ADOPTED.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Opening my eyes only to be blinded by the ray of sunshine or probably much light, I shut my eyes wincing in pain from the headache I feel shutting my eyes. I try opening my eyes again only to be met with the brightness again, my sight gets used to the brightness and I look around the room I find myself, the sound of beeps draws my attention to the machine I find connected to one of my fingers, I see an IV bag connected to my right hand wincing in pain, I sit up to look at my surroundings, the setting of the room isn't your typical hospital settings, the bed I am on is a very huge king-sized bed with a bedside drawer beside both sides of the bed, although the room is painted white and it has a large flat-screen television mounted on the wall in front of the bed. I tried recollecting the last events that would have caused me to end in a hospital and if my new parents know about my whereabouts, I remember boarding the flight to Silicon Valley with two ladies who claim to be my assistances and few men in black, I remember the turbulence on the flight, my anxiety striking in and Lily Whitmore smiling at me with a syringe in her hand and me blacking out.

"What did she do to me?", I ask myself, the sound of the door opening takes me out of my thoughts, " How are you feeling mam?", Lily asks, I move back in fear, what does she want from me?, she moves closer to me, "Don't come closer", I say timidly shaking in fear, she keeps coming closer " I was just trying to help you", She replies, the closer she gets to me the more I helpless I feel, the sound of the machine increases, I wipe the tears from my blurry eyes so I can see her clearly, "Please, Miss Lily Whitmore don't come closer, I beg of you", I plead with her with fear of what I think is going to happen, " Please, leave", I tell her shaking like a jelly, she stands on a spot not too far from the bed, looking at me sadly while I drown in the fear of the imaginative world I created for myself, the anxiety starts striking in, I fear for the air I breathe and the room starts looking like a small box which keeps the oxygen flow limited, I start whimpering and tears keep flowing like a dam.

Amid my attack, I didn't hear the sound of the door opening and closing or the set of people in white pilling in, neither did I hear the voices telling me to stay calm, I pulled my legs towards my chest rocking myself back and forth trying to calm myself and stop the tears that keep flowing out of my eyes, I wonder how the Marshalls will feel when being seen like this by them, will they still want to adopt a broken and scared child, who will never be welcome and be seen as a weakling in their world? t he thought alone brought more tears to my eyes, suddenly the room becomes quiet my sobs is the only thing I hear and the faint sound of the machine, I feel the bed deep both side,the sound of the duvet been moved and I feel comforting hands of my shoulder and head, I hear whispers making words like "breathe baby"," stay calm princess","mom and dad are here","just breathe for me honey",I keep hearing and I find myself calming and following the words feeling conscious again, I raise my head looking towards the owners of the hands,I see the Marshalls with tears in mom's eyes, "Momma", I call, " Am here honey,momma will always be here",She say pulling me into a hug sobbing,"am sorry",I mumble in her chest,"you have nothing to be sorry for sweetie",She respond placing kisses on my hair, she pulls away looking at me with sadness,adoration and love in her eyes, "Don't you ever scare me like that again,princess", Dad say pulling me into his side kissing my forehead, smiling I nod looking around the room, I see a doctor looking at me with a smile on his face, "How are you feeling dear",he ask, "Am fine, but what happened to me?", I ask looking towards my parents and the doctor, "You had an anxiety attack,due to the turbulence on the plane it was getting much,so Miss Whitmore had to administer Diazeperm for you,but the dose was too much which result to you fainting", He says, " Is she qualified to administer any injection?",I ask, "Every workers of ours is qualified to administer first aid during any situation", Dad answers.

" Are you feeling any pain?", the doctor who I later find out his name is Doctor Ben asks, "Just headaches", I answer, he scribbles down on the file he's holding, " You don't feel faint or weak", he asks again, I shake my head telling him I don't, "When can I go home?", I ask, I found out I fainted and woke up after five hours and I later fall asleep due to the medication I was given for ten hours, which makes today Saturday I had just a day left to return to Texas for the finalization of the adoption. " You are discharged already, just wanted to be sure and you will be given some antianxiety pills, which you should be taking regularly to avoid the anxiety", He responds, on cue a nurse walks into my room with a smile on her lips, "let's take the needle off you, shall we?", She says, I nod feeling opened, I was never treated like a fragile glass before by anyone except my friends, thinking about them makes me wonder if they know about my incident and how they are coping with their environments, are they happy? I question myself with the thought of calling them once I get home.

" Are you ready to go honey?", Mom asks, my parents arrived exactly forty-five minutes after I was discharged, mom came in with clothes for me to wear home, I used the adjourned bathroom to clean up and put on the clothes she brought while dad signs my discharge papers

Pairing the outfit up with slippers and sunglasses, Dad walks in with a d**g bag in his hand, "Are you ready?", He asks, nodding my head mom extends her hand for me which I take and I walk out of the room hand in hand with my parents, the presence of the men in black is something am getting used to. Stepping out of the hospital in between my parents and surrounded by the men in black, flashing and clicking of cameras pulls me out of my small world, " Mr. Marshall, who is the little girl with you?", I hear someone ask, "Is she a family friend and why are you coming out of the hospital?", I hear another ask, I look up to see curiously and the flashes of cameras made me quite uncomfortable, I looked towards the ground and keep walking with my parents, we got to the parked limousine a chauffeur was waiting for us with the door opened, the men in black guard us till we all get into the car securely and the door is closed.

"Are you alright, honey?", Mom asks, " Yes, mom", I answer, "Who are those reporters, why were they asking about me and How do they know where to find us?", I ask with confusion in my voice, " Baby, those people are called the paparazzi or reporters as you call them, their work is to monitor and know what is going on in the rich and famous people's lives, just like I and your Dad", Mom tells me, "They are being curious about seeing a beautiful princess with us", Dad says smiling towards me making me blush and smile " About how they know our whereabouts, I think it's their job to know", He says shrugging his shoulders. "Will they know who I am?", I ask again, " Honey, you are a Marshall they are dying to know who you are and they will worship you when they find out", Mom says smiling, "That's why you have your men in black as you choose to call them, everywhere you are their job is to protect you with their lives", Dad says looking serious.

" Oh Okay", I reply awkwardly, "The house is ten minutes closer from here", a voice announces through the speaker. I wonder how the house will be, will I make friends in this new world I find myself in, what does the future as a Marshall hold for me, how will I survive in this world and will I be able to make the Marshalls happy and proud???? I ask myself.