Together (Demi Lovato Adoption)

Chapter Twenty-One

ELLIE'S POV

The first day back at school was eventful, to say the least. First, the day started off with a pop quiz in math which had caused a massive uproar amongst the class, especially from Leon who had resumed his regular seat beside me. 

"Mr Petropolous! You can't do that! It's the first day back!" Leon protested, but the teacher silenced him with a single stare. We all grumbled angrily as the sheet of paper was placed down on our desk and we began. 

I could barely even read the numbers on the page let alone complete the quiz, so I started my day off great by walking out of the classroom. I wasn't usually this dramatic, but I wasn't interested in being told that I wasn't even trying when I was trying so damn hard to even breathe at this point.

I stood in front of my locker, resting my head on the edge of the door as I looked at all of the pictures on the door. All pictures of Sam. I missed her — I wished she was here to keep me grounded.

Staring at the hinges connecting the locker and its door, I was ripped out of my own thoughts by a group of girls staring at me with a nasty expression.

"Can I help you?" I snapped at them, not having the patience to deal with them right now.

"Yeah, you can. Tell me loser, why are you such a disappointment? Is it because you were an orphan? Because you're weird? Tell me, because we're all dying to know."

I was taken aback by their words, causing me to blink my eyes rapidly in disbelief. Were they for real? "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

I was at a loss for words. How do I even respond to that? I began to walk away, closing my locker door, when I felt myself being pushed against the locker beside mine and the sharp locker vents hitting my head with a loud bang.

"Don't walk away from us you worthless bitch. I want to make myself very clear right now," The same girl repeated. She seemed to be the ringleader of all of this. "You are useless. You are disgustingly ugly. You are worth absolutely nothing and the world would be glad to have you gone. So either kill yourself or deal with me and my girls, because we want to make sure you know that we are not fond of you."

I felt her hand constrict around my throat when I didn't answer, causing me to panic and nod my head frantically. They finally let me go and I slumped down to the floor, my heart beating quickly and my breathing shallow. My anxiety had already been uncomfortably high the past couple of weeks and this seemed to be the icing on the cake as I broke out into a mini panic attack which I knew could easily escalate within seconds.

"Lovato, what's up with you tod—" Grace stopped in her tracks as she saw me on the ground hyperventilating.

"Holy shit," Grace came running over to me, kneeling beside me. "Are you okay?"

I didn't answer — I couldn't. As my throat continued to close up and my hands started shaking violently, Grace's face paled as she too began to frantically panic over me.

"Lovato! Breathe! Did you eat something you're allergic to? Did you — fuck, you're having a panic attack!"

I nodded as Grace pulled a water bottle from her satchel, handing to me for me to sip on as she held her hand on my back, rubbing it soothingly. Any attempt to calm me down didn't seem to help me as I fell deeper and deeper into the panic attack, my hearing beginning to fade away quickly. 

I felt Grace's hands pressing against my shoulders as she tried and fought for my attention but I was unable to breathe, let alone speak. I felt my hair being pushed behind my ear and my face grew wet with a mixture of sweat and water from Grace's water bottle, my vision blurring.