"Good morning sir." He responded with a half-smile.
"Would you please let Andrew I think is the chef today. Whoever it may be, please pass along that I would very much appreciate to have our breakfasts brought to the master suite this morning.
And also, I would like to combine my office and Mia's office into one. Mine is plenty big enough for the two of us to share. I need this to be finished quickly."
"Of course, sir. I'll get a couple of my hardest workers and myself on it immediately."
"Thank you." I said flatly and continued my way back to the bedroom where I had put Mia to bed earlier. I prayed that she had slept and that she was still asleep.
Trying to make as little noise as possible I opened the door and walked in. I looked to the bed first and all I could do was smile at what I saw.
Mia had indeed fallen asleep after I left, but not before putting my leather coat on herself and scooting under the blanket. She looked so innocent; I could almost see Alessia when she was her mother's age.
I made my way to my side of the bed and sat down as gently as I could as to not to disturb her sleep. As I reached for the blankets to pull them back my hand came into contact with paper that had been folded and had my name written on it. It was clearly Mia's handwriting, it left me both terrified of what she would have written here and also as excited as a teenage boy getting a note from his crush.
I sat the note on my side table as I climbed into bed myself. Once I had made myself comfortable, I reached over and picked it up again.
Deacon,
I know that you had promised me that you would take me to see Teo and Lessie in the morning, but I couldn't wait that long. It been too long since I had seen them and I had to see for myself that they were okay. I'm sorry I didn't wait like you wanted me to.
I know you said no one was going to make me leave. I'm still not sure if I should believe you or not, even though I want to very much.
Obviously if you're reading this and not talking to me, I was able to fall asleep by some miracle. If I could make a small request of you; if you were or are being truthful about me not having to leave my family, I would like to wake up the way I did before, wrapped up in one of your arms. I'll understand if that can't happen though.
Mia
Sitting the note back on my side table, as I stared at Mia lying to my left. She left a note asking me to hold her like I always had at night. Although I was going to be more than happy to agree to that, nothing and no one could have stopped me if they wanted to. I had gotten my girl back. Though at the same time the idea that she felt as though she had to ask me to tore me apart.
I glanced at the clock for a split second, seeing that it read 3:45 am. I sighed almost gratefully that breakfast was not going to be ready until 9:30. That meant I had almost six hours before I had to think about life outside this room again.
As gently as I could I found a comfortable position in bed. I ever so delicately managed to bring Mia against me. Holding her just as she had asked me to. I wrapped my arm around her, resting her head firmly on my chest.
Her response was almost immediate as she buried herself deeper into me, as one of her arms clad in my leather coat found its way around my body.
"You're not going anywhere Mia." I whispered placing a light kiss onto her head. "We're your family angel, and we're not going anywhere."
I barely heard the knock on our door as Dee opened the door and brought our breakfast in on a cart. She was beaming ear to ear as always. When her eyes caught sight of Mia laying in the bed as well, she almost dropped the mug of coffee she was holding.
"Oh, praise the heavens! She's alive!" She squealed.
Before I could get the words out telling Dee not to be so loud, Mia's eyes jolted open and she started to shake from head to toe. She started to take gasping breaths and I could feel her trying to curl her legs up into her arms.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mia. Calm down." I called softly running my hand through her hair.
Dee has worked for my family since before myself and Alex were even thought about. She has seen some gruesome scenes in her time here, and normally she's the first one to spot something wrong with someone.
I know it was because Mia had been buried next to me under our thick down comforter and in my jacket, but she didn't realize what had happened.
"Breakfast is hot and waiting darlings, you know what to do from here." She chirped.
That's when Mia went from just scared lying there next to me, into a horrific fit of terror.
"I don't want it; I don't want it!" She said loudly repeating herself over and over again.
Her eyes clamped shut as she started to sob hysterically, while she buried her eyes in her hands. "No, no, no, no, no. I saw them, they were right in front of me, I could feel their breath on my hand.
It couldn't have been a dream. They were all there, they came for me, like he said they would. It couldn't have been a dream."
Dee stood looking at the scene horrified, as she watched Mia's body shaking so hard it shook mine as well. Her hands cupped around her nose and mouth as she tried not to let out a noise.
She had had no clue that her everyday chipper demeanor was going to do this. Hell, Dee hadn't even been present when we arrived home with Mia.
Even though I wanted to be furious with her for not being more cautious, this was not her fault. This was the direct result of those monsters tormenting her who knows how many times a day with food.
I wrapped both my arms around her tightly holding her to me, as I pulled us both up with lightning speed so that we were now sitting. "Mia...Mia...Mia...your right angel it wasn't a dream baby. I told you we would come for you and we did. It wasn't a dream, Mia.
You saw Teo and Lessie last night, you felt their breath while you brushed your fingers over their cheeks, didn't you?" I started to rock back and forth while holding her tightly against me.
