I'll Check in Tomorrow if I Don't Wake Up Dead

One late night walk home, that was the tool of instrument that fundamentally changed Lily Rozensheim's life forever. It was a dark and cold night, about a month until Christmas and the girl known as Lily was sitting in a small run-down coffee shop in a not so great part of New Jersey staring down at her barely touched ice-coffee.

It had been a rough day, she'd had a bunch of angry clients whine about how their pictures came out even though they'd been fine with it before they heard the price. That would of been fine with her, she was adept to moving past these sorts of things.

It was the man she'd loved for the past sixteen years that had absolutely ruined her whole month at least. Connor, Lily's absolute dream man with his chiseled abs, blonde hair, defined jaw line, brown eyes and deliciously tall; had announced his plans for engagement with a woman he'd been dating for three months. Who even did that?! And because Lily was his best friend she had to smile and congratulate the two as if she really was pleased they were getting married.

It had been when Connor rescued her from a malicious group of boys when Lily was around ten that she'd fallen in love with him. Her parents laughed and aww'd over her first "crush" though the girl herself didn't find it amusing. Having always been popular in school Connor was adored by at least half their grade's girls, and a few others as well.

Feeling the tears threatening to fall Lily pressed her face into her hands surpressing the groan that wanted to break out; in fact Lily wanted to throw a fit and stomp around on rooftops shrieking her frustration though she was a woman of an iron will she'd never do it. For the past sixteen years Lily had been changing herself to try to better fit into Connor's wants; dressing a certain way, holding herself a certain way, and even trying to speak in a more eloquent manner.

However she would never hold a candle to the woman that Connor brought home; busty blondes with flat, toned stomachs a confidence level that peaked through roofs and most had modeling deals of some sort. Lily on the other hand had thick, straight, mousy brown hair and the palest of irony skin, Lily blamed her Irish roots and upbringing for that.

Her body was scrawny and thin while her eyes were a dull green set a bit too wide for Lily's liking. On the short side at 4'9 the girl was disappointed with almost everything, she understood that her looks would never be enough to capture the attention of her long sought out Connor. She was pretty sure the only trait Lily possesed that Connor liked was her Irish accent.

Sitting here and sulking would do nothing, so climbing to her feet with a dejected sigh the twenty-six year old got up and threw her barely touched coffee into the trash. Her eyes held deep bags under them, reflecting the amount of sleep that Lily should desperately be catching up on. Instead she'd waste her time moping about and watching terribly sad movies.

Putting on her headphones Lily shivered as a blustery, bone-biting chill broke through the petite woman's pale grey pea-coat and drawing it around her frail-looking body tried to hurry back home. It wasn't too terribly late only nine so Lily decided to take the short-cut to the train station through a more sketchy part of town; and passing by a few broken down, grey people the woman hurried down a near empty street.

It was empty until Lily looked up spotting two men who appeared to be arguing. Curiously Lily turned down and then off, her music and walked quietly so her heels wouldn't make too much noise. From here she could hear one man with a thick Russian accent growling "Where is the money?! We've given you plenty of time if you can't pay you know what happens." another clearly ripped man was holding this older looking gentleman who was sobbing and pleading with them; "Just give me a few more weeks and I'll have it, you know I'm putting Sasha through college." He was making other pleas like that.

Instinctively Lily pushed her hand deep into her purse holding onto the can of pepper spray she had. Pulling out her cellphone the woman was quite ready to call the cops when an alarming gunshot rang through the air. The victim slumped forward and from her spot Lily could see the blood oozing and sweeping out making it's way towards the gutter.

An involuntary gasp and flinch drew the two men's attention who began shouting in Russian while pointing at Lily. "To hell with it." Lily though while quickly taking her heels off; it was a risky move should she step in broken glass, and took off running down the streets. She hadn't made it three steps when she ran into another man dressed head to toe in black.

