Dirt On A Back Road

Chapter II

Jaylin's pov:

The chaos in the dinning room halted suddenly as the occupants saw me beside Jeremiah. The amount of people amazed me. Starting from the big bay window on the far side, there was eight chairs on one side. A single chair stood at the end with a black haired guy who looked to be in his late fifties. On the other side of the table sat another seven chairs. Fourteen pairs of eyes met my gaze. Five girls and eight boys, not counting Jeremiah's parents.

Jeremiah sighed.

"Jaylin meet my family. Everyone meet Jaylin."

I waved weakly as I felt a cold sweat trickle down my back. The older man set down his fork that was half way to his mouth. A single word left his mouth.

"Hey."

I froze as I tried to decide if I should respond. As I swallowed, the older woman smiled then stood from her seat.

"Hello, Jaylin. How are you? We have an extra seat if you would like anything to eat. Ray, darling, why don't you get a glass and some silverware?"

A girl, who I suspected was Ray, stood and grabbed the stuff. Jeremiah nodded to me then left to sit beside his brothers. I panicked for a few seconds before the older woman motioned for me to sit in the seat she had made room for. The spot was seated right in the middle of the five girls.

"Take a seat, Jaylin.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Call me Sarah, honey. My husband's name is Chuck. He doesn't talk a lot."

I nodded as I sat down. Chaos resumed and Sarah motioned for my plate. I handed her my plate and watched as she filled it up. Mashed potatoes, green beans, a huge slice of ham, a piece of bread that had butter on it and then a big pile of apple sauce. I tried not to grimace at the very full plate, but I smiled and took the plate gratefully.

I inhaled my potatoes and my ham, along with my bread. Surprisingly, I was hungrier than I thought and I cleaned my plate pretty quickly. While I ate, I felt someone's eyes on me. When I looked up, I found Jeremiah staring at me. He was sitting directly across from me. I felt my face heat up and then I looked down at my plate to finish my apple sauce.

As I finished my apple sauce, Ray, the girl from earlier, took my plate. I watched as she put it in the sink. Looking around myself, I found almost everyone was gone. Sarah smiled at me.

"So Jaylin, what happened that Jeremiah had to pick you up?"

I looked to Jeremiah and his raised eyebrows told me to continue.

"My car ran out of gas."

I didn't really want to tell her about the rest because it was embarrassing. I could feel my face burn just thinking about it. Sarah smiled knowingly.

"I'm guessing it wasn't just that."

My eyes met hers and her kind smile made me relax.

"No. It wasn't just that."

Jeremiah continued for me.

"His oil was low and it was filthy. He doesn't even know how to-"

"Don't embarrass him so much, Jeremiah. Look how red his face is!"

His words made me cringe and I felt like crying.

"Why don't you go outside and have one of your brothers help you get his car."

Jeremiah sighed then left the table, sulking. I watched him out of the corner of my eyes as he sauntered through the kitchen. The sound of the screen door slamming shut had me looking back to Sarah.