#Orion is a lobster confirmed

[starlytenight]

...how does orion knight get through narrow doorways???

They can move. He's used them as extra weapons/projectiles in the fic and they can move independently of each other. He just has to move them with his brain, like moving an arm or wing.

The kids think it's pretty sick.

Also. Portals. Man's been through enough portal training to make Chell and GLaDOS blush.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Lobster Boy & Monkey Girl

Pairings: Jimmy Darling x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, forced prostitution for like a second (AHS: Freak Show canon), attempted non-con (again, for a second), shitty parenting choices.

Word Count: 6,857

A/N: First time writing AHS & Jimmy Darling. Just had this idea in my head and wanted to get it down on paper. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~1936~~~~~~~~

You couldn’t tell where your tears ended and the rain started as your aunt pushed you farther away from her car and the umbrella she had over her head.

“Aunt Bea, please!” You begged as you reached out for her arm, causing her to look at you with distain and rip her arm away from you.

“Don’t- touch me.” She spat.

“I wanna go home!” You sobbed. Your aunt, Beatrice laughed at you and gestured toward the tents behind you.

“This is your home now, you freak.” Your uncle, Thomas dropped a small grocery bag of belongings in the mud beside you with a sneer. “Give me the shoes.” He snapped as he moved his umbrella from one hand to the other and held out his hands for the custom made shoes. You shook your head and took half a step back.

“My mommy gave me those.” You hiccuped.

“Well your mommy’s dead, you little shit.” You uncle retorted angrily as he gestured to your shoes. “That leather is worth a ton of money.” He passed your aunt his umbrella and literally ripped the shoes off your feet… which were technically a second pair of hands. Your parents had accepted you for who you were but your other family didn’t. Which is how you found yourself standing in front of the ‘freak show circus’ at eight years old after your parents were killed in a car accident.

“And since we can’t get to the money, we’re getting that house.” You aunt said as she handed her husband his umbrella. You let out a sob, not caring about some stupid house your parents left you as you curled your ‘toe fingers’ in a vague attempt to hide your abnormality from the world.

“I wanna go home.” You said weakly as they turned to head toward the car.

“You are home, freak.” You uncle called out. You stood and sobbed as your aunt and uncle got in their sedan and drove off into the night without a single look back. Movement out of the corner of your eye caught your attention and you instantly cowered away.

“Wait, it’s OK. I won’t hurt you.” A boy about your age said as he slowly walked over to you. He held up his mitten covered hands as he walked until he got to your side. “Are you OK?” You shook your head as you looked down at your feet.

“I’m a freak.” You said softly as you sniffled.

“Me too.” You looked over at his movements as he pulled off one of his mittens and showed you his hand. You turned toward him as he wiggled his conjoined, claw like fingers at you. “I’m Jimmy.” You smiled as you uncurled your toes so your ‘feet’ laid flat in the mud. His eyes darted down to them for only a second before he looked back up at you with a smile.