He made a move as if to grab her and in a rather cat-like manner Lily slammed her elbow against the man's nose feeling something crack. "Shit! I'm fucked, I'm fucked." The thought chanted in her mind over and over as Lily felt the hand loosen and pulling herself away from the man Lily continued her frantic flight away from the men.

Potential headlines swirled in Lily's mind "Woman Missing after Ten Days. Body Found in the Hudson." Tears grew then blossomed, running down her pale cheeks; Lily didn't want to die, not like this. She was supposed to grow old and die first before her husband, surrounded by children, love, and peace. Not at the tender age of twenty-six.

Breathy gasps burst forth from the woman's lungs as she struggled away from the still pursuing men and glancing around wildly she found no people around to help. Sucking in her breath Lily screamed long and loud as possible hoping to draw some attention. Maybe a resident would call the cops and alert them of her dire state; however such thoughts were diminished as a hand reached out covering her mouth, yanking her backwards and towards an alley. Biting down frantically Lily kicked and screamed, her heart beating impossibly fast feeling as if it were to explode. Tears ran down Lily's face as she was dragged. Thrown down roughly onto the ground Lily began shaking trying to bite back her tears, she didn't want to go sobbing like a coward.

If this was truly to be her fate then Lily would meet it defiantly, thoughts of Connor swirled about her brain trying to console herself. Rough voices were being exchanged and the man who's nose Lily was pretty sure she'd broken staggered into the alley glaring at the girl.

"Shut up both of you. Rosco put me in charge which means we'll do as I say." His chilling, alluring voice had Lily cowering away from him. Whoever he was he had raven black hair, messy and wild. His skin was the palest ebony and illuminated by the moon it appeared to be glowing; and his nose was swollen though it'd stopped bleeding. It looked like he shoved tissue up it to stop the bleeding; though that was ruby red with his blood and still dripping little bits of blood. A wave of pleasure rode through Lily, if she had to go out at least she'd broken the bastard's nose.

It was his eyes that Lily really noticed however, they were pretty and hazel. Jagged pieces of caramel colored pigment were surrounded by a lighter sea of gentle green; masking what she assumed to be a calculated, cold, killer.

"Then Tomas what do you suggest we do? Let the girl go? And don't fucking boss me around, my old man may have put you in charge but just remember who's next in line for control." The heavy tones of sarcasm had Lily glowering. If they were going to kill her they could at least include her in this conversation.

"No. Go get Rosco." The command was spoken softly while his eyes remained traced on the cowering girl. The man gave the one called Tomas a dubious look.

"Are you fuckin' kidding Tomas? Rosco will chew you alive if you bring him out her to dispose of your trash."

"Thanks for the concern Demetrius. But I'm going to give him a little present. This little thing looks like his type." A predatory look crawled over his face and Lily almost wanted to shoot herself before letting some man defile her. Demetrius chuckled.

"And that's why you're the bosses favorite Tomas." The one called Tomas didn't respond and never looked away from Lily as Demetrius lumbered off into the night Leaving behind the un-armed man. Lowering her eyes to the ground AS the raven-haired man crouched in front of Lily leaning forward until his lips touched her ear.

"And what's your name pretty thing?" The words were spoken loudly and Lily flinched and swung though this time her arm was caught by Tomas. "Count to twenty seconds. I'm going to get you out of here, I'm a cop it's alright, my name's Gerard Way." For a moment Lily forgot how to breath and she searched his face looking for any signs of malice. There were none just a sincere look asking her to trust him.

"I asked what your fucking name was. Or are you deaf?" The look vanished replaced with the one of malice and she stuttered "Li-l-Lily." He didn't reply just turned to the big burly man watching Lily with a predatory look. "Donnie." Pulling away from Lily, Gerard's, hands slipped into his back pocket pulling out a gun. A loud crack filled the night air as "Donnie's" hand was shot, blown to mangled bits. Then two more at his legs. "Now!" Anguished shrieks and scream barraged Lily's ears and stumbling to her feet Lily darted out of the alleyway unsure of where she was going.

