by Rae Spencer
“What?” Clay roared again, causing Lily to hunch down farther.
“He said there is more to the story, but he wouldn’t tell me what.” Jacob glanced over at Lily, gritting his teeth as he saw her hunched shoulders.
Clay ran his fingers through his hair. How dare that son-of-a-bitch trash his house? How dare he start a fire! How the hell did he get in? He froze. His fingers tightening on his neck.
His mind stuck on what Jacob said, it hovered then crashed, more to the story! His eyes snapped to Jacob. What else could the bastard have done to Lily?
Clay’s phone rang, “Hey Will,” he walked out of the room again.
“Melissa, why don’t you go pack,” Scott’s eyes were on Lily who hadn’t moved or eaten. She seemed frozen in place.
“Yeah, I will.” Melissa stood.
“Amy and I will go get our stuff packed, too.” Kevin stood with Amy.
“Sara and I as well,” Tom walked toward the door, the others following. “Scott, we will all meet back here and head to the airport together.”
“We will be waiting.” Scott closed the door behind them, everyone leaving including Jacob.
“Lily,” Melissa stopped next to her, “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” Lily said softly, not looking up at Melissa.
Clay came back in, his eyes on Lily.
“I am going to go pack,” Melissa walked by Clay, sending him a look full of concern, he nodded, sat by Lily.
“You still haven’t eaten,” he said softly.
“I’m not hungry,” she whispered, staring at her food.
He gripped her chin forcing her to look at him. “Lily, everything is going to be okay.”
She pulled her chin out of his hand, looking back down.
“Hey,” he gripped her chin again, angling it up so he could see her face, tracing her lip with his finger. “Lily, don’t do this, don’t pull away, hide yourself away. We are going to get through this, I promise.”
She stared at him, her eyes haunted, her uncertainty visible.
He leaned toward her brushing her lips with his, “I love you.”
She blinked repeatedly, trying to hold her tears back. “I love you, too,” she laid her head on his shoulder.
Clay wrapped his arms around her kissing her forehead, “I promise. We will get through this together.”
Chapter 28
They walked through the airport, the conversation on the plane unknown to Lily. She slept most of the way but she didn’t care. Jason would never leave her alone and now he involved others. She couldn’t get past others being hurt because of her.
She had to do something, to protect those around her. She couldn’t think straight.
“Clay, Sara and I are coming to Will’s with you.” Tom glanced over at Clay, “I already spoke with him.”
Clay figured as much. His eyes were glued to Lily. She had become so withdrawn, so quiet.
“Clay,” Will bellowed through the crowd.
“Will,” Clay turned, pulling Lily with him, he walked over to his brother, hugging him.
Will hugged his little brother back, squeezing. “Let’s get you back to the house.”
“Lily,” Clay wrapped his hand around her waist pulling her to him. “This is my brother, Will.”
She smiled at his older brother. She had seen pictures of him before. He seemed taller in person. Will and Clay resembled each other a lot, but Will had brown hair while Clay’s was ebony. “Hello,” she whispered.
Will smiled. “Hello, Lily,” bending he kissed her cheek. “Come on, Skye is waiting and not patiently.”
They all left. Scott and Melissa, and Kevin and Amy heading to their places while Tom and Sara went with them to Wills.
Skye met them at the door, smiling. “Hello, Lily.” Skye held her hand out and Lily placed hers in it.
They walked into the large living room. Lily gazed around their house, taking in everything she could see. Their home was beautiful.
She sat on the couch with Clay next to her, Tom and Sara sat on another couch, and Skye sat on the arm of Will’s chair. They began talking about everything that happened, but she didn’t listen.
“Will, it is late.” Skye broke into the conversation, her eyes on Lily. “Perhaps, this can wait till morning.”
“Yeah,” Will had been watching Lily himself, she hadn’t spoken, just sat staring. “In the morning Clay, Tom, and I will head over to Clay’s place. Lily and Sara will stay here with you.”
