Lillian Henry is seventeen years old when her 20 year-old brother, Adam, and his best friend, Blake Kingston, enroll in the army. And she's eighteen, when they come back, her feelings left unchanged. As for his, they're even stronger than before.
T...
During lunch, I'm sitting between Lily and one of her aunts that insisted for me to sit next to her. I love her family. Her parents have always been the greatest to me, but I must admit that her extended family is somewhat acting weird. I didn't remember them to be this strange, and I can't help but wonder if things changed after what happened to Lily.
I've noticed quite often today how they always keep an eye on Lily, or how they ask her every few minutes how she's doing, and if she wants to do something, to help with lunch or to play with her cousins. It's like they are trying to keep her mind off of it, which I am not sure is that good of an idea. Acting as if things have changed probably only makes Lily feel bad. She hates being the center of attention, and now, everyone is on her back.
As everyone is eating, no one is talking. The silence is not uncomfortable, we're enjoying the moment, each other's presence without any fuss. But aunt Chrissy has to open her mouth to break the silence.
"So, Lily, how's school going?"
"It's going well. I have my first internship this fall."
Lily's grandfather asks, "In a law firm?"
My girlfriend nods with pride. She always has wanted to become a lawyer, and she's been working to make it a reality.
"Won't it be triggering?" Genevieve demands. "What will you do if you have to work on a case of sexual assault?"
Lily chokes on a bit of chicken, taken by surprise by this sudden mention of the subject every adult here is avoiding to mention, but that does change the way they act around Lily. She coughs once, twice, three times in order to gain control over her breathing again. She takes a big gulp of water before answering without any hesitation, "I'll fight for them to get justice. I'll fight even harder than my lawyers fought for me. I don't want anymore assaulters to get away with it. And I know I am putting a lot on my shoulders by saying so, but if there's one thing I want in life, it's for no other girl to go through what I have been through and never get justice."
She isn't crying or having trouble breathing. A smile forms, lifting the corners of her lips.
"I don't want to be scared anymore. I no longer want to base my life on him and what he did. I want to move on, and I am trying to. But you guys act differently around me, you try to distract me, when truly I don't need to, and that is triggering. The idea of helping other victims isn't, it's helpful, it gives me a purpose. So, I would appreciate, if you could just... be yourselves around me. I'm not a porcelain doll, you don't have to handle me with care. Now, can we enjoy this meal, play some games, and sing around the bonfire like we used to?"
That is why Lily is the most impressive person I know. She can speak for herself, she will be a wonderful lawyer.
I am too. She's made progress recently. She really overcame the past, her fears. The memories of that awful night are slowly fading away. but I know they will never entirely go away, I know that there will always be a part of Lily that will be haunted by Rainer Hayes. But she chose to fight. She chose to be stronger than him, not to let him get to her, and ruin her future. He isn't in her future.
"One day," Sabrina whispers in Lily's ear but I can hear since I am sitting closer, "I want to be just like you. Fierceful, brave, selfless."
"I'm sure you will be," Lily replies before looking at me, tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face.
It's what she needed to hear. It's what her parents, Zora, her brother, and I have been trying to tell her for weeks. But today, she finally believes it.
She knows her worth, her strength.
She knows she's got this.
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Sorry for the short chapter, I've been lacking ideas recently, and I've been working a lot more than I expected.
I will try to be more active, at least a chapter every few days, but I can't promise anything.
Their summer is slowly coming to an end, meaning Blake and Adam will go back on mission and we'll get to see how Lily handles herself on her own. (There still will be some chapters in Blake's POV even though he is away)
Hope you liked this chapter even though it was short. I personally like it a lot because it's a very important moment in Lily's healing process. She stood up for herself, finally told her family what she was thinking about their behavior, and how she expects them to be around her.
