LUCA"This is a public club Lily. I'm not stalking you." I idly glance at my wrist watch. "Come with me. I'm taking you home." "No, you are not. I'm going with Tiffany.""Tiffany is pretty wasted." I point to where Tiffany is laying with a dude. The way Lily waves at him and he signals that he will take care of Tiffany, I can assume that they know each other. Lily folds her arms stubbornly. "I'm still not going with you.""Yes, not like that." I cringe my nose in disgust at her vomit wrenched outfit. Why is she wearing such a tiny skirt? Why did she allow all those men touch her? She is different, she is not like the Lily I know. Why do I care? I don't care. Even if she wants to be a little slut I won't still touch her. She's a jailbait, a forbidden fruit that is trying to destroy me. I'm still mad that Kate caught us kissing and warned me very politely to leave her daughter alone. If I really wanted Lily that badly, I could take her, elope with her to an unknown island and make h
LUCAI look away from the road long enough to stare at her. She is smiling, it's the kind of happy and contagious smile that you can't help but smile back. My lips curve into a frown. "So you doubt it?" I return my gaze to the road and turn into my parking lot. "I don't. I just think that I know your type of guy. I have read about guys like you.""Guys like me?" I turn the key in the ignition. The car dies off. I turn fully so that my back is against the car window and I'm facing her completely. "What's my kind of guy?" I lean forward placing my hands on the space between us. I don't know where this is going. I should probably stop now but I don't want to.She presses her fingers thoughtfully on her lips and I think she is about to answer me but instead she shakes her head and lean forward too. Our arms are touching. Our lips just few inches apart. "No. I won't. Let's have a little suspense in this story shall we?"The car is quiet. Lily house is just a few feets away, that doesn't b
LILYSometimes, late at night, our memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheek. And nights like these are so often these days. I'm curled up in my bed crying over him again. I'm tried of getting over Luca. Everytime we are together it feels like bliss and torment, sometimes the moments begin so pure and romantic, I think it may be pure bliss but suddenly it changes to torment, just like last night. It will always end the same like others, with Luca rejecting, hurting and leaving me. I should take the hint and walk away but I can't. Luca is like a bad addiction, I know he is not good for my emotional health but I keep on going back to him and begging him for one more dose of pain, even when I know he will ruin me.I dap my eyelids as the tears keep falling out involuntarily. I really want this to be my Happily ever after. Why am I not enough? Why can't he take me? The tears continue rolling down. My body shuddering under the nerves wrecking sobs, my nose dripping, my eyes dr
LILY"Who did you hook up with last night?"I ignore her question. "Did you and West finally hit it?""I was really wasted last night. West is a total gentleman, he refused to have sex with me in my drunken state. Don't try to switch things Lily, I'm asking about you.""Did we come out here to talk about boys and sex, or fill college applications?" We're sitting in an open field under a mini pink canopy. There is a small table infront us with assorted snacks, fruits, drinks, and books, that is too much for two girls. There are flowers hanging on the four poles supporting the canopy. We're both sitting side by side on white cushions. I must give Tiffany credit, she outdid herself by setting this up and wearing a matching pink sundress and white sandals."Lily, it's not fair. I tell you everything about my love life but you keep hiding secrets from me." She frowns at me. "I know you hooked up with someone last night, who is it?"I shrug. "I didn't. Luca took me home." That's the truth,
LUCA I've already lost my sanity but my survival is at stake. If I don't end them, they will forever keep controlling my decisions, controlling my self. I must survive. I must save myself even if that's the only thing left. I will go to Italy. I will try to end these torment, I know failure is as fatal as success but I won't let fear of failure stop me. I may loose what's left of my sanity, hell. I may even loose my life but if I continue sitting in New York and letting the pain and voices from my past feast on my vulnerability then I will definitely loose what's left of my sanity. I will die in the end so why don't I make it worth the while. I must go to Italy now. I will find my deadbeat dad. I will find Mr Hyde. I will find his wife. I will punish them. And then there's Lily, saving the best for last. The sweetest girl there is. She has been loved and taught to love, to dream and to live. Me, I have never been loved, I have only been taught to hate, to destroy, to show anger. I
LUCA Take her. Then let her go. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" "How can I look at you and not smile." I tilt my head and stare at her black channel dress that is bare at the shoulder and her blonde hair that falls at perfect curls around her shoulders and the golden lightening of the hall for making her glow the more. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look in that dress." She place her elbows on the table and press her face against her folded palms. "Yes, but I'd love to hear it again." I lean my back against my seat. "You look very..." I pause and stare at all the exposed skin. Fuckable. "... beautiful in that dress." "I never knew somewhere this magnificent exists in this city." Lily eyes flies across the hall to the large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to the gold table covering and black china, to the gold trimming dangling on the walls to the thousands personalities and dozens of maids serving tables. The dinner is indeed luxurious, it is not what Smith
