It's the second night knowing that Lily is no longer asleep in her room. I twist and turn, unable to sleep, so I get on my phone for a little while to pass the time. A little past midnight, my phone dings and a text opens up. It's from Connor. He's the last person I want to see a text from, but I read it anyway.
Milo, meet me at Dunford park at 10 am tomorrow. We need to talk.
Why the hell should I go anywhere to meet him? All he's going to do is try to convince me not to date Lily and that he isn't the guy I think he is. Newsflash for him, it's not going to work. But I don't want him bothering Lily either, if he finds her, so I'd better go. I can set things straight and maybe she won't have to worry anymore.
I settle back into my bed. If I'm going to meet him tomorrow, I've really got to get some sleep. I know Marcy says Lily is probably with her mom, but I can't help but worry that she's asleep on a park bench somewhere, alone and cold. Eventually I fall asleep, but the sleep was unfulfilling and short-lived. When I wake up again, it's six am, which is way too early for me to be up. But I decide that I'll make my parents breakfast.
I creep downstairs to the kitchen. Neither of them are up yet. Since there's so much time before they'll get up, I decide to make cinnamon rolls; they take longer to cook. They should be ready just about the time that they're getting up. Lily had picked them out at the store, gushing over how it had been years since she had a cinnamon roll. She was so excited to make them, but never got the chance.
Once the rolls are in the oven, I relax back on the couch and turn on my PlayStation so I can distract myself. The time flies while I'm playing Call of Duty, and soon my parents are waking up, my dad trudging into the kitchen to make his morning coffee and my mother getting into the shower.
"You're up early. Do I smell cinnamon rolls?" he asks.
"Couldn't sleep. Connor wants to meet with me today and it just kept me awake. And yeah, I'm making some for breakfast," I say.
"I thought Lily wanted to make those? And are you sure it's a good idea to meet with the scumbag?" my father asks.
"She did, but she's not here, and we can always get more and pretend like we never ate them. And no, I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not, but I want to make it clear to him he's staying away from Lily and our family. I don't want him anywhere near here," I say.
"I agree, but do you really think he'll listen?" he asks.
"If he doesn't, I'll file a restraining order or something. I just want Lily to feel safe enough to come back and hopefully take me back," I say.
"You two broke up?" he asks.
"I think so. I don't know. She said to stay away from her or she'd call the cops, so yeah, I'd call that breaking up," I say.
"I think she was just scared you'd take his side," he says.
"But I proved to her I didn't agree, and she still ran away. I think it's just hard for her knowing that her abuser is my cousin, even though she knows I'm not anything like that," I say.
"Women are sensitive son, we've learned that the hard way. I'm sure she'll come back, just give it some time," he says.
"But there isn't much time. The concert we're supposed to go to together is only days away. I paid a lot of money for those tickets, but I don't care about the money, I care more about the fact that she'd miss out on meeting one of her favorite bands all because she's afraid," I say.
"I'm sure she'll come around, son. Sometimes ladies just need their space to think about things alone," he says.
"But she could be anywhere! She could be living on the streets again, for all I know!" I exclaim.
YOU ARE READING
A Library Romance
RomanceHe'd been watching her in the library for days. She'd noticed him, but said nothing. It was fun that way. It was their little game, hide and seek without ever acknowledging that they had been found. Until Milo gets a speeding ticket and ends up doin...
