Dead Wrong

"Lilly, I'm leaving for work." Jack said tying his apron in the back.
"Okay..." I replied barley audible.
"LILLY!"
"OKAY! I heard, damn !"

Jack bit his lip in order to keep from saying something he would regret. I didn't mean to make him mad, but didn't he see that I just wanted to be left alone? Jack walked out the door and it closed with a slam that jarred my bones and made guilt rise in my stomach.

I studied my finger nails for a minute. The brittle tips were torn and sharp, the result of biting them; a bad habit I had picked up in the past months. The edges around the cuticles still had remnants of black paint. It had been forever; since I had properly taken care of them. In a sense, I was a house wife I guess...

"Jack, I need you!" I said aloud. However, it fell on deaf ears. Jack's car had long since left the driveway and by now he was probably seating a family in the old booths of the diner. A happy family: a mum, a dad, maybe even some children; all smiling and loving, without a care in the world. And the mum would kiss the dad on the cheek and they'd remember when they first meet and look at their beautiful children.
"I love you" the dad would say to his family. I could see them, almost like looking into a mirror and seeing everything you could have had or could have been, but then the mirror breaks and the shards reflect the real vision. You, and you are nothing like what you just saw. And with a sickening feeling you realize this, that you can never be that. That's what I see everyday. I see everything that I could be, but those jagged pieces of truth remind me that it's just a dream. And despite all the cheesy sayings, dreams don't come true. That's why they're just dreams, never my reality. Maybe they do for someone else; another man, another time, another place, but not here. Here the truth is all that remains.

I wonder if Jack still sees that dream. I didn't want to do it, I didn't have to do it, but somewhere inside of me I needed to do it. I needed to see what he saw, what he felt. It's not mind reading, I know, and it's wrong I know, but it's close. I put the guard down. I thought of Jack's face and only his. His emotions hit me, like a speeding bullet. One stood out among all the rest. Hope. It was faint very faint, but it was there. The other feelings were at war in his head. Worry, fear, dread. But hope was a shining light amongst the darkness that plagued him. It was fading though.

"Enough" I whispered, snapping out of it. The thoughts became memories and the ties severed. I couldn't let his hope die! I had to keep it alive not only for his sake but for mine too. I got up from the couch, walked into the kitchen, and opened up the cupboards. There wasn't much. What could I make? We really didn't have actual meat. I saw a box of angel hair pasta. On the back of the box was a recipe for pasta carbonara. I looked at the list of ingredients. At least we had all of those.

I opened the fridge and carefully took out the eggs. I looked at the list one more time. Salt; check, bacon; check, cheese; check, olive oil; check, and finally garlic; check. I rummaged through the pots and pans. Jack's great great grandma was a huge cooker, thus there were tons of cooking utensils.
I opened up on the cupboards. About 20 rusty pans came tumbling out his the floor with a loud clash. One of the larger pots his my exposed foot.
"Shit!, Motherfucker!" I cursed hopping around the kitchen holding my foot. Sighing I picked up all the scared pots and pans. Still cursing at them. At last I found the appropriate sized pot and filled it with water. I turned the knob of the gas stove until the blue flames sprang up, before setting the pot on top of it. After adding salt to the water, I took out the frying pan and put a thin layer of butter on it, before laying the bacon to cook on it. I made the garlic mixture and then poured the hot noodles on it, then topped it off with the cheese.

