Page 26 of Daddy's Little Survivor

She couldn’t ever remember a time when she had absolutely loved what she was given to eat. In the foster homes, it was the same five things. With Jared, well, she didn’t get to eat a lot and when she did, it was bland food.

Jared would tell her she didn’t deserve food that had a lot of taste to it. The only time she could have something with taste was when his work colleagues would rope him into bringing her to dinner, which wasn’t often.

“Well, we’ll have to fix that then. While you’re here, we’ll try all different types of food to figure out what you like,” he said as he turned around and gave her a big smile. “I have to say homemade spring rolls or samosas are my favorite food.”

Why would he want to do that? Wouldn’t he want her to eat bland things or have no food at all?

She knew he had mentioned her getting enough food in her body, but that could be just a ploy to get her to do it and then get her in trouble. Monroe always had to be prepared for everything and right now it felt like a test.

“Don’t forget to take a couple sips of your protein shake,” he reminded her.

Monroe took several sips of the chocolate protein shake and couldn’t help but relax a little. It tasted good but maybe that was just the straw talking to her. Drinking through a straw made everything better, or, well, almost everything.

“What’s your favorite color?” he asked. “My favorite color is red. More of a dark red, almost like a maroon.”

“Green, soft green,” she whispered and took several more sips of the drink. She knew that for sure. It had always been her favorite color.

Monroe had always loved the way soft green looked on anything. She especially liked it when it was paired with pink. She wasn't by any means a pink girl, but the two colors did go together.

She could feel herself starting to get full so she pushed away the drink. Whatever he was making started to smell good and if he was going to insist she eat anything, she needed to stop drinking.

“Is that the color of your stuffed bunny?” he asked.

Her eyes went wide as she stared at him. Her bunny, Bunster, had magically appeared on the bed last night and she hadn’t known how it got there. Could Michael have gotten it from her car and placed it there?

She didn't know when he would have had time, unless he did it while she was passed out. What else had he done while she was passed out?

It worried her that she didn't know what had happened while she was unconscious. How long had she been out? Did she need to be worried?

“I hope you like chicken with some spices on it and rice. We can either have green beans or corn. What would you prefer?” Michael asked.

He turned around to look at her and she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't care if they had corn or green beans. She didn’t like either and didn’t want to make a decision right now.

“We'll have corn today and tomorrow we can have green beans,” he said.

Monroe watched as he dished out two plates before setting one in front of her. Her mouth salivated as she looked at the food and her stomach rumbled.

“We better feed the stomach monster before he eats you,” he jokingly said.

She couldn't remember a time when her stomach was so full or when it grumbled. It had been years and yet in the past couple of hours, both had happened.

Right as she was about to take a bite, Michael asked her another question.

“Do you have any siblings?” he asked.

Monroe didn't want to talk about the lack of family she had. She knew growing up in foster care hadn’t been something she’d planned, and she shouldn't be ashamed of it, but it was hard because she had no good memories.

Her appetite was lost as soon as he asked that question. She didn't want to eat anymore even though the food looked appetizing.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable,” Michael said.

He couldn't have known but she still didn't want to talk about it.

“Please eat,” he kindly asked her.

She took a couple of bites of the chicken and rice, but her appetite was just gone. She felt like if she took any more bites she was going to puke, and she didn't want to make a mess.

“Does your stuffed bunny have a name?” he asked.

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