Evangeline
I wake up to being gently shaken by an unknown force. I try to ignore it and curl into a ball, hugging my stuffie closer to my chest.
"Wakey wakey, Kitten. It's time to get up." Luke coos softly to me.
I roll over to face him and open my eyes. Since I'm not wearing my glasses, he's really blurry.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." He chuckles
I run my eyes to help get the sleep out of them, and hoping I could make my vision a little less blurry. It doesn't work.
"You're blurry." I giggle. He chuckles at me and grabs something off the nightstand. He places my glasses on my face for me, instantly making my vision clear. Light streams in from the window, hitting the bed, making it warm where the sun hits.
"Better?" He ask
"Better." I say
He looks at my with a smile. His big blue eyes full of happiness and a little tiredness
I run my hand over my sore throat with a grimace. He looks at me worriedly and presses a hand to my forehead and cheeks.
"What's wrong?" He ask "You don't have a fever." He says
"My throats is sore. I'm not used to talking this much." I explain to him
"Open your mouth and say 'ahh." He tells me. Fear takes over my body at the thought of what he could do to me. I clamp my mouth shut tightly and shake my head no. I throw the covers over my head and hold them there.
"Shh, it's okay. I just want to take a look." He says calmingly. He peels back the blankets slowly to reveal my terrified self. He uses his finger to brush a piece of hair out of my face for me.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He claims with pleading eyes.
He sighs and hooks his hands under my arms. He lifts me up and slides me until I'm sitting up in front of him. I play with my fingers nervously as he looks at me. He lifts my chin up to make me look at him.
"I'm only going to look." He says.
He cups my cheeks tenderly in his hands. He uses his thumb and forefinger, to pull down my chin, to open my mouth for him to see. I close my eyes so a tear doesn't fall, and so I don't start crying from fear. He lets go and I close my mouth.
"It's just a little red. Drink some cold water, that might make it feel better, okay?" He says kindly
I nod in understanding. I play with my nail and look down to my lap.
Nugget moved to where his head is in my lap. I scratch his ear and he jumps up, starting to lick my face with his big tongue. I giggle as the dog attacks me with sloppy kisses. Luke laughs at me and pats my head.
"Come downstairs for breakfast when you finish getting ready." He says and leaves my room.
I force myself out of the comfortable bed. It's the best I've ever slept. For once I actually didn't have nightmares. I also slept through the whole night.
I take a shower and brush my teeth first. Then I brush my hair and put it in two French braids that look like pig tails. I slip on a pair of black tights and my black skirt. I put on a bright blue shirt that hugs my body and tuck it into my skirt. I throw on my shoes and take one last look at my appearance.
Satisfied with what I have, I grab my book bag, along with my phone, and skip downstairs. Luke waits for me in the kitchen. He's cleaning up his mess, while two plates of food sit on the table. The room is filled with all kinds of new smells. Luke stops washing the dishes when he sees me. He turns to me with his bright smile.
"Well someone is looking mighty adorable today." He grins
"Thank you." I giggle and swoosh my skirt.
"Are you hungry? I made pancakes, bacon, and I got you some fruit." He says and points to the plates. There are glasses of orange juice beside them. I nod and go sit down with him. I notice my portion is much smaller than his. It's enough that I might be able to eat it all if I really try. He has two big pancakes and two long pieces of bacon. Finished with a mixture of blueberries and strawberries in a separate bowl. My plate has two pancakes that are just a bit bigger than my palm. My bacon is half the size of his, but we have relatively the same amount of fruit. I go to start eating, but he stops me.
"Kitten, I know you aren't used to eating a lot, so I made your portions smaller, but I need you to eat as much as you can. This is the least amount I can allow you to eat." He says
I look down to all the food and give him a small nod. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish it all. I don't want to disappoint him or make him upset.
I start off by cutting up one pancakes and putting syrup on it like he does his. They're fluffy and sweet in my mouth. The bacon adds a nice contrast to it with the crunch. My favorite part is the fruit. I love everything about the strawberries. The blue berries on the other hand, not as much. I like the taste but the texture isn't great.
"Do you like it?" He ask
"Yes. The strawberries are my favorite though." I say and keep eating. I get down most of the food before I start to feel full. I begin to push around my food as I try to stall. I finish all my fruit and all the bacon, except for half of one piece. I have one whole pancake left on the plate. I cut it up into tiny pieces to make it look like I ate more, while nibbling on the smallest piece and sipping my juice.
