Lilly: A Kensington Family Novel

by Allie Everhart

  "Callaway?"

  "Yeah." She laughs. "You know your golf brands."

  "My family owns sporting goods stores. I know all the brands."

  "That's right. I forgot."

  "So you're hiding in here because of Luke?"

  "I was, but I'm fine now." She waves her hand in front of her face, fanning herself, and takes a deep breath. "This is completely stupid. I don't usually get this way over a guy. It's just that when I saw him, I just...I don't know...felt something. Or maybe I'm just imagining it. Maybe I just felt that way because he's hot."

  "How old is this guy?"

  "I think he's 20."

  "Where does he go to school?"

  "He doesn't. He left college to play golf professionally. That's how he got to know my brother." She glances out the window. "We better get out there."

  I follow Taylor outside. Her dad is talking to two young guys. One has blond hair and looks like Taylor, so that must be Cal. The other guy, Luke, has dark hair, dark eyes, and a nice smile with a dimple in each cheek. He's laughing about something her dad said. Her dad's hair is so light it's almost white. It's a stark contrast to his skin, which has a dark tan from the sun. Her mom has a dark tan too. Actually, all of them do, and they're all dressed for the golf course, with shorts, polo shirts, and visors or baseball caps.

  Taylor's mom comes up to greet me. "You must be Lilly."

  "Yes. Nice to meet you."

  Taylor introduces me to the rest of them, but avoids Luke.

  "Taylor said you're a swimmer," her mom says.

  "Yes, but I haven't spent much time in the pool since I got here. School's been keeping me busy."

  "Do you golf?" her dad asks, smiling at me.

  "I do, but I'm not very good. But my dad and brother are. They go all the time. They own a sporting goods store so they have all the latest equipment."

  "What store?" Luke asks.

  "WaveField. They have stores all over the country."

  "I love WaveField," he says. "It's my favorite store. They have one in Phoenix."

  "If it's your favorite store, you should be on the commercials," I say, joking with him.

  "I'd actually be interested in that. I'm trying to get my name out there."

  "I can't promise you anything, but I could talk to my dad about it. He'll be here in like an hour."

  "That'd be great. Thanks." Luke smiles and his dimples appear. Garret's best friend, Sean, has dimples like that. When I was younger, I had a huge crush on Sean because of those dimples.

  "We should get going," Taylor's mom says.

  Taylor is staring at Luke. Like really staring. I nudge her and she looks away.

  "Are you guys going golfing?" I ask her.

  "Yeah. After breakfast."

  "I want to see Taylor's putting skills." Luke smiles at her. "I hear she's better than her brother."

  "Maybe," he says, "but I'm better on the fairway."

  "You need to improve your short game," Luke says. "That's what'll win you the tournament." Luke's still eyeing Taylor. "Maybe you could give me some pointers?"

  Taylor doesn't answer. I nudge her again and she says, "Yeah. Of course."

  Cal looks offended. "The guy's playing against me. You're not supposed to help him."

  Taylor shrugs. "I'd give you pointers, too, if you asked."

  Their mother shakes her head. "When will you two stop being so competitive?"

  "Never," they both say.

  Her dad laughs. "They're just like their father."

  "I'll see you guys later," I say, walking away. "Have fun golfing."

  I didn't think I'd witness so much family interaction today. First Willow, and now Taylor. You can learn a lot about people by watching them around their families. They act differently than when they're with their friends. I wonder if that's true for me. I don't think I act differently, although when I'm around my mother I definitely don't act like myself. I have to become someone else just so she'll tolerate being around me.

  My mom hasn't called me for weeks. She knows this is parents' weekend but she didn't bother to call to say she couldn't be here or that she was sorry she couldn't make it. It's not like I'd want her here. Having my dad and Rachel here is all I need. They both love me. My mother doesn't, and probably never will.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  "Lilly."

  I was just about to go in my room but I turn and see Rachel coming toward me.

  "Hi, honey." She gives me a hug.

  "Hi. You guys are early."

  "Your dad's interview took less time than he thought it would, so we left as soon as it was over."

