Adopted (a Zalfie fanfic) [1]

Chapter 17

*Lily's POV*
Zoe followed my out of the office and we stood in the corridor for a few minutes while I calmed myself down. I leant against the wall, my breathing slowly returning to normal. "Are you okay now? It might have been a small panic attack. Have you had one before?" Zoe asked, a tone of concern present in her voice.

"I-I'm fine. I, urm...y-yeah, I've had one before." I stumbled

"Oh right, okay. A bit of fresh air might help. Shall we go into the garden?" She asked, putting her arm around my shoulders.

"I-urm yeah, o-okay."

*Zoe's POV*
I put my arm around her shoulder to make her feel more at ease. She flinched but didn't pull away.

We slid on our coats in the hallway and then made our way outside. We walked through the kitchen, a few of the younger ones staring at us, and out into the garden. "It's very nice out here, very big and spacious." I said.

"Y-yeah, it's my favourite place." Lily said, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

"Do you have a favourite part?" I asked. She nodded and silently guided me past an empty flower bed, through some bushes and out into a little clearing right at the back of the huge garden.

"Here." She said, nodding towards the big old oak tree in front of us.

I gasped at the wonderful sight I was witnessing. Seeing as it was autumn, the leaves were a gorgeous red and orange, making the tree look like something magical from a film. It was raised on a slight hill and underneath it, the grass was dry and the ground was free of leaves. I could see why she loved it here so much. It was peaceful, nothing like the constant buzz of the care home.

"It's gorgeous. Do you come here a lot?"

"I-I come here when I need to clear my head. W-which is quite a lot lately." She said, as we both sat down underneath the oak tree. You could tell she felt so much more comfortable out here, in a place she was familiar with. Being outside, in the fresh air and the autumn breeze, was so much better than being stuck in an office. Lily was sat with her knees up to her chest, her chin resting on them.

"Being out here, does it make you feel more at ease?" I asked cautiously. She looked at me with those lovely blue eyes.

"Y-yeah, I-I suppose. I-it makes me feel more...like me." She said, looking down at the grass.

"You are a normal person you know, no matter what went on in the past." I reassured her.

"N-no I'm not. Wh-what sort of 'normal' person has the same nightmare every night, is too scared to socialise with other people, too scared to speak for fear that they would say the wrong thing and get slapped across the head for it. I-I'm not normal, and never will be." I thought she was going to break down again there and then, but to my surprise, she stayed strong and looked me in the eye.

"Oh Lily. Anybody who had been what you've been through is bound to feel different. But your not. Whatever your background, age, gender or appearance, we're all humans. Sometimes, our brains might just be wired slightly different from others. Just like yours is slightly different from mine. But that doesn't matter, Alfie and I, we still want you no matter how different your brain is." My words seemed to help her find a little bit of the confidence she was lacking so much.

"Really?"

"Really." I said, taking her hand in mine. She smiled and leant her head on my shoulder.

"T-thank you." She said. I felt tears brimming in my eyes.

"For what?"

"For everything."