The Broken Orphan [Being Rewritten]

Twenty Two- Mall

Evangeline

The mall is huge. There are so many people that I have to grab Luke's hand to keep from loosing him. He takes me to a bunch of different stores where we pick out a lot of really cute clothes. We have bags upon bags filled with all kinds of shirt, shorts, skirts, tights, leggings, shoes, dresses, anything you can imagine. I skip happily beside Luke who hasn't stopped laughing at me all day because I keep getting really excited when I find an article of clothing that I could make a really cute outfit with. I've held my tongue each time we've gone to the register to pay because I remember what he said about money. I cringe at our total in each store and I know Luke sees me. We decide to go home since it's already past lunchtime and we have enough clothes already.

I slow down to look at a cute top in a window of a store, but quickly realize that Luke didn't notice. By the time I realize this, he is gone in the sea of people. I can't find him anymore and begin to get scared. I suddenly notice all the people around me. Everyone smiling, laughing, some talking on the phone or carrying children who are begging for something from their parents.

I've never been comfortable around people, much less a crowd of this many people. Panic rises in my body and tears spring to my eyes. I can feel the eyes of other people on me which only makes things worse. My chest tightens and I start to hyperventilate. I spin around to try ago find where we came in at, but I can't remember and only end up disorienting myself even more.
'What if I never find Luke? What if he forgets about me? What if I get kidnapped? What do I do? Where did we come in from? Where do I go?' These questions run through my mind at lightning speed and I search for a safe place.

I scan the banners hanging from the roof until I see one at the very end of the building for a bathroom. I immediately take off towards the bathroom, dodging and weaving through people as I struggle to keep my panic attack under control, at least until I get there. Tears fall freely down my face by the time I get there and my chest is on fire. I'm breathing in short ragged breaths and I can hardly think straight. It's a miracle from heaven that there is no one in the bathroom other than myself. I throw my bags to the floor at my feet and pull my knees to my chest as I sink to the floor. My body shakes with sobs as I cry profusely into my knees. I feel a vibrating in my pocket which sends tingles into my body. I fish my phone out of my pocket and fumble to slide the green arrow to answer my call.

"Evangeline, where are you?" I recognize the worried voice as Luke's.
I struggle to make words come out of my mouth as my sobs escape my lips.
"Evangeline, calm down and tell me where you are." Luke pleads with me
I suck in a short breath and make myself answer him. "B-Bathroom." Is all I can get out
"Umm, okay, did you leave the section of the building that we were walking in?" He pushes, I can hear the bustling telling and chatter of people in the background
"N-No." I stutter
"Stay there, okay?" He says. I nod even though he can't see me.
"Talk to me, Kitten. Keep talking to me." He orders me
"O-Okay." I cry
"I'm almost to the bathroom, okay? Everything is going to be alright." He says. I hear him say a few frantic 'excuse me' and the sound of shuffling feet through the receiver of the phone. Soon after, the door to the bathroom burst open and someone runs in. The phone clicks off and I let out a small squeak. Now I don't have Luke. The person lets out a big breath and I sense them in front of me. I feel a strong pair of hands wrap around my shoulders causing me to jump back and cry harder.

"Evangeline." They say concernedly. I look up from my knees to see Luke kneeled in front of me. His face is full of worry and pity for me.
"Dad." I whisper. He looks shocked at what I called him, but doesn't refuse the name. I lunge forward and wrap my arms around his neck. He hugs me back tightly as I cry onto his shoulder, neither of us caring that my tears are wetting his shirt. He nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck and I can feel his hot breath on my skin. He lets go and sets me back down on the bathroom floor. My panic attack is still in full swing and I fight for air.

"Deep breaths. Just like me." He says and places my hand on his chest to give me something to copy. I try to mimic his breathing, but mine come out short and choppy.
"It's okay, I'm right here." He says comforting me I nod to give him an un-needed answer. "Focus on me." He commands me after I look frantically around the room, scared for my life. I look deeply into his ice blue eyes, somehow finding them warm and comforting despite the name of their color.
"Count with me. Use your fingers." He tells me. I nod and ready my hands. He begins counting slowly and I put up a finger for each number. It's helping to have something to focus on or at least trying to focus on. By the time we get to eighty, I'm almost calmed down. Luke gets up and brings back a paper towel to wipe off my face. He carefully removes my glasses from my face and tenderly wipes my cheeks. He cleans off my glasses as I rub at my eyes. I jump with each hiccup that my body forces out of me. I situate my clean glasses back on my face and silently thank Luke. He sits back in front of me and runs his fingers through his hair.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" He ask confusedly
I shake my head no and look down in shame. This is all my fault. I ruined our day.
"I-I'm sorry." I whimper, "I stopped to look at a shirt, but then I couldn't find you, and then I got lost. There were to many people." I explain and hope that he isn't going to punish me. He gathers me in another warm hug, and it takes everything I have to not break down again.
"It's alright. I'm here now." He says calmly to me
"Evangeline, I thought I told you to stay by my side the whole time." He says sternly which scares me more.
"I'm sorry." I whimper
"Love bug, you know there are bad people in this world. I told you to stay by my side because I didn't want to take the risk of someone taking you. I don't know what I would do if someone ever took you." He says. I can feel the pain in his voice which crushes my heart.
"Are you mad at me?" I whisper into his shirt
"No, Lovebug, I'm not mad at you. I was just worried that I had let something bad happen to you. I would never be able to forgive myself if I let someone hurt you again." He says to me. My spirits lift when I hear that he isn't mad at me. He pulls us apart and gives me a small smile.
"Lets go home." He says. I nod and he helps me off the floor. I dust off my pants and gather my bags.
"This time, tell me if you see something you like instead of stopping." He jokes. I nod and blush creeps upon my face from embarrassment.
We wraps one arm around my shoulder and pulls me close to him. He leads me out of the mall and to the car. We load everything into the trunk and hope into the front seats. He drives us home without a word about our little 'incident' back at the mall. I was really surprised that he found me so quickly too.
I'm almost falling asleep on the way home and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. Panic attacks take away a rather large amount of energy from their host. I doze off around the last five minutes of our drive but Luke doesn't wake me.

As soon as we get home, Luke comes over to my side of the car and scoops me into his arm. He carries me upstairs and starts talking to me quietly to wake me up.
"Lets put on some pajamas and then we can take a nap." He suggest. I mumble an okay and slide down to the floor. He hands me a new pair of cute silk pajamas that we got today and I go to my bathroom to change. I peel off my clothes and slip on the delicate clothes and stumble my way back to Luke. He has somehow already changed into a pair of sweats and a t shirt, ready to tuck me in so I can go to sleep. I trudge my way over to him and wrap my small arms around his body. I nuzzle my face into the top of his stomach and he chuckles.
"Come on, you sleepy little, Kitten." He chuckles and picks me up just enough to carry me to my bed. He lays me down and I whimper from the loss of his warmth. I make grabby hands toward him when he pulls the blanket over me and he lets out a small sigh.
"You need to rest." He protest
"Please," I whine sleepily
He gives into my pleas and crawls up beside me. I push my body closer to his for warmth. I snuggle with him and Ellie, slowly falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.