Don't lose HOPE [COMPLETED]

Chapter 12

HOPE

When I wake up the next day, I don't see Zeke, but I hear someone in the closet.

Evelyn peeks her head out, smiling. "Oh, you're awake. I hope I didn't wake you. I'm helping you arrange your closet. I hope you don't mind?"

I shake my head and she sees me looking around.

"Oh, and Zeke is down at the gym. I told him that I would keep you company." She continues to hang up my clothes, and then comes out from the closet. "There, all done. Let me know if I should change anything and what you think of the shirts Kate and I picked out for you. We forgot that you might need a jacket and some warmer clothes, so we can go back to the mall next weekend if you'd like?"

"Okay," I say quietly.

"Kate told me that you might want a bath. She's busy right now, but I can help you if you're ok with it? I'm not going to look and I'll fill the tub with bubbles."

I nod and sit on the edge of the bed, staring out of the window, while she fills up the tub.

"It's ready," she says after a while. "I'll just wait out here until you're in the tub. Tell me when I can come in."

I nod, walk into the bathroom and shut the door slightly. I take my clothes off and climb into the tub. I love warm baths. We only had a shower in my house and I always made sure to shower as quickly as possible when I came home from school or in the mornings. I didn't want to bump into my parents.

"I'm ready," I say to her, and she comes in and locks the door.

"Zeke's got a huge ass bathroom," she says, looking around. "Ours is big too, so I'm not complaining, but this is huge."

"D-do you and Chris live in the same room?" I didn't think about it when Zeke showed me around and I never asked.

"Yes, we have been since I moved in here," she says, smiling.

I didn't think that Kate and Richard would let them stay in the same room. I mean, they're 18, but under their roof? But then again, I live in Zeke room, but that's not the same since I'm not his girlfriend. He's just my suicide guard...or something.

"Can I wash your hair?" Evelyn asks. "I just want to run my fingers through that thick hair of yours."

I nod. My hair is the only thing I like about myself. It's long, thick and I can hide myself with it. I just brush it, pull my hood up and let it cover my face a bit if I feel like I need to.

"We need to get you some better hair products. My mom owns a beauty salon here in the village and I'm thinking about becoming a hairdresser or a nail stylist. I haven't decided yet. We can go there someday and she can recommend some products for you."

She washes my hair and massages my scalp. I take a deep breath, and my whole body feels relaxed.

"I'm so excited about going to a new school," she says. "I've been going here all my life and it's about time that I see something new and meet some new people. Are there mean girls and hot jocks there? I mean, there must be in every school, right? The school here is kind of dull. Don't worry, though, I've got your back."

She sure talks a lot. She doesn't even let me answer, but I'm grateful about that. I don't feel like talking much.

"All done," she says and holds up the towel for me. She looks away and I step out of the tub and dry myself off. "Come into the closet with me and I'll show you your clothes. You can change in there. Zeke is going to be in the gym for a while before he comes back. He and Chris can work out for hours," she says, rolling her eyes.

I walk behind her with the towel wrapped around me.

"Here's your leggings and underwear, and here are your hoodies. I color arranged them. See," she says happily. "We mostly bought darker colors because we thought that you would like them better, but here are some brighter ones in case you feel like trying something else."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, get dressed and we can go down for breakfast."

I put some of my new clothes on. Black lace panties and bra, black leggings, a dark grey hoodie and white socks.

I follow her down to the kitchen where Kate and Richard are sitting at the island.

"Good morning, Hope," they both say, smiling.

"Good morning," I say quietly.

"Did you like the shirts we bought you?" Kate asks.

"Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. Did Evelyn tell you that we're going shopping on Saturday again? We forgot to buy you some warmer clothes. I don't know why."

I nod.

Richard chuckles. "You forgot? You just needed an excuse to go shopping again."

"I did not," she tells him with a stern voice.

"Calm down, honey. You can go shopping as much as you'd like," he says, kissing her cheek.

"Damn right, I can," she says, smiling, and Evelyn chuckles at them.

"Well, since our guys aren't ready yet, we might as well watch a movie," Evelyn tells me when we're done eating. "Now, we can decide what to watch. Oh, do we have any ice-cream?" she asks Kate.

"Sure, look in the freezer."

She grabs two bowls and puts three buckets of ice-cream on the counter. "Which flavor do you want?"

"I don't know." I haven't had ice-cream since I was little, so I don't know what my favorite is.

I take a spoon of each. I can't get much more down anyway since we just had breakfast. We grab our bowls and walk up to the media room. We sit down on the couch closes to the screen.

Evelyn gives me a blanket. "Can we please watch 'Isn't it romantic'? It's a romantic comedy and I've been dying to see it. Rebel Wilson is so funny. I never get the chance to watch it when the guys are around. They don't want to watch that stuff."

"Okay."

"Great! I'm so glad you're here, Hope. I mean, I have some friends, but they have their ma⸺I mean, boyfriends, so we're all kind of busy. It's great so have a friend in the same house."

I nod and try to smile a little. She gets the movie started and we eat our ice-cream. The movie is funny and I find myself chuckling quietly from time to time. Evelyn lights up every time she hears me.

About forty-five minutes into the movie, we hear loud footsteps in the hallway and someone yelling with a deep growl "Where is she?" The door flies open and an angry and worried Zeke stands there heaving.

I jump a little and Evelyn and I turn our heads toward him. I think I see that flash of red in his eyes again, but he's too far away for me to see properly.

When he sees me, he takes a deep breath and rubs his hands over his face. "Thank fucking God." He walks over to us and Evelyn seems to shrink into the couch a bit, like she's preparing herself for a scolding. Chris also comes rushing in and seems relieved to see us.