Sharing Freedom (17 page)

Pill and Meat were waiting in the clubroom when Freedom entered in the back door.
She walked to Pill who was still in a wheelchair and bent over, kissing the man on
the cheek. Then she looked up at Meat, pulled his face down, and did the same.

“You take care of that?” Pill said gruffly and Freedom just nodded and then walked
to the stairs and silently climbed them alone. She knew where she was going, the
only place she had. On the third floor, she walked without hesitation to the bedroom
she had once occupied. She saw her clothes and belongings had been replaced, and
that someone had decorated it for her. It now looked like the other rooms on the
floor, with pretty colors that used match her style and pictures hanging on the wall
that she would have once loved. They were of flower gardens and the ocean.

They had tried to show her that this was her home, where she belonged, but she was
no longer the woman that had left here. With a sigh, she went and pulled the thick
covers back and crawled into the comfortable bed. She needed to sleep, and then she
would figure out where to go from here. The one thing she did know, was that Easy
and Poke were her past, and her future was going to be alone in the sense of loving
someone, because there was no way she was opening her heart again, it was impossible
because next time she would die if her heart was broken.

*****

Poke and Easy found her in the bedroom after talking to Pill and Meat. They didn’t
like the look in Freedom’s eyes; it was as if she was completely gone. The sweet
smile she once had, and the shy way she looked at them, would never be seen again
they feared. She closed herself off, and neither man knew how to open her back up.

However, they weren’t giving up, they never would. Freedom was their one chance at
happiness and they were going to do whatever it took to bring her back. They had
started by making sure when she came home her things were back in place. She hadn’t
had much, but it was back, and they had gotten more. Pictures, blankets, little things
to put around her room, all with the hopes she would see that they wanted her to stay
and make this place a home.

They sat in the sectional and watched her sleep from the main room, not wanting to
disturb her, but needing to be close. If they thought they could have gotten away
with it, both men would have been in the bed with her, surrounding her with love until
the light came back into her eyes.

“It's worse than I thought,” Poke whispered.

Easy nodded and then said, “She looked shattered.”

Creed and the other leaders stepped into the room. “Shady called for a clean up,
they finished it quick, didn’t want to spend time with the bitch. She is showering
on the floor below, will be up in a few minutes.”

They knew Shady and the Bitches had killed Trick, it was their way. They would never
have let a betrayal go like that, unless Freedom would have asked. She hadn’t, so
none of them felt guilty over her death. They only felt guilty over what had happened
to Freedom.

“Do what you got to do, man,” Creed said and the others nodded. “She is hurting with
good reason, but not going to change anything. She needs to come back into the fold
and know we are not going to fuck up like that again with her. We got her back.”

“Saying it and her accepting it are two separate things,” Easy said.

“Then think of a way to show it,” Rock snorted.

Easy and Poke nodded. The guys grabbed some beers and sat down with them to keep
vigil. When Shady entered she was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. She stared
at them for a moment and then went to Freedom’s room and crawled into bed with her
without hesitation.

The men held their breaths as they watched Freedom roll over and look to see who was
with her. Shady opened up her arms and Freedom slid into them without a sound. Creed
nodded, stood, and went to his room, the others followed more slowly, but Poke and
Easy remained where they were—waiting.

*****

Freedom woke up twice during the day and through the night, each time she had been
screaming and thrashing. Shady had held her and had whispered to her until she calmed
down and went back to sleep. She didn’t get up from the bed except to go to the bathroom
and change her clothes into a pair of shorts and tank.

The men had seen the tears in Shady’s eyes when she had seen the scars on Freedom’s
body and told them about it when she had come out to eat. The men had been silent
and just listened.

The following morning Freedom woke and got out of bed and stared at Easy and Poke
who were in the same spot as they had been since she went to bed. She had felt them
there when they came upstairs yesterday, and she had heard the murmur of the men as
they had been joined. Freedom hadn't cared. Shady had whispered to her when she
was awake how sorry she was and how the men always thought they knew more than they
did. She never excused what had happened, but she did apologize for the cluster fuck
that led to her being so hurt.

Then she talked to her about family, and about forgiveness, and finally about her
feelings. Shady had a shitty childhood, molested by her mother’s boyfriend for a
year before she ran off. Last night, she told Freedom how when Freedom had arrived
to the strip club, she had been drawn to her goodness. It wasn’t something Shady
had ever seen. She had come to crave her company because being with Freedom brought
out the good in her that she thought she had long lost.

