Lily sunk lower in her seat as she received a rather hateful glare from a man and woman passing by their car. Once Aiden slid into the driver’s seat, Lily’s body relaxed. He offered her a small smile and wrapped his hand around hers; a calm feeling came over her. “Ready?” he asked. She responded with a nod as they pulled back out onto the main road.
Playing House
The sun had begun to set, the deep orange and purple colors swirled around in perfect harmony. Lily loved sunsets, she used to sit out on the beach and watch them with Leo all the time. Leo. She missed her brother, despite all his lies; she loved him. He was the only family she had left. What would her parents say about the way she treated him—the way she left. Did they know about her, about what she is?
It didn’t take but twenty minutes for them to arrive at their destination. Aiden had turned off the main road onto a windy dirt road that seemed to go on for days.
They pulled up to a small white house with a wraparound porch. There was a large willow tree in the front yard surrounded by luscious green grass. There was a large wooden swing and a small table next to a pale yellow door, with a weathered set of wooden stairs leading up to it. Lily could only describe it as quant. It looked like something you would see on the set of one of those television shows set in the south. You know the ones where the kind elderly woman sits on the front porch in a sundress and apron, sipping her tea in a mason jar. It was comforting. “Well, what do you think?” Aiden asks as he gathers their bags from the trunk. “It’s beautiful.” She smiles and follows him up the steps.
“Wait till you see it at sunrise.” He beamed.
“Are you sure it’s okay that we’re here?”
Aiden opens the door and ushers her inside. “Of course. This is my family’s home and you will always be welcome here. This is the best place for us right now we’re safe here. Tomorrow I will introduce you to a longtime family friend and we will figure everything out.” Lily nodded and took in her new surroundings. The inside looked so much larger than the outside. Although it wasn’t two stories like her own home, it seemed to be bigger.
She took a few slow steps into the living room area, her shoes causing a faint slapping sound against the hardwood floors; the walls were a light gray in color. The contrast between the dark wood floors and the gray walls was stunning. A large vintage style chandelier hung directly center of the ceiling. She walked closer and stood underneath it. The light danced and glistened off the hanging crystals, gracefully lighting up the room. There was a red brick fireplace to her left and a large screen TV to her right. The furniture consisted of an all-white leather sectional, which Lily didn’t waste any time testing out; she plopped down on it and let out a sigh.
Aiden sat down a little more gracefully beside her. “So what do you think?” He picked up her hand and held it in his.
“It’s beautiful.” Lily smiled.
“Wait till you see the rest.”
“I think I’m good, right here in this spot for the rest of my life,” she replied as she kicked off her shoes and brought her legs up under her butt.
Aiden chuckled. “You want to watch some TV for a while? Try and have some normal?”
Normal, she loved the sound of that. Lily nodded and Aiden flipped on the TV. After a painfully long fifteen minutes of watching him channel surf, Lily got aggressive and snatched the remote from his hands. “Hey.” He laughed.
Lily stuck out her tongue and found an old episode of her favorite werewolf show. She smiled triumphantly at Aiden before tossing the remote back on the side table. “Ugh, why do you like this crap? Have you ever actually met a werewolf, Lily? They are not sexy, well-toned men with perfect white teeth and great hair. They’re disgustingly hairy, and not just in wolf form; their teeth are almost always a dingy yellow with horrible breath—”
Lily smacked him in the chest, stopping him from finishing his rant. “I love this show, so just sit there and be quiet. This is the episode where Elena finally learns who her real father is and Clay has to do everything he can to keep the others from finding out about it; including keeping a secret from his Alpha, which is like the ultimate betrayal—”
Aiden erupts in laughter so loud it shakes the couch. “Okay, okay, Lil I get it.” Once the episode finishes, Aiden turns his body his knees are facing Lily. “So I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the episode.”
Lily turned her head to the side and smirked at him. “You want to talk about my show?”
He nodded. “Do you think Clay did the right thing?”
“Of course, Clay loves Elena more than anything in the world. She is his world, he did what needed to be done and while Elena may be a little upset with him right now; she’ll get over it and forgive him.” She paused and met Aiden’s eyes.
