Not As It Seems - We Bought A Zoo Fanfic

Ch 12

Kelly's POV:

I had no idea what happened with Avery. She didn't say a word about it to any of us, but she still did come to me for support some nights.

We ended up pushing back our girls day because she didn't feel up to going out just yet, which I was fine with. I didn't want to push her into anything.

The young girl had never stayed anywhere alone after we found her and was always with someone, mainly me. We worked together for most of the day and would watch movies after we finished. She almost always fell asleep so I'd have to carry her back to her house.

But today was different. Avery didn't say a word all day until I asked her to pick a movie to which she replied, "You pick."

With reluctance I chose a movie and let her cuddle into my side. Halfway through I could feel my shirt getting wet but I didn't want to say anything until she was ready to. Instead I slowly rubbed circles on her back and hugged her tighter.

————
Avery's POV:

I didn't feel safe anymore. The past few days Ferris was the only thing on my mind. I couldn't escape him. The thought of what happened haunted me and always kept me on alert. The only place I actually felt safe was in Kelly's arms, but even then I couldn't really tell her how I felt.

I woke up every night alone in my room sobbing after terrible nightmares, my grades we dropping again, I did the same amount of work around the zoo as Kelly in half the time to help drown out my thoughts, and I never could look in the mirror without breaking down. Slowly my life was starting to feel like shit again. As much as I wanted to tell Kelly, I couldn't risk the lives of my family.

And now lying on Kelly's stomach I felt empty and alone in the world. I had to hold the weight of it all on my shoulders without the support I needed and more and more weight was being added each day.

"How did you deal with it all?" I hiccuped once my tears were in check.

"With what?" Kelly asked back as she continued to rub my back softly.

"The zoo. How did you stay strong through all of the pain that it cause you in the past 2 years?" I replied and I could feel her tense up, showing me it was a hard topic for her.

"Well at first it felt like the world was crashing down on me. Everything felt hopeless and I thought that I wouldn't be able to rise above it. Despite that I kept going, I did everything I could to keep the place running even though the efforts would most likely of failed. Just when I started to lose hope your dad came along. Now I have you and your family to be thankful for." She ended with a smile and tears rolling down her cheeks. I even had a few stray tears slipping from my own eyes.

"Thank you. I'm sorry you had to go through all that." I replied sincerely. Her answer gave me some sort of hope that I could keep going and stay strong.

"No need to be sorry. It was actually a really good time of growth for me." I nodded in understanding and the world became silent again.

"Kelly, can I stay with you tonight?" I asked shyly, wanting to feel comfortable going to sleep tonight while also trying to not sound childish when asking. "I mean you don't have to say yes, I ju-"

"Yes, you can stay." She placed a finger on my lips to quiet my rambling. "Let me just text your father. I'll be right back." She left quickly to go text my dad, leaving me alone in her bedroom.

————

Kelly's POV:

Benjamin was fine with Avery spending the night so I went back to the bedroom to join Avery again. She was snuggled up in the blankets and I slipped in beside her. She moved her head back up onto my chest and wrapped her arms around me once more.

"Thank you." She mumbled as she closed her eyes. I smiled and kissed her head.

"It's nothing. Goodnight." I replied closing my eyes.

"Goodnight." She whispered back.

———

I woke up to soft whimpers and cries from Avery. She had tears rolling down her cheeks and was shaking against me. I panicked not knowing what to do.

I gently moved her off me and slid down to be level with her. Shaking her softly I whispered for her to wake up.

"Avery. Wake up for me sweetie. It's okay." Her eyes opened and she gasped when she woke up from her nightmare. She gripped my arms tight enough to leave bruises but I didn't mind. "Hey, hey it's okay. I've got you."

The shaky girl placed her head on my shoulder and cried softly into my neck. "You're safe. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you." I comforted her and she began to relax into me.

"I don't want to have the nightmares anymore." She choked through her cries. I frowned and pulled her closer.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry. It's gonna be okay." I assured her.

"Are you sure?" She croaked. I nodded and moved and hand to her head, lifting her face from my neck to look at me.

"Positive, because you're the strongest person I've met." I whispered before pecking her forehead.

———

A/n: I'm lazy and have been putting off this chapter. Sorry. This is probably really bad and an unnecessary chapter but I wrote it anyways. The next chapter will follow the movie again.