It's A Small World (Zoella & ThatcherJoe)

Chapter 14

*Alfie's P.O.V*

Me, Zoe, Joe, Jim and Tanya all sat at the dining table, uncomfortable silence floating through the air. None of us wanted to talk about what had just happened. Why would Billie say such a thing? How could she think that of Zoe and Joe and their parents? But then again, it wasn't Billie's fault, she couldn't control the thoughts and conclusions that wound up in her mind. I couldn't even imagine what must've been going through her head at the time, the emotions she must've been feeling. That was probably why she acted the way she did, it was the shock and confusion talking, not her.

"One of us should probably go and check on her." Jim spoke up.

"I'll go." I said, standing up from my seat and making my way out of the room. I went upstairs and gently knocked on Billie's bedroom door, "Billie?" I spoke softly, "It's me, Alfie. Can you let me in, please?" I didn't get a response, which didn't really surprise me, so I knocked again, "Come on, Bee, you can't stay in there forever." I still didn't get a response, but then I realised I couldn't hear any movement or anything on the other side of the door, "Billie?" Luckily, she didn't have a lock on her bedroom door so I could just open it and walk right in, only to find the room completely empty and the window open, "Oh no." I whispered to myself, before bolting out of her room and downstairs, "She's gone." I alerted everyone as soon as I returned to the dining room.

"What?!" They all shouted.

"Her bedroom's empty and the window's open... I could just be jumping to conclusions, but it doesn't look good." I explained, biting my lip.

"You mean, y-you think she's run away?" Zoe asked, the tears clear in her blue eyes. I nodded. After we all spent a few minutes panicking, trying to figure out where she would've gone, we realised that would get us nowhere and took real action by getting out there and looking for her.

*Billie's P.O.V*

I got the bus to The King's Road and found Juniper waiting for me on the bus stop bench.

"Billie!" She pulled me in for a tight hug. We hadn't seen each other in person since I got adopted.

"Junie!" I felt tears well up in my eyes, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." She said, before pulling away with a look of confusion on her face, "But why have you asked to meet me here? And where are Jim and Tanya?"

"They don't know I'm here." I admitted.

"You've run away?!" She all but yelled. I slowly nodded, not knowing what to say. "Why? You seemed so happy with them." She frowned. I sighed, before explaining everything that had happened in the last couple hours to her, "But did you really have to run away? Couldn't you have stayed and talked to them? You were so happy with Jim and Tanya, I know you were. They gave you a family, and now you've just thrown that away?"

"I don't need them, Juniper. I've already got a family; everyone at Elderberry House are my family. Henry and Katie were like my parents and the kids were like my brothers and sisters, especially you, Junie. You're my big sister. You lot are just as good as, if not better than any adoptive or biological family." I said.

"But Zoe and Joe... They're you're real family. They share your DNA!" Juniper tried to convince me.

"Some family," I scoffed, "They got rid of me like I was nothing more than a bag of rubbish."

"That's not how it was, Billie, and you know it," Juniper said, "Your parents wouldn't have given you up unless they absolutely had to; unless they had no other choice."

"How would you know? This has nothing to do with you!" I snapped.

"Why did you text me for help then?" She snarled.