I hear Luke sigh and sadness comes over my body. I've disappointed him because I'm not eating it all.
He gets up and takes his plate to the sink. I drop my fork and tears roll down my cheeks. He comes back over to me and wraps me in a hug when he hears my sniffles.
"What's wrong, Kitten?" He ask
"I-I can't do it and now you're disappointed in me. I'm sorry." I sniffle and wipe my eyes.
"Stop crying, Sweetheart, it's alright. I'm not disappointed in you. I just want to make sure you have a proper diet, so you are healthy." He says
I calm back down and he dabs my cheeks with a napkin to dry them.
"Kitten, the only way you could ever disappoint me is if you don't try, as long as you try then nothing is completely a waste. You ate more than you usually would, right?" He ask
I nod. He smiles at me in return.
"Then that's an accomplishment!" He cheers, making me smile.
"Small progress is still progress." He says confidently. I nod and he wraps me in a hug. I hug back tightly, and take a deep breath when he lets go, to calm my emotions.
He stands up and grabs his bag. I get mine from off the back of my chair and sling it over my shoulder. He grabs a purple lunchbox that has flowers on it and hands it to me.
"I'll come by the library at lunch like we normally would, okay?" He says. I nod and follow him out the door.
I get in his car with him and he drives us to the school. It doesn't take us long to get there. We are right on time too. He stops me as I'm about to get out of the car.
"Have a good day, Kitten." He says
"You too." I say and exit the car.
School goes by agonizingly slow. Ms. Harris even confronted me about my change in last names. She was incredibly shocked when I actually spoke and even more so when I told her I was adopted. She reached ultimate amazement when I said it was by the doctor who is at our school. She said she was really happy for me and asked how I felt about him being a doctor and if I trusted him. To which I replied 'He's nice, but to be quite frank, I don't trust anyone, Ms. Harris. Although, he hasn't given me a reason not to trust him; yet.' She completely understood my answer and wished me luck.
When it was time for my study hall and lunch, I made my way to the library like any other day. The only difference is, I ran into Colin. Well, more like, he chased me down and pinned me up against the wall. He kicked me several times, followed by him groping my chest and bottom. I know I can't say anything to Luke or Grayson, or anyone else for that matter, because then I will get in trouble and make people mad at me. I held back tears as the pain flew across my body, determined to not cry. If I cried then my face would get all puffy. Then, Luke would know something's up. I can't have that happening.
I held back my tears and put on a brave face after he was done. Luke and Grayson were already in the library by the time I got there. I used the excuse that I had to use the bathroom to explain why I was late. They bought it, and thankfully dropped the subject.
I open the lunchbox to see Luke had packed me a turkey and cheese sandwich. There were strawberries which made my day better instantly, along with a few chocolate chip cookies. We all eat our lunch together and I listen to them talk. They were laughing at how I was struggling to get the peas on my fork last night. I blush deeply and sink into my chair. Grayson turns to me and laughs.
"So, do you like your room?" Grayson ask me
I nod happily which makes him smile. "I love it." I say and take a bite of my sandwich.
"That's great." He says
"I really liked the stuffed elephant too." I say as I pop a strawberry in my mouth.
"See, I told you she would like it!" Grayson cheers to Luke who only laughs.
"Oh yeah, she liked it, alright. You should have seen her all cuddled up with it and Nugget this morning. It was the cutest thing." Luke says and boops my nose. Grayson chuckles and I blush more.
"Hey, I can't help I like to cuddle." I say in defense
"And for your information, it now has a name." I boast
"What is IT'S name?" Luke ask putting emphasis on it's, just to bug me.
"I named her Ellie." I say 'mater of factly' they do a fake aww which makes me giggle.
"Why did you name Nugget, Nugget?" I ask
"Because Gray said he looked like a McDonalds chicken nugget when I first got him." Luke explains jokingly
I laugh at this and so do they. We talk for a bit more until I have to go to class. They go back to their terrifying work. The rest of the day is spent by me paying close attention in class, and avoiding getting called on like usual.
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Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you all are enjoying this book. Please leave comments about what you like and don't like so I can make this book better. Also, if I made a mistake, please tell me so I can fix it.
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