LILYLast night, I did the most unbelievable thing, making out with Luca in a parking lot, and I absolutely loved it. I didn't cry myself to sleep last night; instead, I relived the entire experience over and over again in my head. It was amazing. This weekend, I'm home alone. My parents traveled for a conference and took Isabella with them because, well, they didn't know I was staying home. The plan was to travel with Tiffany to London for the music and dance festival, but we couldn't get any tickets, and at the very last minute, which was this morning, West bought two tickets and Tiffany chose to go with him over me, so now I'm stuck home watching a scary horror movie, which I hate.I'm sitting on the couch in the living room with my feet on the couch, my knee pressed against my chest, and my arms wrapping around it. My body is shaking, the haunting music from the movie filling the whole house, and to make matters worse, all the bulbs are off, so I'm sitting in the dark living room
LILYIt didn't take Luca up to an hour before returning. "Pack your bags." He orders as he storms into the living room. "We. Are. Going. To. London.""No way!" I jump on him, wrapping my legs around his waist and blowing tiny kisses across his face. I stop and stare at him. "But wait. We don't have a flight ticket."Luca groans. "What do I own a private jet for?""You're so sweet." He frowns. "Only for you."It didn't take long for us to head into the jet. It was until the plane took off and we were half way across the coast before my panic mode was activated. Why was Luca being so nice to me after I just witnessed him murdering four men? How did he manage to get tickets for the event on such short notice? Wait, he never even told me he got tickets. I didn't call Tiffany or my mom to tell them who I'm with or where I am. Luca has been on his laptop since the start of this flight, making communications with unknown persons. What if we're not going to London but somewhere else?...Can
LILY'S POVThe streets here looks like they keep secrets in every shadow, aged and jagged around the edges. Tiffany is right beside me, hugging her arms across her chest like she’s trying to keep herself from snapping. Even her usual calm seems frayed.She looks over at me, eyebrows knitted with concern. “Lily, are you sure about this? Her voice is soft, but there’s an edge to it. “It just… doesn’t feel right. What if this was all for nothing?”Now I'm pulling my sleeves down over my hands to hide the goose pimples that are starting to show. “I know. I just—this is the only lead we have. However, if this guy has the potential to do something for us, then we have to give it a shot."Tiffany lets out a deep sigh and surveys the scene, the boarded-up windows, the rusty fire escapes hanging off the sides of the buildings like the bones of some colossal skeleton. “I get it,” she murmurs. “But it’s so…sketchy yeah?"My stomach twists. “Yeah. I guess I wanted to believe it would lead somewh
LILYI sit at the base of the hall and play. I tap my fingers on the chair; it is so cold, so smooth. I've just rounded the corner, and there they are, Tiffany, my best friend, and Tyler Brook, the hottest guy in the entire senior class tongue locked. My stomach kind of flips because its like I can feel the disbelief and some jealousy, but yet I can't stop looking.What about West?Tiffany's lips are literally welded to his mouth, and her fingers are all jam packed in his hair, as she's forcing his head to sink even lower. The hall is eerily empty except for the buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead, and I can’t stop moving, inching down the corridor, as if somehow I can escape the scene before me. I should turn away and act like I never saw any of this, but I can't.Finally, Tiffany pulls back when she hears me approach. Her eyes widen with panic, like she’s been caught doing something forbidden. Her lips are swollen, but she forces a smile. She says, "Hey Lily," as if nothing
LILY'S POVI’m standing outside Luca’s mansion, trying not to shake. It’s late—too late—but there’s no turning back now. I look at Mira. She’s already moving, and I scramble to keep up.“You sure you know what you're doing?" I stand here trying to stay composed, my chest simply does not permit it.Mira looks at me, and a smile tugs at her lips. “It’s just a house. Stay quiet, stay fast. We’ll be in and out.”I swallow hard, nodding. I trust her, but this feels like we are doing too much.We walk into his yard since there's no fence separating the two mansions. We go behind the house. I can feel the pressure on my chest, like I'm running a marathon. His yard smells like fresh, cut grass, but with something else, something not so pleasant.“Shh,” Mira mutters, holding up a hand. She’s already at the back door, checking the lock. “Stay close.”I nod, my throat dry. I finally get a chance to blink, and Mira whips out her tools, and her fingers move at a speed that is simply inhuman. The l
