Page 7 of My Little Doe
“What’s wrong with the milk?”
“It makes me sick, and it’s gross,” I said.
“It’s good for you. There is no water right now, anyway.”
The chicken was already cut up, and there was only a spoon on the tray. I suppose they hadn’t wanted to give me a fork or a knife. I slowly nibbled on the chicken. It wasn’t horrible, but it had already started to cool off. The potatoes and corn were cold. I didn’t finish all of it, but took a few bites of each.
“Now about my sister,” I said, breaking the silence.
“Oh yeah… I don’t have a way to leave here,” he said.
“You lied to me?” I said, my voice a little louder.
“I never actually said yes,” he said.
“You tricked me,” I said.
My frustration was starting to rise.
“Goddammit, I just want to know if she’s home,” I said, voice starting to break.
“I’m sure she made it home,” he said.
“What is their plan with me?”
“I don’t know,” he said, low.
I sat against the wall, my knees bent and legs pulled against my chest. My arms wrapped around them, holding myself tight. Outside, somewhere past the concrete walls, Aspen was waiting for me to come home.
Chapter 4
The cell door opened, startling me awake. Four people walked into the room, and I scrambled into a sitting position. Light had filtered in through the small window. I fell asleep at some point. I recognized Quinnlyn, but not the two other males or the female standing with them. One of the males was older, a smidge shorter than Quinnlyn. His hair was brown, streaked through with silver.
The female was five foot six. She, too, was a bit older. Her hair was mostly white. The other male stood the tallest at six foot two, his jet-black hair was braided tightly against his head. His eyes were similar to Quinnlyn’s—light brown. Nothing passed my lips as I stared at them. I took in their details, wanting to remember every detail about each person who had a part in holding me.
All four of them studied me. I finally cocked my head to the side a little and fixed my gaze on Quinnlyn. The older male whispered something in the female’s ear.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, in my humble abode?” I finally said.
“She’s a midwife, and she’s here to check on you,” the older male voice said. It was the same voice from the night before that had demanded Quinnlyn stand guard.
“I have a doctor. She’s in town,” I said.
“Not anymore,” he said.
“Look, I get youthinkyou have some claim over me, or over this child I’m carrying, but I can’t stay here. I have someone to take care of. If you let me go, I promise I won’t tell anyone—”
“You’ll be going nowhere,” he said.
“Please… I can’t stay here. This isn’t sanitary for a baby or me,” I said.
He let out a laugh before straightening his face and staring at me. “My grandchild won’t be raised—” he looked around the cell, “—in this filth.”
This was Daxyn’s father. Whenever Daxyn talked about his father, he'd always given the impression that his father was an ass… well, I guess he was. Sometimes Daxyn didn’t say much, but his brother, Benji, said enough for both of them.
“And what about me? Am I supposed to live here as a prisoner forever?”
“Maybe—”
