Zombie Outbreak - Sanders Sides

Chapter 19: Breakdown

Virgil's P.O.V

I sit in my room for an hour just getting used to the idea that Dr. Jacobs is my biological grandmother. Just as I start feeling restless there's a knock on the door. 

"Come in!" I call out. The door opens and Roman, Logan and Patton enter. 

"Hey. You okay?" Patton asks as he sits next to me on the bed. 

"Yeah. I think I've mostly accepted it," I say. 

"What exactly did she say?" Logan asks. I tell them everything. 

"Wow," Logan and Patton say at the same time. I nod. 

"I wonder if she has any pictures of them," I mumble to myself. 

"Curious?" Roman asks. 

"Well she mentioned that I looked like her son," I mutter. 

"Let's go ask her," Patton suggests. 

"Yeah. I guess I have to talk to her eventually," I say standing up. 

"She's downstairs talking to your parents," Logan informs me. Again I nod. I walk out of the room. My friends and boyfriend follow. Once I'm downstairs I head over to the living room. I stop next to the couch. Dr. Jacobs' eyes immediately go to me. 

"D-Do you have..." I start but my anxiety gets the best of me.

"Do you have any pictures of his birth parents?" Roman asks as he grabs my hand in an attempt to comfort me. I watch my parents' expressions. They don't look angry. Which is good. Dr. Jacobs reaches into her messenger bag and pulls out a photo album. It's black with the word 'family' written in bold cursive on it. It looks to be in good condition. She handles it with great care. 

"Have a seat?" Dr. Jacobs asks me. I squeeze Roman's hand and he moves to sit with me. I sit next to her but not too close. She opens it up to the first page. The first picture I see is of a beautiful woman and a handsome man who looks like an older version of me. The woman has grey eyes just like mine. She has strawberry blonde hair and fair skin. The man looks like me but his eyes are brown. 

"This is your mother Serena," she says pointing to the woman. "And your father Damien..." she adds as she chokes back tears. 

"Wow. He looks almost just like you. Older but still," Roman says softly.

My parents stand up and walk behind the couch. They look at the picture as well. Dr. Jacobs goes on to tell me a little bit about my parents. Things they liked to do. How and where they first met. Among other things. My breath starts to feel shallow and I can feel myself panicking the more she keeps talking. 

"This is too much," I say standing up. 

"Virgil?" my mom asks as she walks around the couch. She looks at me with worry. "Let's go back upstairs," she says, trying to touch my arm. I slap it away. She doesn't try again because she knows better than to touch me when I get like this. My father, Roman and my friends know as well. 

"What's happening?" I hear Dr. Jacobs ask.

"He's having a panic attack. He hasn't had one in a long time," I hear my father say. He's right. I haven't. So why the hell am I having one now?! 

"Virgil?" I hear Roman ask softly. I force myself to look at him. 

"Let's go outside," he says, gesturing to the door. Without a look at anyone else I head outside. I can feel Roman behind me but he knows better than to touch me. I head outside and head straight to my safe space. The barn. It's a bit of a walk but walking calms me down. I ignore the new people around the farm.