Adopted (a Zalfie fanfic) [1]

Chapter 9

*Lily's POV*
Oh god. I've just poured my heart and soul out to my two most favourite people ever. I don't even know why I did it. I felt so stupid. After saying it, I took one look at them and couldn't hold it in any longer. I ran up to my bedroom, sobbing. I couldn't bear the silence. God knows what thoughts were going round their heads. They were probably thinking "Why are we adopting this weirdo?"

When I got to my room, I sat in the corner, the one behind the wardrobe, and cried. I tried to stop but the tears carried on flowing. I felt so annoyed at myself for making a mess of everything all over again, but at the same time I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I had said everything I had wanted to say for the last six years. I guess I had kept it all bottled up for so long and today was the day it had to come out.

Does your head ever start hurting when you've cried so much? Well, my head hurt, my eyes stung and my nose ran. I probably looked like something from a circus, with mascara down my face and my eyes red and swollen. I got the pack of tissues out from my pocket and wiped my face until I looked half decent.

It got to that stage where I couldn't cry properly any longer, it came out as a pathetic little whimpering noise. I lent my head against the wall. My brain tried to process everything I had blurted out but in all honesty, I couldn't quite remember.

About ten minutes later and I had managed to calm myself down a considerable amount. Suddenly, I heard a gentle knock on the door. It was only quiet but it made me jump because I was so deep in my own thoughts.

"C-come I-in." I said, snuffling.

*Zoe's POV*
We let ten minutes pass before Emma said it was alright that I go and speak to Lily. I walked up the stairs and headed to her room, the second door on the left. I knocked gently, not wanting to scare her. "C-come I-in." She said.

I opened the door and couldn't see her at first. But then I heard her snuffle. I looked around and saw her sat in the corner, knees up to her chest. She was sat behind the wardrobe as if she was hiding from something. I went over and sat beside her. She carried looking at the panel of wood in front of her. "You know, that was a really brave thing you did in there." I said.

She looked me in the eyes and said "No it wasn't." Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks damp and tear stained.

"Not many people could go through what you've gone through and come out the other side." I say, it's all I could think of.

"T-they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but it hasn't, has it? I'm now a nervous freak that nobody could care less about." She says, her voice cracking. I was worried she would crumble in front of me and I wouldn't know what to do.

I was stuck for words to reply with. "You're far from a freak. Me and Alfie, we care about you, and so does Emma. I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason. Good or bad. Just you wait, something good will come along."

"I've been waiting for six years. N-nothing good has happened at all. I'm not destined to have a good life." She says, staring at the floor, tears in her eyes. "I feel like everyone's out to get me. The drunk driver, the scary man, the mean woman. They've ruined my life but they don't care. I bet nothing bad has happened to them."

"Don't you worry about that, karma will get them big time." I say, taking her hand in mine. She was shaking. I put my arm around her and she flinches as if I was going to hit her. She was scared I was going to hurt her and that broke my heart. "Like I said before, me and Alfie, we wouldn't hurt you. You would be safe with us." I say, trying to comfort her.

"I-I know I would be, but I still can't get rid of all the thoughts, a-all the memories. They'll always be there and they are making me think that everyone is....is going to hurt me." She whispered. She started crying again and I pulled her into a hug to make her feel safe. She stayed tensed up but didn't reject. She cried silently before pulling away. "I-I'm sorry. You must think I'm such a baby."

"Not at all." I said and smiled at her kindly. She smiled back softly and wiped her eyes.

Being adopted into a loving and caring family was her dream. To be safe in an environment she could call home. To be able to ask for things without being hurt. To be able to talk about her feelings and her worries. I felt privileged to be able to help make her wish come true.