There had to be a table cloth around here. I searched for a good ten minutes until I found a small white table cloth neatly folded in the linins closet. I set the table and lite a few candles. To complete the look I went out into the over grown garden and scattered rose petals on the table. I ran upstairs, into the master bathroom. I went over and picked up a small box. If my mum had ever found it I would've been dead. I untied the red ribbon on it and opened it. Inside was a lacy red thong and red slip cover. I grabbed it and put it on. I put on my makeup and brushed my hair out before teasing the top of it. Shoes. I went back into the clothes and found red heels; they must have belonged to the grandmother. Next I slipped on a long black silk robe. I went down stairs careful not to fall in the heels and set a fire in the fireplace. I saw Jack's car drive up into the driveway. I turned off the lights and sat at the table crossing my legs.
"Hello?"
"Lilly, you here?" he walked into the kitchen.
"Damn hey" he said, spotting me, smiling and walking towards me.
"You did all this for me?"
"Yes" his hair was wet from the rain that had started to come down. His lips brushed mine before I wrapped my arms around him pulling him in.
"Let's eat" he said sitting down. A low rumble of thunder came from outside. Jack took a bite.
"This is very good baby"
"Thank you" I said smiling at him
"You have no idea of how much those pans wanted me dead!".
"So how was dinner?"
"It was pretty good there were the old ladies that kept wanting to tell me about their cats, it was nuts" I chuckled and pushed my hair back.
"So this is really good baby"
"Thank you" We finished eating and I stood up walking over to Jack.
"Ready for desert"
"Oh? What are you serving?" he said smirked, cocking an eyebrow. I untied the robe and reveled the red lingerie. Jack's eyes went wide.
"Oh damn" he said standing. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"And where are we to have dessert?"
"By the fire place"
"Will do" he said carrying me into the living room by the fire. He set me down carefully on the elaborate rug.
"Thank you" he said in between lust filled kisses. His hands were all over me, moving from my hips down to the thin strings around them. His mouth moved down to my neck nipping at it. I threw my head back moaning, as the sensation paralyzed my body.
"Wait!" he pulled away.
"I think I hear something..." We were both quiet for a second. Then we both heard the faint sound of something banging against the wooden front door.
"Help me" a small voice called. I could barley hear it over the storm. I hurriedly pulled my robe back on and ran to the door.
"Lilly!" Jack called. The sound of frantic knocking grew louder. Jack ran up behind me. He took a step in front of me and opened the door. A shivering boy stood there. His blond-light brown hair and clothing were drenched by the rain, and red stains that couldn't be anything but blood covered the front of his lime green jacket, and skinny purple jeans.
"Oh my god! What the hell happened to you?" I gasped.
"Please help me" the boy repeated.
"Come in." I said, putting my hand out. He took it, and I felt that his skin was ice cold. He must be freezing. Jack looked with wide eyes. I shut the door, and went to go get a blanket before wrapping it around the trembling boy.
"Sweetie come by fire" I said guiding him into the living room. He sat down on the rug, visibly shaking.
"Jack we have to help him"
"I'll go make some tea" he said disappearing into the kitchen. I went to sit next to the boy. Tear drops mixed with rain water felt from his cheeks.
"What happened to you?"
"M-my mum and m-my dad they won't wake up" he stammered. "W-we were driving and mummy said to pull over 'cause the storm, but d-daddy said we were almost there, then mummy screamed and there was a loud sound, and then nothing."
"I tried to wake up but they wouldn't I think they're dead" he said voice trembling. I looked at the blood stains on his jacket.
"Are you hurt?"
"N-no. I tried to wake up mummy but she didn't, so..."
"How old are you?"
"Twelve. My name is James."
"Okay. I'm Lilly, and that's Jack" I said pointing to Jack, as he walked in the room with a hot cup of tea.
"Thank you." he said, taking the cup and sipping from it slowly.
"James, we're going to call and get help for your parents, ok?"
"NO! You can't! There- there are bad people after us, and if they knew that mummy and daddy were dead, then they might come after me!"
"No one will hurt you. You're safe with us." I said, trying to soothe the frightened boy.
"No. Please don't.. No one can help us" he said frantically.
"Is there anyone you can call?" I asked.
"No" he said looking down glumly.
"It was just us." he replied.
"Lilly. Kitchen. Now." Jack said, standing up. I followed him. He looked anxious.
Once in the kitchen, he turned on me, his arms crossed.
"No"
"I haven't even asked anything" I replied in defense.
"I know what you're thinking and the answer is no!"
"We don't know who this kids or who the hell is after him, but one thing's for sure, and that's we don't want them coming here!"
"Well we can't just call the police. They'll know who were are." I replied cooly.
"Damn. You're right." Jack grumbled.
"And we can't just throw the kid out. It's storming out there." I added.
"So what are going to do? He can't stay here." Jack began to pace the kitchen floor.
"Why not, Jack? There's an extra room, and look at him! He's scared."
"But what about tomorrow?"
"Jack, we have to help him. He came to us"
"Lilly, we can't just take this kid in!"
"Just for a few days. Until we find out what to do."
"Fine" he said. I ran back into the living room and over to James. He looked up at me, his face a bit uneasy.
"Can I stay here? Please?"
"Of course you can." I said. He smiled through the tears.
"Thank you so much!"
"Come on. Let's get you something dry to wear."
"Okay" He said, standing up. I took his hand and walked him upstairs. I looked through Jack's shirts and found a large tee shirt.
"Here, you can wear this to sleep in." I said, handing it to him. He took off his wet clothes and I hung them up to dry.