“Agreed,” Clay pulled Lily to her feet, said goodnight and everyone went to their rooms.
Clay closed the door behind them, pulling Lily into his arms. “Lily, love, we are going to work this out.”
She smiled at him, her fingers caressing his cheek, wishing that were true, but she couldn’t convince her heart or her mind.
She leaned against Clay, touching his lips with hers in the gentlest of touches.
He wrapped his arms around her, scooped her into them, laying her on the bed. His body pushed hers into the mattress as his tongue surged into her mouth.
Her hands were everywhere, her desperation, her need coursing over his body. He groaned into her mouth.
She grabbed his shirt pulling the material over his head. She ran her hands down his chest, over his nipples, then back up, her nails raking his shoulders.
“Hurry, Clay,” she whispered her body twisting, surging against his. She was on fire, she needed him now, and she couldn’t wait.
He stripped her clothes off, followed by his, the moment his naked body touched hers Lily’s legs spread, wrapped around him and Clay slid deep.
She slammed up against his body. Her need was overwhelming. He couldn’t control it or slow it down. All he could do was sate it.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her hips slamming against him again. “Please.”
He growled pulling back then he slammed into her. His balls smacked off her ass as she clenched him, her nails digging into his back.
She met him thrust for thrust. There were no words, only the sounds of their fierce mating. Sweat poured from their bodies, mingling as she clutched him to her. She cried out against his neck, their bodies shuddering at the same time.
“God,” Clay whispered against her neck, kissing her lightly, before leaning up on his elbow, looking into her eyes.
She brushed her fingers over his cheeks, his eyes, and his lips in wonder. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” he kissed her nose, rolling to his side pulling her into his arms, her head under his chin.
****
Clay woke early, Lily was still sound asleep. He quietly climbed out of bed, dressing, letting her sleep. He met up with his brother and Tom, and headed to his house.
They pulled up to Clay’s house and the three of them stared for a moment. The damage was severe. The fire had been large. His house was a disaster. To Clay, the worst damage was the violation.
“Well,” Clay grimaced. “I will fix the house then sell.”
Will glanced over at Clay. “Sell?”
Clay shrugged, looking around at the disaster his house was. “Yeah, I will not bring Lily here, not after Jason had been here. She deserves better. Besides it’s just a house.”
Will laughed. “I agree, design one together, Skye and I did.”
“Good idea.” Clay laughed. Will was deeply in love with his wife and everyone knew it.
“Yeah, great idea.” Tom clasped Clay’s shoulder.
“I’ll put my personal stuff we can save into storage. Will, can we stay with you until I find a place?” Clay asked, glancing at his brother.
Will rolled his eyes. “You don’t even have to ask, my wife is quite taken with your Lily.”
“I noticed,” he muttered.
“Me too,” Tom laughed, stepping forward, “let's go through this mess and get out what you want, so you don’t need to come back here again.”
The three of them spent the next two hours gathering Clay’s belon
gings. Some of his Gold and Platinum records and other awards were beyond saving, but he wasn’t worried.
His guitars, his equipment were in the studio, not in the house. The fire hadn’t reached there. He was able to save his important papers. He kept them in a safe. He mostly lost clothes and furniture.
****
Lily opened sleepy eyes, the clock reading 11 a.m. She stretched looking around the room for Clay. He must have left with the others to check the damage to his house. She sat up, moving to the side of the bed, about to stand when the door opened.
“Oh my god,” Sara’s eyes were glued to Lily’s scarred body.
Lily scrambled for the covers, drawing them over her.
“I can’t believe you actually look like… like…,” Sara waved her hands at Lily’s body.
Lily stared at her, mortified, her cheeks burning.
“Clay will never stay with you, not with those scars, he must feel sorry for you,” Sara sneered.
“What?” She gasped, her eyes widening.
