Status: On hiatus
Lost Rivals
“I missss you Tillie, come back to daddy…”
Tillie didn’t know how long she cried for after Billie Joe left her. She just knew that it was like some force had taken over her body and she was powerless to go against it and will herself to stop sobbing.
She was abruptly snapped from her trance-like state when her mobile phone started to ring. The scene reminded her of those weeks ago, when he had called her after a year.
She tenderly removed her phone from her jeans pocket and without looking at the Caller ID she flipped the top up and mumbled; “Hello?”
“Well hello Tillie my lovely.”
Alarm bells began to ring in Tillie’s head and she thought she was going to have another panic attack, but she gulped some fresh air and tried to speak. She knew that she had to talk to him. He wouldn’t let her not talk to him; he would find a more cruel way to get through to her if she didn’t take his call.
“Hello. How did you get this number?” Tillie stammered. She tried to sound demanding but she knew she couldn’t push the man on the other end of the call too far.
“Tillie, Tillie, Tillie. You know I have a lot of recourses. I need my best girl to come and work for me. You can’t just leave me hanging.” Then the man began to hiss. “I missss you Tillie, come back to daddy…”
Tillie shuddered. “You're not my daddy, its disgusting when you refer to yourself as my daddy, considering the line of work your in.”
The man gave a dirty chuckle. “Oh, come on. We both know that you're into the whole daughter-father thing. I've got the tapes to-“
“Okay, this conversation is about to be over unless you tell me exactly why you're calling me.”
“Well, little miss. I’m sure you know why. Chastity is on leave. I trust you remember young Chastity…?”
Tillie nodded to herself, a sense of guilt swept over her. “Yes, I do remember her. I do remember her more clearly as Anna, but I guess she adopted Chastity as her full time name now, hey.”
The man sighed. “Anyway, I need my star girl back. A lot of people have been asking for you. Make people happy like I know you’re so good at. I want you to be at your local airport at 11am sharp tomorrow morning. One of the girls will be there to meet you. Then we will discuss business once you’re back to your real home. Savvy?”
Tillie knew in her heart that she had no choice to go back to the life she once led. She was stupid to think the man would even let her escape from her past.
“Sure, I’ll be there. Goodbye.”
Once Tillie hung up, she exited the bathroom and made her way down the spiral staircase toward the lounge room where she saw Joey reading a book on one of the sofas.
“Hey Joey, what’s up?” Tillie began to make conversation with her younger brother as she plonked down beside him.
“Hey, Tillie, I haven’t seen you in ages, you spend way to much time in your room.” Joey giggled as he set his book down on his lap.
Tillie just nodded as Joey went on, “What do girls actually do in their rooms?”
This time she laughed and ruffled the younger boy’s hair. “That’s for me to know and you to find out little guy! But I really need you to be serious for a moment okay Joey?”
Joseph bobbed his head and stared at Tillie expectantly.
“Joey, I have to go away for a while, I don’t know how long. But it has to me a surprise for mum and dad okay, so you’re not allowed to tell them I'm going. It’s just our secret for now okay?”
Joey made a whining noise and frowned at his sister. “You can’t go! You only just got here. It’s kind of cool having a sister so I don’t want you to leave! Where are you going anyway?”
“I can’t tell you little bro, but it’s a place you don’t want to even dream of.”
Having said that, Tillie waved goodbye to her brother and slipped quietly out of the front door carrying an overnight bag filled with her mobile phone, clothing, a bit of food, some basic toiletries and most importantly, a photo of the family she had briefly discovered.
***
Little Joey Armstrong was left alone in the living room crying his eyes out. He had no idea where Tillie was going and he was worried about her.
Suddenly, Billie Joe casually strode into the room clutching a beer and some chips. Obviously, there was a ball game on the television shortly that he was planning on watching.
Billie looked at his oldest son and smiled. “Hey buddy, what’s going on? Are you going to watch the game with your old man?”
Joey sniffled in response. Then his dad realized that he had been crying.
