Hold me // Two

V.

Bullet's POV

I carried Poppy to her room. As soon as she realized that I went to her room, she refused to let me go. "Not here... please...", she whispered into the crook of my neck. "Uh... where do you want to go?" "Your room?", she asked shyly. I smiled and nodded at her, still holding her close with my arms. Going into my room, I let her down gently and she sat herself on the small couch in the back of the room. Poppy took off the boots from the Prospect and took her feet underneath her legs, I stared at her, still standing on the spot. She looked at me. "I really didn't make you angry?" Messing with my hair, I looked at her. "No, darlin. You didn't made me angry. It's just what happened to you. You know, what they did wasn't okay?" Poppy's eyes got even bigger in surprise. "No... isn't that what adults do?" Sighing frustrated, I sank onto my bed. "No. Well yes. But it isn't okay to force anyone into something they don't want." She went silent, probably thinking about what I just said. She was so young when they captured her. How should she know what's bad and what's good? I was attracted to her, shit, everyone who has eyes would be attracted to that girl. But she had to learn what's going on in the real world first.
"Tommy?", she spoke up. "Yeah?" "Why are you upset? I don't want you to be upset." I shook my head and let myself sink from the bed to the floor, so that I was crouching down in front of her and the couch. Taking her hand in mine, I looked into her eyes. "Poppy, darlin. I just realized how little you know about life and adulthood... no, don't be sad, that's not your fault. I just thought about how I could help you with that." "Can you show me how to do that?" I let the question sink in, before I found any words to answer properly. "I don't know if I am the right person to show you. My life... it is different. Not everything is easy and especially not everything is possible to show you. Maybe you should go to Lilian and stay with her and King. She probably knows how to show you that kind of stuff." Poppy nibbled at her lip. "But... I want you to teach me."
My heart sank at the image of her not being around me. I knew it was for the best. I couldn't keep her in my room, like a little puppy.
"Darlin. We still see each other. But I really think it would be the best..."
Poppy took her hand out of mine, tears falling down of her pretty face. "No, don't cry, please. I-I like you. I really do. But the clubhouse isn't the best place for you to live. You need a family around you to learn all the things you don't know. I can't give you that. I am sorry."
Poppy started sobbing at this point and I was a complete mess. How the fuck should I calm her down, when I make everything worse for her?

3rd person POV

Lilian, King and Sarge followed the two into the back. All three listened in  in their conversation. When Bullet apologized King motioned to them that the other two should follow them.
He went into another empty room across the hallway. When all three were in the room and the door was closed, he sighed. "What shall we do?"  Lilian looked up. "Well Bullet is kind of right. She is like a goddamn child. The clubhouse won't do her good. What if a party is here? She will get the impression that woman have to be sluts..." Sarge scratched his beard. "Well, I can't say I don't agree. But do we have to take her away from Bullet? That boy and the girl have a connection there. I never saw him acting out like that in the common area. At breakfast both of them sat at the table with me. He shows her stuff, he explains it quite good. When she is unsure or uncertain, he is there for her. I know it is to early to tell, but I guess both of them belong together. I found her on the street and the minute he saw her, he cared for her. He was never that way with any other woman." King looked at his Sargent of arms. "She's not ready for a relationship." "Yeah I know. But he does help her. You can't deny that. And honestly... do you want to separate those two? She seems to be more outgoing when he is around. She was actually to hold a conversation at breakfast." "And what do you think we could do?", King said.  "Well we have the spare apartment above the barn, where Lucky used to live. Maybe we can clean it up, so both can move up there. So the girl would have a safe place to go, to live, and she doesn't have to see all the ruckus in the clubhouse. Bullet won't be to far, if we need him and we always could check on them." Lilian thought about it for a minute. "That's not a bad idea. But she needs to see a therapist though. There is stuff we can't show her." The two men nodded at her. "Yeah as much as I don't like shrinks, but this girl needs all the help she can get."
"Okay. Maybe we should tell them and put them out of their misery?" Sarge and Lilian nodded in agreement.

All three made their way over to Bullets room. Sarge knocked on the door. Bullet opened the door, his face torn between sadness and helplessness. "Can we have a minute? With both of you?" Bullet opened the door wide and let them into his room.
King cleared his throat. "Well, we realized how close you two got... No, let me rephrase that..." Lilian rolled her eyes. "We overheard your conversation. And we have a proposal to make.", she said and nudged her husband's arm. "Uhm, yeah. What she said. Uhm... we don't want to separate you two. We know Poppy depends on you and you care for her. We also know that the clubhouse is probably not the best solution for a place of living for Poppy at this point." King smiled apologetically at the girl, who looked at the grownups with wide and teared up eyes. "We thought it would be the best if you two move into the apartment above the barn. So you two would be still on club property and still be safe, but you have a place to live." Sarge laid his hand on Bullet's shoulder. "Son, think about it. You two could be together, she won't be in between this hellhole and the bar and all of us would help to learn her the important things of living. Lilian would take her to see a therapist, so she gets all the help she needs."
Bullet turned his head to Poppy. "What do you say?", he asked her bluntly. Poppy pulled her lip between her teeth, chewing a little on it. "I... Ijust understood half of it, but it sounded like you allow me to stay with Tommy. I-I don't want to make you angry... but... Tommy... can we please stay together?" Bullet's expression softened and he sat himself beside the girl. "Oh darlin, I won't be mad or angry with you, just because you want to stay with me!" He looked back at us, when Poppy smiled at him. "I guess we'll give it a try." Lilian took a step in their direction. "Bullet, if you ever, and I mean it, ever force that girl into something... I'll rip off your balls and serve them to you for dinner! Mark my words!" Bullet nodded at Lilian. "If ever do something like that, you have a free pass, to do, what you want to do with me." Poppy looked confused at the people in the room. "Balls? I just had a soccer ball when I was little... I don't play with balls anymore... I didn't know grownups play with balls."
King grinned at her words and Sarge hid his laughter in a coughing fit. Lilian glared at the two men, but smiled nonetheless. "Darlin, that is just a saying. Lilian just told me to take care of you and don't make you do anything you are not comfortable with.", Bullet said smiling lightly at the girl next to him. Poppy's eyes grew big again. "Oh... oh... I understand that. No, Tommy wouldn't do that, he is not mean. He is nice.", she stated.
Sarge couldn't help himself and he let out the laughter he was holding in. "Sorry, babygirl. It is just you are the first girl that says the man there is nice..."
Lilian rolled her eyes. "I guess it is time for us to leave now. Or else I am going to rip someone a second hole... come on guys. Let's head over to the barn and see what we'll need over there for these two. Bullet, you're fine with that?" Bullet nodded at her. "Thank you guys."
Lilian shooed the two men out of the door. Before the door was closed behind them, Poppy looked questionably at Bullet. "What did she mean when she said second hole?"
Roaring laughter errupted from the two men in the hallway and even Lilian grinned.
Bullet's face was shocked. "Uhm... she meant she is going to... uhm... scold the next one who says something inappropriate." Poppy didn't believe what he told her, but she dropped the point of conversation.