Your Secret's Safe With Me

“So what have you guys been doing, these past years? Are you still playing volleyball, Lynn?” Tim asked, wading in the deep end of his pool as he attempted to catch up with his long-long friends. Lily and Lynn were taking advantage of the day’s bright sun by laying out in the sun while Luke and Tim messed around in the pool.

“Nah, I quit once high school ended. I’ve been working for an office in Detroit, handling business calls and shit.”

“What about you, Lil?”

“I, uh, I’ve been working as a bartender,” she answered, slightly ashamed of her job back in Michigan. It wasn’t exactly the classiest career to have.

Tim gave her a smile and shrugged. “I heard the pay’s pretty good. Are you still painting?”

Painting. The actions behind the word stung, reminding her of something she used to spend her days doing. Back when she still had a mother that took care of her.

“I haven’t really had time,” she replied, shaking her head and avoiding his eyes.

That was what Lily Langsley did. She avoided people’s eyes when she knew she’d find a sincere look. She lied to get people off her case and she lied to get what she wanted. She stole when she needed to. And she definitely didn’t give a shit about what people thought about her or said about her.

But underneath that rough exterior -far, far underneath, buried at the bottom of her chest- was the real Lily, the girl who loved painting and dancing and gardening and cooking. That girl was shy and sweet but headstrong and fierce. She fought hard for what she wanted and she loved deeply and immensely. That was the Lily that Tim knew.

But that person had been suppressed deep into the recesses of her mind. Lily didn’t think she had the capability to be that person anymore. She had changed in order to protect herself and her family, but as a result she lost who she was. And there was no denying that the old Lily was a much better person than the new Lily.

Though there was something she’d gained that she didn’t have before: strength. Independence. Backbone.

And those weren’t things she was willing to give up.

“She still draws sometimes, though,” Lynn added, talking about Lily.

“Really? I’d love to see your drawings sometime, Lil.”

“I forgot my notebook in Detroit,” she said. Though that wasn’t 100% true. She hadn’t forgotten it; she left it there on purpose. She didn’t want to see any type of picture that reminded her of the life she had in Detroit. What happened there, belonged there. And that’s the way it would stay.

“Well, I’ll have to get you a new one.”

“Tim, you guys have done enough for us. Really. You and your mother are going to go broke because of us.”

And she was probably right, but neither Tim nor Beth cared.

Just like she’d said, the day after the Langsleys and their godmother were reunited, Beth had taken them all over town, attempting to rebuild their lives.

They hadn’t found an apartment that was big enough to fit all three of them, but Lily didn’t mind sharing a room with her sister. Anything they found in Arizona would always be much, much better than Michigan.

Once they looked at all of the apartments of the day, Beth took them to Target to get anything else they needed. When she dropped them off at Tim’s house, she left with a smile and a promise of coming back the next day with a new list of apartments to look at.

Their second day of house-hunting had gone much better, though the kids’ favorite apartment was a small, two-bedroom right in the middle of downtown Tempe. It was perfect.

“She’s your mother, too, Lily,” Tim said genuinely. “You know, I was thinking.”

“What? Tim was thinking? Wow!”

“Very funny,” he scoffed. “But seriously, Lily. Since the apartment you guys liked was only two bedrooms, I was wondering if you wanted to move in with me.”

“Woah. Holy shit, Tim. Are you being serious right now? Don’t fuck with me, that’s a big commitment.”

“I know, I know. But you guys have already been here for a couple of weeks, and all your stuff’s here, so why not? I mean, then everyone gets their own bedroom. And all you have to do is move across the house,” he laughed.

“But what about Lynn and Luke?” Lily questioned, glancing at her sister, lying next to her.

“Tim’s already asked us about it. It’s cool with me, Lily. I think it’s a great idea, actually. We’ll still live close to each other, but everyone gets their own bedroom,” Lynn spoke, her face squinting at the sun as it beat into her eyes.

“Are you guys sure you’re okay with it? Living without me?”

