The Broken Orphan [Being Rewritten]

Nineteen- Explain

Evangeline

Luke had woken me up for dinner. It was tacos, which I really liked. Grayson stayed for dinner. After we ate, and I had done my nightly routine, we all piled into the living room to watch movies. I lay in between Luke and Gray on the long couch with my head in Luke's lap and my feet in Grays. Luke caresses my cheek while gray traces shapes on the top of my foot. I scroll through some of the pictures I took and delete the bad ones. I show them some of the good ones and silly ones. When I finish going through them, my eyes feel heavy and it's hard to keep them open. I pull my blanket to my chin and allow my eyes to close. Soon after, falling into a deep, dream filled sleep.
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Luke

I stroke her cheek as she lays in my lap almost asleep. The zoo wore her out today. It was adorable to watch her with the elephants. They were cool, but it was great to see her so happy and excited. It makes me happy to know she got to be a kid again. Sure, she's fifteen, but she never got to be a kid.

She was always having to take care of herself, be afraid all the time, hide from everyone, follow all those damn rules that the retched lady from the orphanage gave to her. She's never had anyone to care for her. No one has ever told her they loved her, cuddled her when she needed to, let her talk about how she's feeling, nothing. I really care about her. I've always wanted kids, but I never had a wife or girlfriend to have them with. It was kind of like a miracle for both of us when I found her.

I could see a spark in her eyes when I first saw her. Sure, it was hidden by her self conscience ways and her fear, but I could tell it was still there. She looked so afraid of everyone when we first saw her. I felt kind of bad when I saw her shrink into herself when Grayson asked for help finding the front office. Fear spread across her whole body. Her stutter was adorable, however I know it was only because she was afraid.

She's been raised by herself. I doubt that beast of a lady has done anything to help Evangeline with anything. She probably has done the bare minimum that she is legally allowed to do. I hate to think of what Evangeline has had to go through with Victoria and the foster homes. How could people be so mean to such a sweet child. She hasn't done anything to upset anyone. She always follows the rules and never leaves a mess anywhere. She never talks back or says no to anything you ask her to do. Although, she was very adamant towards not doing the dental checkups, but she had an understandable reason as to why she didn't want to.

She cuddles more into her blanket for warmth. I can tell she's tired. It's not long before she is asleep in our laps. Her breathing rate slows and her body relaxes. Cute little snores escape her slightly parted mouth. I brush a piece of hair away from her face and look to Gray.

I move her off my lap slowly to not wake her up and Grayson does the same. I scoop her into my arms gently and take her upstairs to her room. I lay her down and cover her up. I place her beloved 'Ellie' in her arms and she pulls it close to her body. Nugget jumps onto the bed and curls up at her feet. Sometimes I come in to check on her at night and he gets up and stands over her protectively. She's got that dog wrapped around her finger. Heck, she's got me wrapped around her finger too. Nugget follows her everywhere, never leaving her side. She doesn't seem to mind him though. She just pets him and lets him watch her do whatever she's doing.

I tuck her in and place a small kiss on her forehead with a goodnight and love you. A small smile spreads across her lips at my actions and she mumbles what resembles a goodnight. I don't mind that she doesn't say ' I love you' back because I know it's different for her. She's scared to get close to anyone in fear that they will leave or hurt her. So far, I am pretty sure I'm the closest she's ever let herself get to anyone.

I walk back to Grayson who is standing in the doorway. I follow him downstairs and back to the couch. I look at the pictures I took today of her with all the animals. She looks so happy in all of them. Her smile can brighten anyone's day. Her bubbly personality makes her special. Different than all the other teenagers her age who don't care about anything other than the hottest trend or who their next relationship is with. Evangeline cares about things that really matter, like her school work and her family.

"She's talking a lot more." Grayson chuckles
"Yeah." I mumble
"What, do you not want her to talk?" He ask
"No! No, I'm glad she talks. It's just the reason why she didn't talk that bothers me." I say. I would never not want her to talk. It makes me happy that she talks, and I hope she keeps talking too.
"Why didn't she talk?" Grayson ask
"She didn't talk because she didn't want to. She didn't talk because she wasn't allowed to."
"Wait, what?" He says confusedly
"That lady from the orphanage told her she had to have permission to talk or else she would be punished." I say angrily
"What the actual hell?" He says
I turn to him and hold up my hand to silence him.
"That's not even the worst thing either." I say, he gets even more confused.
"All she ever ate was two pieces of bread and water. Occasionally, milk instead. That lady wouldn't let her eat anything else, even though, there was extra food." I say, annoyed by how improper how diet was. He goes to speak but I cut him off.
"It gets worse too." I say "After I told her she could eat actual food, she went to the corner over there and sat down to start eating." I explain and point to the corner
"Why?" He ask getting annoyed too.
"That's what I'm getting to." I say "When I asked why, she said Victoria wouldn't let her eat at the table because 'There wasn't enough space for her.'" I say air quoting what Victoria had told her.
"She said that she didn't want to make anyone give up their seat, so she sat in the corner where Victoria told her to 'To save space.' Sometimes, she wouldn't even get a chair." I explain angrily
"What in the hell is wrong with that lady?" He says
"I don't know, but she didn't eat the food we kept trying to give her because she thought if the lady found out, then she would get in trouble for it. She always gave her breakfast to another kid because she said they needed it more than her, so the only thing she would eat is two pieces of bread. Everyday, that's it." I say. I run my fingers through my hair, trying to keep myself calm.
"I'm really starting to hate that lady." He says
"I already do." I say and turn back to the movie that neither of us had been watching. It was an old Disney movie that Evangeline wanted to watch, called Aladdin.
"I don't understand how someone could go through so much and be this normal." He says with a sigh
"She's tough, I'll give her that. She's like an adult kid. She never got to be a kid because she was to busy taking care of herself. The anxiety, and panic attacks can be taken away with time, but I don't think she is ever going to be fully okay with our jobs." I say sadly
"Probably not, but that's not her fault." He agrees with me.
"Nope." I sigh

We finish watching the kid movie which was actually pretty good. Grayson goes home afterwards and I finish cleaning up from dinner. I go to bed when I finish, happily welcoming the comfort of my soft mattress.
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Sorry for such a crappy chapter, but I PROMISE the next one will be better! I will try to have a new chapter up by tonight or tomorrow. Thank you guys for all the support  from you guys. I really appreciate it.

-Have fun reading!