Adopted (a Zalfie fanfic) [1]

Chapter 26

*Zoe's POV*
With Emma's help, Alfie and I booked Lily's first cognitive behavioural therapy session at our local walk-in centre. She wasn't too happy when we broke the news to her, as no-one would, but I thought she handled it relatively well considering.

We were at the orphanage, in the office, when we told her. "We've booked you your first CBT session for this Thursday, with a special doctor who's going to try their best to help you, and us, get through this." Alfie said, looking her straight in the eyes. She glanced at us before turning away in disgrace.

"Lily? You said you wanted us to help you. You still do, don't you?" I asked gently.

"I-I suppose. I just don't want some stranger poking their nose in my life, they're gonna ask me about, y-you know..." She said, before trailing off. You could see nothing but pure fear in her eyes.

It was horrible because, as much as I wanted too, I couldn't tell her they wouldn't. "They need too, to be able to fix the problems."

"It's never going to work, I'll be a freak forever." With that, she stood up and stormed out, slamming the door on the way. It came as a shock to Alfie and I to see her act this way, as we hadn't seen it before. But Emma, who has known her for a good two years reassured us that it sometimes happens.

"She can go for days without talking and then explode in a matter of seconds. She's been acting strangely for days, I think the sooner we start this therapy the better." She said.

We sat there for a few moments in silence, as we heard Lily's feet pound up the stairs and the sound of her bedroom door slam. "I'm not gonna lie, she's a handful. This is your first real taste of what she can be like. There have been times when she's thrown things, screamed, cried, had a breakdown...it's all part of a normal day here."

For the first time, I felt pretty daunted by what was to come, but I was up for the challenge. It wasn't Lily's fault she was like this, and she wasn't going to face it on her own.

While Lily was calming down upstairs, the three of us talked about her therapy session. "Now I have to warn you, we've tried these things in the past and she just doesn't cooperate. She sits and stares into space and doesn't reply to any questions. She's trying to block out the past and these sessions mean she has to relive it all again, which is why she's so scared." Emma explained.

"We understand. Will the therapist talk to us too?" Alfie asked.

"Probably. Lily will go out of the room and he'll talk you through methods of coping and everything to try and make it as easy for you as possible."

Half an hour passed until Emma gave it the all clear for Alfie to go and talk to Lily. He was gone for a while before they both reappeared. You could tell Lily had been crying. She sat back down in silence and stared at the floor. Something wasn't right. She seemed so on edge and distant.

I was starting to wonder if these therapy sessions were a good idea, Lily obviously wasn't to keen and she was never going to talk to a complete stranger about all the horrible things that had happened to her.

It was while I was thinking this that Lily started to act in a peculiar manner. She was flinching away from something, as if someone was about to hurt her. Her breathing got rapid and tears rolled down her cheeks, the whole time she was whispering "No, no, no, please no." Alfie and I stood up, closely followed by Emma. "Lily?" She asked, making her way over to her.

Alfie went to put his arm round her when she stood up and backed into the opposite wall. "Don't touch me. Please don't hurt me." He stood there in shock, as did Emma and I. Emma tried calming her but instead, Lily grew more and more restless.

I had a feeling I knew what was happening. She was re-experiencing something, I just wish I knew what.

In the end, she ran out of the room, Emma following. Alfie and I sat there in complete silence until he spoke up. "She's scared of me." He whispered. I felt so bad. It took a while but I began to explain to him what I thought was happening. I had read it on the Internet a few weeks back.

"She's not scared of you Alf, she's scared of whoever she thought you were."

Author's Note:

Well, quite an interesting chapter. I've been doing my research (as you do) and tried to incorporate some of the things someone with PTSD might have to deal with, into this chapter. I wanted it to sound as real as possible, did I do alright or was it crap?

I was thinking about it before and realised that this book might be a bit depressing, I didn't intend this to happen when I first started it but that's how it's ended up. Lily is someone I completely made up, yet I wanted the book to highlight some real issues that people deal with in day to day life.

Thank you to everyone who votes and comments on my chapters, it honestly means the world and has given me so much more confidence in my writing.

Thank you x