Chapter 1 ~Chloe~
The darkness surrounded me and it was scary. It followed me wherever I went and it hovered over me. I don’t like how it stands over me. It is frightening.
"Mommy." I quietly yelled into the dark lot.
"Mommy!" I yelled a bit louder. Where could she be. I yelled out again walking around slowly.
"Mommy! I sorry if I was a bad girl, I wanna go home." I yelled and a few tears fell.
"Little girl. What are you doing out here?" I heard a voice from behind me. I jumped and screamed then ran as fast as I could. My tears blurred my vision and I tripped making a boo boo form on my knee. I quickly got back up and ran again from the loud footsteps behind me. A guy came out of nowhere beside me and grabbed me by the waist. I screamed again crying harder now and shaking.
"Shhhh. It’s okay." The deep voice cooed and I shook violently.
"Darek, you scared her." He said darkly.
"Sorry sir, I didn’t know what to do." The other man said.
"Hey, shhh. It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe here." The deep voice that held me said and my cries quieted bits at a time.
"That’s it. Calm down; Breathe." The man holding me whispered and gently pet my hair while I rubbed my eyes with my fists, trying to dry my tears. The man holding me started to walk and the bouncing calmed me.
"You’re okay." The man said and he carried me into a brightly lit garage.
"Why do you have a child?" Another man said. The man that carried me ignored him and walked into a dimly lit room with a desk, chair, and couch.
"What’s your name baby girl.” The man asked and I shook my head.
"You're a stranger." I said and he chuckled softly.
"I’m Alphonso. Now what’s yours baby girl?" He asked again and I looked at him.
"I Chloe." I say softly and looked away.
"How old are you, Chloe?" He asks.
"I’m three." I told him holding up three fingers. He chuckled and tickled my belly making me giggle. He held me in his arms for a while and I started to fall asleep. I shivered half asleep and Alphonso pet my hair back, bouncing a little, and gently pushed my head onto his shoulder. I hear him say something out the door and then close it again. I shiver, snuggling closer to his chest and he pats my back.
"Cold?" He asks and I nod yawning.
"Okay. Let’s get you ready for bed." He says and I nod. He walks to a little bathroom and pulls out a toothbrush from a duffel bag on the toilet.
"Sit on the counter, Chloe." He says setting me on the counter and I do as he says. He puts a little toothpaste on the toothbrush and gets it wet then helps me gently brush my teeth. I spit the toothpaste out after he tells me to and he takes my clothes off after turning the water on. He grabs a baby towel from the bag and gets it wet and washes some of the dirt off my face.
"Where’s your mommy, baby girl." He asks rinsing the towel. “I no know.” I say and watch the towel rinse off.
"Why is the sink so big?" I ask and he chuckles.
"It’s a utility sink. Its big so you can wash big things in it." He says plugging it with the towel and setting me in the bottom. He grabs a bottle of something out of the bag and turns off the water when it gets over my legs.
"Like me?" I ask and he chuckles a bit.
"Not necessarily, but in this case, yes." He says chuckling.
"Close your eyes, Chloe." He says softly and I close my eyes tightly. I feel him pour something warm on my head a few times then starts to rub my head. Soon something fluffy forms on my head and I cup some water in my hands and pour it on my legs.
"Tilt your head back and don’t open your eyes." Alphonso says and I do as he says. He pours water on my hair and rinses out the fluffy stuff. After pouring more water on me, he stops and grabs the baby towel again. Alphonso gets the towel wet and soapy, Then holds the towel out to me
"Use this to clean yourself, Hun." He says and I grab the towel from him and take my time to rub my body down, getting all the dirt off. He unclogs the sink and runs it again getting all the suds off my body. He then pulls out a towel from the bag and wraps it around me. When I’m lifted into Alphonso’s arms, I snuggle into the towel. He sets me down on the counter still wrapped up in the towel.
There’s a knock on the door and Alphonso opens it, grabs a bag, then closes the door again. He pulls out a pair of pajamas and a pull-up. He also pulls out a pack of little girls underwear and another outfit. Both of which he puts into the duffel bag. Alphonso helps me to put the pull-up on and then helps put the pajamas on and sticks a binki in my mouth. I suck on it as he brushes my hair.
"Go to sleep, Chloe." He whispers putting my head on his shoulder and wrapping a blanket around me. My eyes close and he walks out of the bathroom and desk room. He walks into the bright room and I groan at the brightness as I tuck my head into his neck away from the bright light.
"Awe." I hear.
"You almost don’t look like an Italian Mafia King." The voice from before says and Alphonso walks away.
"Go to sleep, baby girl." He says softly again and I nod and soon fall deep asleep.
