To Keep You Off My Mind

Chapter 13

Lily's POV

Locke took a deep breath in and explained. "Lily, I don't know. It's just all moving so quickly, I don't even know what I mean by 'all'. I just don't know if I can do this." At that moment, I had to make a decision. Should I confess my feelings to him and stress him out, or pretend I didn't like him and just stay friends.

"Locke." I turned off the water and looked up at him. It took every fiber in my being to tell him this, but I did. "Last night wasn't a date, just two friends hanging out. And so what, we may have done some things that would other people consider it a date, but we'll know it wasn't one. So, calm down, we're just friends, no feelings to sort out here." I gave him a fake smile. I knew I couldn't tell him I liked or it would just cause problems, so for now, we would just have to be friends.

He smiled at me, "Good. I really can't handle anymore stress in my life right now."

"You and me both." I returned to the dishes, wanting to hide away in a hole and never be seen again. How could I have done this to myself? Now Locke would never like me.

"Thanks, Lils. I'm glad we're friends again. So what are you doing tomorrow after school?" I smiled. Maybe we couldn't date, but we sure as heck could hang out alone still.

"Not much, what about you?"

"Well, Julie asked me out again." My smile faded. "So, do you wanna hang out so I don't have to go with her?" Was I just his backup plan?

"I guess, are you sure Julie won't mind us hanging out?" I tried to avoid eye contact, but he wouldn't let me.

"Lils! How many times do I have to tell you, I don't care about what she thinks of me. Besides, I'd much rather hang out with someone I actually like being around." I perked up a little.

"So you actually like being around me?" He smiled.

"Well, duh! Why else would I have hung out with you since I was born, I love spending time with you. You are like my best friend!"

"I thought Lincoln was your best friend."

"Okay, he's my best guy friend, but you are most definitely my best girl friend!" Hearing him call me his best girl friend gave me butterflies, even though he meant it in a completely platonic way, my brain heard something else. I just smiled and contained scrubbing dishes.

We talked for about an hour before it was time to leave. We all piled back into the car and Dad gave us this long speech about how good it felt to give back to the homeless before driving to a local ice cream shop for treats. When we got up to order, I didn't really see anything that looked good, so I didn't order anything. When we got back into the car Locke and Lincoln sat on opposite sides of me so when we turned a corner they could squish me in between themselves. Every time they squished me, a loud squeal would escape my lips and everyone would laugh, including myself.

After dropping the McLaughlin's off at home, we drove home. A couple hours later we ate dinner and everyone headed off to bed. I showered and walked to my room to lay down. I walked in and saw I had gotten some missed calls. I scrolled through the list and saw that Chris had called me over 10 times. I decided not to call him, but to call Locke and see what he had to say.

He picked up after the second ring. "Hello?" He sounded kinda groggy.

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I fell asleep on the couch, thanks, actually." I heard him stand up and start walking. "So what do you need?"

"It's about Chris."

"What?" His voice for more serious. "What did he do now?"

"He won't stop calling me, what do I do, Locke?" I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes.

"Okay, um, I'll be over in a minute, I just gotta find a way to get passed my Dad without him seeing me. I'll call you when I'm there." He hung up. I started to get nervous, he was sneaking out to come see me, what if he gets caught? What if I get caught? I sat and wondered what would happen for a few minutes before receiving a text from Locke telling me to come outside.

I snuck through the living room and out the front door to see Locke standing on the sidewalk out front. He was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, which was appropriate for this unusually chilly night. I looked down to see I was only wearing a tank top and pajama bottoms, not to mention my hair was in an unattractive messy bun and still semi wet from my shower. I felt my face turn red from embarrassment of my attire. He smiled at me and gave me a hug when I reached him. He was warm and I didn't want to let go, but I had to.

"So, why does he keep calling you?" He looked worried.

"I don't know, Locke. What do I do? I think he wants to get back together." I felt more tears in my eyes about to spill over.

"Lily." I knew when he called me Lily, he was serious. "Whatever you do, don't get back together with him. I can't stand to see you so hurt." I smiled weakly and wrapped my arms around him, he did the same.

"I just can't deal with him anymore. He's so, so-" the tears came streaming down my face as I relived the worst moments of dating him. I buried my face into Locke's chest and cried. He held me tight for a minute, then I felt his body push me to the ground. His arms unattached from me and he rolled to my side. I opened my eyes and saw Chris sitting on top of Locke, beating him up with no mercy.