Sara snorted. “Come on Lily, even you must realize your body is gross, I can’t even imagine Clay wanting to have sex with you.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Is that what Jason did to you?” Sara asked.
She nodded, hesitantly.
“And you stabbed him for that?” Sara snapped.
She flinched.
“Jason didn’t deserve what he got, but you sure did, I know the whole story and using Clay to get back at Jason is disgusting,” Sara snarled.
“I am not,” Lily whispered.
Sara took two steps closer to her, “Oh, please, Lily, don’t lie to me, Clay’s pity will only go so far, and then you will be begging Jason to take you back.”
She swallowed, whispering, “That is not true.”
“You really are disgusting to look at I can’t imagine how embarrassing you are to Clay, or how much he cringes at the mere thought of touching you.” Sara turned, closing the door behind her.
She stared at the door, tears on her face. She hated them, she was always crying since she met Clay. She flung herself backwards on the bed staring up at the ceiling.
Did she stay? Did she want to see the disgust in Clay’s eyes? The embarrassment? Did she want to witness his pity?
No! She wanted to remember the last week with Clay as the happiest of her life. She didn’t want his pity! Or disgust!
She didn’t want to cause him any more pain, either. She already cost him his house.
She stood, wiping at her face, grabbing the clothes Skye had given her to wear she dressed. She gathered what she had left, stuffing the items in her purse. She checked her secret stash of money, sighing deeply.
She started over once before, she would again. She knew how. She couldn’t go back to Florida, but somewhere else. She didn’t care about the trial. Jason would get off anyway, or he would kill her. At least she could stop him from hurting people who tried to help her.
She didn’t want to be responsible for other’s pain. Clay’s family was at risk. If something happened to them, he would never forgive her. He might even hate her. Blame her!
She couldn’t bear the thought. Clay may never forgive her for leaving, but at least he wouldn’t hate her.
Enough was enough. She threw her head back in agitation, her chestnut hair swirling around her shoulders. She had to end this now.
She snuck out of the room, checking where Skye and Sara were. She found them talking in the kitchen and slipped unseen out one of the patio doors into the yard.
The property had a wall around it and she realized she would have to climb over. There was no way she could sneak out the gate without being seen. She searched quietly for a spot to climb, then pulled a chair over and climbed to the top. She hoped she didn’t set the alarms off, just in case, she would run when she made it to the other side.
With just the borrowed clothes on her back, a hoodie, and her purse, she made it down the other side to the sidewalk. Without looking back, Lily walked away from Will and Skye’s house, most of all she walked away from Clay. From what she could never have and should never have thought, even for a moment, she could. She was alone… the only real truth of her life.
Chapter 29
The alarms sounded, the guards came running searching the grounds for intruders. They found nothing. No one had entered the property, or the house. Skye was relieved, wondering what had set off the alarms.
“Where is Lily?” Skye walked into the kitchen looking at Sara.
Sara shrugged, “I haven’t seen her.”
Skye went up stairs, opening the door she looked into Clay’s room. “Lily, are you up?”
Skye stopped staring at the bed. It was empty. She walked over to the bathroom looking inside, empty.
Sky checked all the rooms in her home, but she could not find Lily. Skye called the security guards in a near panic. They checked the security tapes, determining Lily set off the alarms when she climbed over the wall.
Lily had left. On her own. She was on her own and Jason was free.
Devastated because she was supposed to be looking after Lily, Skye grabbed her phone calling her husband crying.
****
Will stopped next to his brother answering his ringing phone, his face falling. “Skye, what’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“What’s wrong?” Clay demanded, staring at his brother.
“Are you sure? When? How?” Will looked helplessly at his brother, listening to his heartbroken wife. “We will be right there.” Will squeezed Clay’s shoulder.
“What happened?” Clay growled.
Will looked at Clay, clenched his jaw. “Lily left.”
“What do you mean Lily left?” Clay barked.
“She climbed the wall, and took off on her own.” Will turned motioning Clay forward.
