Orphans of the night

Chapter 32

Crack under pressure

"After all this time! I can't believe I found you, and now you can finally come back home with us!" Carla exclaimed excitedly. My smile turned to a blank expression and I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second "wait. What?" I said confused "we were so worried. Come on, let's go. Everyone misses you" Carla grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away.. "Carla.. I. I can't go with you" her face dropped as I spoke "why not?" She pouted "because I-" I didn't know how to tell her or what to say.

Demi's POV

"Thank you" I smiled at the cashier as I grabbed the shopping bags and hurried out the front to meet Lizzy. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't panicking the whole time about her not being beside me.

I sighed of relief when I spotted her waiting where she said she would be "ready to go?" I smiled at her. She looked a little shaken up by something, like she'd seen a ghost and was confused "Lizzy, you okay?" I asked as we walked to the car. She took a minute to respond "mhm. Yep, I'm fine" she smiled up at me. I gave her a questioning look and brushed it off, it wasn't really out of the norm for her to get lost in thoughts.

***

I was glad Lizzy had finally agreed to spend some time with me. Ever since she started school she just seems really burnt out. As soon as she came home from school she went straight to bed until I woke her up for dinner, then weekends she spent in her room reading and recharging. She hadn't really spoken much about school, she'd tell me a little bit about her day on the car ride home but that was it.

"So, do you have any friends you might wanna invite over sometime?" I asked as I focused on my painting. It was a beautiful sunny weekend so I'd suggested painting on the balcony "uh. Not really" Lizzy mumbled as she dipped her paintbrush into the cup. I nodded my head not really sure how to respond "have you made any good friends yet?" I asked "yeah" she responded bluntly. She didn't really seem interested in this conversation but she's been going to school for a little over a month now and I really wanted to know how things were going "what are some of their names?" I asked as I put my paint brush down to pay attention showing that I cared "I dont know" she mumbled again "you dont know?" I chuckled but she kept a blank expression. I started to worry something was going on.

"Is eveything okay?" I asked concerned "ugh. Yes Demi" she groaned "okay. I just wanted to check.. you haven't really spoken much about school or friends-" "that's because I don't want to talk about it!" Lizzy snapped as she threw her hands in the air. I was startled by her sudden outburst but now I was convinced something was wrong "Lizzy. It's okay" "No it's not. There's too much going on. I can't think" she screamed "okay, just take a deep breath" I said frantically trying to calm her down. Lizzy gave me an annoyed look and stormed off, slamming her bedroom door. I flinched at the loud bang as my eyes watered. I wasn't sure what I'd done or said that triggered her but I was a little worried.

I waited for a little while, giving Lizzy time to cool down. She must be overwhelmed with school. I hadn't received any calls from the school about how she's going there, but I figured if something was going on, they would reach put to me.

I gently knocked on Lizzys door "come in" she said quietly, her sad little voice muffled behind the door, I could tell she'd been crying.

"Hey" I said gently as I sat on the end of her bed. She didn't say anything "Is there something on your mind?" I asked cautiously. She was quiet for a minute, like she was thinking. Then she shook her head "no. Everything's normal" she answered. I furrowed my eyebrows, that was a weird response. I cleared my throat "well. If your having trouble with school. I can hire you a tutor" I suggested thinking thats what was causing her stress. She was silent again for a moment "yes, that's exactly what's wrong. I'm having trouble in maths" she half smiled "that's no problem. We can hire a tutor. You can talk to me when your having problems hunny. I want to help" I said kindly. She sighed and swallowed hard, looking up at me as if she was guilty.

I was pleased we'd gotten somewhere. I was glad that I knew what was troubling her now so I could help her "alright. Get dressed. We're going out for pizza" I smiled as I stood up trying to change the mood.

Lizzys POV

I stared out my bedroom window feeling icky. I sighed as I felt both relieved and guilty. I had so much going on that I'd snapped. Demi thought it was because I was stressed from school, which was partly true. I actually was doing really well in all my classes, she didn't need to know what was really going on at school. I wanted to keep her happy, as soon as she thought she'd figured it out on her own I took the opportunity to get her off my back, so now I needed to pull myself together and act like everything is okay.