Finding Lily

6- Lily

Jane and I walked together up the driveway, drunk and happy with everything that happened that night. We were giggling hysterically at nothing and almost fell when we were halfway to the steps. Distracted by our laughter, I didn't even notice that the door was already unlocked when we walked in.

"Lily, you should have seen that guy's face when you kicked his ass at beer pong. He was so pissed!" Jane slurred as she stumbled her way over to the kitchen. I followed her after throwing off my heels. I went over to the tap and filled up two glasses of water. After handing one to Jane, I started sipping mine immediately. I didn't want another hangover in the morning.

"Dude, I did see his face. And it wasn't even that cute." I told her.

Jane's laughs echoed throughout the house, and soon mine joined her. It wasn't until we heard a floorboard creak that we stopped cold.

I glanced at Jane, neither of us saying a word as we drank from our glasses. Then I burst out into more laughter, convinced that I was obviously so drunk that now I was hearing things.

"Hello, girls."

My glass slipped out of my hand, shattering on the floor. I didn't flinch when the cool water drenched my bare feet, or when a piece of broken glass nicked my toe. My eyes were trained on the man sitting at the dining room table, and the two standing next to him with pistols in their hands. I saw Jane in her peripherals and realized that she was just as paralyzed from fear as I was.

"No need to stop chatting on my account. I'd love to hear about how awesome your night was." The man at the table said. His dark eyes stared at us tauntingly, like a hunter whose prey had no fathomable chance of escape. He was sporting a blonde buzz cut on his head and a tattoo on his neck, the 250 pound man wearing the demeanor of the devil himself.

My fight or flight response finally started to kick in when the man gestured for his companions to grab us. I couldn't bear to leave Jane, so I tried to conjure up some of my old martial arts training in an attempt to fight them off. As one of the guys tried to grab me, I attempted a punch to the face but completely missed. The man I attacked had the size and speed advantage, not to mention he wasn't impaired with alcohol.

Then his fist connected with my face with the force of a freight train, causing me to fall to the ground as blood streamed down from my broken nose. I landed on my shoulder, hard, and layed there in agonizing pain. I struggled to keep the nausea at bay, but it was slowly coming up.

"Get her up." The leader said from his chair. My attacker hauled me up by one arm while his companion grabbed Jane, whose silent tears cascaded down her face in mascara-stained streams. The boss reached a hand up to caress Jane's face, his fingers wiping her tears away. "Don't worry, dear. You'll get to live." His demon eyes then turned to me. "I can't say the same about you."

When I heard that, I couldn't hold it down any longer. I was able to redirect the vomit slightly so it hit his shoes instead of his jacket, but I knew it didn't really matter. There was a moment of silence as we were all in shock at what just happened. I just stared up at the man, my eyes begging for mercy and forgiveness, but his expression told me there would be none. "Punish her." He ordered.

The man holding me pushed me violently to the ground. After that, my memory blurred. I felt hit after hit but had no idea who was doing it or where he was hitting me. I just laid in a ball on the ground as they beat me, until I was hauled up again and hit some more.

By the end, I was battered and bruised all over my body, but I couldn't feel anything. I was numb and barely conscious. The only thing keeping me awake was the knowledge that if I went to sleep, I might not wake up.

I could feel Jane's eyes on me as I struggled against my captors. At that moment, I was thankful they hadn't laid a hand on her yet.

The sound of tires squealing outside halted the next attack on my body. All of their eyes focused on the front door, silently waiting. The man in charge scowled at the intrusion but didn't order anyone to move. Guns were drawn on the door, leaving whoever it was no chance of getting in.

Unless he came from the back, which he did. From my spot on the bloody tile, I watched a man fly through a broken window and attack my captors. My vision clouded and I rested my head on the tile, eyes still open but vision cloudy. Then, Jane was lying next to me. Blood soaked the front of her flowery dress, mixing with mine, pooling around us. I stared at my step-sister, my words of panic caught in my throat as the life drained from Jane's green eyes. I gazed at her, praying for her to stay alive, praying for it all to be over, until darkness took over.