Broken 💔 Heroes

Chapter 14 Confession Pt. 1

Song Inspiration: Congratulations (From "Hamilton")

Artist: Renée Elise Goldsberry & Lin-Manuel Miranda 

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The clock on the wall of the living room ticked away. Rain poured from outside even harder than before, beating the trees and crops, making them bend to its will.

Earth Maiden, or rather now Lilly, sat stiff on the sofa. She stared at the walls of the room. To her left was a display of trophies and medals, hanging on their own personalized shelves.

A mixture of emotions flooded through her at the sight.

A gentle voice inside her head melted at the fact that it seemed nothing had changed since she was last here.

Well, from what she imagined since the house was a disaster last time.

She always admired that about Lou. No matter how terrible things became, he managed to still come back as the proper gentleman who adores dancing. He rarely ever strayed from that man.

Perhaps she grew to depend on that constant, which is why it always gave her comfort whenever she returned for a visit.

But the other voice, the bitter and cynical one, argued that he should have gotten rid of those pieces of metal. If he were supposedly in hiding all this time, he made it obnoxiously easy for anyone to discover his former life.

More importantly, Lilly noticed a lack of photos. That, she believed, had been the only change since her last visit.

There was nothing to indicate Lou had a family, not even their son's childhood photos.

All that remained were elegant paintings of landscapes or black and white photos of famous artists and dancers.

The hero's body tensed the more she stared, causing her fists that gripped her jeans to tighten.

Lilly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the clanking of tea cups. The hero turned to find Lou making his way into the living room. He carried a tray in one hand while supporting himself with a cane in the other.

Suddenly, the sight of his cane again caused her anger to numb as she stood.

"If you were getting a tray, then I would have helped," she spoke before grabbing the tray of tea from him. Lou nodded a 'thank you' before adjusting himself. He headed over to the sofa across the coffee table from hers.

"We may not be on good terms, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be hospitable to house guests," Lou huffed once he settled down in his seat. Lilly placed the tray onto the wooden coffee table and reclaimed her spot. Silence grew between the two as Lou grabbed the teapot and began pouring two cups of hot tea.

"May I ask how you got that cane?" Lilly asked. Her gaze trailed over to the wooden stick resting against the arm of the sofa.

"I was teaching my class last Thursday. Unfortunately, I tripped and sprained my ankle. The doctor says that I will make a full recovery, but I need time to rest."

Lilly's gaze soon narrowed while she pursued her lips, previous anger boiling up again.

"You don't think instructing dance classes is unwise? What if someone recognizes you?"

Lou gave a humorless chuckle as he set down the teapot and began scooping out a few sugar cubes.

"I changed my name, remember? I am Oliver Hence now. Also, I changed my appearance for class... I just decided to grow out the mustache again since I'm practically bedridden," he replied while stirring the tea with a spoon.