Always Okay | (Adopted By Elizabeth Olsen)

Chapter 34

Word Count 2888

Nobody's POV

That night the Johansson-Duraic Family had a quiet and peaceful dinner with Alexis. Alexis was on edge the whole time nervous that a wrong move would send her elsewhere. She couldn't fathom that Lizzie had even let her stay, she was sure she'd be dragging her out the door soon but nope. She let her stay.

Alexis ate a small portion of her dinner and decided fairly quickly that she was done, but since she was able to eat more than she had at lunch, Scarlett didn't bother to try to get her to also drink a PediaSure bottle.

Rose went down at her normal bedtime thanks to Romain. Scarlett didn't want to leave Alexis alone knowing she was not at her best. After a warm bath and a quick bottle, Rose was out like a light. Alexis on the other hand was a jittery ball.

Scarlett had convinced her to change into her PJs and finish her PT exercises before watching a movie with her and Romain. It still felt a bit weird to Alexis that Romain was back, maybe because it felt like she was encroaching on their family moment or that she just didn't like his unpredictability. But then again she really hasn't taken the time to even try to get to know him and this is his home, not hers.  

Scarlett turned on an old Disney movie as Alexis laid down with her precious bear on the couch, beside the happy couple. There was quite a gap between the couple and Alexis but not so much that Scarlett felt the need to comment on it. When she looked over at Alexis, she saw the dark bags under her eyes, the distant, maybe distraught gaze. She looked exhausted and they hadn't even left the house. She thought about pausing the movie to talk to her but then remembered that Romain was present and Alexis wouldn't dare to say anything in front of him. 

Contrary to her movements prior to falling asleep, Alexis was out barely an hour into the movie. Her fidgeting, tossing, and turning wasn't helping, exhaustion took over, just as it did every night this past week. It was only about half-past nine when the couple looked over to see her restless, yet peacefully sleeping figure. 

"She looks cute," Romain commented quietly to his wife

"She has barely slept in the past twenty-four hours," Scarlett explained looking over at her husband to see his small grin fall at the news.

"Does Lizzie know?" He asked calmly.

"Yup, that's probably why she wants her home tonight," Scarlett explained lifting her head off his shoulder.

"Makes sense, she needs a lot of care I don't think we're ready to provide," Romain said getting off the couch to head into the kitchen.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Scarlett jumped up following him into the kitchen.

"You know what I mean," Romain said shortly as he pulled down a glass for water.

"I don't think I do," Scarlett pushed, she had just spent all day taking care of both Alexis and Rose. If anyone could do it for a short time it's them, well her at least.

"I'm just saying Alexis might need professional help and neither you nor I am equipped for that," Romain explained as calmly as he could knowing that he walked right into this fight. 

"Oh," Scarlett stuttered not sure how to respond to that. Surely Lizzie had already thought of that, right? 

"I'm just saying I don't feel like I'm the right person to be there for her," Romain concluded. He had been watching Alexis from afar for a while now, ever since the beach day. He knew she had been through a lot and didn't want to add to that trauma, so he stood back and observed her with Lizzie, with Scarlett, even with Rose. The hesitation and anxiety she had didn't go unnoticed, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't be the one that would step in to help. As he put it that day when he left the beach early, She's not ours. There's no reason to care for her as you do.