Giving Up

Chapter 5

Lillie had asked Jamie if they could have a night where they didn't spend time together. She told him that she cared about him and wanted to be with him, but she needed some time to herself. She was afraid that they were too attached to each other and that they were spending so much time with each other that they would lose their own identities if they didn't take a little time to themselves. She ran herself a bubble bath, lit some candles, and turned on some music. Lillie noticed how her body was changing, and she was happy to see that she was gaining more defined muscle, and losing inches around her problem areas. She soaked in the tub until her water cooled down, shaved her legs, then stood up to take a hot shower and wash her hair. When she got out of the tub, she had two missed calls from unknown number and a new text message. "Hey beautiful I already miss you. Going all night without seeing your pretty eyes is going to kill me :(" Lillie laughed a sad laugh and realized that although she had just seen Jamie a few hours ago, she missed him like crazy.

She decided to text him back "come over" and she ran to put on a something sexy. She looked through all her pajamas and decided she would slip on one of his tee shirts instead. He always told her that he loved how she looked in his clothes. She put on a little make up, and brushed through her hair leaving it damp and falling around her shoulders. When her phone went off, she didn't look at the caller ID and just assumed James was calling to let her know he was there. "Hey sexy, I haven't been able to keep my mind off you." She giggled as she greeted him. Instead of Jamie's voice, she heard the same deep voice that had been bothering her on and off for months. "Watch yourself you whore. Your day is coming!" And with that, the call had ended.

Lillie was really shaken up when she set down her phone. She hadn't told James that these calls were still coming in. He knocked on the door, and she tried to compose herself as she let him in. "Baby girl, what's the matter?" James instantly saw the fear in her eyes and grabbed her into a hug. She sat down with him and explained everything that had been happening. He was irrate. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before? Lillie, why the hell haven't you changed your phone number? How do you know this person doesn't know where you live. That's it! You're coming to stay with me, and tomorrow, we are getting you a new phone number. I cannot BELIEVE that you have been keeping this from me!"

Lillie looked at him with sad eyes, knowing that he was upset. He had never yelled at her before. He was shaking with anger as he jumped off the couch and went to her room to start packing some of her clothes. Lillie followed him down the hall to her bedroom and slowly went inside. He was grabbing clothes out of her closet and throwing them toward the bed. "Jamie, stop!" Lillie could tell that he was angry, and it was killing her. She didn't like it when people were mad at her.

"Lillie, we need to get you out of here. Someone is threatening you. The worst part is, you didn't even tell me what was going on! I thought we were in a relationship. We were supposed to be in this together and you keep something like this from me? What else have you been keeping from me?" He practically yelled at her. "This is fucking ridiculous!"

Lillie looked him in the eyes and, as soon as she saw the anger burning there, she broke down crying. "Just leave. You obviously don't want me staying with you. You're pissed off at me because I wasn't scared of some punk prank calling me. I wasn't scared until now, I am a big girl and thought I could handle it. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry, and now you are basically accusing me of being a liar. Just go." She could barely get the words out. She didn't want him to leave, but she couldn't handle seeing how upset he was. "This isn't how I wanted tonight to be. I cannot handle this right now, just please leave." Lillie crawled onto her bed and sobbed.

James could see how scared she was, and how upset he had made her. He instantly regretted saying anything to her. He shouldn't have yelled at her when she was so frightened. He wanted to protect her, and instead he scared her more and made her push him away. He went to her side, sat next to her, and cradled her like a baby. "Lilly Pad, please don't cry. I am sorry I yelled. I am not mad at you, I am scared for you. I am worried about your safety and I just want to protect you. Please baby, don't cry." He tried calming her down, but instead she cried harder. She pulled away from him and curled up under her covers. He knew he would never be able to convince her to go with him, so he moved the clothes off the bed that he had just thrown there and crawled in bed next to her.