The heavy thud of footfalls behind her made Lily speed up blocking out whoever was calling for her. Someone had truly been looking out for the woman and sending a silent thank-you to whatever may be out there Lily ran like she was a fucking Olympic runner.

It wasn't until Lily made it to the main road, crossed a street and hailed a taxi then she noticed it was Gerard or Tomas who'd chased after her waving for the car to stop. Narrowing her eyes Lily pointedly ignored him and hissed at the driver to speed up. They took off into the night and Lily collapsed in the back seat shaking and trembling.

Once they got back to her apartment the woman paid the driver and went straight to her bedroom falling down onto the bed and began to cry. This was by far the worse night she'd ever suffered and trembling pulled out her phone. A few rings later and a husky "Hello? Connor speaking." Lily began bawling incoherently to her best friend. "Lily?! What the hell happened?"

"I... I just almost died. Oh Connor it was awful, there was these three, well four at first guys and I was walking and then they shot him and he died and the blood. Then they chased after me and I broke his nose-" The woman babbled like this for about twenty minutes before she noticed the line had gone dead.

Tears fell down her face as she felt truly alone- when the door rang. Getting up Lily walked over and threw it open to find Connor who must of gotten haphazardly dressed because his pants were inside out and his shirt backwards.

"O... Ok. I'm here now tell me what happened." An overwhelming wave of gratefulness washed against the tide of emotions Lily was going through.

"Can we go inside?" He nodded and walked in going right to Lily's couch and sitting down looking at her expectantly to join him. Her shaking legs barely carried her over to the waiting man on her couch. Shivering Lily told him all about what she'd seen. The man listened intently and at times put a comforting hand on her shoulder but other than that didn't interrupt.

"Lily, that's insane. You have to go to the cops; you don't know who those guys were. They could easily come after you! You need to tell the cops what happened because somewhere there is a father and a husband that isn't going to ever come home and some pissed off criminals that are looking for you and that cop guy." Lily froze and shook her head.

"What if they have guys working down there?! And then they find me and shoot me?!" Her hands trembled as she wrapped her arms around her knees sending Connor a pleading look.

"I'll go with you. I wont leave until we know you're safe alright?" His blue eyes searched her; and feeling more reassured Lily nodded and stood up shaking.

"As long as you promise to come I'll go." Her voice still held a bit of shakiness; though she sounded a little better, more soothed at the prospect of not going through

this alone. "What about my family? I mean I know I don't really ever talk to them but I don't want them to get shot or something!" Lily's parents were divorced and Lily hadn't talked to her father since she moved here when she was fifteen to live with her mother; whom Lily used to stay with on vacations and summers. Her mother was overbearing, overprotective and bipolar making it hard to around. She blamed her father entirely for forcing Lily to come live here; even if it did give her more time to see Connor each year. Connor merely patted her head.

"We'll have the cops take care of it. It's their job after all." Nodding Lily once more threw on her coat, stained with a couple blood splatters, slipped her moccasins on and followed Connor out the door. The street was crowded and the two stuck close to each other; Connor watching for anyone suspicious and Lily being much to scared to so much as lift her head in case someone recognized her.

Finally Connor managed to hail a cab to the closest precinct and walking in it was sheer madness. A line of people waiting to be seen, or people shouting greeted Lily and instinctively pressed closer to Connor.

"It's busy. Let's just do this another time." The pale girl suggested under the harsh florescent lighting.

"No. We're already here you'll be alright." At times the pit in Lily's stomach grew too much for her to handle though Connor would always soothe her. Finally a short man wearing rather casual clothes and tattoos crossed his knuckles.

"Hey guys sorry for the wait. All the crazy mother fuc- people seem to be out. Full moon and all. Well follow me please." Lily threw Connor a look and mouthed "Are you kidding me?" Who merely shook his head with an apologetic gesture. They followed him to a desk towards the back and he sat down.