  My dad appears, a shopping bag in his hand. Rachel must've bought me something. Unlike my mom, Rachel buys me clothes I'd actually wear. I always love what she picks out.

  My dad sets the bag down and gives me a hug. "How's my college girl?"

  "Good." I smile, happy they're here. I haven't seen them since the first week of class and I've missed them.

  We go in my room and Rachel hands me the bag. "I saw this last week and had to get it for you."

  I pull out a black knit dress that has colorful beads sewn into the neckline and a matching beaded belt around the waist.

  "I love it," I say, holding it up.

  "This goes with it." She reaches in the bag and pulls out a short denim jacket. "I thought with the weather getting cooler it'd be good to have. And it looks cute with the dress."

  "Yeah, it's great. Thanks!" I hang the clothes in my closet.

  "Rachel's been making me go shopping with her now that you're not around," my dad says.

  She laughs and hugs his side. "Just a couple times. And you survived."

  "Perhaps, but I can't keep this up. You know how much I despise the mall."

  "You need to come home some weekend," Rachel says to me. "We'll go shopping and give your father a break."

  I laugh. "Okay, I will."

  When Rachel and I go shopping, we don't usually buy much. We just walk around and look at what's new in the stores, then have lunch and maybe go to a movie. It's our mother-daughter time and now that we don't have it anymore, I really miss it.

  "Have you been swimming much this week?" Rachel asks.

  "I went a couple times in the morning before class, but I need to start going every day."

  My dad checks his phone, then puts it away. "Lilly, I spoke with your mother."

  The mood in the room suddenly changes. It becomes dark and heavy, which always happens when the topic of my mother comes up.

  "What did she say?"

  "Let's sit down."

  I take a seat on the bed with Rachel next to me. My dad sits across from us on my desk chair.

  "Your mother's intentions were just as I thought," he says. "She wants you out there at Christmas so she can benefit from being seen with you at various events."

  "She told you that?"

  "After a rather lengthy discussion, yes."

  I take a breath and look up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. I really wanted to believe my mom actually wanted to see me and wasn't just using me.

  "Honey, I'm sorry." Rachel puts her arm around me, hugging me. She's known my mom for years, before I was even born, so she knows what she's like.

  "What did you say to her?" I ask my dad.

  "I told her you are not a pawn to be used in her attempt to elevate her social status and that I will not allow you to go visit her if she tries this again. I realize you're an adult and can make your own decisions, but when it comes to this, I need to intervene. I don't want you appearing in the society pages and becoming part of that life again. You wouldn't be happy in that world which is why I've kept you out of it."

  "So she knows I'm not coming?"

  "Yes, but I don't think she'll give up that easily. I'm sure she'll call you and try to get you to change my mind, which is why I need you to—"

  "Yeah, I'll tell her no." I cross my arms over my stomach and gaze down at the floor. This is one of those ti
mes when I just want to have a good cry, but I can't. For so much of my childhood I was forced to hide my emotions that even now, I have trouble crying in front of people, even my own family.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" Rachel asks. "She still has me hugged to her side, her hand gently rubbing my arm.

  I shake my head. "No."

  The room gets quiet, then my dad says, "I also wanted to talk to you about this boy you've been seeing."

  I look up. "What about him?"

  "I did some research into his background and found that he's been arrested, charged with assault."

  "He got in a fight, but it was self-defense."

  His brows rise. "Is that what he told you?"

  "Yes. Why?"

  "The police report said Reed purposely went after the young man he assaulted. Something about a dispute over a girl."

  "Reed was dating her. He didn't know she had a boyfriend. The police report is wrong. Reed didn't go after that guy. It was the other way around."

  My dad glances at Rachel, then back at me. "Lilly, I don't want you to continue seeing this boy."

  "What?" I jump up from the bed. "Why?"

  "I don't want you around someone who's violent and has a criminal past."

  "He doesn't have a criminal past. And he's not violent!"

  "That young man he was in the fight with ended up in the hospital with trauma to the head. He was seriously injured."

