The Broken Orphan [Being Rewritten]

Thirty One- Choices

Evangeline

Her words ring in my ears.
"Do you want to stay with here with Luke?"
My breath catches in my throat.

'I don't know' I think to myself.

Can I trust Luke?
Is he going to hurt me if I stay?
What if I make the wrong choice?

If I go back to the orphanage then I will hate it. I won't get anymore good food. Ms. Victoria will probably treat me worse and make me do even more work than before. I won't get to keep making my designs. I won't be able to take my new clothes, and if I did then the other kids would take them or mess them up. I won't get to read my books anymore. I won't be able to cuddle with anyone. I won't ever see Nugget again. I most likely won't be able to take Ellie or else the other children will take her from me or they will mess her up on purpose just so I can't have her.

They've done it before with things I've gotten for myself. I once had bought a new blanket for myself and I left it on my bed while I went to school. When I had gotten back, it was torn to shreds because kids had been pulling and fighting over who would get it. I cried because I had saved up for a long time before finally deciding to buy it. I had been freezing during the night and then one night I had it I finally was warm for once. It was too messed up for me to be able to save it and some of the kids wouldn't give the pieces back just because they didn't want me to fix it because they wanted the fixed blanket for theirselves. When I told Ms. Victoria about it, she slapped me and told me I should be ashamed of myself for being so selfish. She wouldn't let me eat dinner that night because I complained when it was my fault.

I never dared to buy anything ever again that I wouldn't have with me every day. The other kids never knew about my parents belongings because I kept them hidden. One of the older kids probably would have taken the necklace to a pawn shop for money.

My mind races with questions
What if he lets Grayson hurt me?
What if it's Gabriel all over again?

' Why am I even debating this?' I ask myself. Luke and Grayson could hurt me. The only difference is that they could make it look like nothing happened and no one would believe me. Who would believe a fifteen year old over two, twenty something years old, doctor and dentist? No one. There is no way I can stay with Luke.

Suddenly, my thoughts take a turn towards the brighter side.
'But he hasn't hurt me yet. Maybe he doesn't want to. Maybe he actually cares about you, Evangeline.'

Can I trust Luke?
Could we be a real family?
If I don't try then I will never know. If he hurts me then I can run away. I could go back to the orphanage, or I could live on my own. If I stay for now then I might actually have a chance at a normal life. At least for a little while longer if he waits to hurt me.

I fiddle with my thumbs nervously as I think over my choices. I could either stay with Luke and risk being hurt again, or I could leave now and save myself from the pain. However, if I leave now then I have no chance at having a family. I don't even know if Luke is going to hurt me. Then again, I don't know if Grayson is going to hurt me either.

"Evangeline, no one is going to be mad at you if you don't want to stay here." Mrs. Banks tells me

"He didn't have anything like Gabriel in his basement, did he?" I ask cautiously

'Grayson could have some.' I think to myself.

"No Evangeline, he didn't. We made sure everything was perfectly safe here." She assures me.

I take a deep breath to prepare myself for what I'm about to say. I really hope I'm not making the wrong choice. I really really hope not.

"I-I want to stay." I whisper
She smiles brightly at me and pats my my shoulder. A smile creeps across my face at what this means. It means I have a family. Sure it's small, but it's a family. I have a home. In those games where each choice you make gives you a different outcome, I always seem to choose the wrong one, but I don't think I did this time. I think I actually made the right choice. However, only time will tell.

"Congratulations, Evangeline. It looks like you've found your new home." She says to me and hugs her clipboard close to her chest. She stands and goes out of my door. I follow her downstairs in a frenzy and dart to Luke.

"I get to stay! I get to stay!" I squeal and jump into his arms. He grins widely and spins us around and I giggle.
"Wait, do you want me to stay?" I ask fearfully.

I hadn't even thought about if Luke had wanted to keep me. My heart sinks because he probably doesn't. Now I'm going to have to go back to the orphanage. His smile changes to worry in a split second.
"Of course I want you to stay." He tells me and I smile again. "How about, tonight we bake a cake to celebrate?" He suggest. My smile widens and so does his.
"Yay!" I squeal and wrap him in a hug. He sets me down and we turn to Mrs. Banks and Mr. Jefferson. They are smiling at us and standing at the kitchen table. Luke wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close to his side.

"Well then, we have to get going. It was nice meeting you Mr. Clark, and goodbye Evangeline." Mrs. Banks says and shakes Luke's hand again. I offer them each a small wave and a smile at they go.

Once they leave, Luke scoops me up into his arms and slings me into a piggy back ride. I squeak and giggle and he starts to bouncy around to make me laugh more. He runs and jumps around the house and Nugget prances around behinds us. He drops me onto the couch and pounces on me. He tickles my sides to make me laugh. I fight off his hands desperately while making sure my dress is covering my body, even though I have on shorts underneath. I retaliate by reaching my small hands up to his sides to tickle him. He grins at me and laughs at my failed attempts to tickle him.
"I'm not ticklish." He boast. I use this time to regain my ability to breath and fake a pout to him. He uses his thumbs to push my mouth into a smile which makes me laugh. He chuckles at me and lets me up. I waltz over to the radio and start some music. I dance around and take Luke's hands in mine. He joins me in a silly dance and spins me around goofily. We dance around the living room singing to the lyrics and laughing at each other until we are out of breath.

We collapse side by side onto the couch breathless and tired. I giggle as images of our dance moves flash through my mind.

"I have an idea." Luke says
"Everyone has ideas." I tell him
"Good point, but this is a good idea." He says
"Okay then, what is it?" I ask
"Why don't we take Nugget on a walk through the neighborhood, come back to eat lunch, then go to the store to get the things to make a cake, and then make the cake, make dinner and eat dinner and then the cake." He suggest
"You had me at taking nugget on a walk." I say and shoot from the couch. I grab his hands and lug him off the couch. He makes his body go limp to make it harder for me to drag him.
"Ughh, gravity.......too heavy.....can't walk..." he says in a fake agonizing tone as I try to get him off the couch.
"Get up, lets go you big oaf." I say as I struggle to get him up. He chuckles at me and finally complies with my request. He stands up, making me breath a sigh of relief. I skip around to the front door and take Nuggets leash off the hook. I call out the dogs name and he comes barreling down the stairs. I put my flats back on and Luke comes up behind me. I clip the leash to Nuggets collar. Luke holds open the door for me and I skip out to the drive way. He locks the door and comes up beside me. I go to walk across the street but he stops me by grabbing my arm.
"Look both ways. There could have been a car coming." He says sternly
"S-Sorry." I squeak out and lower my head in shame. How could I do something so stupid. Now I've made him upset and we aren't going to celebrate anymore.
"It's okay, just don't do it again. I'm not mad at you, I only want to keep you safe." He tells me. I'm still upset with myself though. I had really been looking forward to that cake.
"Lets go, and look both ways this time, please." He says chuckling at me. We look both ways to cross the street to make it to the sidewalk on the other side of the road. We begin our walk as we listen to the sounds around us.