Page 73 of Diluted Truths

I was confused.

I knew my father was a horrible man, but I also knew that since I had left he wouldn’t go as far as to find me now.

Kai nodded. “Trust me, they are.”

We sat side by side in silence for a moment. The reality of what us coming here to Grantsville meant. Yes, they were here to see their brother, but being this close to her parents put Jackie in danger.

Kai clapped my shoulder before standing using his cane for support. “You seem like a good man, William.”

“Will, call me Will.”

“I can do that. Now I need to find that niece of mine because I am pretty sure she has barely any idea that I’m her uncle and I need to rectify that immediately.”

I watched as he exited the bedroom, limping with each step. There were things I could tell he wasn’t saying. Information about his parents and why they were the way that they were. I wasn’t sure if that was important information for me to know.

I laid back on the bed. My life had become extremely convoluted since Jackie walked into my office those few weeks ago.

I understood the way the world worked before, it made sense then. Now, I was chasing down a cult and scared that my girlfriend was going to be kidnapped. Add on top the information Kai just shared with me, it felt like everything was crumbling.

However, it was all worth it.

Jackie was worth it.

Chapter 22Welcome Home, Son by. Radical Face

Jackie

Iwoke up in what was becoming my favorite way, wrapped in Will’s arms.

He was still knocked out cold. We were both exhausted, but not because of anything fun. After Will brought our stuff in, we had dinner together with Kai and all headed off to bed. Theo and Violet had been awake since Mckinley called Saturday evening and it was Sunday night. Kai was reaching his end, obviously still feeling his injuries. Will and I were also exhausted from Thursday’s sexcapades.

It was my new favorite word.

After hitting the hay around nine last evening, I had woken up just a few hours later, screaming.

I had another one of my nightmares. I wasn’t sure because I couldn’t remember them or the first few minutes after I woke up. It was confusing to feel the fear that the nightmares were eliciting but not knowing a single detail as to what caused the fear.

When I finally came to, the first thing I saw were Will’s eyes. I had never seen him so concerned and it was obvious he was worried about me. Theo had wandered in as well to make sure I was okay. I guess my screaming was terrifying to hear. I hated feeling helpless but the nightmares were causing me to feel just that way. I did eventually drift off to sleep in Will’s arms and luckily didn’t have another nightmare.

At least I don’t think I did.

I extracted myself from Will’s embrace, not wanting to wake him. As I stood I looked down on his naked back.

I recently learned he didn’t sleep with a shirt on.

Win for me.

I gave him a soft kiss right between his shoulder blades before tiptoeing out of the room and closing the door softly behind me.

I wandered down the hall, eyeing the pictures that lined the walls. I had noticed all of us James siblings were mildly obsessed with documenting our lives in pictures.

I smiled when I saw a picture of Kai and Nate in high school. They shared almost no features in their coloring, yet were so obviously brothers. Another picture caught my eye. It was Kai, Theo, Violet and I after Theo had given birth. Kai didn’t come out to visit too often but healwayswas there when it counted.

The sound of footsteps drew my attention and I turned to see Kai standing at the end of the hallway.

“I remember that day,” He walked towards me and stood shoulder to shoulder. He didn’t have his cane, but his limp was obvious. “Theo was so happy to finally have Violet here. She hated being pregnant.”

I nodded in response.