Mia was inconsolable by this point. Nothing I was saying was making the slightest bit of difference in what whatever was happening inside her head. So, I did the only thing I could, I just held her as tight as I could, hoping and praying that she would feel me there with her.
I looked back to Dee who was sobbing herself now. "Dee, I need you to called for Dad and Alex, tell them to hurry it's an emergency." I said trying to remain calm.
Dee rushed from the room, as though someone had shot at her. I don't think two minutes had gone by yet as both my father and Alex accompanied by Cassie rushed through the wide-open door. They all three stopped in their tracks. Cassie let out a horrified gasp as she covered her mouth, as to not allow any sound escape.
My father shut the door locking it afterwards, then turned back around studying the scene.
"Will one of you come over here and help me?" I left a weak plea out to them. "I can't get her to hear me, she just keeps shaking like she's having a seizure."
Alex was the first to make it to the bed, followed only a half second later by our father. I looked at Alex first for help, but the look in his eyes held nothing less than terror, I could tell even my father was shaken a bit as he was now seeing Mia's state up close.
"What do I do?" I asked, pain clearly cutting into my voice.
"Get Erin." My father told Alex firmly, but he didn't budge from his spot. His eyes were locked onto Mia.
"They were here for me. They were, they were. They wouldn't come and leave me here. They wouldn't do that. They wouldn't, they wouldn't.
I don't want it; I don't want it. Take it away, take it away. I don't want it; I don't want it."
My father looked at Alex who was still frozen in place. He looked around him meeting Cassie's attention. "Cassie, I need you to go get Miss Erin immediately."
Cassie nodded in compliance and hurried out of the room to find our in-house doctor.
It wasn't long until Cassie rushed back into the room, followed by Miss Erin on her heels. Cassie's reaction was no different than the first time, covering her mouth as she stood watching in terror.
Apparently, the commotion had drawn attention from others as well.
Without warning the door opened again as Axel walked in freezing in place.
"Axel, what's going on? Why did Cassie pound on our door like that and not stay?" Rose asked groggily as she walked in the open door.
Without hesitating for an instant Axel grabbed Rose and pulled her into his chest so she didn't see what was happening with Mia.
Remembering how she had reacted to what I had said last about what Gregory had done to her. Seeing this would have probably killed her.
She credited Mia for saving her life, which she truly did. But that wasn't really the reason why Mia had done what she had done to protect Rose that night.
Mia had told me why she did it. Rose was innocent, in more ways than one. But only one that at that moment mattered to Mia.
She was to have been blending in trying to get a head count, so that we knew how many vans we would need to get all of the girls out of there safely.
Mia had explained that while trying one last time to get a good count. There was a group of men surrounding Rose, her clothes were torn to shreds and she had huddled herself into the corner to get away from them, not that it worked. That's when the asshole in charge of the whole sickening fucking shit walked into the group. Saying he had found the man who wanted to pay a pretty price to break her in for the first time.
All Mia said was that she saw red, because that asshole was going to take away Rose's choice of who it went to for money. She didn't hesitate after hearing his plan, pulling her gun taking down five of the eight men in group. It had been lucky that Axel and Alex had been so close inside the same building.
Mia demanded that Axel took her out before someone came and grabbed her. I can't say that Mia hadn't taken one hell of a beating that day. She was bruised up and sore for a week.
When the chance came about two weeks later that Rose would have been able to return home, she refused. I hadn't ever seen Axel go from devastated to overjoyed so fast. She's been her with him ever since, and it's been almost a year now. Axel had proposed six months later. Although the poor guy is still going without for at least another four months. She's been absolutely firm about that. Her reasoning being that Mia was willing to possibly get herself killed so she could keep it to give it to the person of her choice, then that person should be able to respect the fact that she won't do anything until there's a wedding band. To my shock I've never heard him complain though.
"Axel, what's going on?" Rose asked worriedly.
"Rose, baby, I need you to trust me right now, okay? You don't want to know." He said trying to stay as calm as he could.
It had been apparent when she had entered the room, she wasn't awake enough to realize where she was. As soon as he said those words, you could see the realization spread throughout her entire body instantly. Her fingers grabbed Axel's t-shirt as If her own life depended on it, and every muscle in her petite body stiffened and locked her in place. "Is she going to be, okay?"
Axel looked at me for an answer, but all I was capable of doing at that moment was return the same fearful look he was giving me. "It's Mia baby. She's too stubborn to not go out on her own terms."
I closed my eyes in hopes it would give me some slight amount of emotional control. But it only made things worse, because now all I was aware of was how overwhelmingly violent Mia had begun to shake in my arms.
They flew back open as Miss Erin had finally managed to push her way to the bed after digging through her bag still half asleep.