“I’m (Y/N).” He smiled and reached down to grab your bag of clothes.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of the rain. My mom made brownies for dessert. I’ll share mine with you.” You smiled, took his out stretched hand and smiled; you were finally welcome as a freak.

~~~~~~~~ 7 Years Later ~1943 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sat at the top of the ferris wheel, looking up at the gorgeous, star dappled sky that appeared more white than black thanks to the lack of moon. But your eyes only focused on a set of three stars.

“… So Ethel says the school packet for this week wants me and Jimmy to write a family history for a history project. Somethin’ ‘bout seein’ where roots grow or somethin’.” You shrugged your shoulders as you fiddled with the sleeve of one of Jimmy’s shirts. “Don’t feel right ‘cause I don’t have a real family any more. Sure, Ethel is like my mom ‘cause she has to be. But she’s not my mom.” You sighed as you used your foot to gently rock the ferris wheel chair back and forth.

You opened your mouth to say something else when a soft ‘psst’ from the ground caught your attention. You looked over the side of the ferris wheel at your best friend’s smiling face and gave him a thumbs up; giving him permission to climb up. You unlocked the safety bar and climbed down part way so you could help Jimmy up. He usually had a not so easy time gripping the thin, awkwardly spaced bars the way you- the ‘monkey girl’: the freak show contortionist with four hands, did. You heard him huff a laugh as he willingly let you grab hold of his wrists with your feet.

“You would think this would be easy by now.” He said softly as you pulled him up to you and pushed him up toward the top most chair.

“It is.” You giggled as he slid into the seat. “You just ain’t cool like me.” He scoffed as you locked the safety bar back in place. He draped his arm over your shoulder and you curled into his side like you did almost every night as you both turned your gazes up to the sky.

“How’s your mom?” He asked gently; he was the only person at the circus that knew the real reason you climbed up the ferris wheel every night. You shrugged slightly as you stuck your foot out to rock the chair for the two of you.

“I was just tellin’ her about the history project.” You felt him nod slightly as he brushed his fingers along your arm.

“You should write about them.” He whispered. “My mom wouldn’t mind. She knows she’s not your mom even though you call her that.” You nodded against his chest as you looked at the three stars that made up Orion’s belt. “You can write about the story of the stars. That’s part of your history.” You took a small but deep breath at his statement because not even he knew the story. He had also gave up on asking you years ago.

“Do you remember that power outage, like a year before I came here?” You felt Jimmy’s hand stop moving and his arm tightened around you. He reached down and laced his fingers with yours as best as he could and nodded.

“Lightning.” You nodded in confirmation as you picked your hand up off the seat and laid it on top of his.

“Momma and I used to drive past here every day after school and I always wanted to ride the ferris wheel. My father never wanted to come- I think he was slightly embarrassed of me but never admitted it. So when my father had to go away for work, my momma brought me. We were on the ferris wheel when the power went out. We were all the way at the top like this and I was so scared somethin’ would happen to us.” You let out a small giggle as you brushed your thumb across the back of his hand. “I thought we were going to die but my momma pulled me close and pointed up at the stars. See the three in a row right there?” You asked as you pointed out Orion’s belt. He nodded as he turned his head toward it a little more. Tears filled your eyes as your grip tightened in his hand.

“She said that if something ever happened to her, that she would make sure God let her go to the middle star of that constellation every night so I could see her. She said she’d stay as long as I needed her too so she could hear all about my day and whatever else I wanted to talk to her about. She’d stay there forever and she told me that if something happened to me, that God would let me go to that same star to see her whenever I wanted to. That’s our star.” Jimmy gently pulled his hand away from yours and wrapped both arms around you tightly. He didn’t say a word as he let you cry it out.

“She sounds like she was a really great mom.” He said softly once you had quietly cried it out. You nodded against his chest as a smile spread across your face.

“She was. She really was.” You sat up a bit and Jimmy let his hand fall from around the front part of your body on your arm so he could hold your hands again. “She likes you. I can feel it.” A smile pulled at the corner of his cheeks as his beautiful brown eyes searched yours.

“I have to tell you something.” Your brow arched as he reached up and brushed your tears away with his fingertips. “I’m in love with you.” Your eyes lit up and your smile grew impossibly bigger.

“Me too.” You reached up and laid your hand on his as he cupped your jaw. He huffed a laugh and his smile turned into a smirk.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.” You giggled and shook your head.

“We’re fifteen. Neither of us do.” You both leaned forward and kissed; bumbling slightly the way teenagers did. It took a few minutes to figure it out and it was all sloppy as hell but at that moment, it was perfect. When you both finally came up for air, he rested his forehead against yours.

“Can I sleep over tonight? Not like… you know…” Jimmy asked, nervously. You nodded and gently kissed his nose.

“I’d really like that.”

~~~~~~ 2 years later ~1945~~~~~~~~~~

“We should run away.” You glanced up at your boyfriend with your eyebrow arched as the two of you walked in the tree line toward town. He nodded to himself as he glanced over at you. “I hate doing this to you.” You sighed as you laced your arm with his and laid your head on his arm.

