You took my heart, could I please have it back?

[54] You took my heart, could I please have it back?

{Liz POV}

It was like an enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

It was the evening after dad had woken up. He wasn't allowed out yet but I was still extremely happy and relieved that he was awake. The constant edgy depression at the back of my mind had been obliterated and now I was buzzing with joy.

I was letting it show, too; it had been a while (over five years) since I'd last done a 'happy dance' and here I was, in Alex's room, dancing around with a goofy, relieved grin on my face, warm and fuzzy with happiness. Alex himself was sitting on his bed looking at me with a cross between amusement and that I don't know you face.

Not caring, I continued to leap and dance around his room until I almost fell over a stray something on the floor, then I decided to retreat to the safety of his arms. I was 100% sure he preferred this option, considering how tightly and lovingly he held and kissed me.

Feeling warm and contented now Alex was holding me - and now dad was awake - I snuggled into his arms, smiling, inhaling his scent.

"I'm happy you're smiling again," he whispered softly in my ear. "Your constant frowns reminded me of when your dad was still drinking,"

"I'm happy I'm smiling again, too," I replied, trying to push those 'drinking' memories out of my head. The last thing I needed to be reminded of was when my father wasn't so much of a father.

Dinner was ready, so Alex and I headed downstairs. Sarah was talking animatedly about something that had happened at school, and her mum was humouring her by making excited exclamations at her words. We sat down and Sue dished up, us thanking her gratefully.

I liked being a part of the Collins' family. Although it reminded me of our own family before mum died, it was nice being around a family who loved me. With it just being me and my dad, it got kind of lonely, even if we did love each other. And now we'd had a fight but made up because of near death experiences, we would only be closer than before.

And that made me unbelievably happy.

~*~*~

School the next few days proved to be...interesting.

For one, now that Nicola had started mouthing off again, she didn't seem to want to stop. Everywhere I went were the familiar taunts and insults, mostly about my appearance and my choice in clothing. But they didn't matter to me anymore. I barely felt stung by them. I wasn't alone anymore. She couldn't hurt me anymore.

But still, she carried on, despite how much I held my head high and talked animatedly and purposefully with my friends. She just wouldn't let up. The days following were the same, to the point where I got really confused. She had stopped bullying me ages ago, why start again now, when it obviously wasn't affecting me?

Finally, about ten or eleven days after he woke up, my dad was let out of the hospital. I didn't even know until Alex told me he got a text from his mum telling me to go to my house that afternoon, so I did, and when I got home, he was there. Sitting on his arm chair, watching TV.

"Dad!" I cried, beaming. He looked up and grinned back, and I hugged him gently. He was thin but looked much healthier now.

"Hello Lizzy," he smiled back as I sat on the arm of his chair. We sat in silence for a minute, both watching TV, then I suddenly thought of something.

"Dad...do you...do you know who tried to kill you?" I asked, a frown settling on my face, just as it did on his, and his eyes - identical to mine - stared at the floor distantly, and he miserably nodded.

I sat in silence, not wanting to pressure him. Whoever it was, the thought of them seemed to upset him and I didn't know what to say or do. Eventually though, as he still didn’t speak, I felt I had to say something.