The girl in the attic
Chapter 27
Preston’s POV
I laid there in bed with her until she woke up. I didn’t dare move not wanting to wake her when she looked so peaceful. She lifted her head from my chest causing her hair to fall in front of her face and my heart to skip a beat.
“Hi,” she whispered in a sleepy voice.
“Hi,” I replied unable to hold back my smile, this was one of those special moments that I would never forget.
“How long did I sleep?” she asked still not moving away from me like she usually did.
“I’m not sure, about two hours I think,” I answered moving my arm that was still around her body so that I could gently brush my fingers through her hair. She smiled at me and then sat up taking the warmth of her body with her.
“Are you hungry?” I asked getting out from under the covers and looking out of the window. The sun was setting behind the mountains in the distance and thick snow clouds were gathering in the sky.
“Yes I am but I don’t think I can hold anything down at the moment,” she answered looking a bit shy.
“Well I’m hungry and there is no way I am eating without you so you are just going to have to try,” I said trying to cheer her up.
“Ok, I’ll try,” she agreed.
I left the room locking it behind me and headed to the kitchen.
“Your dinner is in the oven,” Lina said from behind me startling me. I turned around and looked at her trying to figure out if she suspected something and why it seemed like she really didn’t care about Katie.
“Thanks,” I replied taking the plate out of the oven. She had made me a thick vegetable stew that would go down very good in this cold weather. I walked over to the cupboard where I took two slices of bread, placed them on a saucer and then headed back upstairs.
Katie was waiting for me on the bed where I left her. I sat down on the bed with her and placed the bowl with the stew in between us. I took one of the slices of bread and handed her the other one. She took it without hesitation but once she had dipped the bread in the sauce she just stared at it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked swallowing my first bite, I was starving.
“I’m scared I’m going to get sick,” she answered looking embarrassed.
“You don’t have to be, if you need to be sick then it’s ok but you can’t starve yourself because of it,” I said feeling really bad for her. I don’t think she was scared of throwing up, I think she was scared of doing it in front of me.
She nodded her head and took a bite of the bread. Her face lit up as she chewed on it letting me know how much she liked it.
“It’s delicious,” she said dipping her bread in the sauce again and taking another bite.
“Tell me about it,” I replied watching her carefully. The whole situation with Lina still confused me.
“Hasn’t Lina made this stew for you before?” I asked before I could stop myself. She looked up at me with a strange expression on her face and then took another bite of her bread.
“I’m sorry, I know you don’t like talking about it,” I said feeling guilty for bringing up the subject.
“No, it’s ok. I guess I can tell you what happened,” she replied hesitantly.
“Of course you can tell me, you can tell me anything,” I replied taking the last bite of my slice of bread.
She nodded her head and as she did this I saw the expression on her face change.
“I’m going to be sick,” she said almost jumping off of the bed and running to the bathroom. I followed her nervously but stopped in the bathroom door wanting to give her some space. When she was done throwing up I filled a glass with water and gave it to her. She took it looking thankful and I slipped to the ground, sitting down next to her with my back against the bathtub.
“How do you feel?” I asked not sure what else to say or do.
“Better now that I’ve thrown up, it always feels a bit better afterward,” she replied taking me by surprise. It was the first time that she shared information about her sickness with me so openly.
“Does it hurt?” I asked wanting to know more so that I could help her better.
“Most of the time. It’s a strange feeling. I feel weak and tired and then every now and then I would get these awful pains that take over my whole body,” she answered trying to get up from where she was sitting.
I quickly jumped to my feet and helped her up.
“Is it ok if I brush my teeth quickly?” she asked and I couldn’t help but smile at her.
“You don’t have to ask me, of course you can brush your teeth. I’ll take the plates out and get us something to drink,” I replied leaving the bathroom. I quickly grabbed the plates and made my way downstairs. Lina wasn’t anywhere is sight so I gobbled up the rest of the stew that was left over in my plate and then I made us some hot chocolate. I made my way back up to my room keeping an eye out for Lina not wanting to be caught with two mugs of hot chocolate in my hands. When I got to my room and locked the door behind me I felt relieved. All this sneaking around was starting to get to me. I wish I could just take Katie some place where we didn’t have to sneak around the whole time. Somewhere where she could do what she wanted, when she wanted, somewhere where she could be happy.