“Whoa, buddy, what’s the matter? Are you okay?”
Joey began crying again. “No, dad, Tillie’s gone and she’s not coming back!”
She was abruptly snapped from her trance-like state when her mobile phone started to ring. The scene reminded her of those weeks ago, when he had called her after a year.
She tenderly removed her phone from her jeans pocket and without looking at the Caller ID she flipped the top up and mumbled; “Hello?”
“Well hello Tillie my lovely.”
Alarm bells began to ring in Tillie’s head and she thought she was going to have another panic attack, but she gulped some fresh air and tried to speak. She knew that she had to talk to him. He wouldn’t let her not talk to him; he would find a more cruel way to get through to her if she didn’t take his call.
“Hello. How did you get this number?” Tillie stammered. She tried to sound demanding but she knew she couldn’t push the man on the other end of the call too far.
“Tillie, Tillie, Tillie. You know I have a lot of recourses. I need my best girl to come and work for me. You can’t just leave me hanging.” Then the man began to hiss. “I missss you Tillie, come back to daddy…”
Tillie shuddered. “You're not my daddy, its disgusting when you refer to yourself as my daddy, considering the line of work your in.”
The man gave a dirty chuckle. “Oh, come on. We both know that you're into the whole daughter-father thing. I've got the tapes to-“
“Okay, this conversation is about to be over unless you tell me exactly why you're calling me.”
“Well, little miss. I’m sure you know why. Chastity is on leave. I trust you remember young Chastity…?”
Tillie nodded to herself, a sense of guilt swept over her. “Yes, I do remember her. I do remember her more clearly as Anna, but I guess she adopted Chastity as her full time name now, hey.”
The man sighed. “Anyway, I need my star girl back. A lot of people have been asking for you. Make people happy like I know you’re so good at. I want you to be at your local airport at 11am sharp tomorrow morning. One of the girls will be there to meet you. Then we will discuss business once you’re back to your real home. Savvy?”
Tillie knew in her heart that she had no choice to go back to the life she once led. She was stupid to think the man would even let her escape from her past.
“Sure, I’ll be there. Goodbye.”
Once Tillie hung up, she exited the bathroom and made her way down the spiral staircase toward the lounge room where she saw Joey reading a book on one of the sofas.
“Hey Joey, what’s up?” Tillie began to make conversation with her younger brother as she plonked down beside him.
“Hey, Tillie, I haven’t seen you in ages, you spend way to much time in your room.” Joey giggled as he set his book down on his lap.
Tillie just nodded as Joey went on, “What do girls actually do in their rooms?”
This time she laughed and ruffled the younger boy’s hair. “That’s for me to know and you to find out little guy! But I really need you to be serious for a moment okay Joey?”
Joseph bobbed his head and stared at Tillie expectantly.
“Joey, I have to go away for a while, I don’t know how long. But it has to me a surprise for mum and dad okay, so you’re not allowed to tell them I'm going. It’s just our secret for now okay?”
Joey made a whining noise and frowned at his sister. “You can’t go! You only just got here. It’s kind of cool having a sister so I don’t want you to leave! Where are you going anyway?”
“I can’t tell you little bro, but it’s a place you don’t want to even dream of.”
Having said that, Tillie waved goodbye to her brother and slipped quietly out of the front door carrying an overnight bag filled with her mobile phone, clothing, a bit of food, some basic toiletries and most importantly, a photo of the family she had briefly discovered.
***
Little Joey Armstrong was left alone in the living room crying his eyes out. He had no idea where Tillie was going and he was worried about her.
Suddenly, Billie Joe casually strode into the room clutching a beer and some chips. Obviously, there was a ball game on the television shortly that he was planning on watching.
Billie looked at his oldest son and smiled. “Hey buddy, what’s going on? Are you going to watch the game with your old man?”
Joey sniffled in response. Then his dad realized that he had been crying.
“Whoa, buddy, what’s the matter? Are you okay?”
Joey began crying again. “No, dad, Tillie’s gone and she’s not coming back!”