  "Yeah, and so was the guy Garret beat up," I say, my temper rising. "And you were okay with that."

  "I was most definitely not okay with that. And Garret knows that. He and I had a long discussion after that happened and he was never in a fight again."

  "Neither was Reed," I lie. If my dad finds out about the fight last night, he'll never let me see Reed again. "And he doesn't have a criminal past. He was never convicted on any charges."

  "Regardless, I don't want you seeing him. There are plenty of other young men on campus to choose from."

  "I'm not breaking up with Reed." I feel like crying again, the pressure building behind my eyes. "I really like him. We're friends."

  "Then be friends with him, but that's it."

  I go up to my dad. "Please, Dad, don't be this way. You're judging Reed before you've even met him. That's not fair. I know if you met him, you'd like him."

  "Pearce," Rachel says, her eyes on his. "Maybe we should just meet him."

  Thank God for Rachel. She's the only one who can reason with my dad. He's extremely stubborn. When he gets his mind set on something, it's nearly impossible to change.

  He sighs. "Fine. We'll meet him. But until we do, I want you to stay away from him."

  "But it might be a long time before you meet him. He's not here this weekend. He's in LA taking care of his mom."

  Rachel turns to me. "Well, maybe we could—" She stops and puts her hand under my chin, lifting it up a little.

  Dammit. I knew she'd notice.

  "What happened?" she asks. "Why do you have this bruise?"

  "What bruise?" My dad comes over to see it. "Lilly, explain to me why you have a bruise on your face."

  Rachel has now rubbed off the concealer, uncovering the blue and yellow mark.

  "I was getting up in class and the guy in front of me swung his backpack over his shoulder and hit me in the face."

  Rachel and my dad both stare at me to see if I'm lying. I'm fighting the intense urge I have to chew on my lip.

  "When did this happen?" my dad asks.

  "Yesterday. It's no big deal. My friend, Willow, gave me some stuff to put on it and it feels much better now."

  Right as I say it, I hear her talking to someone in the hall. I'll introduce her to my dad and Rachel. It'll be a good distraction so they'll stop quizzing me about the bruise.

  "I'll be right back." I get up and go out in the hall and see Willow unlocking her door. Her parents aren't with her. "Hey, Willow, would you come over for a minute? I want you to meet my parents."

  "Sure. My parents are out looking for a vegan restaurant. They're bringing lunch back and we're eating outside."

  "This won't take long." I bring her into my room. "Dad. Rachel. This is Willow. She lives next door."

  My dad and Rachel go up to her and shake her hand. Willow's staring at my dad like she'd stare at a hot guy. I can't believe she thinks my dad is hot. That's so gross.

  "Willow's a business major," I tell my dad.

  "What are your plans after you graduate?" he asks her.

  "I'm going to find a job at a Fortune 500 company and work my way up to CEO." She's talking in a sophisticated tone that I've never heard her use before.

  He smiles at her. "That's quite a goal."

  "I like to aim high. I'm certain I can achieve my goals if I work hard enough."

  He nods. "I'm sure you will. So how are you liking Camsburg?"

  "It's great. They have an excellent business program. Where did you go to school?"

  "Yale for undergrad and Harvard for my MBA."

  "Wow. That's impressive." She's staring at him again. I think his answer just made her even more attractive to him. "Well, I should go. My parents will be here any minute."

  I walk her to the door. "I'll see ya later."

  She motions to my face. "Your bruise looks better. You want more of that stuff to put on it?"

  She needs to stop talking about this. "No, I'm good. But thanks."

  "I can't believe he hit you like that. I know he claims it was an accident, but still." She walks away. "See ya."

  My back is to my parents so I can't see their faces, but I cringe, knowing they heard what Willow said.

  "Lilly, close the door," my dad says.

  I turn around, shutting the door behind me. My dad and Rachel are standing next to each other. My dad looks really angry and Rachel looks concerned.

  "He hit you?" my dad asks.

  "No." I race up to him. "She wasn't talking about Reed. She was talking about Preston."

