The Broken Orphan [Being Rewritten]

Seventeen- Tickles

Evangeline

I work diligently on my dress, adding a few final touches at the end. I had been working on it for the last two hours. We had eaten dinner which was leftovers, but I didn't mind. Any food was good food, especially if Luke made it. I finish the sewing on the bow. I straighten it and sigh. It's finished. Now for the moment of truth.

I close my bedroom door and strip from my pajamas. I slip on the silky dress and turn to my mirror. It hugs my body comfortably like it should. I squeal and twirl around. The skirt flares out as I spin, making me giggle.
"Luke!" I call out
I hear immediate rushed footsteps bounding up the stairs. A frantic and worried Luke pops into my doorway breathless.
"What's... wrong?" He ask in between deep breaths.
"I finished." I say excitedly and spin for him to see. He chuckles at me and tries to catch his breath.
"It looks amazing, but maybe next time, be a little less alarming when asking me to come see." He says laughing "I'm almost certain I broke a world record for getting up the stairs that fast." He jokes. I laugh at him and keep admiring my dress. He walks to me and looks over my dress.
"You look adorable." He says and boops my nose. I giggle and twist my hips the move the skirt of the dress. "Are you sure you made this? It looks like it was made by a professional." He says as he inspects the seams of the top.
"Nope, I made it." I giggle. Luke picks me up by my waist and spins us like I'm a feather. I hold back a grimace from where his hands are pushing on my bruises. He sets me back down after setting a small kiss on my nose with a smile.
"It looks amazing." He compliments me
"Thank you." I say back.
"Do you want to read tonight?" He ask
"Yay." I squeal and snatch my pajamas from my bed. I race to my bathroom to change from my dress. I come back out to see Luke sitting in our chair with the book, Ellie, and a blanket ready for me. I climb into his lap and snuggle close to him. He reads aloud for us until I fall asleep. He tucks me in like usual and goes to bed.

The next day
I change from my school clothes to an old t-shirt and shorts. I skip down stairs to meet Luke by the back door. He's changed into a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt that hugs his chest. He has a tennis ball and frisbee in hand to play with Nugget. He opens the back door and steps out, pulling me with him.
"Watch this." He says and holds open the door.
He whistles loudly and then yells.
"Nugget, wanna play?" He yells. Suddenly, Nugget comes flying through the door at lightning speed. He skids to a stop in the soft grass and turns to us, laying his head in his paws with his tail wagging in the air. He hops around excitedly at the sight of the ball in Luke's hand.
Luke throws the ball to the other side of the yard, and Nugget races to get it. He runs back to Luke with the ball in his mouth. Luke takes the ball from him and hands it to me.

"Nugget." He says to the dog who instantly responds to his name by turning his focus from the all to Luke.
"Heel." Luke says firmly and points by his side. The dog does what he says and sits at our feet.
"Stay." Luke commands and holds out his palm over the dogs head.
"Throw it." Luke tells me. I chuck the ball as far as I can, which isn't very far. Nugget whines to us, begging to let him get the toy.
"Go get it." Luke says smirking to him. Nugget takes off and plucks the ball from the grass. He trots back over to us and drops the ball at Luke's feet. We take turns throwing the two toys, only making nugget heel once more.
Nugget is clearly tired. He's panting and trotting around slowly. Eventually, he plops down into the soft grass and rolls onto his stomach. I walk over and start rubbing his belly.
"Whose a good boy?" I ask him he sniffs around and pants as I scratch him. Luke comes beside me and copies me. Nugget looks to be in doggy heaven with us both scratching him. I giggle as his back leg starts to twitch from pleasure. Luke adverts his gaze from Nugget to me. He tackles me and tickles my stomach. I turn into a fit of giggles as his hands roam my sides. Thankfully, my shirt fits tightly so it doesn't rise to show my bruises, and he isn't applying any pressure to me.
I beg in between gasp for air for him to stop.
"Luke, stop. Stop please." I laugh uncontrollably
He doesn't stop and I start to get worried. I can feel my chest tighten as I struggle for air.
"Luke, please." I beg. He slows down as he realizes something is wrong.
Suddenly, it's like I can't breath at all. I start wheezing and clutch my chest. Luke catches on that I'm having an asthma attack and goes into action. He scoops me into his arms and I cling to him in fear. My chest is on fire, it feels as if I'm breathing through a straw.
"Just keep breathing, Evangeline. It's going to be okay." He says. I can hear the concern in his voice as he carries me into the kitchen. He lays me down on the kitchen table as I'm still struggling to get oxygen into my lungs. He rummages through one of his cabinets quickly, looking for something. He finds what he is looking for and runs back to me. He uncaps an inhaler and I take it from him with shaking hands. I release its contents into me and relief comes to me almost instantaneously. I take a few deep breaths and do it again. Luke watches me intently and rubs my back to comfort me.
"Deep breaths. Just like me." He says and places my hand on his chest "In.....and out. You're doing great Love bug." Luke encourages me. I nod and keep going with my breathing. I'm able to regain the ability to get oxygen into my lungs after a few minutes, and the pain in my chest subsides.

