The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is unheard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings for freedom.
- Maya Angelou
The drive to the compound was too short, as I found myself missing the feeling of Baby pressing against me. I parked my bike in my spot, shutting her off before climbing off. I turned around to check on Baby and found her smiling. That's when I really got a look at her.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
"You like riding?" I ask her, snapping out of it and helping her off the bike. She nods her head so hard that I worry it's going to fall off. I chuckle at her before opening my bike bag and handing her doll. She snatches it, hugging it. "What's its name?" I ask her
She smiles at me. "Millie," I smile back at her nodding. I grab her hand again, leading her towards the back of the clubhouse, where my apartment is. As we pass the in-ground pool, she suddenly gasps, loudly stopping. I turn back to see what's the matter. She stares at the pool wide-eyed.
"Is that your bathtub?"
I look at her confusedly before shaking my head. "This is a pool; you swim in it," I tell her, realizing she most likely doesn't know how to swim. She nods slowly, but I don't think she knows what swimming is. I make a promise to myself to teach her. I continue to tug her along to my apartment. I open the door leading her in, and I release her hand, closing the door behind us. I watch as she looks around, taking in every single thing. She walks over to my television, looking at it strangely.
"What is this?" she asks, staring at it. I walk over, standing behind her, grabbing the remote from the television stand. I press the power button, and it turns on the news channel. Baby gasps loudly in fear, jumping backwards, right into me. I grab her, holding her waist as she turns and clings to me, her hands grabbing onto my shirt tightly. "Hey, its ok, its just a TV; it's like moving drawings," I tell her, rubbing her back. She nods against me before letting go of my shirt and turning to look at the TV again.
She stares at it in awe, watching the news lady talk. I changed the channel to SpongeBob, something more appropriate for her. She stands, mesmerized by the yellow sponge, as he blows bubbles. I lead her to the couch, sitting her down. "Why don't you sit here and watch the TV? I have to go talk to my men." She nods, not even looking up at me, giggling as SpongeBob blows animals with his bubbles. I grin in amusement as I make my way to the door. I grab my keys and lock the door behind me.
I walk into the clubhouse to the bar, taking a seat next to Hero as he sips his beer. "Where's the girl?" he asks me as he continues to sip his beer. I look at him with narrowed eyes as a protective feeling overcomes me. I calm down when I realize he is just asking, not because of alternative reasons. "She's watching SpongeBob," I tell him, watching as he chuckles in amusement.
"She sure is an innocent one," he says, shaking his head. I nod, agreeing, "Well, what can you expect? I would guess she's been locked in that room for a long time." I tell him, shaking my head. "Yeah, that sick bastard, why do you think he had her locked there?" he asks. My head snaps at him. "Your not suggesting what I think you are?" I ask him, and my voice comes out tight in anger. "Well, why would a man like that keep a young girl locked in his basement?"
I don't answer, knowing he is right. Why would Mason Divilo have a girl locked in his basement?
I stand up from the stool, turning and heading to the meeting room. "Church now," I call over my shoulder. Five minutes later, we all sat at the meeting table, going over what happened. I'm about to start telling them about Baby when the door opens quickly, banging against the wall.
All the brothers heads snap to the door, ready to draw their guns when Baby comes running in and over to me. "Everyone stay seated," I say, putting them at ease. They all sit down, going quiet again, as they stare at Baby in shock, having never seen a woman come running into church like this before.
She quickly runs over to me, taking me completely off guard when she climbs into my lap, hugging me tightly. I feel her shaking in fear. I rub her back soothingly. "What happened?" I ask, ignoring my brother's stares. She sniffles on my chest, causing me to become more worried. "The TV changed, a-and I came to find you to put SpongeBob back on, but when I came here, there was a man with a weird thing on his face, and he knew my name," she says, and firstly, I'm shocked because that is the most I've heard her say.
Then I register what she says: "What exactly did he say?" I ask, knowing she may be confused because of what her name is. "He-he said, 'hey baby." I chuckled at how adorable she was, rubbing her back. "It's okay; he wasn't talking to you. Baby can be used as an endearment, something someone calls their loved ones," she nods slowly in understanding as her sniffles decrease.
I finally look back up at my brothers as they stare at us in shock and confusion. "This is Baby; we found her living in Mason's basement," I tell them, watching as they look even more shocked. I can see the wheels turning in their heads as they most likely think what Hero thought.
My men look at her, and my jaws tighten as I remember that she is still only wearing my jacket. I cover her with my arms, even though my jacket covers most of her, falling all the way down to her knees. I decide to question her about what happened to her there. "Baby, how long did you live with Mason?" She looks up at me, confused, before understanding comes over her face.
"I've always lived with Master."
She tells me like it's obvious that my brothers jaws clench as they look shocked and angry, just like I feel. My jaw clenches as I try to control my anger to ask her the next question, "What did you do there?" I ask her stiffly, and she looks at me, smiling, causing me to soften. "I would sleep, play with Millie, and sometimes Master would give me a treat after dinner."
I nod in understanding, listening to every word she says: "What kind of treats?" She then goes on to tell me all the different kinds of flavored candies she has. I nod along, waiting for her to finish before standing up and setting her to stand on her feet. I dismiss all my brothers except Hero.
I wave Hero over to us, waiting till he stops in front of us. "Have one of the old ladies get Baby clothes," I tell him as he nods. Baby's head snaps up to me as she hears her name. "Why do I need those?" she asks us, looking confused. "Because you can't walk around naked," I tell her, watching her face as she becomes even more confused. "Why not?" she asks me innocently.
My jaw clenches in arousal as I think of how she looked naked. Then I think of all the men who would see her naked, and that is quickly replaced with intense anger and protection. "No," I say, snapping, causing her to flinch. I soften. I explain further, "It's against the law to walk around naked; if you do, they will punish you." I tell her softly, watching her eyes widen in fear as she nods.
I turn back to Hero, seeing him smirk in amusement at me. "What are you still doing here?" I ask his smug ass, and he just shakes his head before smiling at Baby before leaving. I grab Baby's hand, leading her out of the meeting room and back to my apartment. When she sees the show back on, she smiles at me and runs to the couch, sitting down and watching it again.
I chuckle at her and take a seat next to her. "Are you hungry?" I ask her, drawing her attention away from the TV. She nods her head. "Is it dinner time?" she asks, and I nod. "What do you want to eat?" She answers right away, "A slice of bread with butter, three cheese cubes, and a cup of water, please." I look at her confusedly before shaking my head. "I'm going to get us pizza," I tell her, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone.
"What's pizza?"
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