I opened my eyes. Where was I? I studied my surroundings. I was in my drawing spot with my sketch of the sunrise in front of me. I took a deep breath. I must have just dozed off. I continued shading the sunrays. I heard a disturbance. I looked to my left. The same man was walking down the sidewalk but without his hangover or fiancée. He started to walk into the complex doors I was sitting beside when he stopped and looked over my shoulder. "That's really good!" he said in a British accent. I smiled in reply. He was lucky, I don't usually smile for anyone, only art and music. I signed my name in the corner as I finished. I could tell the man was staring intently at my signature, probably trying to read it. I looked up at him slightly. I could see his brow relax as he had deciphered my name. "Hello Stella! I'm Louis. Would you like to come in for some tea?" I stood up and faced him. I was contemplating in my mind whether or not I should. No, I needed to get back before anybody noticed I was gone. I quickly shook my head and sprinted down the streets back to the orphanage. "STELLA!!" I heard Miss. Harriette scream. I was nowhere near the orphanage so I looked around. I didn't see her anywhere. "STELLA!" I heard again. Everything went white. It was blinding. My eyes burst open. I was in a hospital bed. Before I knew it, I was engulfed in a long embrace. I managed to squirm free. It was Miss. Harriette! I would never expect her to even touch me unless it was so slap me. I looked around the room. I was hooked up to a couple of machines. Miss. Harriette yelled down the hallway for doctors. Why was she being so nice to me? That's when I noticed a lady I recognized from child services seated in a chair at the end of the bed. That explains it.
The doctors rushed in an examined me. Then, they said I was fine and if I was stable enough tomorrow, I could go home. Miss. Harriette thanked them and she and the child services lady walked out with them so I could sleep. No matter how hard I tried , I couldn't keep my eyes closed, yet I was extremely tired. I decided it was no use to try anymore. I just laid there thinking. Here and there I would hear scuffling and inaudible chatting coming from the small living space outside my room. I heard two sets of footsteps coming toward my door with banter going in between them. "You can't go in there right now." Miss. Harriette warned. "Why? Did something happen?" A British female voice asked with concern. "Did she wake up?!" I recognized the voice as... LOUIS'. "Yes but she is sleeping now." Miss. Harriette replied calmly. Why was Louis here? Who was the British female with him? His fiancée? If that was a dream, was Louis actually his name? I was actually kind of happy that Louis was here. I looked up at the clock, it was nearly noon. Soon, they would bring my lunch and I would have to 'wake up'. Just then the door creaked open and a nurse came in with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a turkey sandwich. I pretended to have just woken up and stretched my arms out. She placed the meal on the little table that could sit on top of my bed so I could eat. Right after she left, all the people waiting outside raced in. Once they had all claimed a chair, Miss. Harriette spoke up. "Stella, this is Louis and his..." "Fiancée." Louis blurted out, then blushed slightly. "Fiancée, thank you, Eleanor. They're the ones that found you in the back alley. But what I would like to know is what you were doing outside that early in the morning!" She said getting angry and her dramatic hand gestures almost knocking over my soup. I sank lower into my bed in an effort to cower back. "I think it's a good idea if you leave before you do something you will regret." Eleanor suggested. "Yeah, maybe." Miss. Harriette agreed trying to act like a responsible, loving adult in front of child services. Although the searing hatred toward me still obvious in her eyes and clenched fists. After she left, she didn't come back until the next day to pick me up. As soon as we walked through the door she turned around and slapped me across the face. I fell to the floor, tears streaming down my cheeks and keeping my mouth tightly shut tryin not to make any noise because I knew if I did she would kick me in the stomach. I rolled over trying to tune out her yelling and the excruciating pain in my cheek. I managed to open my eyes. I saw the door had been opened and two pairs of feet standing in its place. I looked up. Out of my watery eyes I saw Louis and Eleanor with a shocked expression in their eyes.
*Louis' P.O.V.*
Eleanor and I were having a wonderful conversation on our walk to the orphanage. We had went to see Stella at the hospital but they said Miss. Harriette had just signed her out to bring her home. We were dog sitting for our friends, Liam and Danielle, so we thought Stella might like to meet their new puppy, Loki, so we made the trip across town. We were walking up the way to the big front doors when we heard someone yelling and saying horrid things to another person. We quickly rushed up to the doors and swung them open to see Stella laying on the ground with tear marks on her cheeks, her blonde hair in a mess, bleeding scratch marks beneath her eye and her struggling to keep her screams from escaping her lips. Miss. Harriette was standing above Stella, her face was red with anger. I didn't know how to react. I looked at Stella. Her eyes were pleading for help and stricken with fear. Before I knew it, I was screaming at Miss. Harriette. I don't even know what I was saying. Something just came over me. I told Eleanor to take Stella and Loki out while I finished this. She did as she was told. When Miss. Harriette had had enough, she went upstairs, gathered Stella things and threw them at me. I picked them all up and stormed out.
