You Are Not Alone

6 Months Later

Lily unlocked the door to her apartment, kicking the door shut behind her. With much difficulty, she carried multiple bags of groceries to the kitchen. Setting them on the counter with a huff, she tossed her keys onto the kitchen table. She had had a rather long day and she was relieved to finally be home.

Beginning the task of putting her groceries away, Lily pondered on the day she had just had. She had worked an early eight hour shift at the diner, which seemed to drag on forever. As soon as she had clocked out, she rushed off to yet another audition. Lily got off of work at three, meaning there was only half an hour until auditions closed. She had bolted to the bus stop, only to find that the driver had just pulled away. By then, there was only fifteen minutes left. Resolving herself to making the trip on foot, Lily ran the remaining fifteen blocks to the theatre.

By the time Lily walked into the auditorium, there was five minutes left. Realizing she was the only one left, Lily was disappointed to see, who she assumed was the director and the producer, standing to leave. She had mustered up the courage to walk up to them and apologize for her tardiness. Begging for the opportunity to audition, they agreed. They didn't seem too impressed with the way she was hunched over, trying to catch her breath. Lily had made a mental note to exercise more. She was REALLY out of shape!

Lily extremely nervous, but she was glad she was at least allowed to choose any song she wanted. Handing her sheet music to the man sitting at the piano, Lily slowly took the stage. Taking a deep breath, she waited for the music to start. When it was time to come in, she closed her eyes. Pouring her emotions into every word, she began to sing:

I dreamed a dream in time gone by

When hope was high

And life worth living

I dreamed that love would never die

I prayed that God would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid

And dreams were made and used and wasted

There was no ransom to be paid

No song unsung

No wine untasted

But the tigers come at night

With their voices soft as thunder

As they tear your hopes apart

And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side

He filled my days with endless wonder

He took my childhood in his stride

But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years together

But there are dreams that cannot be

And there are storms we cannot weather!

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this hell I'm living

So different now, from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed

Opening her eyes, Lily looked at the two men watching her. Nervous, she waited patiently for them to speak.

"Very nice, Miss.." the director glanced down at his papers, "Parker". Lily gave a small smile.

"Thank you, sir", Lily replied, shyly.

"I have no doubt that you could be successful in theatre, Miss Parker", Lily's heart dropped. She knew where this was going. The exact same direction every single one of her auditions had gone in since she came home from Germany six months ago.

"Unfortunately, you don't really fit the part, I'm sorry. We hope you understand," added the other man, not sounding all that sorry.

"I understand. Thank you, both, for your time", Lily said, pasting a fake smile on her face.

Snapping out of her pity party, Lily finished putting her groceries away. Opening a bottle of wine, she poured herself a glass. Trudging to the living room, she sat on her couch with a sigh. After taking a sip of wine, she laid her head back against the couch.

After finishing her wine, she went and poured herself another glass. Before she could sit back down, her cellphone rang. Looking at the caller I.D. she saw that it was Carrie.

"Hello", Lily answered tiredly.

"Hey, girl!" Carrie's cheery voice replied. "How did your audition go?"

"Ugh, I didn't get it. Not that I'm surprised", Lily said sadly.

"Aww, I'm sorry, hun. I'm sure things will turn around soon." Lily could always count on Carrie to be the optimist.

"I sure hope so. I don't really wanna make a career out of being a waitress", Lily muttered.

"Me either, girl", Carrie replied with a giggle. "Keep your chin up. It'll happen, I'm sure of it!" she assured her friend.

"Thanks, Care. Listen, I'm really tired. I'm gonna eat dinner and get a shower. I think I'm gonna turn in early." Lily felt bad for cutting the conversation short, but she just wasn't up to talking after such a disappointing day.

"Alright. Get some rest, girl. Love you!" Carrie said.

"Love you, too, Care," with that, Lily hung up.

Looking through her cupboards, Lily decided she was in the mood for spaghetti. After she had finished eating, she washed her dishes. Making her way to the bathroom, Lily turned on the shower. After removing her makeup and brushing her teeth, she stripped out of her clothes, tossing them into the hamper. Stepping into the shower, she sighed as the hot water washed over her tired body. Washing her hair and body, the stress of the day circled down the drain. Once she had rinsed all the suds off of her body, Lily turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her petite body.

After combing her hair, Lily threw it up into a messy bun. Walking into her room, she lotioned her body. Pulling her favorite pajamas out of a drawer, she put them on. Now that she could really relax, Lily went to get herself one last glass of wine before she called it a night. As soon as she sat down, her cellphone rang again. Sighing, Lily answered without looking at the caller I.D.

"Carrie, I told you I'm not really up for conversation tonight", Lily greeted unenthusiastically.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry for calling at a bad time", came a soft reply on the other end. Feeling like an ass, Lily's eyes widened. That wasn't Carrie's voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else. Um, may I ask who's calling?" Lily asked, sounding much more polite.

"Um, this is, uh, Michael. Michael Jackson", the voice replied, sounding nervous. Lily's jaw dropped. Pulling back to look at the screen, it said "Private Number".

"Is this some kind of joke? Because if it is, it's not even slightly funny", Lily said sternly. Whoever this joker was actually had the nerve to giggle. "Anyway, whatever. Goodbye!" With that, she hung up on whoever the hell that was. "Asshole", she muttered.

Thirty seconds later, her phone rang again. Again the caller I.D. read "Private Number". Accepting the call, she was ready to give the guy a piece of her mind.

"Listen, buddy! I don't know who the fuck this is, but you better stop calling my phone with your stupid prank calls!" Lily shouted angrily.

"Really, it's me! This is Michael Jackson, I swear!"

"Yeah, and I'm the fucking Queen of England", she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"You know, you're far too beautiful for such ugly words", he admonished with a hint of amusement.

"Excuse me?! For one, how the hell would you know what I look like? I don't even know you....whoever you are! And two, who the fuck do you think you are to tell me how I should talk?!" Lily was getting really irritated with this guy. She was just about to hang up when he had the nerve to giggle...again! Growling, she said, "yeah, I'm hanging up now." Just as she was about to end the call, he spoke.

"Pleasedon'thangup", he rushed quickly. "We met at my concert in Copenhagen on my birthday. We danced on stage and I talked with you and your friend, Carrie after the show."

"Ah ok, so this is one of my friends. Carrie and I told a lot of people about that. Seriously, who is this?" Lily smirked, thinking she had caught them. Her smirk faltered when he repeated something she hadn't told anyone, not even Carrie.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen", Michael said softly.

"Holy shit", Lily said just above a whisper.