I Remember You

Chapter 3

Lily nodded that she was ready. She had watched the show and read the script she had been given. The secretary's character, Brooke Wisse, was the opposite of Lily. Lily was shy and reserved; Brooke was bold and sassy. She would be a fun character to play because she was so far from the real Lily.

Finn started by throwing out the first line. He had to be bored, having delivered it many times already, but his acting couldn't be faulted. "What happened to all of the files that were on my desk, and why is my fridge empty!" Finn's character, Desmond, demanded. He was so fierce in his delivery that Lily didn't have to fake her surprise at his line.

For a moment, she quailed beneath his anger, but then she remembered her line, and she was off, happy that her lines were sassy enough to make her feel like she was in control.

"I did it because you paid me to," she shot back as she surprised herself by stepping towards him not away as Brooke took over.

He took a step back in response and frowned not expecting the move. "I pay you to answer the phones, nothing else!" he said in a gravelly voice.

"You pay me to manage this office and that's what I'm doing. All of the food in the fridge was expired and there was a layer of dust on your desk so thick I could write my name in it."

"That's my business, from now on stay out of my office!" he demanded as he took a step towards her.

Lily also stepped towards him, and they were almost in each other's space. "No," she said as she stared into his dark eyes which were analyzing her face. "You can fire me if you want, but I was hired to do a job, and I was always raised to give every job I tackle one hundred percent."

He snorted. "A bit full of yourself, aren't you? I don't need this, you're fired!" he turned away from her, and Lily darted around him, not allowing him to dismiss her that easily.

"No!"

"No?" this time, he looked amused.

Lily felt real desperation as if this was her chance to get and keep a real job, that these weren't only lines she was reading. "Please, just give it time, you've forgotten how to live with the living. I can help!"

He froze, staring down at her. "What does that mean?" His voice had gone very soft and dangerous. Lily gulped, she wasn't so sure they were acting anymore. It felt very real. The line made sense for the character who saw ghosts lived with ghosts, but Lily had the feeling he had heard more in her delivery than she had intended. It was either that or he was a really good actor.

Lily swallowed as she continued. "You've been living with the files and the people you investigate. They're the only ones that keep you company, the photos of them, the stories that you learn, what you believe they are like in life. That's all you think about; you don't remember how to be with people who aren't part of your case histories."

He eyed her. "You've only known me a week!"

"I'm a quick read!" she fired back.

"Aren't you a bit full of yourself to think you're the person to bring me back into the world of the living?" He arched his eyebrow as he emphasized the words 'world of the living' and his gaze took in her messy appearance.

Lily felt a real blush heat her cheeks at his judgemental look. "Yes, as long as you aren't so touchy about your stuff. It is only stuff, after all." She stayed on script, even though the line didn't feel like what she would have said in real life.

"It is only stuff," he agreed, letting his gaze run over her once more. "You really need this job, don't you?" he asked, softening for a minute. His delivery blurred the line of reality for Lily.

She swallowed hard and nodded.

"Fine!" he said then walked away ending the scene.

It had all taken less than two minutes, but Lily felt as if she had run a marathon. When she looked over at the table, the heads were all huddled together whispering. She turned her attention to Finn, who was watching her with an expressionless face.

"Are you up for a little add-libbing Lily?" Petra asked, looking up from the huddle.

"Sure," she agreed, not sure at all.

"Here's the scene LeeLee," Mason said, and Lily shot him a look. LeeLee was the pet name that they called her at home since the little ones had trouble saying, Lily. "It's Lily, Mr. Stevens," she reminded him.

Mason ignored her as he looked at Finn, making sure he was good with the change, and she watched a look pass between the two men that she didn't understand. "You've just found Desmond in his office, he's been drinking, but he's not drunk. You know something's gone wrong, but you don't know what it is," he walked towards Finn and had a low conversation with him before walking away. "Petra, can we get a table?" he asked.

A table and chair were set in the middle of the room as Lily did her best to calm her nerves that had tripled when he mentioned that Finn's character had been drinking. She hoped she could remain objective as a quick image of her father flashed before her eyes.

Finn took a seat in the chair, claiming his space as he picked up the glass of water that had been provided while Lily pushed everything from her mind as she tried to find the sassy secretary.

Finn leaned back in his chair looking at his glass of water and Lily perched on the edge of the chair across from his desk watching him.

"Are you going to invite me to join you?" Lily asked, but she wasn't Lily, she was Brooke, which allowed her to ask such a bold question.

"Help yourself," Desmond said as he set the glass on the table and pushed it towards her.

"No, thank you," she said, pushing the glass back towards him. "I don't like sloppy seconds."

Finn smiled. "I don't think that means what you think it means." He reached for the glass again.

"Maybe not, but it's apt; drinking makes you sloppy." She shrugged, pushing away an image of her father.

There was a tense silence, and Finn's hand tightened on the glass. "Drinking drowns out the voices." She watched his jaw tightened. He hadn't meant to say that. Perhaps a pretend glass of alcohol cut too close to home for both of them.

"Are there many voices?" she asked casually, wondering if that was why her father drank.

"Too many!" he bit out before taking another drink.

"As long as one of them is still mine." She didn't know where it came from, but she meant it, would it have been something she would have said to her father if she had been able?

He smiled and relaxed some. "Yes, I still hear you. I guess I need a little more of this." He held up his glass towards her before gulping the rest of it and slamming it down.

Lily jumped in resonse. "Your choice, but before you get too deep in the bottle, there's a file on your desk, you might want to look at." She stood, feeling the need to end the scene.

"Ahhh...another voice," he said, his voice harsh.

"I couldn't say one way or another, but it is someone who needs help, and I know that you can help them." She turned her back and walked away, ending the scene.

When she turned to face the table of people, they were all silent as they regarded both her and Finn. She let her gaze dart to Finn, but he had pulled out his phone and was looking at something.

"Thank you, Lily," Mason stressed her name. "We'll be in touch if we need anything more from you."

Lily nodded and picked up her purse as she left the room. She had enjoyed the last half hour but it appeared as if she was the only one who had.

At least Petra would get off her back about auditioning.