The Broken Orphan [Being Rewritten]

Sixty Four- I Remember

Luke

Kevin looks genuinely happy when I agreed to stay to talk. People get comfortable in their chairs as I sit back down.

"Other than Gabriel, has anything happened to her?" Kevin ask
I sigh and run my fingers through my hair again, probably messing it up in the process. "Yeah, um, the first night I had her I learned so much about her.
The lady running the orphanage was horrible to her. She would make Evangeline clean the whole orphanage by herself while on a time limit, or else she wasn't allowed to eat. She wasn't allowed to speak without permission, when she ate she had to sit in a corner instead of the table, and the lady would hit or starve her as punishment, but what annoys me the most was her diet. She wasn't allowed to eat the same food that the other children recieved. The only thing she was allowed to eat was two pieces of bread and a glass of water or milk for dinner, and maybe an apple in the morning, but she wouldn't even eat the apple because she would give it to the other children so they could have it. She also didn't eat lunch because she saved her money for things she needed, like school supplies or new clothes." I reluctantly tell them. People let out small gasp around the room and murmurs travel from their mouths.

"That's what I know about her life at the orphanage. I only know one thing about her life with other families, and it's not any better.
That same night, I was tucking her into bed, making sure she had everything she needed, like do you need another blanket or anything like that, well, she got really scared and curled herself into a ball, but I didn't understand why; what she said next, I will never forget." I say sadly. "She said, 'Are you going to make me do it?' I didn't understand at first so I asked what do you mean, or something like that, and she proceeds to explain to me that some of the men in the foster homes would molest her at night. She didn't even know what being molested meant. All she knew was that she didn't like it and didn't want to do it." I say, trying to keep myself from becoming angry. The mood in the room darkens. Everyone tries to process everything I just said.

"But, you would think that someone who has been through so much, would hate the world, but she doesn't. She loves life." I say becoming happy again. "She smiles and plays all the time. Whenever she falls, she gets right back up and says 'I'm okay', and carries on with what she was doing. Her ability to bounce back from things is tremendous." I say as a praise to her.

"That's a great thing to have, especially with the life she's lived." Kevin says agreeing with me

"She so sweet too. Before I left I told her if she had a problem then I would come home, so the first time I called her she said I had to come home because she had an emergency. I asked what it was, because I knew if there was a serious problem then Grayson would have called me, and real quietly she says 'I miss you'" I say. Sweet 'aww's come from the crowd and I let out a sigh.

After a few seconds of thinking, Kevin pipes back up.
"Your little girl captured everyone's attention back in 2007." Kevin says "So, how have these things affected her as of today?" Kevin ask

I pause as I think of what to say "Her anxiety is one of the biggest things. She overthinks things a lot and second guesses herself all the time. When I ask her to do something she wants very specific instructions, even if it's really simple. She gets panic attacks if she gets too worked up about something, or she gets scared, but there have been times where they've happened for no reason, and stress can play a big factor too." I tell them
"Wait, for no reason at all?" Kevin says astonished  
I nod "Once we were having a good time dancing around the house, and I had stopped to make dinner, but she kept dancing to make me laugh. I reached to get something out of the fridge, and when I turned back around she was having a panic attack in the living room floor. It was out of the blue; neither of us know why it happened." I say
"But, that's not uncommon for people who have panic disorders. It doesn't always have a reason. It just happens sometimes." I clarify