“We have two months left, baby. Two months until I can get my money then we can go anywhere you wanna go.” He groaned as he tightened his arm around your arm.

“Still don’t like this.” You couldn’t help but shrug as you forced yourself not to feel.

“Well we don’t have a choice. We have to…”

“Yea, but I don’t have to cheat on my girlfriend.” You stopped walking and pulled back on his arm so he would look at you.

“You’re not cheating.” You said softly as you reached up and put your hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t interrupt. “You don’t sleep with them, you don’t kiss them…”

“Yea, I finger them.” He grumbled, his words barely comprehensible behind your hand.

“Exactly. And technically, since I know about it, it’s not cheating. And besides the fact, you know what happens when you refuse.” He sighed against your hand and nodded.

“She goes after you for it.” You nodded and put your hand down on his chest.

“And since I can’t just use my ‘special hands’…”

“Yea, I know.” Jimmy said a little roughly. You stepped up so your chest was against his and balled his shirt in your hand.

“I hate it as much as you do. But we’ve fought this before…”

“I know.” He sighed as he wrapped his arms around you. “I still don’t have to like it, baby girl.” You gave him a weak smile as you reached up to cup his jaw.

“We’ve come this far, my love. We’re almost done.” He sighed and kissed the palm of your hand.

“We’re moving to Alaska. We’re getting as far away from Florida as possible.” You smirked as you stood on your tiptoes to give him a chaste kiss.

“Yea, I’m not freezing my ass, Jimmy. Come on, you can’t be late.” He groaned and rolled his head back as you dragged him toward town.

“I don’t wanna!” He pouted playfully as he pulled his arm out of the crook of yours and wrapped his arms around your waist. You held his arms tight with a laugh as he stumbled behind you, playfully draping his body weight on you as he went.

“God, you’re so heavy.” You grunted as the lights of the city of Jupiter came into view through the trees. “Alright, you gotta go.”

“I protest.” He said as he kissed your neck. He stepped in front of you and gave you a kiss. “I love you, baby girl.” He said softly as he gave you another chaste kiss. “I’ll meet you here when I’m done.” You nodded as he kissed you once more and pulled his mittens from his pocket.

“Love you, baby. Have fun.” He held up his gloved hand at you, insinuating that he was flicking you off before jogging off. You watched him until he was completely out of sight, before heading toward the diner on the outskirts of town. Your hands slid into the warn pockets of your jeans and wrapped your fingers around your last nickel for the month.

It was your monthly ritual- Ethel would force Jimmy (and you if he absolutely refused) to preform sexual favors for self absorbed house wives (or their cheating, even more self absorbed husbands) so she’d have enough money for the month to raise the two of you. You both knew she wasn’t a huge fan of having to do it but she didn’t have much of a choice other wise. It wasn’t like there were a whole lot of choices for jobs for freaks in the 40’s.

“Hi, Jean.” You said softly as you stepped into the quiet diner. The elderly waitress, who had taken a liking to you and Jimmy because you were ‘just too cute’, waved to you and glanced at the back corner booth.

“Coffee, sweetheart?” You nodded at her with a smile as you slid into your booth and put your nickel down near the edge. Jean came over and set your coffee and a plate with two cookies down in front of you. She gave you a wink as she picked up your nickel and headed back behind the counter to leave you in peace. You kicked your feet up on the other booth and sat back to enjoy your cookies.

—

You were heading back toward the woods in the dark with a small smile on your face, replaying the story Jean had told about her grandson when a set of head lights swept across your face. You stepped off the road into the grass but the truck suddenly sped up and stopped right in front of you sideways across the road.

“Look it’s monkey girl.” A guy in the passenger side shouted to his friend as the driver side door open. Panic curled in your stomach as you turned to run toward the woods but a strong set of arms caught you around the waist and lifted you off the ground.

“Where ya goin’ freak?” The driver sneered as he started to pull you back toward the truck. You started to scream as loud as you could but the other boy shoved a bandana in your mouth and taped it in place.

