for him to hear that.
"El is stubborn and sometimes a real brat, but she isn't angry at you. She cares about you, she begged for you to stay with us. She's just in a mood. You aren't going anywhere." Jim gave a smile and patted her back.
Deca looked into his eyes, he was genuine. She wanted to see his memories, she wanted to see his past. She put her hand up and inched towards his face, he stiffened and watched her trembling palm move towards him.
He was going to let her look in his mind. It was like her hand moved in slow motion. He wondered what she's see, he wondered how she'd look at him after she saw everything. He didn't know what stopped him, but he backed away and stood up.
"Let's get you inside before you freeze." He said, she pulled her hand back and nodded. They walked back into the cabin, both sighing in relief of the warmth.
"You ran?" Jane asked, standing in front of the kitchen table. Deca shrugged her shoulders.
"Let's eat, dinner's probably already cold." Jim said breaking the tension between the girls, he put his gun back in his belt sitting by the door. They both nodded and took their seats at the table.
They all ate fast, Jim chugged down half his beer before he touched the pie. The silence was weighing down the room. Deca was tired and didn't bother blocking out their thoughts. She wanted to apologize to Jim, he was afraid.
Jane was worried, she knew she was being cold towards Deca all day, but she didn't think Deca would run. She wondered if she should say something but just quietly ate.
"Mike can come over tomorrow, its Saturday so he can be over all day if he wants." Jim said, this made Jane smile and her eyes widen.
"All the other kids too, I'll be working late, and I know you two will get bored." He added, this made Deca grin.
"We follow the rules even with friends over, though. Just stay in watch TV, play chess or whatever those kids are into." Jim warned. This made Deca giggle, the party played D&D not chess.
"Thank you, Jim." Deca smiled at him. He nodded and took a bite.
"Is Will better yet?" Jane asked.
"He's still resting, but Joyce says he's doing good. I'll check in tomorrow, just to see." He said thinking of his phone calls to Joyce. He called her at least twice a day, he was worried about Will but also about her.
Deca tried desperately to hide her smile. Her jaw started to ache, she bit her bottom lip and tried to focus on her food.
"What?" Jim asked with a mouth full, shrugging in his shoulders. This made her let out a giggle. She tried to contain herself. She took steady breaths, but a grin was stuck on her face.
"Nothing." She replied finally composing herself. She shook her head and just giggled inside her head. She thought it was funny how different Jim's thoughts were when Joyce came up.
After dinner they all got ready for bed. Jim had got Deca her own toothbrush, she liked the taste of toothpaste and the way it made her mouth tingle. Jim made funny noises when he used the mouthwash.
"Can I listen to the story too?" Deca asked after she and Jane got into their pajamas. Jim nodded and then looked towards Jane. Jane nodded and smiled with the side of her mouth.
I'm sorry for being a brat. Jane thought as she held eye contact with Deca. Deca gave a small nod and smile in response. She felt Jane's guilt and her shame. She was scared that Deca ran away or was taken by the bad men.
Deca exhaled and stepped towards Jane, she put her arms around her and squeezed tight. She needed a hug and she knew that Jane needed one too. Jane was stiff at first, but she gave in and squeezed Deca back.
"Alright, let's get settled." Jim said trying to stay serious. It warmed his heart to see their wordless reconciliation. He had a feeling in his chest, it was warm, he remembered this feeling. It was family. He looked down at the little girls that held more power in their small frames than anyone he'd ever met. He was proud to call them his family, he felt lucky.
Deca released Jane and turned towards Jim. She put her arms around him and rested her head just below his heart. She could hear the thumping. His arms laid stiff at his sides at first but then he surrounded her in a big hug like a bear.
Jane joined in and put one arm around Deca and the other around Jim. Deca felt the tears start welling up and she let them fall, the feeling of love and strength and belonging was overwhelming. She had seen so much pain and sadness and hate, she had been overwhelmed by those feelings too, but this was different. She felt whole, like this feeling was going to start spilling out of her ears.
Their hug ended, and Jane went to get into bed. Deca turned and went to lay on the couch. She nestled her head into the pillow and tucked the quilt under her chin.
"Aren't you going to come listen to the story?" Jim asked from Jane's doorway.
"Don't need to. I'm happy." She replied, her eyes closed. She heard Jim's heavy footsteps come towards her.
"Want me to tuck you in?" He asked kneeling down next to her.
"Sure." She replied looking at him, she had never been tucked in before. He nodded and put his hands on either side of her, tucking the quilt under her. She felt like she was being swaddled like a baby, she liked it though.
"Thank you, Jim." She said with a small smile.
"Anytime, Dec'." He replied.
"Jim," She said as he stepped towards Jane's rooms.
"Yeah?" He asked turning around.
"I'm proud to be your family too." She spoke the words with certainty. He looked at her for a moment and just gave a small smile with the side of his mouth. He gave a nod and went into Jane's room to read to her.
AN: I hope you liked this chapter. Leave me a review if you have any suggestions for future chapters. Thanks for reading!