“We aren’t living without you, sis. Lynn and I are just getting our own apartment. It’s like, ten minutes away,” Luke called, swimming to the edge of the pool to talk easier with his sister.

“Yeah. Stop thinking about us, for once. You worry too much. Just think about yourself and what you want, Lily,” Lynn added, earning a nod from both Tim and Luke. “We’ll be fine.”

“Alright. I guess you have yourself a new roommate, Timmy,” Lily said, laughing a little for the first time that day.

“Good. I’ve been pretty lonely lately.. Now I think you should get in the pool to celebrate.”

“Funny.”

“You know what else is funny?” Luke asked, grinning wickedly. He looked just like his sisters when he did that.

“What?”

“This.” And then he raised his hands and splashed, spraying pool water all over Lily, who shrieked loudly and jumped up.

“Oh, it’s on now, fwcar,” she growled, a hint of a smile on her face, and dove straight into the pool.

***

“So it’s official. Beth just put the downpayment on our new apartment. She’s picking us up so we can start moving in!” Lynn said excitedly the next morning as she put down the phone.

“Awesome. I can finally move into my new room,” Lily smirked, and her sister rolled her eyes. “But in all seriousness, do you guys need any help moving in?”

“Uh, Lily,” her sister started. “We have like, seven outfits and a couple of books to our name, we’ll be fine.”

She was about to respond when a loud knock at the front door interrupted her. It was probably one of Tim’s friends or the neighbor; she wasn’t worried.

Lily walked to open the door, peeking out the window before unlocking it to reveal one of Tim’s friends, just like she’d thought.

“Why hello there, Miss,” the boy said charmingly, two full plastic bags in his hands. “I’m here to make a delivery.”

“Come in, John,” she sighed, letting him walk through the familiar house and straight to the kitchen, setting the bags down on the table.

“Done any more skinny-dipping lately?” he asked, smirking and leaning back against the counter as he waited for Tim to make an appearance.

“Yeah, it’s a shame you missed it. I wasn’t drunk this time,” she snarked, making a face at him as she joked.

“Hey, there’s always next time. Or right now.”

“Oh, please. I’m surprised you can even tell it’s me right now and not my sister.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I couldn’t tell which twin you were when I walked in. I took a shot in the dark with the whole skinny-dipping question,” he laughed, his green eyes glinting as he stared at her.

“Typical,” she replied, rolling her eyes. God, she was pretty. She was gorgeous, actually.

“So how am I gonna be able to tell you two apart? What’s your defining characteristic, Lily?”

“I have the long hair and bitchy attitude. Lynn has short hair and glasses and is a sweetheart. She’s basically my opposite.”

“How so?”

“I smoke, she doesn’t. I like getting wasted, she likes margaritas. I hate everyone, she makes friends.”

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though. You’re kind of...crazy, and your sister keeps you in line. You’re the entertainment,” John smiled.

“And how do you know? You just met me.”

“In my defense, you did just tell me all about yourself. And last time I was here, we were skinny-dipping while piss-drunk. So I haven’t known you long, Lily, but I think I have a pretty good grip on who you are,” he said, grinning smugly. “Plus, I’ve seen you naked.”

Lily’s automatic reaction was to slap her hand across her mouth before she retained her cool and narrowed her eyes at him. “And I’ve seen you naked too, John.”

“Yeah? You like what you see?” he teased.

“A lanky string bean like you? Of course,” she muttered, digging around in the fridge for something to drink. “I always like my men as thin as skeletons.”

“Hey, I like my figure!” he defended, a smile on his face. The only girl that had ever teased him for being so skinny was his mom. When she didn’t respond, he spoke up again. “So how do you like your men, Miss Lily?”

She turned around and faced him as she pretended to think, and he was once again faced with those shocking blue eyes. They were such a deep, deep blue, like the sky on a summer day.

But they were empty.

“Hmm.. How do I like my men?” she asked, and in return John nodded curiously. “Dead.”

After she spoke, she left him standing in the kitchen, surprised. She always found a way to surprise people.

Boy, was Lily Langsley something else.