Chapter 15: "The house inspection"

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LIZZIE'S LOOK AT THE WORLD PREMIERE WAS JUST 😍🤌

⚠️TW:⚠️ social anxiety

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Nova's pov:

They had been in there for a long time. Maya and I had finished her homework ages ago, and I was currently working on my own work. Well, trying. I was struggling with math as per usual, it's safe to say math isn't my strong suit.

Like I understood it up to like 7th grade, but when they started adding letters to math, that's where I lost it. Letters don't belong in a math problem!

Anyway, my point is that Lizzie and Miss Riley had been in her office for a long time. I knew not to interfere though. I learnt that lesson the hard way. Never interrupt adults when they're doing "important" stuff in their office.

My dad taught me that.

I finally heard the door open and someone walked down the stairs. I assumed their talk went well as Miss Riley didn't come to tell me I wasn't allowed to hang out with Lizzie anymore.

The front door opened and closed, and I could see Lizzie leaving the building through my window. She looked happy. She had a huge smile on her face and was basically dancing along the sidewalk.

What had they talked about which had made her so happy? I don't know, maybe she got a text from her husband or something, how should I know?



-The next day-


Lizzie's pov:


Robbie and I had spent the entire morning trying to get our house ready for the inspection today. To say I was nervous was an understatement. We had cleaned basically the whole house and readied a guest room for Nova.

Miss Riley and I had texted a bit yesterday. I had given her our address, and she had said that Nova's social worker had agreed to do this.

I was currently pacing in the kitchen while anxiously biting my nails. It was quarter to 12, Miss Riley and Nova's social worker would be here soon.

What if I wasn't right for this after all? What if Nova didn't want to be adopted by me? What if they didn't accept me and Robbie?

My overthinking was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Robbie was by my side right away, sensing how nervous I was. "It'll be okay baby, we'll be fine, just take a deep breath babe", he reassured me.

"Do you want to answer the door?" He asked me. "Yeah... yeah sure. I-I can do that." We walked up to the door and I opened it, revealing Miss Riley and another guy, who I assumed was Nova's social worker.

"Mrs Olsen! Good day! This is Mr. Johnson, Novella's social worker", Miss Riley introduced us. "Hi, it's nice to meet you sir, I'm Elizabeth and this is my husband Robbie", I smiled, shaking hands with Mr. Johnson.

"It's lovely to meet you both, and please call me Matt", he said. "Matt it is, please, come in!" I gestured for both of them to come inside.

They took off their jackets and shoes before we showed them to the living room. "How about we have a little chat first? Then you could show us the house after", Miss Riley suggested. "Sure! Would you two like anything to eat or drink? A sandwich, salad, biscuit, water, tea, coffee? We have anything", I offered.

"A water is fine thank you", Miss Riley smiled. "A coffee would be great", Matt said. I went to get their drinks after making sure I knew how Matt wanted his coffee made. Robbie stayed in the living room with them and I could hear some soft chatter along with some laughter coming from them.

After getting both of their drinks along with a coffee for Robbie as well, I made my way back to the living room to find everyone seated and talking to each other. Miss Riley and Matt were sitting in a chair each while Robbie had saved the couch for us so that we could sit beside each other.

"Here are your drinks", I smiled, setting the tray on the table. I had also included bowls filled with chocolate and nuts in case someone wanted some. "Thank you so much", they both said, almost in unison.

I sat down beside Robbie and he immediately put a reassuring arm around me, rubbing my back. "So, we just wanted to make sure that you're the right people for Novella. Based on our little talk yesterday, I don't have a sliver of doubt about that, but I just wanted to make sure that Mr. Johnson also approves of you two, and obviously that I get to meet you Robbie", she smiled, nodding to Robbie.

"Novella has some bad experiences with men so there are going to be trust issues and flashbacks. She isn't going to feel comfortable around you right away, but you seem like a good guy, so I think she'll warm up to you in time", Miss Riley explained to Robbie and he nodded.

None of us knew the full extent of Nova's past, but we had both guessed there was a fair share of trauma, so we had both expected this.

"As for you Elizabeth, Novella has opened up to you faster than I've ever seen her do with anyone. I don't know what you've done but keep doing it, she really trusts you, even if she doesn't allow herself to right now."

We then had a nice conversation about Nova and the adoption process. They asked us lots of questions and we were also allowed to ask some if we were wondering about something. After about 30 minutes they both seemed happy with our chat, so they asked to see the house.

"So here is obviously the kitchen and living room, and then if we go up the stairs..." I gave them a little tour of the house while Robbie was cleaning everyone's cups and mugs. He had been hesitant to leave me alone because he knew I was anxious, but I had reassured him I'd be fine.

"This is mine and Robbie's room", I showed them our bedroom. "Well, it's actually his, I have my own bedroom but we usually just end up sleeping in the same bed anyway. There is also a bathroom connected to our bedroom, it's just that door over there", I showed them.

"Then we have two guest bedrooms on this side, and then this here will hopefully become Nova's room", I said, opening the bedroom door. "We haven't done much to it, we kind of want her to decorate it herself, add her own vibe to it."

"There is a walk-in closet over there and then this is her bathroom", I showed them Nova's room. "This is a nice room, I think she'd like it", Miss Riley commented.

I showed them the rest of the house and they approved of it. Now the last step was just to see if Nova actually wanted to be adopted by us. "So, how do you plan on telling her?" Miss Riley asked me.

"I don't know actually, we were thinking about inviting her over for dinner after my next riding lesson on Saturday so that she can meet Robbie, and if that all goes well we could break the news to her", I said.

"That sounds like a good idea, maybe shoot her a text and ask if she wants to come over to your place after your riding lesson because you want her to meet Robbie, I don't know, just do whatever feels right", she smiled.

"And if she says yes, you can come over whenever to sign the documents, just give us a little heads up", Miss Riley informed us. "And you're really considerate with making this her decision, usually when people adopt, it's the adults that make the decision, no one asks the kid, you must really care about her."

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IM SEEING MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS TODAY AAAHHHH!!!!!!
I'm freaking out....

Anyway, sorry abt that. How are y'all doing?

Remember to take care of yourselves, self-care is important <3

Love, Frida xx

𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 [ Adopted by Elizabeth Olsen ]Where stories live. Discover now