I Remember You

Chapter 31

Lily left before Mike and Finn the next morning. She was on edge and couldn't be bothered to sit still. She needed to be moving. She turned on her favorite playlist and took her time driving from the beach into town. It was a beautiful sunny day, one she should be enjoying, but she couldn't. Her head was too wrapped up in what was about to happen.

He didn't get it and he never would. Sure, she had kissed guys in plays before, but they were always a meaningless mash of lips that was over as quickly as it had started. Finn was different. He meant more, she wanted him to kiss her, and she knew it wouldn't be meaningless. She also believed that he was going to be very good at it too.

It wasn't even the technical side of the kiss; kisses were always awkward when they were choreographed. Lily's concern was how she was going to respond to the kiss. She had a feeling that a real kiss would feel a little bit like she was floating.

She pulled into the parking lot and parked in the same space she always did, taking her time gathering up all of her stuff. She was closing the door when she felt someone behind her, turning she noted her mother, Eve, approaching fast. Lily didn't have time to step away from the door before her mother had her pinned between it and herself.

"You've been avoiding me, Lily," she hissed as she looked around to see who was watching.

Lily noted the foul smell that was rolling off of her, and she was high on something, and knowing her mother, it was probably multiple things.

"I've been busy Mom, what do you want?" Lily tried to move to the left and then the right, but her mother's arm shot out and blocked her both times.

"With your new boyfriend, no doubt. You really worked quickly on that one. You're not afraid of me, are you Lily?" Her mother tucked a stray hair behind Lily's ear.

"Of course not, but you are bothersome, and I'd rather not deal with you since I don't have to anymore." Lily pushed against her, and Eve staggered backward letting Lily made a break for it.

"Laz!" Eve called. "I need your help!"

Lily felt a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stop. She turned and looked up at a giant man who smiled down at her. He didn't mean her any harm she was sure of it, but he was helping her mother. Something about him reminded her a little of Mike.

"Laz, is that your name?" Lily asked, returning his smile.

He nodded. "Your Ma wants to talk to you. She said you might run and she only needed me to hold you still for a minute while she talked to you."

Lily looked over her shoulder at her mother, who had a smug expression on her face.

"What do you want!" she insisted, tired of all of the drama.

"I want money, what do you think I want?" Eve said snidely.

"I have thirty dollars in my wallet-" Lily tried to reach for it.

"I don't want thirty dollars. I want half of everything you have. I've earned it," Eve insisted, walking towards Lily.

"No, you haven't. Besides I don't have enough to give you half even if I wanted to, which I don't." Lily tried to break away from Laz one more.

"We both know you have more than that. I don't want to have to ruin you to get it." She pushed Lily's hair out of her face once more before grabbing her chin and holding her face still. "You're about to be very famous and very rich. You give what the ranch sold for, and I won't go to the press about what a horrible daughter you are and all of the bad things you've done, like getting drunk with a bunch of gangbangers and then spending the evening with them all while you were high as a kite."