Chosen Family (Adopted By Scarlett Johansson)

Chapter 18

I stayed in my room for about another hour, and once I could hear a medley of activity coming from the kitchen, I packed my stuff for school and went downstairs. The closer I got to the kitchen, the clearer the voices became; Lizzie and Scarlett were cooking breakfast, and Rose and Adley were messing around.

I went directly to the fridge and grabbed an energy drink. I was hoping that nobody would say anything, but as I was walking back out, Lizzie said, "No breakfast? Y/N, those drinks are horrible for you. Sit down and eat."

"No thanks. Not hungry," I said as I continued walking.

"Y/N, you don't have to be at school for another thirty minutes. Please just sit down and eat something?" Scarlett pleaded gently.

"I said I'm not hungry. And I'm going in early; I have to talk to my math teacher about an assignment." Lie.

"Y/N-"

"I'll see you after school," I cut her off, walking out of the house. I started my camaro and pulled out of the driveway, blaring music to keep myself awake as I drove.

SCARLETT'S POV:

"I watched with a frown of confusion as Y/N stormed out of the house. I heard her music start and the car take off. What was that about?

"Did she seem...off to you?" I murmured to Lizzie.

"Something's definitely wrong. But you can't make her talk to you," she replied.

"I just- I don't know, it seemed like she was doing so good."

"Give her some space while she's at school, and then you can talk to her when she gets home. You still need to have that talk with her, anyway."

My stomach instantly tied in a knot when Lizzie brought up what Adley had told me. Deciding to send her a text, I pulled out my phone.

Me: Hey, I hope everything is okay. Have a good day at school. I love you :)

After a few very long minutes, she finally answered.

Y/N: Love you too

I didn't like that she didn't acknowledge the first half of my text, but at least she answered. Maybe she was just tired. I knew I wouldn't see her for another eight hours, so I tried not to worry, but she's my daughter; how could I not be concerned?

YOUR POV:

I hadn't been able to focus all morning. I was fighting the tears and the panicky feeling in my chest throughout every treacherous minute of every class. Everything was too loud, my clothes were touching me wrong, my necklace was choking me, the air wasn't filling my lungs right, and I just needed to leave.

It was halfway through English when I broke. I was blinking rapidly trying to keep the tears from falling but I just couldn't do it anymore. Sometimes you can fall apart and hide it behind a perfect smile, but sometimes it just breaks you and you're too tired to take it anymore. So you hide. You run away.

And, naturally, my hiding spot was the bathroom. I got up from my desk as calmly as possible and left the classroom, ignoring my teachers questions of where I was going. I walked faster and faster, feeling the tears burning in my eyes and the oxygen leaving my lungs.

I finally made it to the bathroom and thanked god that there was nobody else in there. That's always painfully awkward. I leaned against the tile wall and tried to calm my breathing, but it felt like I had forgotten how. Tears were pouring down my face by this point, and I slid down the wall to sit on the floor because I felt like I was going to pass out.