Page 16 of My Little Doe
“I helped him,” he said, his eyes dropping between us again.
“Why has it taken you this long to see me?”
“My father forbade me from coming down here and has given me meaningless tasks that have kept me from being near here. The kitchen person is new and didn’t realize who I was when I said I was there to deliver lunch. I’d been waiting days for him to bring the midwife here for a visit, knowing that it would be unlikely foranyone to come down here other than for food or the night guard,” he said.
“All to come here to say you can’t help me? What’s the point?” I asked.
“I wanted to actually see you, not hear Quinnlyn’s bullshit lie that you were okay. We may not have been close, but we were friends who got a little too drunk and had an evening of fun. I don’t regret it, but I wish it hadn’t put either of us in this position,” he said.
“What about this baby?” I said.
“I don’t know. I haven’t fully processed that part,” he said, eyes dropped back down between us.
His guilty tell.
“Love that for you. While you have been out there doing who knows what. I’ve been in here against my will, reading pregnancy books. Preparing myself to give birth to a child, that your father has made clear he will rip from my arms as soon as it’s born,” I said.
“I’m sorry, I’m trying—”
“Time’s up!” Quinnlyn yelled, cutting Daxyn off.
“I didn’t know there was a time,” he grumbled.
“Yeah, well, there is,” Quinnlyn said.
“Why are you being a hardass? No one even comes down here or to this cellar?” Daxyn said.
“Because someone could come or see you leave here. Either way, I’m not about to catch hell for it,” Quinnlyn said.
“You’ve always been a buzzkill,” Daxyn said, before turning to me. “I’m gonna try and do what I can to get you out of here.”
“Yeah… okay,” I said. Part of me didn’t believe him. The way he treated me the day I told him left a sour taste in my mouth.
He stood up and went to the door. Quinnlyn opened it and came in, handing me my food, as Daxyn walked out. Quinnlyn’sjaw was clenched, eyes narrowed. He locked eyes with me for a brief moment before walking out and shutting the door behind him. Lunch was grilled chicken strips, a spoonful of egg salad, and a bowl of mixed fruit.
“Why isn’t he allowed to see me?” I asked in between bites.
“Because his father doesn’t trust him not to do something stupid,” he replied.
“Like what?”
“Try to break you out, make you promises that won’t ever happen. Dax is always doing something impulsive.”
“So, me going to the house probably won’t happen?”
“Unlikely. Now eat,” he said.
I finished eating my food before putting the trash on the ground next to the door. I sat back on my bed and started reading one of the books the midwife had sent. It was a fiction book about werewolves terrorizing a small town in Maine. I was only a few chapters in, but so far it seemed to be a good read. In the mix of books, it was the only fiction book she sent. Something about it left me curious as to why she chose that one.
Chapter 6
A commotion woke me. The room was dark. My eyes darted around the room, but nothing was different. A loud bang from somewhere else made me twist my head, trying to listen. Then there was a loud howl, and another, and another.
I immediately sat up and pulled my knees close to my chest. It sounded like the howls were nearby and all around. Bumps formed all over my arms and legs. My heart beat faster, and black spots crowded my vision—something I'd learned meant my blood pressure was rising. Shit. I took a deep breath in.
“What is that?” I asked.
I knew whoever was outside my door wouldn’t answer; they never did. The howls sounded close, surrounding the building. A few hours passed before the noises stopped. I finally curled up into a ball and fell back to sleep.
