Evangeline
I wake up to Luke laying beside me, tenderly rubbing his thumb against my arm. He smiles when my eyes flutter open. He immediately puts on my glasses for me so I can actually see him. He boops my nose, making me giggle.
"Sleep well?" He ask
I nod sleepily.
"For someone who doesn't like to be touched, you sure do like to cuddle." He teases. I blush. I smile and move closer to him. I wrap my small arms around him and lay my head on his chest. He chuckles and rubs my back soothingly. My stomach was hurting all night, at one point I even thought I might throw up. Of course I didn't tell Luke this, I didn't want him to go into doctor mode.
"Does your stomach still hurt?" He ask. I shake my head no and he smiles.
"What about your throat?" He ask and I shake my head no again.
"Good. Are you ready to get up?" He ask
I bury my head into him, closing my eyes to go back to asleep. He chuckles at me and pulls me closer to him.
"Five more minutes, okay?" He says
"Okay." I mumble
Five minutes go by with me just laying there listening to Luke's heartbeat. Luke twirls my hair in his finger as we lay there. It makes me feel safe and comfortable.
"Evangeline?" He says
"Yes?" I ask looking up to him.
"Do you know how wonderful you are?" He ask, grinning at me. This puts a smile on my face, a doubtful one, but a smile.
"You're very wonderful, everything about you is wonderful, and I'm very happy you are apart of my family now." He says looking into my eyes. He traces the outline of my face with his finger.
"Thank you." I say
"Sweetheart," he says with sincereness in his eyes, "I love you, and I promise, I will try to be the best father I can be." He says
My smile falls, my heart stops. I don't know what to say. I've never had anyone say that to me that I can remember. I don't know if I feel the same way. I don't even know if I trust him. My mouth hangs agape, unable to make a sound. Sadness fills my eyes and my thoughts jumble in my mind.
"Luke..." I say disappointed in myself. He shushes me and I can't bear to look at him.
"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I understand." He says compassionately
I lay my head back on his chest to get out of his gaze.
"Thank you." Is all I can muster. We lay there silently, him tracing shapes on my back, and me listening to his heart. Nugget crawls in between us to get more attention. We both scratch his ears together. He turns to complete bliss and licks our hands excitedly. I giggle at him and Luke laughs at us.
"We have to get ready. You have school, and I have work." He says looking at the time.
"But I'm comfortable." I say, muffled by his chest.
"I know, but we still have responsibilities." He says to me. I sigh in return.
"Hey, cheer up. As soon as school is over, we can go get all the stuff you need to make your dress." He says
I smile at the thought of actually getting to make my design.
"Yay." I squeal happily
"But, school first." He says firmly.
"Okay." I say, getting up from the bed. I walk to my dresser and pull out a pair of jeans with a big sweater and a tank top because the sweater has large knit holes that you can see through. I really like sweaters because of how comfortable and warm they make me feel. I also like pulling the sleeves down past my hands and flopping the sleeves around when no one is watching. It's fun to me.
Luke gets up from my bed when I go to take a shower. I shower, get out, and finish my morning routine after putting on my clothes. Grabbing my things, I skip downstairs to the kitchen. Luke has gotten dressed in scrubs like yesterday, making me cringe slightly at the reminder of him being a doctor.
He pours thick and tan mush into two bowls, topping it off with cinnamon and apple slices. He puts two spoons in the steaming bowls and brings them to the table. He smiles at me and pours two glasses of orange juice. He sits down and I do too.
I hesitate to start eating because I know it will make my stomach hurt.
"I'm not that hungry." I mumble and clutch my stomach fearfully.
"Honey, I know you don't want your stomach to hurt, but you need to eat." He says concernedly
I look down sadly to the bowl of beautiful food.
"The more stable your diet is, the easier your body is going to adjust. That means is not going to take as long for the food to not make it hurt after you eat." He explains carefully, not to upset me.
"Okay." I mumble unhappily
"What is this?" I ask curiously as I inspect the food.
"Apple and cinnamon oatmeal." He says, blowing on the hot, gooey substance.
I take a tiny spoonful when it's cooled down. Flavor explodes in my mouth and I devour most of my small portion. I can feel my stomach already starting to cramp. I force myself to finish the rest of my food and Luke looks proud of me.
I sip on my juice as I sit waiting for him to finish. I take this time to clean up breakfast for him. I hand him the lunch he had pack for himself while grabbing my lunchbox. We head out the door after saying goodbye to Nugget. I cross my arms over my stomach as we drive, hoping to stop the pain before getting to school.
Luke looks slightly guilty and reaches over with one hand to take one of mine in his. He gives it a light squeeze and I squeeze back.
