Broken

Chapter Thirteen: Skeleton Underneath

"This is where you live?" I feel overwhelmed at the sight. It's a beautiful eggshell white mansion with green vines climbing the walls. The fountain in the front yard is lit up with a baby blue lighting. Lilly pads and flowers float about in the water. The black stone of the fountain is complemented my white walking stones that lead all the way up to the doorway. The huge glass windows let in a lot of natural lighting. This place looks amazing from the outside. I can't wait to see the inside. 

"You should close your mouth unless you're waiting for a man," Emily laughs.

I slap at her arm, "Oh my gosh. I can't believe you said that!" 

She giggles as she loops her arm around mine, "Come on. I'll show you to your room. 

Everything about this house amazes me. From the grand entrance staircase to the formal living room with the fireplace, everything. I never thought I'd stay in a place like this. This is fit for royals. I thought Aiden wore suits because of his job not because he owns a mansion. 

By the time we get to my room, I already feel exhausted. Not eating as much as I should have has really taken a toll on me. 

"Um, if it's okay with you I think I'll lay down for a little bit before I take a shower. I'm a little tired," I say as I rub my cold arms. 

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll grab some clothes for you and lay them on the dresser," Emily hugs me before she heads towards her room. I open the door to my new room to see a king-size bed waiting for me to jump on. It looks so fluffy from here. I walk over to the bed and run my fingers across the comforter. Oh my... Okay, now I really want to climb into this bed. I pull my shirt over my head and catch the movement in the mirror by the window. Is that... Is that me? I walk over to the mirror as I look at my reflection. I don't even recognize myself. I can see my breast bone, rib cage, hip bones, all of it... I look like a skeleton with skin stretched across it. Emily comes through the door and gasps. I turn around just as I see her dropping the clothes on the floor.

"Oh my gosh..." 

I quickly run to the bed and pick my shirt off the floor as slip it back on. 

"You poor baby," She comes over to hug me tightly, "What have you been through?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be back that soon," I feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

"Don't apologize for something that was out of your control. I know you said you wanted to go to bed but I will not have you going to bed on an empty stomach," Emily grabs my hand and starts towards the door. 

"No, wait. I can't go down there. I... I really need to freshen up and stuff." 

"Well here's your clothes. As soon as you get dressed I want you to come down to the kitchen and have dinner with me. No buts... Now go..." She points towards a door in the bedroom that I can only assume is a bathroom. She grabs the clothes off the floor and hands them to me. I go into the bathroom and place my clothes on the double vanity and turn to the shower. As I undress I start to feel lightheaded. What is wrong with me? I lean against the shower door to catch my breath. After the lightheadedness goes away I start taking my clothes off. my poor body hasn't felt a hot shower since I ran away. 

*Flashback*

It's been three weeks since I left. I ran through the bottles of water I had in my bag yesterday. If I can find a small stream I could refill my water bottles up again. Just when I think my luck has run out I hear the most blissful sound in the world. 

Water...

I run in the direction of the water and before I know it, a river comes into sight. The water is calm enough for me to go in without it dragging me away. I place my bag on the ground and unzip it. Pulling out the empty water bottles, I fill up all eight of them and place them back in my bag. Now it's time to take a little bath in the river... I know this is going to be so cold but I stink so I may as well get over it. 

I slowly take my shirt off. I shiver when the cold breeze brushes my skin. I don't want to do this... But I smell so bad I can't take this opportunity for granted. Who knows when I'll find another water source again. I slide my jogging pants off and place them by the river. I grab my shampoo and conditioner from my bag and step into the cold river. This will be the quickest bath I've ever taken in my life. I take my time going into the water as I hold my arms close to my chest. My nips are so hard I bet they'd cut through some glass right now. Not saying I have long nips or anything. Just saying it's SUPER cold right now. As my feet and legs get numb, I slowly sit down in the water. It takes my breath away when it hits my chest. Here goes nothing. I hold my nose as I dunk my head into the water. I stand up immediately, rushing to the shoreline to grab my shampoo and conditioner. You know the drill, shampoo, rinse, conditioner, rinse, and then get the hell out of the water. 

Now that I feel kind of squeaky clean, I need to wash my clothes. I don't have a towel with me so I'll have to drip dry. I crouch down at the edge of the river and grab my clothes. By the time I soak my clothes in the water and scrub them clean, my fingers are numb, and start to have a throbbing pain in them. I guess I need to pack my stuff up and get dressed. My body isn't fully dry but it'll have to do. The last thing I want right is to get hypothermia. 

*End Of Flashback*

I can feel the steam from the hot water making my body want more. I've longed for a warm shower for so long now. I turn the cold water on and adjust it to my liking. As soon as the water feels fantastic on my skin, I waste no time getting it. 

While Lana Is In The Shower, Emily Decides To Talk To Her Brother About This Mystery Girl...

I walk into Aidens' office thinking he wouldn't be in there but of course, he is. Not only him but the witch as well. 

"I thought you guys were going to dinner?" I stumble on my words.

"Then why are you coming into his office if you knew he wasn't going to be in here?" Sadie snaps back at me. She always thinks I'm up to no good. Maybe it's because I let her know on a daily basis I don't like her and think she's not the right person for my brother. But maybe this innocent girl in the other room is. 