  "Preston Litchfield? Wyatt's son?" My dad's face is red, his temper ready to explode. He has a really bad temper. And he's huge; like 6'5 with a wide build and big muscles. So when he's angry he can be kind of scary.

  "Yes," I say. "But it was an accident."

  He raises his voice. "I don't care if it was an accident. No one hurts my daughter. Tell me where he is. Right now!"

  Rachel holds onto his arm. "Pearce, calm down. We haven't heard the whole story yet."

  "Tell me exactly what happened," my dad says, crossing his arms over his chest.

  "There was a party on the beach last night. I wanted to go, but Reed didn't. He tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted we go because it sounded fun. I saw Preston there and went up to talk to him. He was drunk and said he wanted to be alone with me and then he tried to grab me."

  My dad's jaw is tightening, his face getting redder. "So you told him no and he hit you?"

  "No. Reed showed up and saw Preston trying to grab me so he punched him. Then Preston went to punch Reed but stumbled forward and ended up hitting me instead. I fell down and Reed punched Preston again and a fight started. But Dad, I swear, Reed only did it to protect me. He didn't want to fight with Preston. And Preston started the whole thing."

  "We'll deal with the Preston issue in a moment. First, let's discuss Reed. You just assured me he hadn't been in a fight since his arrest. So you lied to me."

  "Only because I knew you wouldn't understand. What happened last night wasn't Reed's fault. He was protecting me from Preston just like Garret was protecting Jade when he got in that fight back in college."

  "Do not bring your brother into this. The two incidents are not comparable. And we're not talking about him. We're talking about you."

  "I knew you would react this way. I knew you'd blame Reed. That's why I didn't tell you."

  "Was either boy injured?" Rachel asks.

  "Reed's ribcage was bruised and Preston had a bloody nose." I think that's all that happened to Preston, but I'm not really sure
. His face was bloody, but I think that's because of his nose. "Preston was going to call the police and press charges, but then changed his mind because he knew he'd get in trouble for underage drinking. But he still might press charges or try to sue Reed for damages, and if he does, Reed will have to drop out of school."

  "Whatever happens to him is not your concern," my dad says. "You should be concerned about yourself and the trouble you're getting yourself into by hanging out with this boy."

  "Dad, it's not Reed's fault! Why aren't you listening to me? Preston is the one causing trouble, not Reed. Rachel, would you please explain this to him?"

  "Honey, I think your father and I need a moment to talk about this. Pearce, why don't we step outside?"

  "There's no need to. I heard what you said, Lilly, but that doesn't change the fact that Reed has been arrested in the past."

  "That was two years ago. He's not violent, Dad. I promise you, he's not."

  He gets his phone out.

  "Who are you calling?" I ask, but he doesn't answer.

  "Yes, hello," he says into the phone. "I need you to get Wyatt Litchfield on the phone right away. Tell him I need to speak with him immediately." He ends the call.

  "He's probably here on campus," I say.

  My dad's phone rings and he answers. "Hello, Wyatt. Pearce Kensington...Yes, we've met before. It's been a while. I assume you're aware that our children attend college together...yes, I'm here as well...I need to speak with you about something. It can't wait...Yes, I'll be right there." He ends the call.

  "Pearce, where are you going?" Rachel asks.

  "To talk to Wyatt. I'll be back shortly." He storms out of my room, slamming the door behind him.

  "What do you think he's going to do?" I ask Rachel.

  "Just let him take care of it. Come here, honey."

  I go up to her and hug her. "Dad hates him. He hates Reed and he doesn't even know him. Reed didn't do anything wrong. He was just trying to keep Preston away from me."

  "Your dad doesn't hate Reed. He's just upset right now. He's upset that you're hurt." She keeps me in the hug, smoothing the back of my hair. "I shouldn't tell you this, but your dad's had a hard time adjusting to you being gone."

  I step back to look at her. "He has?"

  She smiles. "He misses you. Sometimes he goes in your room like he's hoping you'll be there. It's very sweet. And he took some of your artwork and framed it and put it in his office."