"Alright, my name is Frank- in case you oh shit! Captains gonna kill me. I'm not wearing my nametag again." With a dejected sigh Frank continued. "So what would you like to report?" His green eyes were friendly as his black hair was around his eyes and after examining him Lily could see a small hole in lip where he must have a ring and his ears were clearly pierced.

"I was walking earlier and I saw a man get murdered. By the train station on the way to Jersey I was chased nearly killed, broke some guys' nose who apparently is a cop as well I mean, he let me go but I panicked and just went home instead of coming right here."

It was a very, very vague and undetailed story and the cop raised an eyebrow. So taking a breath Lily launched into the longer more descriptive version. About a half an hour later and a cup of coffee Lily had finally finished, to her credit with only misty eyes and a softened voice.

"Alright Miss. Thank you for confirming Gerard's story. He's actually out looking for you; I'll call him and tell him to get back here. As you may of suspected that was a notorious drug gang that resides around here; I'm going to have you hold off on going back to your apartment tonight. Just in case, then we'll have you testify against the guys that Gerard's bringing in. You see he was working a sting and this was enough evidence to put the whole thing behind bars; well it should of been. I mean because he had to save you and everything I don't think he had time to put his whole big plan into action. it will be enough to get the son though and get information from him." His little tirade ended as his phone began to buzz and holding up his finger answered it wincing. "I told you baby I'm working a late shift ton- no I did not forget. Are you kidding? Look I can't do- You can't do this anymore? Are you seriously telling me this over the phone? Hello, Jonah are you there? Hello?"

Whatever it was it didn't sound good and making a soft growl Frank turned to look at the two. "Sorry about that. Now Lily you hold on and we'll have Gerard come and we'll figure out where to go from there alright? Those guys are pretty serious guys. I mean vicious. You don't want to screw around with them." She just sat there with this dumbfounded look on her face.

"Was this cop really telling me they couldn't guarantee what was going to happen to me?" Thoughts like this swirled about Lily's mind. Getting up the woman was pretty sure he muttered something about needing more coffee while texting furiously, he seemed wicked fucking professional. Turning she noticed

Connor looked bored, as if he were about to fall asleep. Lily decided that she couldn't keep him here so nudging him the girl smiled wearily. "Here I may be stuck here but you aren't. Go ahead and go home. I'm sure Katherine is waiting up for you."

He nodded gratefully and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, I'll text you once I get back alright? Stay safe, please do whatever they tell you to do. It's for your own good Lily."

Lily nodded and watched him retreat and sank back into the seat; totally spent emotionally, physically and mentally, the feeling of being all alone began swallowing her up; through the fear and terror that's what struck her the most.

All the woman wanted to do was go home, curl up and pretend this day had never happened. Violent swearing as doors slammed open had the girl jumping up in her seat to examine what was happening and to her horror saw the two men from earlier. Not the one that had been shot, but the one who went to fetch his father and the black haired cop who's nose was still clearly broken.

"My father's going to cut you up into little pieces and feed you to his fuckin' dogs do you understand Tomas?!" The man in handcuffs shrieked, red in the face. The man he called Tomas, though he'd introduced himself as Gerard, just smirked and shook his head.

"He'll have to focus on getting his little boy outta jail first wont he? And get my real name. Then he can come get me." Amusement was obvious in the young cop's voice and Lily jumped as Frank, who appeared by her side, clapped his hands.

"Gerard! Put that away and come here." The younger looking cop gestured to the perp and Gerad didn't even glance up just nodded and continued down his way.

"What are you doing?! I don't want to see him I think I broke his nose. That's like... assault for a cop oh god I'm gonna go to jail." Lily groaned pushing her face into her hands. Frank merely laughed

"Don't worry no one's pressing charges. All he said was you have one hell of an elbow." Silence stretched out as she didn't answer waiting for the man to get back. Footsteps reached Lily's ears as a familiar dark voice reached her over the din.