"Sadie not now... What do you need that was so important you decided to barge in here," I can tell Aiden is very frustrated right now and it's probably because of the witch herself pressuring him to work harder. I don't understand why he lets her treat him like this. Aiden has always stood up for himself. He still does to a certain extent but when it comes to our mother and Sadie the sadistic witch he rolls over like a puppy. 

"Excuse me? Who do YOU think you're talking to? I am your finance! When your mother hears about how you're treating me," Aiden cuts her off quickly. He knows the wrath mother can bring down on him, "Baby I'm sorry," He stands up to get closer to her. 

Aiden hugs her gently but she doesn't return it, "I'll make it up to you tonight after I get all my files in order," He kisses her slowly making me want to puke. See... This is exactly what I was talking about. He rolls over to make her happy when in reality I think he just looks like a p***y. 

"You better..." The witch lightly slaps his face before leaving the room, but not before she shoulder checks me... 

"How do you put up with that?" I say as my hands shoot up adding emphasis to my meaning. 

"You know it's complicated," Aiden runs his hands through his hair.

"No, it's not. You hate her. I know you do so why marry her?" 

"Emily just stop it. Nothing will change our mothers' mind about this so just stop," His voice starts to get louder and I know I'm starting to cross a line here. I guess I'll leave him be. He's pissed at me for helping that girl anyway, so bringing it up will only piss him off even more. 

"Okay. I'm sorry. I'll leave you to your work. We can talk another time," I almost can't hear my own voice now. I hate making him this way. He looks for me when he's drowning in himself and I don't want to become another person he tries to avoid. 

"No, you obviously have something to talk about. I can tell you were upset when you walked in. I'm sure you were going to leave another secret note in here," Aiden has a little smirk on his face knowing I always leave little notes for him to let him know things and that's what I was going to do until I realized they were still here. 

"I don't want to bring it up. I know you're still mad at me for earlier but you know how I am."

"Just spit it out, Emily. I'm already mad at you for that stunt you pulled so you may as well just add fuel to the fire to save me from getting mad at you tomorrow as well." I thought about it for a minute. I can feel him staring a hole through my skull right now. I guess he's right. What's a little more salt to a fresh wound huh. 

"Okay. So I told the mystery girl she could stay in the bedroom at the end of the hallway," I begin to say.

"Why are you telling me this," His bored expression doesn't phase me.

Under my breath I say, "Well I mean, just in case if you want to go talk to her or something," He gives me a knowing look.

"Emily, how many times do I have to tell you to stop trying to set me up with strange women."

"ANYWAYS... As I was saying IS, when I walked into her room to give her some pajamas, she was standing over by the mirror looking at herself like... Like she didn't even know who her own body belonged to."

"I don't care if she has self-esteem issues," Aiden starts to butt in on me.

"No, Aiden. Listen to me. When I looked at her... It... She is nothing but skin over bones. That poor girl has been starving for weeks. Maybe even months. Someone shot her, Aiden. She couldn't have shot herself in the back and the fact that she WAS pregnant... Who knows what she's been through. You look at me like I'm stupid for helping her but..." I can feel my hot tears starting to stream down my face. 

Aiden rushes to my side and pulls me into a comforting hug, "It's okay. Don't cry, Em. She'll be fine now. She has a roof over her head and I gave her a job so she'll get back on her feet soon enough."

I pull away from him as I wipe my tears away, "But what happens to her when she pays off her hospital bill? Are we going to throw her back out on the street for someone to kidnap her again?"

"You don't know if that's what happened to her. She could be a runaway for all we know."

I shake my head, "No Aiden, she said she was nineteen years old. How many over-age women have you heard of running away when they have the right to move out?" I can see he's thinking about everything I've said. Maybe he can help me figure out all of this. 

"Okay... I'll get my personal investigator to look into this mess. Just figure out what her name is, where she came from, everything... He can start an investigation without it but having that information will help us drastically." Aiden seems determined now. 

I grab him and pull him into a big bear hug, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh and one other thing... Come to dinner with me tonight," He gives me a knowing look, "Come on Bub. We haven't had dinner together in a while. Please come downstairs and join me for dinner."

He gives me a loud grunt before standing up and pulling his files away. I can't help but dance in joy for winning this round with my big brother. 

After Lana Takes Her Shower And Wraps A Towel Around Her...

I feel so much better. That hot steamy shower just made my body feel so energetic. I feel like I can randomly dance again. I don't know when dinner will be ready but Emily asked me to come down after my shower. I guess I'll have to get ready and go even though I don't want to. I grab the clothes off the counter and realize their pajamas. Oh no... These people are so sophisticated they're more than likely in suits and gowns. Well, that's probably a little overdramatic but still. I don't have anything else to wear so I guess this will have to do. Wait a minute... Where is my bag? Now I'm in full panic mode. Without that bag, I won't have any clothes to wear. A knock on the door pulls me out of my panicked state, "Just a minute. I'm getting dressed."

"The food is done so come on down as soon as you get dressed," Emily calls from the other side of the door. 

Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.

I guess I'll have to look for my bag later. I slip on the underwear and pajama bottoms. I love the warm fuzzy feeling they give me. It's like the cherry on top after a hot shower. The sad part about this outfit is, the top is a tank top. As I slide it over my head it falls loosely on my body. I can see my chest bone easily. Maybe I can use hairbows to keep my clothes up.