“You know, Tommy’s dad said she gives great blow jobs.” The passenger said as he dropped the tail gate of his truck. You fought hard against the man holding you as you tried frantically to toe your shoes off so you had an extra set of hands to fight with.

“Yea well, my guess is the freak will bite.” The driver said as he heaved you into the bed. “Get the rope from the front.” You managed to catch the back of your boot on the bed of the truck and it came half way off before the hands on your waist disappeared.

“Get off her!” Jimmy screamed as he slammed his fist into the guys face. “(Y/N), run!” You shook your head as you ripped the tape off your skin, threw the bandana on the ground and shoved your boot back on.

“We have to go.” You said as you grabbed Jimmy’s arm and yanked him back. Your eyes followed his friend toward town and you yanked on your boyfriend’s arm again. “Baby, please.”

“Next time you go near her or if say anything to the cops and I’ll find you and I’ll kill you for this.” Jimmy shouted as he finally stood up. You yanked him away from the woods toward the community around town and the two of you took off. “Where…?” He called out as you ducked between two houses and launched yourself up on the fence. You paused at the top and held your hand out for him.

“Just trust me.” He nodded as you lowered him into the yard. You jumped down behind him, grabbed his hand and pulled him behind you as the faint sounds of sirens started to get closer. You knew that meant absolutely nothing good for the two of you. You lead him a couple streets over and a half mile up before you finally climbed over the back fence of your old house.

“Stay low.” You said softly as you ducked down and walked quickly toward the cellar door. You hadn’t been to your old house since the day the state took you away. You had no idea if your aunt and uncle had managed to steal the house from you but now you were about to find out.

“What is this place?” Jimmy whispered as you went over to the loose window beside the cellar doors.

“My house.” You toed off your boots, stashed them in the bushes and looked back at Jimmy. “Stay as quiet as you can and walk where I walk.” He nodded as you sat on the ground and used your legs and feet to pull open the window so you could use your hands to hold the old window pane still in the frame so it wouldn’t rattle. You gestured to Jimmy so he would come closer as you propped the window open. You lowered him in to the house and followed him.

“Why have we never snuck in here before?” He whispered as you carefully meandered through the dust covered trinkets and old broken furniture your dad was always determined to refurbish but never got around to it. You shrugged as you ducked under a stick of some kind.

“Scared.” You said with a shrug as you glanced back at him. “I didn’t know if my aunt and uncle had…” Your face contorted instantly with all the dust and you knew you were screwed.

“Hold it!” Jimmy hissed seconds before you sneezed. You both froze as a large ‘thump’ came from just above your heads, setting dust floating down on the pair of you.

“Run.” You whisper shouted as you ducked back under the stick. You made it a quarter of the way across the cellar behind Jimmy when the main door was ripped open and the room was flooded with light.

“Who’s down there?” A voice called out; a voice that you hadn’t heard in years. You grabbed Jimmy’s arm and turned around as Hank, the older man who had been taking care of your house and yard since long before you were born, slowly walked down the stairs with his shotgun in his hand. He looked just like you remembered him with only a little more grey in his black hair and a few more wrinkles around his eyes. He was a lot taller than you remembered but then again, so were you.

“Hank?” You called out carefully as you took a hesitant step forward. Jimmy frantically grabbed your arm and he pulled you closer to him… just in case. “Hank, it’s (Y/N).” You watched the man stop on the step as he found you in the poorly lit room and he lowered his shot gun with a sigh.

“Oh, Miss (Y/N), look at you, all grown up.” He smiled sweetly as he gestured you forward. “You look just like your mama.” You smiled at him as you and Jimmy ducked down under the stick and hesitantly walked toward the stairs.

“Who lives here?” He shook his head as he studied your face with a hint of tears in his green eyes.

