I Never Told You What I Did for a Living

When I woke up for the second time that day, I actually felt a little better. I went into the kitchen and found Mikey at the counter, making himself a sandwich.

"It's about time you woke up," he smiled.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"12:30. I'm impressed with your sleeping-in abilities."

"It's my only real power," I joked.

"What's your secret?" he asked, his face in an expression of fake awe.

"Well," I lowered my voice as if letting him in on a massive scandal. "I drank too much and got told to go back to sleep."

"Ah... ingenious. I wish I'd thought of it first."

"Too bad."

"What's your secret?"

I gave him a confused look. "Did you just repeat yourself on purpose? What secret are you talking about now?"

"I'm really not sure. There's something, though. I know there is. Gerard doesn't know it, either."

"Wait," I furrowed my brow as something suddenly made sense. "You asked Gerard what my secret was?"

"Yeah, and he said that you didn't have any secrets that he didn't already know."

"It's true, he knows almost all of my secrets."

"Almost?"

I chewed my lip nervously. What was it about these guys that let them see right through me?

"Everybody has a secret, Mikey."

"I don't."

"Well then you're not normal."

"I already knew that."

"It's not even a secret. Most people know it because it's obvious. So obvious that they don't even know it's a secret."

"Then why doesn't Gerard know?"

"I'm not ready for him to know," my voice dropped to a volume so quiet that I wasn't sure if he'd even heard me.

"You love him," he stated.

I met his eyes. I hadn't even admitted that fact to myself, and somehow he already knew.

"Do I?"

Mikey nodded. "You're missing him right now even though you know you'll see him later today."

"You're right."

"You're ready for him to know."

I opened my mouth to protest, but my cell phone interrupted me. Grateful for the distraction, I answered it, forgetting to look at the call display.

"Lily, where are you?" my mother's voice cut me like a knife.

"It doesn't matter. I'm okay."

"It does matter! Come home or I'm coming to find you!"

"Mom, I-"

I stopped mid-sentence when I heard a knock at the door. Mikey went to answer it, and I hid around the corner. Had my mother really managed to find me here? I didn't really believe it, but I was paranoid nonetheless. I peeked around the corner and saw a police officer standing in the open doorway.

My mother's voice became white noise as I focused on the scene.

"Michael Way?" the officer asked, his tone serious and businesslike.

"Yeah."

"Is there a Lily Green here?"

Mikey seemed to share my suspicions. "No."

"Well, can you get in touch with her and pass this along to her as well? I've been asked to find the both of you."

I knew this had nothing to do with my mother, so I came out of hiding and stood beside Mikey.

"I'm here."

The officer's voice softened and he shifted uncomfortably. "It's my sad duty to tell you this," he said, his eyes full of sorrow.

I heard my mother's voice screaming at me from the phone that hung lossely in my limp hand. The man continued.

"There's been an accident."

In that moment, I swear I felt my heart stop.