Redemption(80)

I turned back to Dean. “He’s not long eaten. You’re going to make him—” And then it happened. Jeremy threw up all over Dean’s neck and chest. I could have shouted I told you so, but then Jeremy pouted and ran up the stairs. I was about to go when Dean stopped me.

“I’ll take care of this. It was my fault. I’m sorry.”

He looked so damn sorry, I couldn’t be mad at him. Instead, I ran to the bathroom, wet a towel, and came running back, seeing Dean taking his shirt off. It was totally inappropriate of me to gawk at his smooth, flawless chest right now, but I couldn’t help myself. I was a fucking addict whenever Dean was concerned.

“Thanks.” He stared at me, then wiped himself down. Once finished, he handed the towel back. We didn’t say a word, but sometimes a certain look spoke volumes. Dean cleared his throat. “I’ll go up and take care of Jeremy. I’ll be down as soon as I can.”

I nodded and watched as he ran up the stairs.

As I walked back into the kitchen, I caught Jimmy tenderly stroking Tara’s cheek. Tara went all shy, then gasped when she knew I caught her.

“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” I pouted like a little girl and made kissy noises.

“Uh-uh, Tyler. Don’t get me started on you, my friend.” She threw her hands in the air and shouted, “Dean, smack me. Dean, grab my ass. Dean, pull my hair. Oh, Dean, kiss me, you sexy son of a bitch!”

Now it was my turn to gasp. “When in the hell...?” I tried to think back to when she could have heard me. The only time I could think of was when Jeremy was at another party last week, and despite the fact Jimmy and Tara were here, Dean and I still couldn’t seem to wait to get our hands on each other.

I placed my head in my hands and Tara laughed. “Aha, now she remembers.”

“Oh god!”

Jimmy started laughing. “Don’t worry about it, Tyler. Your secret is safe with us.”

I looked up and smiled at him, but I still felt utterly mortified. I really had to learn to control myself, but how could I when the man of my dreams was satisfying all my fantasies? It just seemed beyond my control.

I bit my lip as I sat down. “I didn’t realize I was that loud.”

Tara made a puffing sound and then stared at me. “Err…yeah.”

She laughed a little, and I looked at her. She was healing well, but it was still hard to see her knowing that the monster she always thought was the love of her life had beaten her.

“How are you feeling, Tara?”

She sighed and looked at Jimmy with a smile. “I’m fine. I’ll get there, I suppose.”

I could still see her pain. She hid it well, but underneath that hard exterior was a woman who just wanted to be loved. And she was. When Jimmy had dropped Tara off and I ran a bath for her, she told me all about her pregnancy. I didn’t know anything about it until then. Her so-called husband wanted a child, but Tara wasn’t ready. It was then that things turned sour between them. The once loving husband began beating her, hid her birth control pills, and kept her locked up in their room for three whole weeks and repeatedly raped her. On one hand, she hoped beyond hope that she wasn’t pregnant. On the other hand, she hoped she was because she knew he was willing to do it all over again if she wasn’t. When the inevitable happened, she had to pretend to be happy. After a few weeks, she managed to convince him she was ecstatic. He eventually believed her, left her alone, even started caring for her, but it was too late. She didn’t want a life to be created by violence. She didn’t want to bring a new life into her world. She said it wasn’t fair to the baby.

She cried and I comforted her. She felt evil for doing it. She felt she had committed murder, but it was only the words of her ex-husband that floated around in her head. She made her choices for a reason and I truly hoped that, one day, she would get everything she deserved and more. I hoped Jimmy would be a part of that, but if they were meant to be, they were meant to be.

Tara cleared her throat. “I was thinking I might go home tomorrow. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Placing my hand on her arm, I shook my head. “No you don’t, Tara. I won’t hear any of that nonsense. I want you to stay here until you’re truly ready.” I looked over at Jimmy. “Isn’t that right, Jimmy?” He smiled and nodded. Tara just sighed.

“Listen, I like having you both here and so do Jeremy and Dean. There’s no doubt that Jeremy will be calling you Auntie Tara shortly.” I chuckled, thinking how sweet Jeremy was. If he really liked you, he always had to refer you as auntie or uncle…apart from Dean, of course. I don’t know where the hell he got D.D. from.