LILYThe only noise in the room is the faint whirring of my laptop's fan, and the glow it emits is a soft blue color, which reflects off the pile of clothes, dance shoes, and text books that are thrown on my bed. My brain is a mess, my thoughts are jumbled, and all that I went to court and testified about last night is closing in on me. It feels like I’m suffocating in a room that was supposed to be my sanctuary, but now it feels like prison of my own making.And I read what's right in front of my face. The crime of divulging confidences in American law. My stomach is all floppy simply reading the words, the lawyer jibber jabber in my head. I keep seeing my dad’s face when I told the court what I had done; the betrayal in his eyes is sharper than I could ever have imagined. He’s a lawyer—the top of his game—and I—his only daughter—had screwed everything up. The thing is, I don’t even know how. Not entirely.It's crazy how I can still remember that day, the day I removed all those pape
LILYWe sit together in a cafe. I'm not mean right, chatting with Luca whilst on a date with another man. Well, technically, it's not a date. Jason just said we should get to know ourselves better, and Jason is not a man. He's a guy.Luca: I am not pressuring you. I believe you did not intentionally do it. I hope you're not mad at me."Noo.""What, I shouldn't put it like these?" Jason looks at me."What?" I arch a brow."You said no; I was about to put the sugar into the coffee." Jason lifts the packet of sugar in his left hand and the cup of coffee in his right hand; he raises his brow at me.I look at my phone again; there's a new text from Luca.Luca: ???Luca: I'm sorry. Are you good, darling?I start typing when Jason interrupts my train of thoughts."So, should I add it?""Uhm... whatever."Jason face falls. He may suspect I'm texting someone.Luca: Don't ghost me; I know you're still active.I look up at Jason. "If you like your coffee with sugar, then you should probably add
LILY "Need help?" I turn around to find some random stranger stretching out his hands. I nod and take them. He helps me over the fence. "My car is over there." Hmmmm. I look at him and back. I look at his car and back. People are still jumping over the fence and into vehicles and driving off. There's no Uber in sight. I can't even book a ride. Can I trust him? I jump into the car. It's not until we are in the car, and half way close to my house, that I start to feel the body pain where broken pieces of bottle tore into my skin. "Jason." He stretched out his hands. I turn around and lean in to get a clearer view. He looks 22, 23. He has decent features—not the typical good-looking seductive face but the kind that can still grab a girl's attention. "Lily."I shake his hands. "Thanks." I jump out of the car and wait for his car to drive off before turning the doorknob and entering in. I'm greeted by a heavy slap across my face. I see literal stars. I'm blind for a moment
LILY My ass hits the floor as my back rests against the sink. Why did I do it? Why did I admit my guilt? I push a stray blonde lock to the back of my ears so that I can see my face clearly through the long mirror. I wonder how long it will take the cops to get me. I had never checked the punishment for disclosing confidential information. I wipe my wet eyes with the front of my dress. I wondered what my chances are. If I run away now that they know my father is innocent, will they let him go? Or will they hold him on my behalf? My lips turn into a frown. If I runaway, will I be missed? Will anyone care? "Damn! I'm a mess. Why didn't I think this through before doing revenge?" I drag my hair roughly and throw my leg in the air, kicking furiously. "Knock. Knock. Lily... Are you in there?" I hear Tiffany's voice outside the door. I squeeze my lips tightly so that a sob won't slip out. I need a hug right now more than anything else in the world, but I'm scared—scared that
LILY"Your grades are so poor and your attendance is slacking behind; if you keep this up, Lily, you won't graduate...blah blah blah." Mrs. Patricia's lips move up and down in a funny way.That is all the counselor has been saying since she called me into her office this morning. I raise my hands up to say something, but she signals me to remain quiet. I bit my lips in, while my fingers drum unconsciously on my thighs, and my eyes dart across the small office."Lily!" Mrs. Patricia snaps her fingers in my face."Oh." I jolt back to reality.What was she saying now?"Now, what are you waiting for?""What? Oh, is it time for me to go?" I carry my bag and start standing."Oh, it's not time for you to go everywhere. Sign the papers before you."Taking my seat, I look down on the desk, flipping the pages of the documents. "What are these?"The counselor adjusts her glasses. "An undertaking of good behavior. You will not miss your classes or any test henceforth."Is this school thing by for
LILY"Go, I'm coming behind you.""No, we were going together.""Oh. No." I shake my head and try to push Luca to move out of my room."Your mom already knows that I slept over." Luca sticks his hands into his pocket and gives me the bored look."What? How does she know?" He shrugs. "I bumped into her last night when I went to drink water.""Ohhh, so she thinks we're..." I am unable to complete my statement."She thinks that we're?..." He prompts me to say more."Oh, forget it.""Say it." He moves away from the door and closer to me."That we're seeing each other." I blurt out.He strokes my jaw slowly. "Is that why you're so tensed?" He pulls me closer and rests his hands on my ass. "If it makes you any better, I told her that I slept in the guest room. And that I came around because, with Smith's arrest and everything that is going on, you two deserve to feel safe and not vulnerable."I gulp. "Thank you." I try to pull away. "Now, you can go."He tilts his head to the side, studyin