My Teacher, Louis Tomlinson

Chapter 33 - New beginnings

Recap:

I stand by the door, waiting for Mr. Tomlinson. I felt kind of betrayed when he suggested I go back to the orphanage, but after all, he doesn't know what happened to me there. And he promised to get me out, even though I know not to trust a promise.

He'd wanted me to stay here for a few days but I'd said no. Why postpone the inevitable?

Louis' POV:

After Skylynn's new guardians didn't work out, I began to try even harder to adopt her. I enlisted the help of online blogs where people were willing to share their stories and tips for adoption, I appealed to different courts, I did everything I possibly could to try and get another chance to adopt her. I didn't tell her about any of it, of course, because I didn't want to get her hopes up.

She appeared to be fading. She rarely smiled in class, even when she was with Ashton. She still came after class to work on her studies, but she never responded when I asked personal questions, she just stared blankly ahead. Eventually I gave up on trying to get her to talk to me.

Even her complexion was paler.

Exams rolled around and everyone presented their songs. Skye and Ashton's was incredible. I knew it would be, but it still blew me away. I offered to work with them on it over the summer to try to get it produced, and they agreed (though only Ashton seemed particularly enthused).

Skye passed all of her other exams, which she told me after class on the last day of school. It was the first time I'd seen her even attempt a smile in months.

~~

Skye's POV:

Mr. Tomlinson visited me at the orphanage about once a week once summer began. Or at least, he tried to. Sometimes I would bribe someone to tell him I wasn't around. Unfortunately, Ashton was off studying abroad, so we couldn't work on producing the song we wrote or hang out or communicate at all. I spent most of my time planning my escape from the orphanage. It started as a mere daydream but now it had turned into a possible reality. I just needed to wait for the right time when there was enough chaos to distract everyone.

I was miserable. Without school, there was nothing for me to do and nowhere for me to go to escape those who hate me. Until finally, something happened. The fire.

Louis' POV:

As soon as I heard about the fire I panicked.

I guess I was already acting like she was my daughter.

I went to the orphanage straight away and saw fire trucks leaving the area. The building was smoking and destroyed. A huddle of kids stood with policemen, who were shielding them from the press. I searched frantically for Skylynn, who was not with them. I screamed her name. Suddenly, a little girl of about seven came running up to me.

"I know Skylynn." The girl said.

"Really? Where is she? Is she okay?" I ask quickly.

"She ran away. She went that way." The girl points to her left.

I thank her profusely before quickly getting into my car and heading off to find her.

"Skye!" I call out the window after only a couple of minutes of driving. She hadn't gotten far, thank God.

She turns and looks at me incredulously.

"I can adopt you!" I blurt out. It's a lie, but I don't know how else to get her into my car.

"Really?" She asks.

"Yes! I just need to run by the courthouse and sign the paperwork!" I continue to lie. Surely under the circumstances they'll change their minds. After all, they need to find homes for all of these kids as soon as possible.

She smiles and gets into the car.

When we arrive at the courthouse, I'm shaking. This needs to work. It just has to.

I see the judge in the lobby and explain my predicament. She reasons with me, explaining things in legalese, before finally agreeing to have another hearing.

"This is my lunch break," she says, "but I guess we should get this over with now."

I am elated.

Absolutely elated.

The hearing goes perfectly, and Skylynn is now my legal daughter. I am her guardian. I can't believe it.

Author's Note: This is it, guys. Sorry it was such a quick ending, I was stuck for the longest time and just needed to get to the end so that I could upload the sequel!! Thank you all for reading :) I hope you enjoyed.