The Blondes of Bel-Air

LILY

"I can't believe your mom was going to make you stay with Penny for six whole weeks! Nightmare! Although it would be perfect if say, you wanted to smother her with a pillow. Or push her down the stairs again. What, why are you looking at me like that?"

I flopped on the bed in the guest room while Gemma unpacked her suitcase.

"Lily, I hope you're kidding."

"I mean, how weird would it be to stay at their house even if Penny wasn't in the hospital?"

Gemma shrugged, mumbled something, and threw a stack of jeans onto one of the many shelves in the enormous closet.

"Well it's perfect, you staying here! Now we won't waste any time trying to figure out what Penny really knows." I picked imaginary lint off of the duvet.

"Do you think she'll go to the cops, Lil?" Gemma sat down beside me, her normally clear eyes clouded with worry.

"Maybe the real question here is, why hasn't she gone to the cops already? You know?"

"I still can't believe all of the stuff you saw on her chart. I mean, Lithium? Wow. That's for people who are very ill right?"

"Yes! She must be clinically insane! All of the meds she's on are prescribed for mental illnesses. We're lucky she didn't take us down the stairs with her when she fell!"

I scratched the side of my face absentmindedly. "At least we know she's safe and sound at the hospital where she can't go even crazier than she already is and go to the cops. Gives us time to figure something out."

Gemma leaned back against the large, fluffy pillows on the enormous king-sized bed that was all hers for the next month. I curled up next to her.

"Sorry to make you do something so lame, but my father is having his business team over for dinner tonight and he likes when mother and I are there. He says it shows some sort of bullshit family unity or something. Anyway, for the next several weeks you're family so this dinner includes you tonight. I'm sorry, Gem. But after the torture is over I'll buy you special!" I knit my hands together in a begging posture. "Please...yes. Okay?"

Gemma grabbed my praying hands in her freezing ones, "It had better be a new iPhone, tucked inside that new Louis Vuitton bag I have my eye on."

"Being a reality tv star has really gone to your head! You're lucky if you get a key chain from Target!" I tossed a pillow at Gemma and we giggled. 

"I'm going to leave you to your unpacking now, madam... I have that paper to write for my philosophy class tomorrow. I'll see you at dinner!" I bounded off of the bed and headed down the massive hallway to my own bedroom.

"Oh, Lil, wait!" Gemma jumped up after me. "What should I wear? I didn't think to pack my three-piece suit, you know."

"Very funny. Just wear a dress. It's pretty casual, I promise."

"Oh! Can I wear your grey dress? The vintage Stella McCartney?" Gemma looked hopeful.

"My grey Stella McCartney? I don't know where it is." My pulse quickened and I had to look away. I stared at a framed portrait of a Madison-Vaughn ancestor looking haughty wearing a shirt with a ruffled collar.

Had I told Gemma about Taylor showing up in that dress?

"It's in here in the closet! Can I wear it? Please?" She called from deep within the closet.

"It's in the closet in there?" I stuttered and pointed to where Gemma hung her clothes.

She gave me a puppy dog look, all big eyes, and pouty lips, her cheeks pink and hopeful.

"Yeah, um, okay. Sure." I swallowed the slice of fear wedged in my throat. "You can keep it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gemma squeezed me. "Now go finish your paper so I'm not stuck at dinner with these stiffs tonight!"