Adopted by One Direction

Nightmare

As I flopped onto my bed, I felt relieved. I mean, I loved the boys' company, but it was still quite a shock for me and I did need time alone to do nothing but think.A lot of things dashed through my mind. First, I was nervous about school. I didn't exactly have decent school memories, and school had always been torturing for me. I did like the learning part of school, but it was lunchtime that I dread. The classmates were usually OK to me when there were teachers around, but they got nasty once the teachers left our sight. Oh well. I could always hide in the bathroom or something.And there was also the issue of 'keeping everything a secret'. I was sure I could keep my mouth shut, but what was the point? I mean, one day people are sure to find out that a girl is living with the famous One Direction. Actually, if it were up to me, I'd never have adopted in the first place. If the boss said no, I'd listen to the boss. Since I was little, I had already gotten used to say the truth and nothing but the truth. I just couldn't lie. I felt like it was wrong for the boys to lie to their boss—they should've just told the boss about me then waited for his decision. If he wanted them to give me up, then they should. That was the mindset I had grown to believe in.OK, what am I saying? Of course I don't want them to return me to the orphanage! Alright, I'll admit it—I'd rather lie to the world then go back to the orphanage. Not exactly a tough choice. But the other end of my brain kept urging me to be honest. Ugh! Why do human minds have to be so complicated?I buried my head into my big fluffy pillow, and forced myself to think of something else. Oh yeah, the shopping trip. I was actually quite looking forward to it. I had never ever shopped in my life, and I had always listened wistfully to the girls at school when they talked about buying brand-new clothes and phones. I wondered if the boys would get me a phone. I certainly hoped so. It'd be so cool to be able to talk to someone miles away whenever you want to. Owning a book would be cool too, I thought. Just sitting quietly while reading about someone else's perfect life would be quite relaxing. Oh, and a notebook! I'd definitely want one to write my stories in. I began listing out the things I needed in my head. Some tops and jeans, a big coat for winter, shoes, textbooks for school, pens and pencils, a phone, probably a bag...oh, and a mirror. The list when on and on. I shuddered. I didn't want to make the boys broke, so I revised my list. Just one top and one pair of jeans should be OK, and I don't really need a new bag. Ditto a phone. Or a mirror, in that case. I slowly fell asleep, those items still going round and round my mind. As I fell into deeper sleep, my dream slowly changed...A man was advancing on me, holding a belt up threateningly. He swung the belt around, still coming closer. I crouched on the floor, curled up like a ball and whimpered, too scared to even move away."Please, no!" I whispered, curling up even smaller, but he kept coming closer. "Please, don't hurt me..."It happened in an instant. He swung the belt down onto my neck and the metal part hit me violently, leaving a deep cut. He kept doing this over and over again, and the cut on the back of my neck grew deeper and deeper. I cried out loudly, placing a hand near my neck to feel a steady flow of blood. I was dying, but I wanted to live. I tried dodging the belt, but I was too weak. I was losing too much blood. I opened my mouth to yell, and the scream went on and on..."Passion, wake up! PASSION!" My eyes flew open at the sound of Liam's voice. His hand was on my shoulder, shaking me. I sat up, shivering, my hand still pressed against my neck. There was no blood now."What happened, are you OK? You were screaming so loudly!"It took some time for me to come back to reality. So that was just a dream. Or rather, a memory. I could still feel the scar of the cut on the back of my neck. My hands were all sweaty, and tears were streaming down my face."It's...nothing. Just a bad dream...My dad..."I choked out the words. I didn't want to tell Liam the story, but once the words were out I couldn't stop. "My dad, he was hitting me, with a belt, my neck, blood, hurts..." I sobbed uncontrollably as I recalled the dream. "I was dying, he didn't stop..."Liam sat down on my bed, putting his arms around me and holding me protectively. He whispered soothing words at me, and I got calmer. We just sat there in that position for 20 minutes before Liam got up slowly."Go back to sleep now, you're safe here." He whispered and left the room.I slowly drifted back into sleep, dreaming about getting adopted and weirdly, thick wooly socks. Then suddenly, my father and the belt appeared in my dreams again. I woke up, screaming and shaking. The nightmare was so real. I could actually feel my terror and pain. In no time at all, Liam was by my side again. He hugged me tightly, and I sobbed on his shoulder."It's alright, love, I'm here, no one's going to hurt you." He whispered into my ear, rocking me gently. "Your dad won't come back, no one's going to hurt you."But I was so scared—the dream was real, I could feel it. No one could understand how terrified and insecure I felt at that time. I held on to Liam, afraid that if I let go, my father would come back. Slowly, my tears ran dry."Liam?" I said after an hour of silence. "Could you stay here with me tonight? I can't sleep on my own...""Of course, love." Liam said. He tucked the covers over both of us and I snuggled close to him, feeling much safer. Liam stroked my hair gently, but his fingers came across the scar on my neck. He fingered it slowly, and I shivered. He glanced at me."The dream wasn't just a dream, was it? It had happened before." He said softly.I nodded. He would find out sooner or later. Besides, I really didn't lie."We're here for you now, and everything else is the past. We'll never let anyone hurt you, alright? From now on, everything will be different." Liam gently kissed me on the top of my head, and we fell asleep.