𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 [ Adopted by Elizabeth Olsen ]

Chapter 34: "Sir"

Can we just take a moment to appreciate this INCREDIBLE pic I found on Pinterest

⚠️TW:⚠️ a lot. This whole thing is basically angst, I'm sorry

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Lizzie's pov:

"I-I'm sorry", she whispered, her voice cracking. I could hear she was on the brink of tears. "No need honey, I was pushing you too far, I'm the one who should be sorry", I answered.

Suddenly, I heard the beep which signalled she had hug up the call. I took the phone away from my ear to look, and sure enough, she had hung up the call. Immediately, I tried to call her back. It went straight to voicemail.

I called her a couple more times, ending up with the same result. Every second I was getting increasingly more worried. What if she was having a panic attack with no one to help her? Without thinking, I rushed out of my trailer and to my car, calling Miss Riley in the process.

She answered pretty quickly, thank god. "Mrs. Olsen, to what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked me. "Are you at the orphanage?" I asked her, a little out of breath due to me running to my car. "No, unfortunately not, why?"

"NovajustcalledmeandIthinksheishavingapanicattack", I let out in one breath as I started my car, putting the call on speaker so that I could drive while on the phone. "Woah there, take a deep breath ma'am and try again."

I did as she said and took a deep breath. "Nova just called me. She hung up on me and I have reason to believe she's having a panic attack", I explained. "Is there any way I can get in there, I need to make sure she's okay", I practically begged her.

"Hey, first of all, you need to relax, you being stressed isn't going to help anyone", Miss Riley tried to calm me down. "Second of all, the door should be unlocked, feel free to just go inside. If it's not, there is a key in the mailbox across the street", she informed me.

"Thank you so much, I have to go, I'm here now", I informed her, climbing out of my car. "Of course, let me know if she's okay once you've checked."

After a quick goodbye, I hung up and rushed up the stairs. The door to the building was unlocked so I practically slammed it open, closing it behind me. The foyer was quiet, so I rushed up the stairs, ignoring the greeting coming from a kid downstairs.

I ran through the corridor and over to where I knew Nova's room was. All I could hear was my own rushed heartbeat, everything else seemed muffled. Panic was rising in my chest, what if something had happened to Nova?

It was clear she felt bad for snapping at me, but it was originally my fault, I had pushed her too far. I stopped outside the door, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. Me being stressed wouldn't help her at all, I needed to be calm.

After knocking a few times and getting no answer, I decided to open the door. The first thing I registered were muffled sobs. I had to take a sweep over the room before my eyes landed on a figure balled up in the corner of the bed. She looked so small.

Sobs were racking her body and her breathing was short and panicked. Her hands were braided into her hair, pulling at her roots. A habit I had noticed she had. Not a very good one.

"Nova?" I called softly, not wanting to startle her. After getting no reaction, I gently closed the door behind me and moved closer to her.

"Nova hun, can you hear me?" I asked her, still trying to keep my voice soft. "P-Please don't hurt me", she choked out in between her tears. Hurt her? I would never do that! "Nova honey, I would never hurt you", I tried to comfort her.

"I-I'm sorry, p-please, I didn't mean to."

"Nova, listen to me, you need to breathe. Can you take a deep breath?" I asked her, once again receiving no reaction. "I'm going to touch you okay?" I warned. But once again, once my hands made contact with her arms, she jolted again, trying to move further into the corner.

"N-no, no, no, no, I'm s-sorry, please, n-no!" She sobbed, completely in despair. "I'm s-sorry sir, I s-swear, I-I didn't mean t-to!" That's when it dawned on me. She was having a flashback, which had then sent her into a panic attack.

Her referring to someone as "sir", made it clear to me. She was seeing me as someone else, someone who had hurt her, a male. That might be the reason she was uncomfortable around Robbie. A man had hurt her.

"Nova, it's just me, Lizzie, it's just you and me darling", I tried again. "No, no n-no p-please!"

She wasn't calming down. I was starting to feel the panic rising inside me, but I had to stay calm for her sake. Talking to her wasn't working, I knew I had to push her a bit. So, as gently as possible, I wrapped her in my arms, continuing to talk to her.

As soon as I touched her, she tried to squirm away from me. Her breathing increased once again. I placed her in my lap, with a little difficulty due to her desperately trying to get away from me. She was strong, I have to say. "It's me hun, you're safe I promise", I continued talking to her, gently rocking her back and forth.

Suddenly, it was like a switch flicked in her head. She stopped struggling and looked up at me, her blue eyes dark and bloodshot. "L-Lizzie?" she whispered hoarsely. "Yes, it's me honey, you're safe", I smiled. "I-I'm sorry", she choked out.

"It's not your fault. Can you try and take a deep breath for me?" I asked her. She shook her head. "I-I can't." "Yes you can. You're safe, it's just me and you, 𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 honey.

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Ummm yeahhh....

Sorry abt that....

So anyway, how are you all? How's summer?

Work is being incredibly stressful, but I'm earning money and that's all that matters : )

Even though it's summer and you probably don't have school or a ton of work, remember to take care of yourself. Don't just lay inside all day. Try and get outside, go for a little walk. I promise you'll feel better <3

Love, Frida xx