You Are Not Alone

Lily's POV

Lily sat on her couch, completely speechless. Frozen in fear, she was unable to speak, unable to move. She hadn't heard that voice in almost three years, but it still had the ability to instill fear within her. She was sure her heart had skipped a beat and she was holding her breath, praying this wasn't actually happening.

"What's the matter?" He said, sounding smug. "Cat got your tongue?"

"M-Mason?" Lily stuttered, her voice barely a whisper. He chuckled, knowing she was scared.

"The one and only", Mason confirmed her fears. "Aren't you glad to hear from me?" He said in a mock tone of hurt.

"Of course not!" Lily spat, suddenly finding her courage. "How the fuck did you get my number?" Her eyes were narrowed as she raised her voice.

"You better watch your tone with me, Lily", Mason threatened venemously. Lily chuckled, but it held no humor.

"Oh, I should? Why is that?" She asked, smirking. She had no idea where the strength to tell him off was coming from.

"I think you know damn well what I'm capable of. You best remember that", Mason whispered, sending a chill up her spine. Taking a deep breath, Lily spoke.

"I'm not your girlfriend anymore, Mason. We've been over for almost three years. You have no control over me anymore", Lily spoke firmly. She hoped she sounded braver than she felt.

"You may not be my girlfriend anymore, Lily, but I'll always own you. Nobody else would want your fat ass anyway", Mason replied. The way he spoke to her sent Lily's mind back to all the emotional and physical abuse he had ever subjected her to.

"That's not true! In fact, I'm in a relationship now", Lily said, smirking. "He's a real man, unlike you."

"Yeah, that's why I was calling. I couldn't believe someone else would even look twice at you. I was just calling to confirm that it was just a rumor. Who the fuck is he, Lily?" Mason questioned forcefully. She couldn't believe he even thought he had the right to call and ask her these questions.

"That's none of your fucking business, asshole! I'm not your girlfriend anymore and I sure as hell never will be again", Lily shouted, her face red with anger. "How the fuck did you get my number anyway?"

"You don't need to worry about that, baby", Lily cringed at the pet name. "All you need to worry about is getting rid of this little boyfriend of yours." Mason said with that smug voice she hated so much.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Lily laughed at his audacity. "I'm not breaking up with him. I'm happy and glad as fuck to be rid of you!"

"You'll never be rid of me, Lily. You're mine and no one else's", Mason spat angrily. Lily pulled back to look at the phone. He must be completely unhinged if he believed that.

"If you think I'd ever go back to an abusive douchebag like you, you've got another thing comin'", Lily spat back, just as angry.

"You better rethink that", Mason replied, the threat evident in his tone.

"Or what?" Lily asked, her voice laden with attitude.

"Or else I'll have to visit that apartment of yours and remind you who you belong to", Lily felt like she couldn't breathe. "That's right, baby. I know where you live, too."

"Stay the fuck away from me, you son of a bitch!" Lily screamed. With that she ended the call before he could reply.

Dropping the phone as if it had burned her, Lily sat on the couch. Her legs were pulled up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. Resting her forehead on her knees, Lily burst into tears. She couldn't believe that had just happened. She had finally decided to move on with her life, to refuse to let Mason or her past control her. Now that she way happy with Michael, Mason just had to come swooping in to ruin everything. After sobbing uncontrolably for a good fifteen minutes, Lily's breath hitched when her phone rang again.

"Leave me alone, asshole! Stop calling me or I swear I'll call the fucking police!" Lily shouted, tears still streaming down her face.

"Lily? Lily, what's wrong?" She froze when Michael's sweet voice filled her ears. "What happened, Lily?" He sounded frantic at her sudden silence.

"M-Michael?" Lily asked through her tears. "Oh, thank God."

"Babygirl, you're scaring me. Please, tell me what happened", Michael said worriedly.

"M-Mason. H-He called m-me a-and th-threatened m-me", Lily said between sobs.

"What?!" Michael said, sounding shocked and angry. "What did he say to you, Lily?"

"H-He said that he'd heard that I w-was with someone. I-I guess he didn't l-like that. H-He threatened me and t-told me that I-I better b-break up with you or e-else", she answered, trying desperately to stop her cries.

"What the hell? How did he even know you were with someone?" Michael questioned.

"W-We have a lot of m-mutual friends, so I-I imagine it probably slipped into the c-conversation. My p-parents and Carrie are the only p-people who know how h-he treated m-me", Lily said sniffling.

"Do you want to call Carrie and have her stay the night with you? I'm not sure you should be alone right now", Michael said, making her smile at how caring he was.

"No, I'll be alright. I don't want to bother her", Lily insisted.

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Michael asked, sounding doubtful.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Could we talk for a while though?" Lily asked in a small voice.

"Of course, baby. I'll stay on the phone until you fall asleep if that's what you need", Michael said. Lily's heart clenched at how sweet and caring he was towards her.

Lily and Michael did exactly that. They talked and talked for hours. He had made her smile and laugh with his corny jokes. She had even managed to push Mason to the back of her mind. Eventually, she couldn't contain the constant yawns from escaping and Michael offered to sing her to sleep. Knowing it was always a source of comfort for her, he had sung You Are Not Alone until her breath evened out and she didn't answer when he said her name.

Lily woke up the next morning, her phone still pressed between her pillow and her ear. She smiled as she thought of how sweet Michael had been last night. He had kept his word and stayed on the phone with her until she fell asleep. However, Lily's smile was quickly replaced with a frown as she remembered why he had done so in the first place.

Mason. Lily had truly thought he was out of her life for good. But there he was, ready to fuck up her happiness. Her eyes narrowed as she thought back on his threats. There was no way she was going to break up with Michael, just because Mason said so. Michael had promised her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She trusted him completely. Besides, Mason's threats were just empty ones, right?

Shaking her head, clearing Mason from her thoughts, Lily threw back the covers. Going to the bathroom to relieve her bladder, she washed her hands and turned out the light. Sitting back on her bed, Lily was so glad it was a Saturday. No work, no auditions and no errands. She wasn't stepping one foot out of this apartment today.

After sleeping for a couple more hours, Lily woke up. She replied to the text message from Michael that was waiting for her. After texting back and forth, she set to cleaning her apartment. Starting with laundry, she put a load of dark clothes in the washer. She then folded the basket full of clean clothes that had been sitting in her room for a couple of days. Once she had them all put away, the washer buzzed, signaling it was time to put the clothes in the dryer.

Once the laundry was caught up, Lily decided to run the vacuum throughout the house. When that task was finished, she moved on to the kitchen. Realizing a few hours had passed, she decided to take a break for lunch. Eating a simple turkey sandwich with potato chips, she put her plate in the sink. Turning on the radio that sat on the counter, she sang and danced around as she washed the small pile of dirty dishes.

Feeling accomplished after a day of house work, Lily decided it was time for a shower. After taking a long shower, washing the sweat and grime that cleaning had left on her pale skin, she combed her hair. Pulling her damp hair up into a messy bun, she got dressed. Throwing on a pair of black, cotton boy shorts and a black sports bra, Lily then put on a pair of gray, capri length leggings and a gray, long sleeved shirt. The shirt had a picture of classic Mickey Mouse on the front. Tying a pair of red Nike's on her feet, she walked back out to the kitchen.

Pulling the full bag of trash from the garbage can, Lily tied it securely. Grabbing her keys off the coffee table as she went, she walked to the front door to take out her trash. Unlocking her door, she gasped in shock when there was someone standing in front of her door. Their fist was in mid-air, poised to knock.

"What are you doing here?!" Lily asked in surprise, her hand covering her chest.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" The person in front of her asked with a smirk.