"I'm so sorry, Evangeline." Luke apologizes sincerely. His eyes are full of guilt and pity. "I should have stopped when you asked me too." He says
"It's....Okay." I say still trying to breath normally again. "It was.....an....accident." I force out.
"No more tickles, I promise." He says.
"But, I like tickles." I mumble sadly
"Look, if we keep doing tickles, then we need a sign that lets me know to stop before it causes an asthma attack." He says sternly. I nod with a smile coming back to my face at the thought of being allowed to have tickles still.
"What is it going to be?" I ask
He makes his hands like claws and brings them down on his chest. He does it again to show me.
"It's the way to say asthma in sign language in pretty sure." He says. I copy his movements and he nods. 
"Yup, just like that." He says
I nod to show I understand.
"How many of these do you have?" I ask referring to the inhaler.
"Um, I have one in almost every room of the house." He admits slightly embarrassed.
"Every room!" I say shocked "Why so many?" I ask
"Because, then it will be easier to help you if you have another attack." He says
"Do you plan on me having that many?" I ask
"No, I plan on you having none, so we don't even have to use them, but it's good to be prepared. They could happen at any time and any place. Much worse than this one too." He warns me.
"Believe me, I know." I say sarcastically.
"Did you know that it's adorable when you try to have an attitude." He chuckles. I gasp and look away from him in fear. Having an attitude can get me punished. I really don't want to be punished.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to have an attitude. Please, I don't want to be punished." I plead. His face fills with concern and he lifts my chin to make me look at him.
"Kitten, I'm not going to punish you. I wouldn't punish you for being sarcastic." He says 
"Okay." I whisper, relieved that I'm not going to be beaten or starved.
He pulls me into a hug and I squeeze back lightly.
"Luke." I say into his body
"Yes, Kitten?" He ask
"You left Nugget outside." I say and release him. He mumbles an oops and lets Nugget into the house.
"Go get cleaned up and then we can watch a movie. I'll order pizza and we can read afterwards for as long as you can stay awake." He says
"Okay." I say. I hop from the table and rush upstairs. I shower and change into my pajamas, along with doing my nightly routine. I come back downstairs to see Luke has done the same thing. It's Friday, so we can stay up for as long as we want.
The doorbell rings and Luke goes to answer it. The pizza man stands there with our food. Luke pays him and then sits on the couch with it. I bring over a can of coke for him and a bottle of water for me. I snuggle up next to him and give him his drink. He sits the pizza in between us, letting me choose my own piece. I choose the smallest piece of the cheese pizza and dig in. Luke lets me pick a movie and I choose Monsters inc. He said it was a good movie and that I would enjoy it. It has been so long since I have watched tv. Much less a movie. The only time I ever got to watch tv was during school when the teachers showed us videos related to what we were studying at the time.

I get into the movie and fall in love with it. I finish my piece of pizza, but don't eat another. It's made me full by just that one piece. Luke places the left over pizza into the fridge and comes back to me. I stretch out on the couch, laying my head in his lap. The props his feet up on the ottoman and rest an arm on my side. I lace our hands together and he strokes the back of my hand. He's figured out that I really like it when he does that, so he does it a lot. It's really soothing to me for some reason.

We spend the rest of the night cuddling and watching Disney movies until both of us fall asleep, completely forgetting about reading tonight. Luke showed me some of his favorites including; Lion king, The Emperors New Groove, and Finding Nemo. At some point in the night he carries me to my bed and tucks me in. Nugget climbs into bed with me and lays curled at my feet like he usually does. I snuggle with Ellie in the warmth of my blankets, drifting into a deep sleep.