Lost and found

Chapter Three

Around 15 minutes later, I get out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself.
Walking over to the large mirror, I begin to brush my wet hair. Suddenly, I hear a knock at the door.

"Hang on a second"
I call out quickly, slipping into shorts and a light top.

"Are you dressed?"
Scarlett's voice comes from behind the door.

"Yup" I reply.

"Okay, I'm coming in then"
She says carefully. I hear the door handle being pushed down and watch as the door slowly opens. Scarlett steps in, her eyes immediately locking onto me as I continue combing my hair.

"It looks good."
She smiles as I finish.

"I came to let you know that dinner is ready now."

"Oh, okay. I'll be right there."
With one movement I pull my hoodie out of the closet and put it on.

"Alright then, I'll see you there,"
She says before turning and exiting the room.

I take a deep breath and leave my room, a little nervous about dinner.
-I wonder if Colin will be there too?-
I cover my anxiousness and enter the kitchen.

Scarlett's husband, a tall, good-looking man with a deep voice, looks at me as I cautiously glance his way.

"Welcome to our home,"
He says calmly and kindly, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, it's really nice here,"
I say, taking a seat carefully.

"We're glad you like it"
He responds, and Scarlett chimes in with a smile.

"And the room, how do you like it so far?"

"It's so beautiful! Much nicer than I could ever imagine," I say, smiling.

Scarlett and her husband both beam at my response.
"We're very happy to hear that, honey,"
Colin says warmly.

I cover my surprise at the term of endearment with a shy smile.
-They seem to like me, If they call me like that...-

Scarlett’s husband continues to smile, opening his mouth to speak again, but Scarlett quickly interjects.

"I hope you're hungry; we've prepared lots of yummy food"
She says gleefully.

I nod and look at the spread of food. There’s grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh garden veggies and some bread. The aroma is amazing, and it’s clear a lot of effort went into the meal.

"Dig in, don't be shy"
Colin encourages.

We start eating. I take a small portion of the vegetables and mashed potatoes.
Though I'm hungry, I find it hard to eat much after looking into the bathroom mirror.
I used to have problems with my body and eating... But it hasn't been as bad as it was today for a long time... -Probably the new environment is causing that?-
I ask myself

I can feel their eyes on me as I just put a little of everything on my plate. But they seem to be holding back their comments about it, and ontinuing to eat their own meals.

While everyone is eating I can hardly concentrate on my own food.

After a while in which I almost just stared at my half-full plate and hardly ate any of it Colin glances up at me. "Aren't you hungry, honey? You barely took anything on your plate."

-Crap. They put so much effort into the food and I hardly eat of it-

"I ate on the flight and am not that hungry because of the time difference... but the vegetables are really delicious. What did you put in them?"
I ask Scarlett, trying to change the subject.