“Just me and my Gracie. Your daddy made sure of that in his will. Come upstairs, child. Bring your little friend.” You glanced over at Jimmy, who gave you a small nod as he took a hold of your hand. You gave him a small nod of assurance and the two of you followed the old redneck up into your kitchen. You could see his wife, Grace peeking her head out of the doorway from the guest bedroom with curlers in her dirty blonde hair and her jaw dropped when she realized who you were.

“Oh honey child! I knew you’d come home!” She cried as she pulled you into her arms before grabbing your shoulders and holding you back at arms length. “Sweetheart, ya know ya ain’t gotta sneak in ta your own house.”

“Wasn’t sure it was still my house.” You looked around at the all too familiar, southern kitchen and tears welled in your eyes as memories flooded your mind. “Umm… this is my boyfriend, Jimmy.” You choked as you pulled him closer. “We… um… we…”

“You’ve been here all night.” You looked over at Grace, your housekeeper, (and partner in crime when you were misbehaving) who recognized your ‘misbehaving face’ instantly, and gave her a small smile and a nod. She stepped over and cupped your jaw in her hands.

“I kept your parents room exactly the same. Why don’t you two get settled and I’ll bring ya some dinner, OK? Ya both look damn near starved.” You nodded at her again as she wiped your tears away and kissed your forehead with a smile. “It’s so good ta see ya, honey.” With a kiss on your cheek she pushed you and Jimmy past her so she could start cooking. Jimmy squeezed your hand reassuringly as you lead him through your kitchen toward the living room.

“It looks exactly the same.” You whispered as you walked over to your parents bedroom door.

“Hey.” You looked back at Jimmy and he searched your tear filled eyes. “You wanna be here? ‘cause I can take my chances…” You shook your head and pulled him closer to you.

“Don’t leave me.” He shook his head and put his hand on your lower back with a smile.

“Never.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Morning, beautiful. Did you sleep at all?” You smiled as you glanced away from the family photo in your hand and over at Jimmy as you shook your head.

“Not a bit.” He nodded and yawned as he scooted across the king sized bed and laid his head on your stomach. Your fingers immediately went to his hair as you laid the picture frame against your legs in front of him. “I haven’t seen a photo of them since I met you. I didn’t wanna look away.” You felt him gently kiss your stomach through one of your mom’s night shirts in understanding before scooting up the bed and laying his head on your shoulder.

“If you don’t wanna go back with me… I understand.” Your brow furrowed as your quickly looked down at him.

“Jimmy, I wanna be where you are. Whether that’s here in this house, or our tin box house at the freak show, or even Alaska, I wanna be with you… but I swear to God, if you make me go to that frozen tundra, I may kill you.” You both laughed as you wrapped your hand around the arm he had draped across your body and tucked the other around his back. “I just… I don’t know what to do here. The circus is all we really know. I know we always talk about running away but… that’s our family.” He shook his head against your chest and looked up at you.

“You’re my family, doll. You and mom but she knows what you mean to me.” You smiled at the man you loved and kissed his forehead.

“Tell me what I’m supposed to do here, Jimmy.” He hummed as he gently picked the picture up off your lap and set it on the bedside table where it came from.

“Well, right now I think we should cuddle for a bit since we don’t have to do any chores. Then, I wanna see what that amazing breakfast smell is…”

“Bacon, scrambled eggs and chocolate chip, smily face waffles with whipped cream hair and fruit faces. Oh, and chocolate milk.” He looked at you with his eyebrows raised and you shrugged. “I was 8, OK? That was my breakfast of choice back then so that’s what Grace is making for old times sake, I guarantee it.” He chuckled as you snuggled down in the bed next to him and wrapped him in a hug.

“Well then smily face waffles it is. After that, we’ll go check in with mom and we’ll go from there, OK?” You smiled at him and rested your forehead against his.

“What did I do to deserve you?” He let out a single syllable laugh and shook his head on the pillow.

“Better question is what did I do to deserve you?” He brushed his fingers through your hair with a smile and pulled you into his chest. “No matter what, we decide together. Just you and me, OK?”

“OK.”

