Chapter Six
Angel waited until the door closed before sitting on the bed.
Her emotions were chaotic at the moment.
Although she felt relatively safe, she didn’t understand what happened to her body whenever Thomas was close.
She suspected it had something to do with the physical aspect of a male-female relationship, but wasn’t certain.
Sex was a forbidden topic at the convent, and since leaving, she’d never had anyone she felt close enough to ask questions.
At the time, her only thoughts were of survival.
Her reflections went back to the convent and Sister Mary, and the day she was punished.
She would never forget the way her knees had hurt.
It was worse than anything she’d ever felt, and the rice had left tiny scars on her knees that had never faded.
She’d never made the mistake of going to Mother Teresa to tell again.
She wished she knew why Sister Mary had hated her so much. Angel had tried so hard to be the best person she could be. She worked until she dropped onto her cot each night, exhausted. Nothing she’d done had been right.
When she left the convent, she thought she’d feel free, but instead she felt extremely lonely and scared. The only thing keeping her from going back to the convent was the idea of marrying that man.
Derek Sanchez wasn’t a man she’d ever feel comfortable with.
Angel had known the moment she’d met him that he was a person who could easily hurt her in so many ways.
She’d never forget the horrifying fear she’d felt when she looked in his eyes.
She’d almost vomited at the thought of his hands on her, but fought to hold it back.
She’d been so glad that Sister Sara believed her and felt the same thing. She’d given her as much money as she had and told her to run. Angel had no idea where she would go, but anywhere was better than with the man.
She stiffened when she heard the knock on her door. “Come in,” she called out.
She relaxed a bit when Thomas walked in with a pair of her jeans.
“Here, Sweetheart. They aren’t totally dry, but they’ll do for now,” he said.
She reached for them. “This is fine.”
“Why don’t you go into the bathroom and get them on, and then we’ll go down to lunch?” he said.
“Shouldn’t I be helping Daisy?”
“No. We both see how tired you are, and we want to give you a few days to rest before helping,” Thomas said.
“B-but, I’m fine. I want to help.”
“And you will, Sweetheart. Daisy and I are just trying to take care of you.”
Her brows snapped together. She was speechless for a long time. She was amazed and slightly confused about why they thought they needed to take care of her. As long as she could remember, she’d never had anyone concerned about her.
Thomas stepped toward her and grasped her shoulders. “I know there’s a lot changing in your life right now, but please trust that we have your best interests at heart.”
Trust? She didn’t think she knew how it felt to trust someone, and she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to find out, so she just nodded, turned, and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
She came out, smoothing the shirt of his that she wore. She was embarrassed because she didn’t have on panties or a bra, and she was afraid he’d be able to tell since she was big enough that her breasts swayed when she walked.
He held out his hand. “Come on, Sweetheart, I want to make sure you eat.”
Angel took his hand and glanced up at him. “I eat.”
One of his brows rose. “Really? What is the last thing you ate?”
“Half of a hamburger.”
“When?”
She swallowed. “Last night.”
“And before that?” he asked.
She thought back and couldn’t remember. “I don’t remember.”
“All you ate yesterday was half of a hamburger?”
She heard the edge to his voice and stayed silent. She was afraid of making him angry.
Thomas sighed and started leading her out of the room. “That’s going to change, Sweetheart.”
She tugged on his hand to make him stop. “But I don’t need a lot of food. I’m used to eating the bare minimum. At the convent, we had to grow our own food, so we always had to ration what we had.”
“But you don’t have to do that anymore. I don’t like how thin you are. If you were to get sick, it would take you longer to get better because your body isn’t as strong as it would be if you were closer to your normal weight.”
Angel tried to understand his point of view, but all she heard was his disappointment with her body, and she didn’t know why it bothered her so much.
He pulled her into the kitchen. “Is lunch ready, Daisy?”
The older woman turned their way and smiled.
“Yes. I’ll bring it over,” she said.
Thomas led her over to the table on the other side of the kitchen. “Have a seat.”
She froze and stared down at the chair he pointed at. “I’m not sure...”
He rested his hands on her shoulders. “Not sure of what, Sweetheart?”
“I’ve not eaten at a table and have only eaten by myself.”
She could tell she had stunned him.
His brows pinched together. “How did you eat at the convent?”
“On my cot or a bench outside.”
“By yourself?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Why?”
“When we got up in the morning, we usually grabbed whatever fruit was available for breakfast, and for lunch, we always ate a slice of bread with peanut butter on it. At dinner, the nuns had a special service that they didn’t allow me to attend, so I was given a plate and ate by myself.”
She watched the muscle in his jaw start to tick.
“I hate that you were raised the way you were, but now you’re mine, and I’m going to take such good care of you.”
She shook her head and pressed her hands together as if praying. “No!”
He ducked his head so he could see her whole face clearly. “Please don’t be frightened. I promise everything will work out, and I’ll make sure you’re happy here.”
“I don’t want you to worry about me,” she said earnestly.
He smiled gently. “I’m always going to worry about you.”
She wanted to yell, “No!” again because she just knew that if she were a burden, he would toss her out sooner rather than later. Perhaps it would be best if it happened sooner, as the more time she spent with him, the more she was drawn to him.