The Beginning of the End

Once the bell rang for dismissal, I bolted out of the room. People I passed stared at me weird. I would have flipped them off but I needed to get to Lilly in time. I knew how fast she could be when she wanted to be. That makes sense right?

Through the mass amounts of people, I spotted her walk out of the doors. I could barely make out her head but I knew it was her by the way she walked. She had a certain stride that only she had. No one else had it and they couldn't copy it either.

I pushed my way through people until I reached her. She looked to her right, seeing my smiling face. Her blank facial features didn't falter, not in the least bit.

I frowned and sighed. "Lilly, what's wrong?" I inquired.

She shook her head, hugging her textbook closer to her chest.

"Why not?" I requested.

Again, she shook her head. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. I guess I'll have to dig it out of her when we get to her house.

When we were out of earshot of people, she grabbed my arm. It took me by surprise. We faced each other in silence. Her eyes widened, glistening over with tears. I opened my mouth but no sound would push its way out. She blinked and kept her eyes closed while tears streamed down her cheeks in an almost angelic way.

By the time she re-opened them, that moment of vulnerability on her face was gone. Lilly was back to the blank canvas she had been before.

I silently followed her to her house. She didn't slam the door in my face. She left it open for me. I guess that's a good sign. At least she didn't yell and kick me out. Come to think of it, I haven't heard her say a thing for a month. The teachers never called on her to answer questions anymore. She never had any questions for the teachers in return. Why didn't I notice the big things like that?

I shook my head thusly and walked into the living room. She was staring at the TV screen. There were no emotions on her face. Really, what happened?

We sat in silence except for the TV buzzing. I volunteered to do this so I have to accomplish this task. Everyone did say that she seemed to trust me the most.

"Lilly bean?" I whispered. She nodded her head to show she heard me. I sucked in a shallow breath. "What happened?"

On the spot, she turned the TV off. I twiddled with my thumbs, sort of apprehensive of looking at her. I felt her frigid hand touch mine. Why is her hand so cold?

That was my cue to listen to her though. I moved my entire body to mirror her's. She sat cross-legged in front of me. I did the same.

"Gerard," she began. I leaned in closer to listen to her better. "Don't make me do this," she pleaded.

I held both of her hands, encouraging her to continue.

"My mom...she has cancer."

I hugged Lilly close to my body, listening to her whimpers. She went on to tell me the story of it all. If I hadn't heard her heart break at the mere statement of her mother having cancer, by now, the remains of her heart shattered into shards and was laid out throughout the floor. All I could hear for the next few hours were her cries of anger and sadness. She didn't want to lose her mom, I knew that much. I could see that they have a close relationship. It's terrible to think that something as human as death would pull them apart.

I heard the jingling of keys and confirmed my thoughts of who just walked into the living room with a perplexed expression. Her eyes instantly closed and she leaned against the wall. Regaining her composure, the mother and daughter held their stares.

"Lillian, please go to the bathroom and get washed up. I'll cook us dinner," her mother whispered quietly.

Lilly nodded and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She shuffled to the bathroom, closing the door without a sound behind her. That left me all alone with Mrs. Summer. Boy is this awkward.

She motioned her head to the kitchen, meaning I should follow pursuit. I watched from a few feet away as Mrs. Summers took out raw beef and vegetables. She walked over to the counter and took out a board to do whatever it is people do to food before they cook it. She gave me a look over her shoulder before turning back to the unprepared food. I sauntered over, waiting for her to say something.

"Do you know?" she asked.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered.

"Do you know?" she repeated.

"I do," I muttered.

The towel immediately fell from her hands and dropped to the floor. I bent down to pick up the towel and placed it next to the cutting board.

Was it so horrible for me to know? I wasn't going to tell anyone. I wasn't going to use your-mom-has-cancer bit to try to hurt her. I'm not that type of person and Lilly is my friend. I have no reason to try to sabotage her. Besides, you should never mess with things such as that. Cancer, it's something so serious that even mentioning it in a serious tone is scary enough.

I truly expected Mrs. Summers to cry, sigh, or walk away to another room to compose herself, as she had to do before. I was stunned when I looked at her and found a smile on her lips. It was weird and somewhat creepy.

"She hasn't been this close to anyone since Erik."

I wanted to ask who Erik was but I had a feeling it wasn't such a good idea. We both stopped to listen for Lilly's incoming footsteps. However, I heard water rushing from upstairs. She was most likely taking a shower as a form of relaxation. The poor thing needed it.

"Gerard, can you do me one little favor?" Mrs. Summers asked with a hidden significance in her voice.

I had to blink a few times before responding. "Sure."

"What ever you do, don't hurt my daughter."

I nodded only because I was at a loss for words. She really trusts me that much with her daughter doesn't she? Did she just give me consent to date her daughter? 'Don't hurt my daughter.' That has to mean something. You don't say that on a regular basis. Either way, I am not going to hurt Lilly, ever.