Let Me Be Your Home

Lucy's POV

Her smile makes me feel safe. Truth be told, I haven't felt safe in years. I had almost forgotten what it felt like. 

She comes back to check on me every half hour. I can only assume that the bed I'm in is hers, because no one else comes into the room. I'm grateful for everything she's done for me, but I have to get going soon. I can't stay here.

I try to sit up, and manage it with some difficulty. I've just gotten myself fully upright when the door opens again, and it's her. "You should be resting," she says with a slight smile.

"I did rest. I'm done now," I say, trying to get an even bigger smile out of her. It works. 

She chuckles as she says, "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. I can show you to your room now, if you'd like."

My heart stops for a second, while my brain rewinds. What did she just say? "I'm sorry, but I really can't stay." I start to stand up and feel her hands on my shoulders, pushing me back down. She leans closer to my face.

"Lucy, this is where you belong. You need to learn to control your powers."

"How could you possibly know where I belong?" I ask, annoyed at her for thinking she knows what's best for me.

"Because I see so much of myself in you. My mother abandoned me, too. And this Academy was where I found my home." She sits down on the bed beside me, and puts a hand on my leg. "Let me be your home."

I haven't had a home in three years. I can still see the hatred on my mother's face as she yelled at me to pack up my things. She threw my belongings at me, though I was already packing as fast as I could. 

I had thought she would love me no matter what. I expected to come out, have a few days of awkwardness as she worked through her emotions, and then some kind of reconciliation. I did not expect to have a Bible thrown at my head.

As Cordelia's words sink in, I feel my breath start to slow down. While I won't admit it to anyone, I desperately want a home. And Cordelia seems to care about me, at least a little bit. But would she still want to be my home if I came out to her?