We get to the school after the short drive from home. Luke tells me goodbye and to have a good day with a hug. I'm not able to get rid of the pain, sadly.
My classes go by without a hitch. I don't get called on, no one bullies me, heck, they don't even acknowledge me. Just how I like it. Study hall and lunch rolls around and I make my way to the library. My stomach is still hurting from earlier, just not as bad. Luke and Grayson meet me there a few minutes into lunch. I pack away my notes from studying when they get here. I take out my lunchbox and inspect its contents. It's a bowl of strawberries, mixed with grapes, a turkey wrap, and a few Oreos which I share with them. I eat most of my food that Luke packed. I slowly force myself to eat the rest of the wrap, trying to make Luke proud of me again. He gives me a happy smile when he sees that in really trying. My stomach starts really hurting again from all the food, but I try to ignore it. I realize I have to pee and get up from the table.
"Where are you going?" Grayson ask
"To the bathroom. Why do you ask to many questions?" I ask sarcastically
"I'm a curious person." He laughs. Luke chuckles at our pointless bickering and shakes his head, smiling.
I go to the bathroom, only to run into someone on my way out. I stutter an immediate sorry, but I'm thrown to the ground, instead of receiving one back. I cry out when I hit the hard tiles of the floor. I look up to see Colin towering over me with an angry look.
"You better be sorry." He growls at me. Before he slaps me, I'm able to stop him.
"Wait! I-If you leave a mark where people can see, then you'll get caught because they can check the cameras." I say trying to benefit the both of us. Well, me really. If Luke where to find out then it would be very bad for Colin and I. Especially me.
He frowns angrily when he realizes I'm right. It soon turns into a sick grin for some reason.
"Then I guess I'll just have to leave a mark where people won't see." He says sadistically. He drags me by my hair into the bathroom, where he delivers a kick to my stomach, making me cry out in pain.
"Shut it, you worthless piece of dog shit." He growls at me. I whimper as he delivers blow after blow to my stomach, occasionally my back. Tears stream down my face steadily until his last kick hits my stomach. He pauses to catch his breath and bile raises in my throat. I scramble to get off the dirty floor of the bathroom and to a toilet before I puke. I cover my mouth with my hand until I reach a toilet. Colin laughs at me and grabs my butt before leaving me in the bathroom. Pain courses through my entire body from the events that just took place.
I hear a knock on the bathroom door, but I can't respond. I guess whoever it is hears me because they barge into the bathroom without hesitation. My stomach continues to empty its contents into the porcelain bowl continuously. I feel a pair of gentle hands pull back my hair, away from my face to keep it clean. I silently thank them in my mind because I can't do it out loud. Someone else rubs my back to help ease my major discomfort, but it still hurts from Colin kicking me. I don't leave from their touch, not to raise suspicion from them. Although, it hurts slightly.
"Just let it out." I recognize the voice as Luke's and mentally cringe. Now I'm going to have to make up a reason as to why I'm throwing up...Great....
My stomach eventually empties everything it can get out. I slump against the stall wall to catch my breath. Grayson gives me a damp paper towel that I use to wipe my mouth. Luke goes to touch my stomach, but I push his hand away. I'm afraid that it will make me throw up again, and I'm positive it will hurt. There is no way I'm going to let him see my stomach or let him touch it. I don't know if I could keep myself from whimpering or crying if he pressed down on the new bruises. The old ones hadn't even healed yet. He sighs, knowing I'm not going to let him, and tries to comfort me instead.
"I'm sorry, Love bug." He apologizes
"It's not your fault." I say tiredly. Believe it or not, throwing up takes a lot of energy.
"I just ate too much." I lie. He wipes away some of my tears for me and I lean into his side. I'm now exhausted and just want to go home to sleep.
"You need to rest, Evangeline." Grayson says as he observes my tired state. My eyes are heavy, and my eyelids droop open and closed as I try to stay awake.
"I'm going to write you a note for your next class, explaining what happened and that you needed to rest." Luke says. I'm too tired to protest anything. Grayson goes to get our things from the library, while Luke helps me to the east wing, where they are checking kids. He lays me on an examination table in an extra room that he isn't using. He gives me his coat to cover up with, and Grayson gives me his jacket to use as a pillow. Luke, sits a bottle of water next to me and I take small sips. He gets Mrs. Cheryl to email my teacher, who apparently understands the situation, and is not going to count me as skipping class.
"Try to get some rest, Love bug." Luke says to me. I give him a small nod and roll over to my side. Grayson tells me I'm going to feel better in a little bit, and to just go to sleep. By this time, I'm already halfway asleep, so I don't respond. I drift off into a deep, dreamless sleep on the hard examination table, not even caring enough that I'm in here with all the tools that could hurt me.