Lily Baby.

Frank’s POV

“Frank…”

Sunlight cracked through my eyelids.

“Frank… you need to get up… he’s not been up for days…”

I opened my eyes slowly, the familiar musky smell filling my nostrils as I did so. I rolled over and for one second nothing mattered. Nothing at all.

I felt someone’s fingers try and shake me but I groaned in disapproval.

“Five more minutes?”

“Get your ass out of bed, now,” a familiar voice growled and I rolled over to see Gerard, Bert and Mikey staring down at me in annoyance.

“What did I do?” I whined, clawing at the sheets as Mikey dragged them off my pyjama clad body.

“You’ve been dead to the world for three days,” Gerard said, angrily.

“So?”

“You’ve missed an entire weekend, Frank,” Bert added, helping Gerard pull me into a standing position.

“With a good reason-”

“Lily dumped you, yeah we’ve heard,” Mikey groaned, “She’s only been crying for days.”

“She’s been crying?”

“Yeah, dumbass now you need to tell us what you did,” he replied.

“I did nothing!” I cried angrily, “I really did!”

“Are you sure?” Gerard said, “Like really sure? She’s been crying pretty hard…”

“Ugh!” I cried, throwing myself back onto my bed, “She dumped me, guys! Ask her!”

“As if we’d get any sense out of her…” Bert said quietly but not unheard.

“Shut up Bert.”

“No,” he replied, dancing out of the room, singing nursery rhymes the entire time.

We looked at each other, shuddered and got back to reality.

“Right, now he’s gone, let’s get you up and into the shower, Frank… it smells in here…” Mikey wrinkled his nose.

“Alright, but neither of you are joining me with a loofah, right?” I questioned, nervously.

They just started giggling hysterically.

“Guys… guys! I’m serious, no loofah time!”

Alicia’s POV

In a way, I knew who did it all along. Not through my own wit, not through any intelligence, more through my own stupidity. It was just so simple and yet I ignored all the signs… I lied when Mikey asked me if I saw anyone, but at the time I didn’t know I was lying. I thought I was being one hundred per cent truthful, but sometimes people make mistakes…

“Hey Alicia,” I looked up to see Jeph crouching beside me, holding an umbrella above my head. The ambulance had just left with Mikey and Frank and I’d told them I’d join them at the hospital.

“It’s terrible…” I croaked, my throat seemed scratched and I could barely formulate sentences. I waved vaguely at Quinn who stood in the distance, waiting, no doubt, for Jeph to drive him home.

“What is?”

“What happened to Lily,” I said, “Haven’t you heard?”

“Oh, yeah, that…” he said, placing himself next to me on the floor, “The weather sucks huh?”

“Jeph, I think that Lily’s health is a bit more important than the weather, don’t you?” I said, shocked at his insensitivity.

“Yeah, sure…”

“You’re not very convincing… why are you acting so horrible?”

“Well… let’s just say not everyone loves Lily as much as you and Frank do,” he hissed, standing up swiftly and leaving me crying in the rain.

And I was crying again. Out on the street: it was so simple.

I shook as I sobbed, changing direction and running back where I had just come in the direction of Mikey’s house.

Mikey and Gerard were in the front yard, doing some work for their mother and as soon as he saw me, Mikey dropped his rake and jumped the picket fence separating the garden from the street.

“Alicia? Are you okay?” I shook my head, gasping for breath, “What’s wrong?”

“I think… I think I know… who did it!”

“Who did what?”

“Who attacked… Lily!” his eyes widened at my words and his eyes seemed to beg for more information.

I gripped his shoulder and whispered, “It was Jeph and Quinn.”