[Rachel]
Demi and I have lived together for a few weeks now and it’s been nice. She's nice and she helps me when I have nightmares. Rex has gotten along good with Batman and Cinderella which was fun since they played a lot. Demi asked a lot of questions about Mateo but I didn’t know the answers to all of them. It made me worried that she was mad at me but she reassured me that I was not in trouble.
“Rachel, baby it’s dinner time.” Demi called from the kitchen.
She walked over to me, lifting me up and taking me into the kitchen where we ate. The older woman placed a plate of food in front of me. She started cooking more and at first it wasn’t the best but she was getting better. I liked to watch her but she never really let me cook with her, saying it was dangerous. Demi had weird rules. It was hard to follow them when I’ve been taught other ones. One rule is no walking without her because I could hurt myself. Mama let me walk by myself all the time. Another one was ask for help but I didn’t really get help back home.
I started picking at my food, taking small bites. I liked to separate my food so they didn’t mix. Demi wasn’t good at that. I pushed the potatoes around, picking the little bits of corn out of it.
“What’s wrong Rach?” She questioned.
“Nothing.” I stated with a shrug.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“I am.”
Demi sighed. That was another thing she did a lot. It made me feel bad. I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. Not wanting to be in trouble, I took a big scoop and ate it, keeping a frown back as I felt the little pieces of corn in the soft mushy potatoes. Demi kissed my head and ate with me. We ate in silence, the only sound was the dogs’ panting and little whines. I looked down at Rex who laid on the floor, his head on his paws. Batman and Cinderella were watching me with wide eyes, watching as I fork moved around. Smiling, I grabbed a piece of chicken and threw it on the floor for them. They both scrambled to get to the food. This made me giggle and do it again.
“No Rachel, don’t feed them.” She told me, stopping me from throwing more food for them.
“Sorry.” I mumbled, looking down at my plate.
Once again, she sighed. I frowned and slumped down in my seat, poking at my food again.
“Please eat some more Rachel, you skipped lunch.”
“I’m not hungry anymore Demi.”
“Please Rachel, just a little more.”
Frowning, I took another bite of the mixed food before swallowing. I pushed my plate away and looked at Demi with sad eyes.
“No more.”
Demi rubbed her forehead but nodded.
“Come on.”
The woman picked me up, taking our plates to the sink, then taking us to the living room. She set me down on the floor, handing me one to the rope toys so I could play. Rex wagged his tail quickly as did Batman and Cinderella. I threw the toy, causing all of them to chase after it. I turned to look at Demi, seeing she was sleeping. I frowned again when I saw that she was pouting lightly. Rex dropped the rope into my lap. I threw it again, watching as the black dog got to the toy first. Rex came up and grabbed the other end, pulling at it. He growled softly, shaking his head, making the little dog slide across the wooden floor. I let them play with each other while I looked at Demi. She shivered softly in her sleep, telling me that she was cold. Looking around, I spotted a white, fluffy blanket. Shakily, I stood up, grabbing hold of the couch to hold myself up. I waddled over to the white blanket, grasping it tightly in my hands, leaning back slightly to pull it. But I lost my grip on the couch and I fell back. Pain shot through my body, making me cry out. Demi shot up, as did Rex, and ran over to me.
“Rachel, what are you doing?!” She asked, lifting me up.
I cried softly as she pressed down on my lower back. She groaned softly, lifting my shirt up. The black haired woman cursed, taking me into the bathroom, Rex following after us, whining. Demi set me on the sink and reached under it to grab the first aid kit. She grabbed the little tub that she put on my fading bruises and she spread it on my back. I whimpered softly, tears leaking down my face when she pressed too hard. When she finished, she pulled my shirt down and sighed, running a hand through her short hair.
“I told you not to be walking by yourself because this is what happens.” She stated, her voice sounding angry.
“I-I’m sorry.” I whimpered, pulling away from her.
She sighed.
“I’m sorry Rachel, I didn’t mean to-”
“Can we go to sleep?” I asked softly.
“Rachel-”
“Please? I’m tired.”
“...Okay.”
She lifted me up and took me upstairs. She went into my room and laid me under the covers on my side. Rex jumped in with me. I wrapped my small arms around his big frame, holding him close. Demi pressed her lips to the side of my head, whispering,
“Night Rachel, sweet dreams.”
I kept quiet, burying my face into my dog’s short fur. Demi turned off the light, keeping the little night light on and leaving the door open just a crack. When I heard her footsteps walk away, I let out little, quiet sobs. Tears streamed down my face while I thought.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I’m alive! I’m at 100% and doing great. Thank you for the lovely words, it really helped me because I ended up having surgery. I had my gallbladder removed after two years of gallstones. Yeah, a pain in the ass but I’m great now. About a month after I was better, I took a trip to Texas to help my family but was stuck in the arctic blast so almost a week without power. I got back and now I’m giving y’all an update for being so patient with me and loving. I love you all, have a good day/night.