“Y’all fixin’ ta stay in bed all day or y’all gunna come eat this breakfast I slaved over?” Grace called out as she knocked sharply on the door. “The waffles been smilin’ at the ceilin’ for ten minutes and I ain’t lookin’ ta hear my little baby girl doin’ the dirty ‘fore I eat.” You groaned loudly as you buried your face in his chest, absolutely mortified. Jimmy burst out laughing and fell back onto the mattress.

“Man, can we stay here? That’s such a better wake up than Elsa’s singing… or Meep, Salty, and Pepper playing tag right outside our trailer… or Ma Petite using our bed as a bounce house until you make her your chocolate milk ‘cause it tastes better.” He joked as you forced yourself out of bed.

“Well Ma Petite can thank Grace for that. She taught me.” You paused for a moment and looked into your parents closet. A smile spread across your face as you stepped inside and carefully grabbed the navy blue, button up dress from the photo by the bed. You had absolutely no idea if it was your mom’s favorite or not but it was one you remembered her wearing often. With a smile, you pulled off your nightgown and slipped the dress on. Jimmy’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor as you walked out of the closet and he whistled as he sat up on the bed.

“Damn…” You smiled as you went over to the dresser to look at yourself in the mirror.

“Weird to see me in a dress, right?” He shrugged as you quickly ran a brush through your hair.

“I like it, though.” You glanced over at him with a smile.

“Well thank you. You can feel free to take anything you want from the closet. I’m not sure if it will fit or not.” Jimmy shrugged as he got out of bed and looked at his thread bare shirt and pants from the day before.

“Honestly, I don’t care if it fits perfectly or not. As long as it’s clean.” You smiled at him as you headed into the bathroom to find a hair ribbon. When both of you were dressed (in clothes that were surprisingly a perfect fit on Jimmy), you headed out to the kitchen just as Grace was really finishing breakfast. She looked up at you and froze.

“(Y/N)… Lord in heaven.” You blushed and looked down at your dress.

“I remember her wearing it a lot.” She nodded as she came over and gave you a hug.

“It was her favorite. Brought out the color of her eyes, same as yours.” She looked over at Jimmy and smiled. “And look at you, such a handsome young man. But take off them mittens in this house, child. ’s’not necessary here. No one is different under this roof and they don’t match that shirt.” You smiled at him with a nod and he slowly took off his gloves as Grace headed back into the kitchen. You took his hand confidently and glanced down at your bare feet to make a silent point before heading into the kitchen.

“So them police came by while ago.” Hank said casually as he looked at the paper. “Claimed two freaks escaped from the damn circus and were causin’ trouble in the neighborhood. Asked if we’d seem ‘em an’ I done told ‘ em we ain't seen no freaks. So I ask ‘em, ‘what’d these freaks look like anyways?’” He smirked as he finally looked up at the two of you over the top of his news paper. “Man says, ‘they look like tall, bald clowns.’ Clowns, he says.” He chuckled to himself and looked back down at the paper. You glanced over at Grace as the two of you sat down at the table.

“They said nothing about the God awful names those people have given you poor children. Not one word.” You glanced over at Jimmy as you picked up your fork.

“Guess he listened.” He nodded as he went to pick up his own fork. You set yours down quickly and grabbed his off the table to save him from the inevitable embarrassment. “Smaller forks don’t work so well.” You said softly to Grace as you pulled the ribbon from your hair and wrapped it around the handle a few times. He reached down and squeezed your knee in thanks as you handed him back his fork.

“I’ll figure somethin’ out ‘fore supper for ya, kid.” Hank said as he turned the page of the newspaper. “That is… if y’all’er stickin’ around Miss (Y/N).” Grace hissed her husbands name as you choked a bit on your milk.

“We haven’t decided yet.” Jimmy said as he pat your back.

“We’re a package deal though.” Hank looked at the pair of you over the top of his paper for a moment and shrugged.

“Alright.”

