15

Lily awoke to sunlight streaming through her blinds. Immediately, she sat upright, startled by her pounding heart and tingly limbs.

She peered around her apartment but everything seemed as it were, nothing astray, nothing that would indicate someone had been there.

She pressed a hand against her forehead.

I must be going crazy.

She glanced at her alarm and groaned inwardly as it blinked after noon.

Knock…knock!

She jolted against the couch as a sudden thudding came from the front door. Moving to her feet she slowly approached the door.

“Lil, let me in!” Ruby’s voice prodded from the other side.

Sighing with some relief, she shook her head in a nonsensical way and moved to unlock the door.

She jumped when the door swung inward and she was staring at a tiny ball of black fluff.

“What-“

“It’s your new house pet.” Ruby beamed, lowering her arms and cradling the fluff in the crook of her arm.

“Ruby-“

Ruby swept past her into the living room and Lily closed the door behind her. “I can’t have-“

“Nonsense!” Ruby interjected moving to place the fluff on the surface of her table.

The small ball unfurled, revealing a tiny kitten and instinctively her heart swelled. “Where did you get her?”

“I got him at a local pet store.”

She crossed the table and gently patted the kitten’s head. “You are adorable.”

Ruby’s ivory face beamed with a smile. “So what do you think?”

Lily smiled, “I think I’ll call him Charlie.”

“Charlie?” Ruby asked a bit unenthused.

Lily laughed as she plucked Charlie from the table and cradled him against her chest. “Yes, Charlie.”

Ruby shook her head and walked to the kitchen. “No coffee?”

“I just woke up.” Lily said smiling as Charlie swatted at her chin.

Ruby released an exasperated sigh. “It’s two in the afternoon.”

“I wouldn’t know my alarm likes to play delay on me.”

Ruby slid into a chair at the table, “I guess I should have bought you an alarm clock instead?”

Lily smiled, “Nah, I’m taken with Charlie.”

“So?” Ruby peered curiously at Lily as she settled across from her, “What happened with you and Jackson last night?”

Lily appeared almost bewildered, “What do you mean?”

“You stormed out. What did he say? Let me guess, another lame smug remark?” and than, “Did he make a pass at you?”

Lily blanched, “What? No!-he just grabbed my hand.”

Ruby frowned, “And that compelled you to leave?”

She shook her head as she gently stroked Charlie’s head. “No, it wasn’t him. It was just a bad night.”

“More like a week.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“You ready to talk?”

Lily inhaled a steady breath, “Things didn’t go as planned in Romania.”

“What happened?”

He drugged me; tried to use me as bait for something that can’t possibly exist.

“I was an idiot to think we could make something of it.”

“He’s a self-absorbed ass, Lily.” Ruby shook her head, “I’m sorry, I’m only making this worse for you. Let’s get the hell out of here and get something to eat?”

Lily laughed, “Sure, I need to get Charlie some things anyway.”

Later that evening, Lily piled into her apartment with an armful of bags and dropped them aimlessly on the floor.

She was grateful to have Ruby in her life. She was an endearing friend, one she couldn’t live without.

Charlie scampered out from beneath the sofa and she moved to scoop him up. “It’s just you and me, bucko.”

He answered with a soft whine.

She leaned down and picked up a few bags with Charlie clutched in one arm and moved to the kitchen. She placed him on the counter as she began unraveling her kitten goodies.

She chuckled as Charlie poked his head in a plastic bag, “Yes, there for you.” She laughed.

A sturdy knock sounded from the living room and she frowned. She placed Charlie gently on the floor and moved to answer it.

“Did you forget something, Ruby?”

She opened the door and froze, all the blood rushing from her face at the man standing on the opposite side.

“Lilith.”

She moved to slam the door but Ward planted a boot firmly in the frame, preventing it to shut. “We need to talk.”

“Get the hell out of here.” Her voice trembled.

“I’m not leaving until we talk.”

Suddenly enraged, she turned and jerked the door wide as she wagged a finger in his face. “How dare you show up here? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?”

He held up a steady hand, “Let me explain.”

She shook her head, “I don’t want your explanation. There can’t possibly be a logical explanation for what you did to me, just get the hell off my property!”

She slammed the door firmly in his face and pressed her back against the frame. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest and she feared it would burst through bone and flesh. She couldn’t explain it, but she was deathly frightened of her own father.

Her ears strained for an engine to rev and when it did, relief flooded her chest.

She sank to the carpet and felt a shudder pass through her.

Charlie padded towards her and settled at her heel as she began to cry.

“Why don’t you come out?” Ruby asked on the phone.

“To the movies?”

“Yes! Come watch a little Brad hunky dory Pitt, you know, that new flick of his.”

Lily hesitated, “I don’t know, Rube. I’m really not in the mood.”

“Come on, just for two hours, we can even share the raisinets?”

She laughed, “Okay, just for two hours.”

“Sweet! I’ll see you soon.”

Click.

Lily placed the phone on the receiver and peered at Charlie lounging on her pillow. “Can you stay out of mischief until I get back?”

He answered with a yawn.

“Yeah, I don’t believe that for a second.” She smiled and tapped his nose lightly as she moved to her closet.

Her eyes roamed her poor selection of fashion and decided on a white blouse and a pair of blue jeans. Once dressed, she moved to the bathroom and peered hopelessly at her reflection in the mirror.

She couldn’t have looked more miserable. Her golden waves flowed loosely in an untamable manner. Her pale face revealed dark circles and her eyes, quite frankly, were large pools of saddened blue.

Stepping away from the mirror with an exasperated sigh, she went to look for shoes.

When she stepped outside, she was startled by the chill. She stood there, on her small batch of pavement, and stared uneasily around the empty lot.

Everything was in walking distance of her apartment but she truly yearned for a vehicle in that moment.

Determined not to be deterred, knowing Ruby would scold her if she bailed, she started walking towards town.

As she started halfway across the parking lot, she froze once she spotted a black, ominous Sedan sitting in the shadows.

She peered at it questionably; knowing none of the neighbors owned such a car. The tinted windows kept prying eyes from peering in and a deep inkling warned her that someone watched her from within.

Shivering inwardly, she quickened her pace, unnerved deeply by the mystery parked car.

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