“What? Why?” Clay stood in disbelief.
Tom gripped Clay’s shoulder. “Let’s go find out.”
The three of them went to Will’s house. As soon as the door opened Skye fell into her husbands embrace, sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even know she was awake. The alarms went off, I went to check on her, but she was gone.”
“Calm down, sweetheart.” Will pulled his wife tighter into his embrace, his hand tangling in her brown hair.
“Skye,” Clay smiled slightly at his sister-in-law. “This isn’t your fault.”
Clay ran his hand through his hair, angry with himself.
Will watched his brother closely. “Clay, we will find her.”
He grimaced. “I knew she was pulling away. I shouldn’t have left her alone.”
Tom stood next to Clay, squeezing his shoulder. “Clay, she is afraid, overwhelmed, so much has happened she has to be confused.”
“I know.” His heart raced. He was hurt Lily left him. Running his fingers through his hair, he wondered what to do now.
“Yes, Denise?” Will saw his housekeeper hovering as if she wanted to say something, “if you know something tell us.”
“Ummm…,” Denise gulped, hesitating. “I am sorry, Mr. Savage, I didn’t know if I should say anything, not sure if it matters.”
Will inclined his head in understanding. “It’s okay, tell us.”
“I overheard Miss Sara talking to Miss Lily earlier,” Denise replied.
“Where at?” Tom asked, looking around for Sara. She had not come to meet them.
“Miss Lily’s room,” Denise glanced at Clay then Tom then back at Will and Skye. “I overheard Miss Sara say “he must feel sorry for you” and then she said, “you really are disgusting to look at I can’t imagine how embarrassing you are to Clay.” I wasn’t sure what she was talking about because Miss Lily is so pretty,” Denise finished looking at the floor.
Clay stared at Denise a moment, closing his eyes his throat constricting. He couldn’t imagine how much those words hurt Lily. He opened his eyes to everyone looking at him, but he didn’t say a word, couldn’t. He walked away, stood staring out the w
indow, running his hands over his face. Lily was so sensitive about her body, her scars; she would have been devastated.
“Thank you, Denise.” Will smiled at her as she quietly walked away. He looked over at his brother, his voice laced with concern, “Clay?”
Clay stared out the window, his words strained. “Those words would have crushed Lily.”
Tom stiffened. “Why? Sara was mean and I will deal with her, but why would Lily leave over it?”
Clay turned, looking at them, his eyes helpless, “because Lily’s body from her breasts to her knees is covered in scars.”
Will stared at his brother easily deciphering his pain. “Scars, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Me either,” Tom took a few steps closer to Clay, watching his gestures, he knew them so well, and his friend was hurting, badly. “What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t go into detail. Lily is so sensitive about them, and I didn’t want people asking her questions.” Clay looked at his brother, then over at Tom, anger and pain visible on his face. “Jason cut Lily’s body. He left dozens of scars upon her skin.”
“Are you serious?” Tom gaped.
“Lily hides them well, uses her clothes to conceal them. You can’t feel them, but in the light, you can see them. They embarrass her, she thinks…,” he hesitated turning back toward the window.
He took a deep breath. “Jason beat and cut Lily severely, when she tried to get away from him he pushed her down the stairs. Lily lost so much blood then she developed an infection. Her beaten body couldn’t fight it off.”
He turned saw the horror on their faces and turned back, looking out the window again. He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Lily spent three months in the hospital and nine months in rehab. Her leg was broken so badly she had to learn how to walk on it again.”
“Oh my god!” Tom gasped, “I never realized he hurt her that bad.”
“Me either,” Will growled as Skye clenched his arm.
“Clay,” Skye took a deep breath squeezing her husband’s arm. “She is bound to be confused, uncertain, and afraid. Do you know where she would go? We need to find her before Jason does.”
Clay didn’t respond, continuing to stare out the window. Where would Lily go? What would she do? He had already taken away her Florida apartment. Her safety blanket.