“So how do I still own this place?” You inquired as you gestured around the kitchen. “Aunt Bea and Uncle Thomas said they were going to take it since…”

“Your daddy made sure that would never happen.” Hank said as he folded up his paper and set it down on the table. He glanced over at Grace for a second before looking back at you. “What I’mma ‘bout ta tell ya ain’t pretty, Miss (Y/N).” Your brow arched as you slowly set your fork down on your plate and nodded your head once. Hank and Grace exchanged a look as Jimmy took a hold of your hand under the table. “Well… ya see… umm…”

“Your uncle was the one who had your parents killed. Ain’t no accident, honey.” You let out a strangled cry as your grip on Jimmy’s hand tightened, painfully. He turned in his chair and put his hand on your back so he could catch you if you fainted as Hank continued on.

“They’s both in prison forever, Miss (Y/N). Ain’t gotta worry ‘bout them no more. But afta that is where me an’ Grace messed up.” You looked over at Grace who had tears in her eyes and she shook her head.

“You see, we ain’t been knowin’ where they took you right away. They just done said you was gone, too. We looked an’ looked but we never thought they’d send ya to that place. Took us a two years ta find ya but the second we seen that picture of ya at the circus, we headed straight there.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she reached across the table for your hand with a weak smile. “You looked so happy with your friend, baby. Two’a ya were runnin’ ‘round playin’ tag with a few other people an’ I seen ya didn’t even have no shoes on. You were free as a bird.”

“We wanted ta bring ya home, Miss (Y/N). But we didn’t wanna make you unhappy again.” You nodded weakly to Hank as he reached forward and put his hand on top of Grace’s and yours.

“A woman saw us watchin’ and she came ova ta us; Ethel. Said she was your momma.” Grace said as she reached out for Jimmy’s hand. He hesitated for a moment until you squeezed his hand and glanced over at him before he slowly took her hand as well. She didn’t flinch at the unusual, acquired feeling of his fingers around hers and her thumb began rubbing the back of his hand reassuringly as she continued. “She told us she was raisin’ both’a ya’s. So we offered to help.”

“We made sure ta give her fifty dollars every month and we paid for both your schooling with the money your daddy put aside ta raise ya. We knew your daddy would have wanted it that way until you were eighteen to get the rest…” Both you and Jimmy dropped Grace and Hank’s hands as you scooted back away from the table simultaneously.

“You paid her?” Jimmy clarified as you tried, unsuccessfully to find words. The two of you glanced at each other, stunned as Hank and Grace scrambled to make things better.

“We’re sorry, sweetheart. We just wanted you to have the best…” Grace said before Jimmy cut her off.

“No, you two ain’t at fault. My mother is.” You looked back at your care takers and shook your head.

“She didn’t spend that money on us… or even me. She spent it on booze for her and Elsa.” Grace gasped as Jimmy stood up from his chair to leave. You quickly jumped up and ran in front of him.

“We do this smart.” You said as you cupped his jaw in your hands. You brushed your thumbs across his cheeks as you gently stood on his feet and held them down with your finger toes, waiting for him to look at you. “Look at me, baby.” After a moment, he conceded and looked down at you with rage swirling in his eyes and his hands landed on your hips. “We had each other. We didn’t have the best life growing up but we didn’t need more. It would have been nice to have more, but we didn’t need it.”

“She used us!” He shouted as his grip tightened on your sides. “She made you…” Tears welled in his eyes as you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down to you.

“I know, baby. I know.” You whispered as you held his shaking body. Tears filled your eyes as you ran your fingers through his hair and shook your head. “It’s over now, Jimmy. It’s all over.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I promised you…” He pulled back to look at you and cupped your cheeks in his hands. Your hands moved around his body and you hugged him tight. “Baby girl…” You nodded at him as your tears fell onto his fingers.

“We- are- OK.” You said softly as you rubbed your hands on his back. “Just you and me, remember?” He nodded at you as you reached between his arms and wiped his tears off his cheeks. “So let’s finish breakfast and figure this out, OK? Then we’ll go talk to her, together with Hank and Grace.” He nodded again and pulled you to him for a lingering kiss before pulling away.

