The girl in the attic

(17)The girl in the attic

The girl in the attic

Chapter 17

Preston's POV

Lina had finished cleaning my room and was busy in the front garden. My uncle and aunt was nowhere to be found and their car was missing so I quickly dumped the stuff that I was carrying with me in my room and ran back to the barn. This was the perfect opportunity to sneak Katie back into the house. I entered the barn and quickly climbed up the ladder to tell her the good news but she wasn't there.

My body tensed up and filled with panic and worry. I climbed down the ladder jumping down halfway through. I scanned the barn but there was no sign of her so I ran outside wondering where she could have gone and why she would run away from me again. I knew she wouldn't be in front of the barn because it was too big of a risk getting caught so I made my way around the side.

I felt relieve fill my body as I saw her sitting there leaning against the wall but within the time it took me to get to her the relieve was quickly replaced with worry.

"Are you ok? What happened?" I asked as I fell to the ground beside her. Her eyes opened and focused on me. They were filled with pain and sadness and it took all of my strength not to pull her into my arms and hold her until all her problems went away.  

"I... I felt sick," she mumbled softly under her breath. I noticed the mess on the floor on the other side of her making me worry even more, what if the medicine I was giving her wasn't working? What if she was making her worse?

"I'm taking you to the hospital," I said getting up and scooping her up into my arms.  

"No, please...," she begged softly pulling at my heartstrings. I was finding it very hard to deny her anything.  

"I'm sorry Katie but I have too," I stated knowing if she kept on begging I would give in to her.  

"It's not that bad, I just ate too much," she pleaded and I have to admit that it made sense. She must have eaten about three packets of crisps, four candy bars and a bunch of other things. I suppose it could have made her sick considering she hasn't eaten that much her entire life.  

"Are you sure? How's your leg?" I asked giving in against my better judgment.  

"Its better," she answered and smiled up at me making me feel a bit better. Maybe I was over exaggerating.

I sneaked her into my room and placed her on my bed. She still looked like she was in pain so I decided to check her leg again.

"I think we should put new bandages on your leg and then you can change into some of your new clothes," I said hoping she was telling the truth about her leg being better.  

"Ok," She agreed without any arguments. I quickly fetched the medical kit and some water from the bathroom. When I got back to the room Katie had already removed the bandage and I was happy to see that the wound was really looking better. The cut was still red but it looked like the infection was gone which was a good thing. I put on some antiseptic lotion again just to make sure that the infection stays away while the wound heals and then I bandaged it again. Seeing that her wound was really looking better gave me a bit of hope that she was actually really ok. I handed her the water and some pills for the pain which she took happily.

"Ok, so how about I go fetch the last of your stuff from the barn so that you can get dressed?" I asked feeling a bit better about leaving her alone, I'm sure she would have run away by now if she was going to.  

"Ok" she agreed smiling her beautiful smile at me and causing some strange sensation to spread through my body. I left the room making sure to lock it behind me and quickly went to go fetch the last bags from the barn all the while smiling to myself. I returned a few minutes later to find Katie asleep on my bed.

I placed the bags on the floor softly so that I don't wake her and decided that I would let her sleep. I sat down at my desk and quickly scanned through my emails. I had a few from Devin demanding that I explained to him what was going on. One from Sarah begging me to take her back and one from Becky telling me how despicable I am. I shook my head and switched off my laptop. I didn't feel like replying to anyone of them. Firstly I had no idea what was going on so how was I supposed to explain it to somebody else, secondly I had no intention of ever taking Sarah back and thirdly I really didn't care what Becky thought of me.

A few days ago my opinions differed severely but since Katie came into my life I just can't get myself to care about anything but her. I laid down on the mattress wondering about Katie and what has happened to her. I wish she could trust me enough to tell me so that I could really help her instead of just buying her clothes and giving her food and medicine.

About an hour had passed when I heard Katie moaning. I sat up straight and watched as she tossed and turned. I was about to get up and wake her to ask her if she was ok and to make her feel better if she was having a bad dream when she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She looked pale and by the expression on her face I could tell that she wasn't feeling well.

"I have to use the bathroom," she said as she got off of the bed and lost her balance causing her to fall to the floor. I jumped up from where I was sitting and ran the few steps between us.  

"Are you ok? Did you hurt yourself?" I asked worriedly. I couldn't take this anymore, this girl was driving me crazy.  

"I... Uhm... Bathroom," she stuttered holding her stomach as she crouched over in pain.  

"Ok, bathroom," I repeated trying to stay calm. I couldn't afford to freak out now when she needed me the most. I scooped her up for the second time today and quickly carried her to the bathroom. She pointed to the toilet and I placed her on the floor in front of it. She grabbed a hold of it as she threw up. Usually I would have been disgusted by somebody throwing up in front of me but for some reason it didn't bother me at all. I quickly filled a glass of water and grabbed a cloth before sitting down on the floor beside her. I wanted to help her but I had no idea what to do so I just sat there until she was done.

She sat back and focused her eyes on me looking embarrassed.  

"Here you go," I said handing her the cloth. She took it gratefully and wiped her face with it. Next I handed her the glass of water and once again she took it without arguments. She took a few sips before placing the glass on the ground next to her. I helped her back into my room and onto the bed. I sat down next to her not wanting to leave her alone. She looked a bit better now but I could tell she was still in pain.

"Are you sure I can't take you to the hospital?" I asked hoping that she would change her mind.  

"I'm sure but there is something you can do for me," she replied looking sadly at me.  

"Anything," I replied not having to think about it, there was no doubt in my mind that I would do absolutely anything this girl asked of me.  

"Take me to see my brother," she whispered softly looking at me pleadingly.