Freedom turned and went into the bathroom she shared with the two men and took her
shower. She noticed all of her things were back where they had been, and all of her
favorite soaps and shampoos were there as well. When she was done, she wrapped a
towel around her and went into her closet, then paused. None of the clothes seemed
right to her. They belonged to the old Freedom, not the new one. She looked over
her shoulder and looked at the room, it was all wrong, it wasn’t
her
anymore.
Who was she
? she thought and looked at the pastels that decorated her room, and the cute tops
and skirts in her wardrobe.

She saw the lacy red underwear set she had worn the night of her first party and picked
them up. She put on the skimpy little pieces and then turned back to the clothes,
there was nothing. Ignoring all of her clothes, she reached up and began taking them
off the hanger, throwing them into her room on the floor. With each piece she threw,
she was reinventing herself, burying the old Freedom, because she would never surface
again.

She heard footsteps but didn’t look up. She continued until she was done. Then she
walked into the bedroom, still only wearing the lacy underwear. She put her hands
on her hips and surveyed the room. She began pulling off the pictures that were on
the wall and laying them gently on the floor next to the pile of clothes. She removed
any trace of the woman she once was. When she was done, she turned and looked at
the group that had gathered at her room’s entrance. Easy and Poke looked worried
and the other men looked confused. Only Shady had the look of understanding on her
face.

“Come on, boys, looks like we are going shopping. Take all this to goodwill and we
will be back,” Shady said and held out her hand to Freedom who took it and allowed
herself to be pulled into her friend’s room. Shady handed her a pair of short shorts
and a tank top. Freedom changed, grabbed a pair of flip-flops and followed Shady
to her car. The rest of the Bitches were there, waiting. Bob had returned from her
trip and was introduced to Freedom, she still hadn't said a word. The only thing
they had heard her say was to Trick.

Poke ran out of the house with a credit card and handed it to Freedom. She looked
at him in surprise when she saw her name on the card. She had no account so she looked
at Shady who was nodding. “You are a Bitch, you may think that was taken away but
it wasn't, you are part of the family and part of the earnings. When you are ready,
you will resume taking over the books.”

Freedom nodded and put the card into her back pocket and they were off. Three hours
later Freedom was dressed in her new outfit. A pair of leather pants that hung low
on her waist, and her brand new Bitches shirt that had been ordered and picked up.
Her long red hair was now hanging on her shoulders instead of in a ponytail like it
had been for the last month.

She stopped after they put the bags into the truck and turned to the group of women
and finally opened her mouth.

“Am I really a Bitch?” she asked firmly.

Shady and the others didn’t hesitate, nodding 'yes'.

“Then I want the mark,” she said flatly and Shady looked at her in surprise.

“Well,” Shady started and said.

“Nope, either I am or I am not. Not asking for permission to belong,” she said.

“Fine,” Shady said and nodded. “Let’s go get some ink, ladies.”

Freedom smiled for the first time since she had been let out of the hospital. It
was not her normal sweet innocent smile. No, this smile was better than that, this
smile showed the woman she had become—confidant, strong, assertive.

Three hours later Freedom walked out of Slinging Ink with her first tattoo on the
top of her breast. Kink had been working and had hesitated until he saw the look
in Freedom’s eyes.

They drove back to the clubhouse and hauled all of her bags into the room. The men
had moved all of the old stuff out. Together the women hung up her new clothes, then
decorated the room with the deep purples and reds she had purchased. The white comforter
was thrown out into the large room and a beautiful red and purple satin comforter
took its place. The pictures on the wall were of lightning strikes, purple and dark.
When they were done Freedom stepped back and smiled.

“Thanks,” she said to the girls who all hugged her and left. All but Shady, who stood
next to her and nudged her shoulder. “So what other knew things can we expect to
see?” Shady teased.

“So much more.” Freedom laughed and hugged her friend. It was time to start her
new life.

The men each walked to the entrance and stared nodding but Freedom ignored them.
Easy and Poke tried to compliment her on the choice of colors and she didn't reply.
She knew it wouldn’t last, but for now, she could only deal with so much.

“I don’t fucking like it,” Easy roared. The men all nodded and sat still, they called
a meeting and were currently talking about Freedom. Two days ago, she had come home,
and yesterday she had transformed. This morning she woke up and spoke to Creed about
starting work.

“She said she's ready,” Creed said firmly.

“Freedom is still recovering,” Poke yelled. Both men were frustrated.

Pill said quietly, “If we hold her back, she will see it as a sign we don’t value
her.”

“No, she will see it as a sign we are taking care of her,” Easy yelled.

“Listen, we broke her trust,” Creed said. “She is a member of the club and she will
do what she can to help. We are not treating her like anything else. Your shit needs
to be dealt with separately. As long as she remains on the club grounds, we can watch
over her. The girls know she doesn’t go out alone. She didn’t know you dipshits
were tailing them yesterday.”