Katie was waiting for me on the bed and she greeted me with a smile.
“I made us some hot chocolate,” I said handing her a cup. She brought it up to her nose, smelled it and placed it back on the bedside table. I moved to the other side of the bed and sat down next to her.
“It wasn’t always like this. When I was younger Lina and my dad was happy but then I got sick and Mickey came along,” she said staring at her hands.
“What happened?” I asked encouraging her to go on.
“My dad was married to my mom but she died giving birth to me, he met Lina a few months later and they got married. I’m not sure why he married her so soon after my mother’s death, he never spoke about her and I was so young that it never crossed my mind to ask. At first it was all good but then I started getting sick and everything changed. Lina wasn’t working at the time and she didn’t like the fact that my dad spent all of his money on hospital’s and medicine for me,” Katie said as some silent tears ran down her face. I reacted without thinking and wiped them away with my hand. For a second I thought she was going to pull away but instead she smiled a sad smile at me.
“Go on,” I said smiling as I pulled my hand away and took a sip of my hot chocolate.
“Lina fell pregnant with Mickey when I was six and during the pregnancy my cancer went into remission so for a while everything seemed fine again. When Mickey was three he was diagnosed with cancer. It broke my heart, I really loved him and I still do. My dad did everything he could for him just like he did for me but according to Lina it was never enough."
“He started drinking and one morning he just didn’t wake up. Lina got this job and moved us out here. She sent Mickey to the Sunflower house of hope knowing that they would be able to look after him, all of the money she makes goes directly to them,” she stated sadly as she remembered her past. I could tell putting the memories in words were upsetting her but talking about things sometimes makes it easier to deal with.
“What happened to you when you moved out here?” I asked, this is the part I most wanted to know after all.
“Like I said, all of her money went to Mickey so she didn’t have any left to get a place for us to stay. She told your aunt and uncle about him but she never told them about me. They told her that they didn’t like kids but since my brother wasn’t staying with her she could live in the maid’s coaters downstairs. I could tell that she didn’t want to help me but she was kind of stuck with me so she hid me in the attic. She brought me leftover food whenever she could and when your aunt and uncle would throw out things she would save them and bring them for me."
“I was told to hide and to make sure that they never saw me. She said that if they found out about me they would fire her and then my brother would die because she wouldn’t be able to pay for his doctors. At first I was scared but as time passed I learned how to get in and out of the attic without being caught. I spent most of my nights in the attic but during the day I would sneak away and go walk in the woods. Sometimes I dared to go into town when I was really hungry. You’ll be surprised at the things that some people throw away,” she said as her tears turned into sobs.
My heart was breaking as she told me her story and I made a promise to myself that I would make her happy and give her the life she deserved no matter what it took. I moved closer to her and pulled her into my arms. I held her until she stopped crying and pulled away.
She looked at me with her shiny brown eyes and tear streaked face and I could see all the pain she’s been through in them.
“You didn’t deserve any of that Katie. Lina is crazy not to love you,” I stated feeling my hate towards her grow even stronger.
“I don’t know, maybe I did something wrong,” she whispered hesitantly, her words taking me by surprise once more. She really didn’t know how special she is.
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, you were only a child. Lina should have taken care of you. I hate her for what she’s done to you!” I almost yelled feeling like I could strangle her for all the pain she’s caused Katie over the years.
Katie didn’t say anything so we just sat there looking at each other until both of us had calmed down.
“I should take a look at your leg,” I finally said breaking the silence.
“Ok, but I’m going to take a shower first” Katie replied getting up from the bed. Her words were simple but they made me incredibly happy. She didn’t ask me if she could take a shower, she told me she was going to and this was a huge step in the right direction according to me.
I laid down on the bed thinking over everything she had told me. She is such an incredible girl. I hated the whole world for letting her suffer like that. When she was done she sat down on the bed with me and I looked at the wound on her leg. It was healing nicely but I didn’t want to take any chances so I put on some antiseptic lotion again and bandaged it up.
“Thank you,” Katie whispered as I placed the medical kit on the floor next to the bed.
“For what?” I asked not really thinking that me bandaging her leg was a big deal.
“For taking care of me, I can’t remember the last time I felt safe,” she said smiling sadly at me. My heart was still aching about everything she had told me and when I pulled her into my arms I couldn’t help as a single tear escaped my eye.