“I’ll make this better, love. I promise.”

——

“Wait! I almost got it!” You laughed as you tried to figure out how to drive your family’s 1933 Chevy Eagle. Jimmy and Grace laughed from the back seat as Hank did his best to teach you how to drive a manual car. With a laugh, you put the car into first again. You turned the engine over and tried to go once more with success.

“You got it!” Hank cheered as he scooted toward you on the seat a bit. He gave you a few more tips and pointers and kept his hand close to the wheel to help if you needed it but let you drive for the first time in your life back to the circus. He glanced back at Jimmy with a smile. “Don’t get to comfy, boy. You’re next.” You smiled to yourself but didn’t take your eyes off the road out of fear of crashing.

“Oh Lord help us all!” Grace teased. “Two teenage drivers in one household; Heaven’s ta Betsy!” You giggled as Hank walked you through down shifting while turning. The turn was a little sloppy but you managed it alright and before you knew it, you were pulling up to the freak show. You smiled at the curious faces of the people you considered your family who were looking over from their daily chores at the fancy car that just pulled up. You turned and glanced back at Jimmy with a small smile.

“Ready?” He nodded as he reached forward and squeezed your shoulder with his mitten covered hand.

“It’s best for us.” You nodded in agreement as Hank came around and opened your door for you. You smiled up at him and got out of the car as Pepper, who for whatever reason had looked at you as an almost motherly figure, ran over to you.

“Pretty!” She said as she pulled at your dress before giving you a tight hug. You smiled as you pulled away from her to grab the box of things you brought from your house. Grace held it for you so you could grab one of the blue ribbons from it.

“I brought you something special.” You said to her as you reached up to untie the old, dirty ribbon she had in her hair. She smiled brightly as you tied the ribbon that matched your dress into her hair.  “Now you match me.” You kissed the top of her head as Ethel called out her son’s name. You looked over at him as Grace gently put her hand on your boyfriend’s arm. “Go on, Pep. We gotta talk to mama.” She nodded as Ethel’s eyes widened when she realized who the two of you were with.

“Remember what we talked about.” You said to Jimmy. He nodded as he forced himself to relax his clenched jaw and walked toward his mom. He gestured for her to go to her trailer and she went without argument. You glanced back at Hank and Grace, who had given the box of clothes and toys you were giving to your family to Amazon Eve while they waited by the car until you were ready to go.

“Jimmy…” Ethel said as you pulled the door closed behind you and he simply growled at her, angrily.

“They paid you to take care of her.” He started as he slowly and threateningly walked toward her. “They paid you and you didn’t take care of her like she deserved!”

“Jimmy…” She tried as she backed slowly into one of the walls. He shook his head as you walked up and put your hand on his back.

“You made her sell herself for sex… just so you could drink your life away.”

“Jimmy, I…”

“Stop! Talking!” He shouted as he pointed at himself. “It’s my turn, now. You know she means the world to me and that I would have done anything for her and you used that against me! Your own son! How could you do that?!” She shook her head and he scoffed at her. “Because you never cared about her. She was just your meal ticket, wasn’t she? Wasn’t she!? Admit it!”

“I never asked to raise her!” Ethel shouted back. “I was forced to raise two kids by myself…”

“Damn good job you did, too.” You snapped. “Selling your kids to the highest bidder and pocketing every dime you could. Your free ride from us is over, mommy dearest.” You gestured to yourself and Jimmy and shook your head. “We’re done.”

“We’re leaving… for good. And we aren’t coming back.” Tears fell from her eyes as she took a step toward her son but he shook his head and stepped back closer to you. “No. We’re going home. I’m going home with my family.” Without another word, he turned back toward the door, took your hand and lead you out behind him. You gripped his hand tight in yours as the two of you headed back toward the car. Grace lifted her eyebrows, questioningly and you gave her a weak smile and a nod that all was OK.

“Let’s go home, sweetheart.” Jimmy said softly as he looked down at you. “Together.” You smiled up at him and nodded.

“Together.”