“When she walked into Ink, she almost found out,” Poke grumbled. They had been pissed
that she had gotten the tattoo but the others had over ridden them, it had been time.

“I am training her this afternoon,” Creed said and stood. Meeting over.

*****

Easy and Poke both made sure they were there when she came down to work in the office.
It was a small detached building next to the shed. They sat in there quietly when
Creed brought her into the room. They saw her stiffen when she saw them but both
men kept doing what they were doing. There were seven desks in the room. One for
each of the leaders, Shady had her own in the Shop.

Creed showed her where she would work. They had rearranged everything this morning
so her desk was between theirs. Creed rolled his eyes when he saw what they had done.

Poke worked on the log sheets for the security of the businesses and Easy worked on
the schedule. They silently listened as Creed explained all of the businesses and
their books.

When it came close to three, Poke stood, went to the refrigerator, and pulled out
a bottle of water and fresh fruit. He took them to her desk and sat them down. She
had lost weight, and both men were determined to take care of her. She looked up
at him warily and nodded then went back to working.

Creed finally went to his desk telling her he would remain until she was done, in
case she had any questions. Once their leader was at his desk, Easy turned on the
music they had picked to play in the office. It was all country—her favorite—and
once again Creed rolled his eyes. Freedom ignored them.

“I am done,” she announced an hour later looking at Creed. “I will come back tomorrow
and get busy. My hours will be from eight to three.”

“Sounds good,” he said smoothly.

“Put me back into the rotation on the floor too. I am ready to get back to normal,”
she said and walked out.

Easy sighed and Poke frowned at her retreating back. “Yeah, she ain’t gonna make
this easy.”

“Duh,” Creed laughed and they closed up the office building and went inside.

Poke and Easy sought out Freedom who was in the main room sitting with the other girls
who were waiting to go on shift. Shady worked the day shift today and would be home
soon.

Rock and Magnum walked down the stairs and looked at Easy and Poke who were standing
at the bar watching Freedom. The men smiled and walked to where the group of women
sat and joined them. Freedom frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Rock said to Freedom. “You ready to stop ignoring us yet.”

With a sigh, Freedom said, “I guess I have to since we will be running into each other.
I talked to Pill and Meat this morning. They explained to me the reasoning. Like
I told Creed, I don’t like it, and certainly don’t appreciate it. However, as long
as it doesn’t happen again it is over. And if it does happen again, I will cut your
dick off and feed it to you for fucking dinner.”

“Thank GOD!” Magnum yelled and clapped his hands. “So we can go back to not walking
on eggshells. Come on, darling, let’s have a drink to celebrate.”

Easy and Poke frowned and walked over to where Freedom was sitting.

“So now you are talking to everyone,” Easy said.

Freedom’s eyes flashed and she stood, put her hand on her hip, and smirked. “I am
talking to everyone but you two assholes,” she said and stormed around them.

“What,
why
?” Poke whined.

“Fuck off,” Freedom threw over her shoulder and went to the bar with the other women.

The two men went to the corner and watched Freedom. She had certainly turned over
a new leaf. Gone was the shy, quiet woman they had fallen in love with and in her
place was a wanton temptress they craved more than anything. Both men felt their
temperatures rise as they watched all the men from the club wander over to where she
was standing. Wearing her short shorts and tank top again, she looked amazing.

She smiled and laughed at them, and even accepted their apologizes as they offered
them. Soon Shady walked in and howled loudly when she saw Freedom drinking at the
bar.

“Fuck yeah, my sister is home,” she cried and Freedom laughed and shook her head.

The girls who worked left and the next round of people who got off came back in.
It was a regular night in the clubhouse, all of them talking and joking. Hell, even
Fork came down and ordered pizza for everyone in celebration of Freedom talking to
them again. Of course, Freedom had flipped him off at first. But the stoic man and
Freedom got into a stare down. He was the one who backed off and then leaned over
and kissed her cheek. He murmured something in her ear and she nodded but didn’t
smile.

Easy and Poke ground their teeth together as Fork offered a small smile. The man
never fucking smiled and in doing so, it was like him showing interest in Freedom.

“Oh fuck no,” Easy said and stood.

Poke grabbed his friend and held him back as they watched Fork look over his shoulder
and raise an eyebrow at them. Easy and Poke glared at him and he chuckled and moved
on.

“She may have changed some of her outside looks, and the way she is feeling, but she
hasn’t changed her heart,” Poke said.

“How do we crack it open then?” Easy said frustrated.

“By showing her what we should have the first time,” Poke said and pulled his friend
up the stairs.