Adopted by Sophiam ||l.t

Chapter 15

Liam POV

"Thank you daddy," she smiles at me sweetly. I can feel all five of our breaths hitch in our throats at her words. Mine does because she called me daddy, I'm glad she is starting to feel like part of my family. I don't even want to think about what the other lads are thinking, I might have to kill them. She walks forward and grabs my hand, pushing through the line. "What are you all staring at? Let's go! I'm wasting away."

I chuckle and turn toward the lift. We step in and I hold open the door for the boys.

"Um I'm not really hungry," Harry says in a low voice.

"Yeah me neither," Louis agrees, looking a bit flustered.

"Well I am," Niall says getting on the lift.

"Zaynie come on," Venice says excitedly and he chuckles, nodding his head and getting on the elevator. The doors shut and the lift begins to move. "Wonder why they weren't hungry."

The lads and I look at each other, wondering how she can be so oblivious. Zayn clears his throat, "Can I make an observation?"

She narrows her eyes and looks at him, cocking her head to the side and nodding.

"Why is it that sometimes you act like a normal teenage girl and sometimes .."

"I act like a kid?" she looks at him with wide eyes and he nods. She shrugs, leaning against the wall and staring at the door. "I get that a lot. Miss Sally had me tested but nothing turned up. She thinks it's because I had to be so grown up when I was 5 and 6. Taking care of myself and not really being able to do little kid things because if I asked or if I just left, it would anger my father and he would hit me."

The only sound is the lift music, but if you listen really closely you'll hear my heart breaking.

"I don't remember him much, my subconscious locked that part of my past away. I remember it hurting to breathe sometimes, and it hurting to move my arms. And sometimes my mouth would taste like blood, but I didn't think anything of it." She shrugs then looks at me with a smile. "So I'm kind of craving French toast but we can go wherever."

I snort and the lift opens. Walking into the lobby Venice starts to jump up and down squealing. "They're playing your song!"

We all listen quietly and hear Steal My Girl playing through the speakers. She starts singing quietly while Niall gets someone to take us for food. Zayn and I watch and listen to Venice as she sings and starts dancing, suddenly she's shouting the lyrics at the top of her lungs, watching us with a gleam in her eye. She sounds very good but Zayn gets super embarrassed and covers her mouth with his hand, pulling her tight against his body.

"Sir please tell your girlfriend to be quiet," the front desk person asks us, sounding and looking a bit annoyed.

"I'm very sorry sir," Zayn apologizes with a blush. "That's her favorite band."

He nods and goes back to his work. Venice is still struggling against Zayn when Niall comes back.

"Ew!" Zayn shouts letting go and wiping his hand on his jeans. She cackles with laughter, throwing her head back and squeezing her eyes shut. Niall grabs her hand and pulls her toward the doors, Zayn and I follow and get into the car.

Zayn POV

We drive to a small café and are seated in the corner out of sight. The waiter checks her out and flirts with her but she is totally oblivious. After everyone orders, Liam strikes up a conversation.

"How are your grades Venice?" he asks, taking a sip of his drink. She looks up at him and sighs.

"They're alright," she takes a drink of her water. "About a B-C average. I know I can do better but it was hard to concentrate at the house."

"I can see how that would be hard," Liam nods understandingly and Venice visibly relaxes. I scoot over on the bench of our booth and wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close and kissing the top of her head. "We'll get you a tutor when we get back to England."

"Am I going to start when we get home after here or after the tour?" She asks.

"Probably after the tour," he nods. "It'll be easier."

The waiter comes over with our food and attempts to flirt with Venice again. "What's your name cutie?"

"His name is Niall. He's adorable isn't he," she looks at Niall longingly who blushes madly. I try to suppress my giggles and Liam shakes his head at her. She completely ignores the waiter and turns to me. "Zayn scoot your cute little ass over. I can't eat with you on top of me."

I laugh out loud at this and see Liam offer the lad an apologetic smile. He nods and walks away, Venice huffs out a sigh as he does and turns to her food. "Damn he was persistent. Some people can just not take a hint."

I laugh again we all start eating. After several minutes of small conversation about work, Venice speaks up again.

"So do you want me to call you Liam or dad?" she asks him.

"You can call me whatever you want love," he answers with a smile and she gets a wicked grin and begins to say something but I pinch her side. She squeaks then scowls at me before continuing.

"Do you think Sophia wants me to call her mom?" she looks a bit worried but Liam offers a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure she would love it if you called her that, but whatever makes you comfortable," she nods and continues eating. "She's actually leaving tonight to get some stuff done and get your room set up."

"You don't have to do that-"

"We want to," Liam cuts off her frantic rambling. "You are only 16 and will be with us for a while, hopefully, so you need a nice room."

"Thank you," she mumbles, a faint tint of pink covering her cheeks as she stares at her plate.

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