The Broken Orphan [Being Rewritten]

Twelve- Dinner

Evangeline

I shower, enjoying the warm water against my cold skin. I get out and wrap the towel around me. I put my dirty clothes in the hamper that he told me to put them in so he could wash them for me. I fish a pair of pajamas out of my bag and put them on. After brushing my hair, I put it into a French braid to prevent tangles from getting in it. I take a long look at my new room and smile. I've never had anyone give me anything like this before.

'Maybe he really does care about me.' I think to myself. I have to mentally scold my brain for thinking that way.
'No! You can't get attached to him.' My brain tells me. The other foster homes had trained me to feel as if everyone is going to abandon me.

I sigh and head downstairs. Nugget greets me when I get to the bottom of the stairs. He trots beside me to the kitchen where Luke is cooking. Sweet aromas waft around the room. My stomach grumbles hungrily as the amazing smells fill my nose. My mouth waters at the smells. Sadness fills my body when I realize I'm not allowed to eat what he eats if he has the same rules as Ms. Victoria.

I stand at the island, waiting for Luke to notice me. He's changed into more comfortable clothes. He's clearly strong enough to overpower me. He stands at the stove stirring mashed potatoes, while stirring peas in another pot. A meat, seemingly chicken, is searing in a pan, which is making the house smell incredibly good. The chicken is golden with a light shine to it and small spots from the seasoning. It's all cooking on the large gas stove; the burners are hot under the flame of the fire.

He takes the pots off the burners and puts the chicken onto two separate plates. He dishes out the peas onto the plates, along with the mashed potatoes. He adds cheese, butter, and pepper to the fluffy mountains. Luke finally sees me when he turns around to put the plates on the island, and his face turns into a smile.

"Hey, you all warm now?" He ask
I nod smiling at him.
"Whose coming over for dinner?" I ask curiously. He looks at me confusedly and his gaze shifts from me and the plates.
"No one, why would you think that?" He ask
"Because there's an extra plate." I explain
"No there isn't. This is yours." He says.
"Oh, Ms. Victoria wouldn't allow me to eat what everyone else ate." I say confusedly
"Why is that?" He ask with slight anger in his voice
"She said there wasn't enough for me," I explain, "but there was always some left over." I add sadly. His face shows increasing anger on it and I start to get scared.
"Then what did you eat?" He ask

I look down and cross my arms over my hungry stomach as I twirl my foot on the hard tile floor. It's cold to the touch, but I can't do anything about it.

"She gives me two pieces of bread and a glass of water." I mumble into the floor. I peek back up when I add the next item.
"Oh! But, sometimes she gives me milk instead of water." I say and give him a hopeful smile. He glares at me unhappily and I shrink back into my body.
"That's it? That's not even close to what you should be eating. At all! Do you get breakfast? Because, I know you don't eat lunch." He says highly upset with me.
"I get an apple, but I usually give it to one of the other children, because they need it more than me." I say, my voice cracking in fear from how angry he looks.
"Evangeline Rose Clark! That is not healthy, do you even know how dangerous it is to eat that little?" He yells at me. I jump back in shock from his tone. I cower under his tall build as he towers over me.
"I-I'm sorry." I stutter. "I didn't know." I beg, a sob escaping my lips.

His face softens when he realizes he's scared me. Luke bends down to be less frightening and holds me by the shoulders.
"Shh, don't cry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Stop crying, please." He says much softer and calmer.
He pulls me to him in a hug and I cry on his shoulder.
"I'm not going to punish you, it's not your fault." He says. I will myself to calm down as he pats my back gently to comfort me.
"Please, don't yell at me." I cry
"I'm sorry, Evangeline. I didn't mean to scare you. It just makes me upset at how little you eat." He separates us, still holding me in place.
"It's no wonder your are so underweight. You don't eat nearly enough to gain weight. Do you ever get any stomach aches or headaches or anything like that?" He ask. I nod. He looks kind of surprised and worried at my answer.
"You do? Where?" He ask concernedly
"I have headaches and I get sick kind of easily. Sometimes, my stomach hurts when I get really hungry." I say and poke my stomach.
"Don't worry, we're gonna make sure it doesn't happen any more, okay?" He says
I nod.
"Why don't you get lunch, I know the orphanage has to give you money for food. " He ask
"Because, I saved the money for things I needed, unless I felt like I was going to pass out, then I bought the cheapest thing I could." I explain sadly
"And, I thought Ms. Victoria would be mad if she found out that I ate something other than my bread. I didn't want to break the rules." I add
He looks at me with heartbroken eyes and strokes my cheek with his thumb.
"That's why you didn't take the food we kept trying to give you." He sighs
"I wanted to eat it, I really did, but I just couldn't. It looked really good though." I assure him.
"We were taunting you with it the whole time. I'm sorry." He apologizes
"It's okay, you didn't know. Besides, even if I could have eaten it, I wouldn't have. For all I know, you could have poisoned it." I point out
He chuckles at me and stands.
"Let's get some food in that tiny little belly of yours." He says with a small smile.
My face lights up at the thought of eating new foods. Everything smells good, and I'm excited to have a warm meal, or any meal at this point.