Always Love You: A One Direction Adoption Story

Chapter 9

Roselyn POV:

When the boys came back downstairs, we all watched a movie. Louis brought some fuzzy socks for me to wear, and Zayn jokingly offered to carry me around so I wouldn't have to walk on my feet. Harry made some dinner, but I wan't hungry. Truth be told, I wasn't used to eating that much, and it just made me a little overwhelmed at the amount of food.

I could feel their eyes on me as I pushed food around on my plate.

"Rose..." Harry started. "You need to eat. I could make something else if you don't like it. I'm just - we're - all just worried about you."

I felt my throat close up, but at the same time my stomach lurched. "Excuse me," I said, pushing back from the table abruptly and rushing up the stairs.

I could hear footsteps following me, but I didn't care, and I locked the door behind me as I headed into the bathroom.

I was breathing heavily, standing over the toilet. I felt like I wasn't getting enough air, and that made me even more anxious. My stomach hurt, probably because I wasn't used to eating. 2 hot meals in one day seemed like something out of a dream.

I could hear the boys on the other side of the door. They kept knocking and trying to talk to me.

"Please just go away!" I sobbed. I was getting increasingly flustered, and I bent over the toilet seat, heaving up what little food I had eaten.

The boys on the other side were getting more frustrated, as they could probably hear and guess what was going on.

"Ro, please, open the door," I heard Louis say softly, his voice cracking.

I headed over to the door, unlocking it, and I burst into tears again once I saw them. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I sobbed.

They engulfed me in a hug, drying my tears. "It's okay, you're safe now. It's alright," Harry said.

I was tired, so tired, and my eyes began to droop. Zayn picked me up and placed me under the covers of the bed.

"I'll sit with her until she falls asleep," he said, and the rest of the boys started heading out of the room, each giving me a kiss on the cheek or forehead before leaving.

I still felt uneasy though, and I could tell Zayn noticed how tense I was. He came and sat near me on the bed. "Would you like me to sing for you? Maybe it would help you sleep."

I nodded in reply. No one had ever sang for me before, and I felt special that he would even want to in the first place.

My eyes fluttered closed as his strong voice filled the room. It was soft and quiet, yet intense, and it gave me chills in the best way possible. I didn't recognize the song, but it didn't really matter to me. I felt peaceful for the first time all week.

~~~

I've always been a light sleeper. I had to be, because of my dad. I awoke to footsteps, but I could tell it was still nighttime.

I glanced over and saw Zayn asleep on the chair. Having him still near me eased my fears for a second, but not much.

There was someone walking towards me, and their slow and uneven steps reminded me of my dad. I was paralyzed, transported to the nights where he would stagger drunkenly into the living room. My heart pounded in my ears, and I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. Silent tears streamed down my face.

I knew it was too good to be true. People always wanted something from you. I knew that there was no reason that these strangers would have taken me in without expecting something in return. And yet I had trusted them. I had opened up to them, even if it was only a little.

~~

Zayn POV:

Once Roselyn was asleep, I joined the boys in the dining room discussing everything that happened.

"Maybe we should have taken her to the emergency room," Louis was saying.

"She's fallen asleep now, so it would be best to just go in the morning," I said, grabbing a seat.

"What do you think caused it? The breakdown I mean. Was it something I said?" Harry said, looking sad and guilty.

We all gave him sympathetic looks, Niall patting his back.

"I'm sure she's just going through a lot right now. We'd honestly just have to ask her, and try our best to keep her safe and comfortable," Liam said. "I mean for one, she doesn't look like she gets much to eat anyways. I've heard that at some point, your body is so used to being starved that it can't handle food right away. That's why it's so important that we take her to the doctor."

We all nodded in agreement, too shaken up to finish our food. Once we packed up the leftovers and cleaned up, we headed upstairs. It had been a pretty long and busy day for all of us, and rest was the best thing we could do right now.

"I'm going to sleep in her room, just to make sure she's okay," I said.

"Are you sure you won't startle her or something?" Harry asked.

"I'd rather be there if something happens than find out after," I shrugged.

I crept into her room as quiet as possible. She looked so peaceful, the usual stress she wore hidden under the blanket of sleep.

A few hours later, I awoke to muffled tears. I blinked my eyes open to see Roselyn, crouched into a corner on the bed and staring at the door in fear.

"Rose, are you okay?" I said concerned, sitting up. "What's wrong?" I stood, trying to get near her to comfort her, but her sobs only got louder.

"Please don't," she begged, shying away from me.

I took a step back in shock. I was a little hurt that she thought I would hurt her. "Can I ask you what's wrong?" I said again, more slowly.

"He's going to come in here, I know it. He's going to come in here and - oh God. Please don't let him hurt me! Please," she cried, rocking back and forth.

"Hey, hey," I said. "It's okay. You're okay. No one is going to hurt you, okay? Look," I said, walking over to the door and opening it. "There's no one outside. You have to believe me Rose, none of us are going to hurt you."

She nodded her head slowly, her tears starting to slow.

"I'm sure it was just a nightmare or something, okay?" I said softly, heading back over to her. I still kept my distance, not wanting to upset her any further.

Eventually, her breathing returned to normal. "Thanks," she whispered softly, her voice cracking.

"Don't mention it. Do you want to try to go back to sleep?" I asked, and she nodded her reply.

After shifting back to the center of the bed, she lay her head back down onto the pillow. She closed her eyes, and after a minute her breathing became even. Still, I could tell she wasn't asleep, and from the bags under her eyes I knew she wasn't used to sleeping much anyways.

I didn't want to bother her though, and I headed back to the couch. I tried not to fall asleep, not wanting to leave her alone. Still, I couldn't help but nodding off.

When I woke up a few hours later from the sunlight peeking in through the windows, I noticed Ro just laying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey Ro, did you get any sleep last night?" I asked her softly. She only shook her head in response, not even turning over to look at me.

"I'm sorry, I should've stayed awake with you, to keep you company," I said.

"It's okay. I'd rather one of us got a good night's sleep. Plus, I'm used to staying up. If I'm not asleep, I can't have nightmares anyways," she replied, her eyes still glued on the ceiling.

My heart broke when she said that. She shouldn't have to be used to bad things happening. I tried to swallow the concern in my voice before asking her what she was up to.

"Just thinking I guess..." she said, before sitting up. "Just thinking."