She waves her arm out in front of her, smiling in a way that says she got her way. “Continue forth, oh wise one.”
Shaking my head, I try to keep my lips in a flat line, but I fail because it’s been forever since I was last on a job with Kitty.
After she came back from rehab, she moved in with Charlie in their new house to start fresh. It’s not that she isn’t working as much as she used to, but with Dean turning up, it means she’s either with him or I am. Which I can’t fuckin’ stand. And I swear to God, if he leaves one more piece of fuckin’ trash in my car, I’m gonna shove it so far up his ass he’ll have to have it surgically removed.
“Let’s play a game.” I groan, knowing the next few hours will feel like days with her fuckin’ games. “Kiss, marry, kill.”
I block her out, just like I always do, but at the same time I relax back in my seat, having missed the sound of her constant talking.
LILY
I shuffle on the pew, my attention on anything other than my dad who stands on the stage, preaching to the people who listen to him like God is speaking through him himself.
My gaze flits over to Kim who is sitting a couple of seats down. She must feel me looking because she turns her head, lifting her lips into a small smile, enough to let me know she’s there, but not too big to draw attention.
I haven’t seen her for nearly two weeks now, and this morning when the church started to fill up, I expected her to ask me where I had been. But she didn’t. Instead, she squeezed my hand lightly before shuffling farther down the pew.
“Concentrate,” a deep voice whispers in my ear.
My shoulders pull back, my back straightening as I face the front, not acknowledging Jonah with my words but with my body.
He hasn’t let up any, and I feel like every time I turn around, he’s there. Watching. Waiting. I hate it.
Shivering, my skin crawls when he moves closer, his thigh resting against mine. I want nothing more than to move away from him, to get as far away as I possibly can. But it’s not feasible, so I move my hand over my hip, resting my palm over the cell that’s there.
Five days.
For five days I’ve stared at the cell wondering what I’m meant to do with it—when I’m meant to use it. But not once have I dialed the number or sent a message on it.
It’s not that I don’t have a cell, because I do. It may be circa 2010, but it works. There’s only one problem with that cell… my dad can look at it.
There have been times I wished I was like the other kids at school, the ones who post on social media about their days, who post pictures of them with their friends when they go out for a burger, or to the fair.
It would be nice to be able to do that.
And then there’s the times when I want to call for help, when things get so bad I want to shout it from the rooftops that I’m living in my own version of hell above ground.
“Lily,” Jonah growls, placing his hand on my leg. Turning, my gaze collides with his dark-green eyes, his pupils getting bigger the longer he stares at me. “Listen to your father,” he reprimands, giving my leg a squeeze but not letting go.
I look to the front again, this time trying to concentrate, but when my dad looks at me, his gaze flitting down to my leg, I know I’m in trouble. His nostrils flare as he stumbles over his words, finishing up what he was saying before stepping down and talking to the first person who comes up to him.
My body is frozen. I have Jonah next to me, my dad shooting angry looks at me, and then Kim walking toward me.
I need to get out of here, I need to—
Shooting up, I gain the attention of all three before blurting out, “Bathroom.”
Walking as fast as I can, I weave through all of the people gathering around, my breath caught in my throat. I push open the doors, needing to pull in a deep lungful of fresh air, but I smack off a chest.
I gasp, my eyes widening as I pull back. “I’m so sorry,” I rush out, looking up.
Hazel eyes meet mine before the guy says, “No worries,” and walks past me.
I don’t waste a second before whipping my head left and right, my brain telling me to escape as quickly as I can, but my body won’t move out of fear of what will happen if I disappear without telling my dad. Instead, I stand to the side, leaning against the old brickwork, closing my eyes and pulling out my cell. I don’t know what possesses me to open the message app, or bring up Luke’s name, but before I know it, I’ve typed “Hi” and clicked send.
What am I doing? Why did I do that? I—
“Lily?” I squeak, dropping the cell but picking it up as quickly and discreetly as I can before looking up at Jonah, trying to hide what I have in my hand. His attention is too focused on my ass though, so I quickly push it back into my pocket.