“So even though he betrayed her trust and led her straight to the enemy, you think he did the right thing?”
“When you love someone, sometimes the right thing isn’t always the easiest, but it needs to be done. Elena will always go back to Clay, because he is her forever after.” Lily smiled.
“Forever after?” he asked her, eyes wide.
Lily nodded. “It’s what my parents had. What I want to find someday, that one person in the whole world that you can fully be yourself with. The one that you want to tell your bad day to because you know that just hearing their voice and feeling their embrace will make it all go away.”
“Wow, that was beautiful Lily.” Aiden gently cupped her face and brought their lips together. It wasn’t intense, just a small peck but it held so much emotion. Lily opened her eyes, and for a brief moment when she noticed they weren’t blue, she found herself wanting to cry. Throwing on her best smile she cleared her throat. “I’m getting kind of hungry, is there any food here?”
Aiden laughed. “Yeah, come on.” He grabbed her hand and lifted her from the coach, pulling her gently behind him into the kitchen. After whipping together a quick burger, they sat down at the small round table to eat. Neither of them spoke, they hadn’t realized how hungry they actually were. Lily stole a glance at Aiden a time or two, but she couldn’t help wonder how her brother and the others were doing? Her mind drifted off to Reece. Those blue eyes had become something she thought of often the past few days. While she really liked Aiden, there was just something about Reece that she was drawn to.
After they finished eating, Lily grabbed the plates and headed for the sink. “Hey, you don’t have do the dishes Lily; I can help,” Aiden offered, but the doorbell rang before Lily could respond. They both froze dead in their tracks, Lily’s eyes widened with panic. Aiden quietly stepped closer to her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, she knew it was meant to reassure her, but it didn’t. “I thought you said nobody knew we were here, Aiden,” she whispered. Aiden placed his index finger to her lips to silence her. “Go upstairs. The second room on the left is my room; there is a door in the back of the closet behind the clothes. It’s small but you will fit just fine, stay there until I come get you. Do not under any circumstances leave that room. Do you understand?” he whispered, as the doorbell rang again. Lily nodded and quietly made her way up the stairs to follow Aiden’s instructions.
She had no problem finding the door, which worried her a little. If she could find it so easily what made Aiden think someone else couldn’t? Maybe it’s because she knew where it was? She sat down carefully and pulled her knees to her chest.
She heard the front door open and could hear voices talking but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Leaning closer to the door she pressed her ear to it, in hopes of getting a better listen. The voices were still muffled, but she was almost certain they were male voices. The voices seemed to be getting louder and louder but she still couldn’t hear.
This is ridiculous; she refused to sit here like a scared little girl. Very quietly she opened the small door and crept through the closet. She peeked her head out to see if anyone was inside the room, confirming it was empty she got a little braver and tipto
ed to the bedroom door. With her back against the wall she leaned her head so that she could peek though the gap between the door and the frame. She couldn’t see anything, but the voices were now clearer.
“Where is she?” A loud voice boomed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m the only one here. Lily and I parted ways back at her place, I haven’t heard from her since. And if I remember correctly, that is exactly what you ordered me to do. Isn’t that right fearless leader?” she heard Aiden say. Fearless leader? Lily thought, as her heart rate sped up.
“Don’t play dumb with us water boy. I know she’s here, those are her shoes right there on the floor.”
Lily knew that voice. She would know it anywhere. Without even a second thought she thrust herself from the wall and barreled down the stairs, colliding with full-force into the shocked arms of her brother. Tears immediately flowed from her eyes and her body shook with the overwhelming emotion of how much she missed him. His lies and betrayal were a distant memory, in that moment it was only her and the boy who used to shield her from her nightmares, the face of the one who always kept her safe and sheltered her from all that was wrong with the world. This was home.
“Damn it, Lily, I told you to stay put.” Aiden sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.
Leo stroked the back of his sister’s head as his arms tightened around her. He wanted to yell at her for taking off, to scold her for her reckless behavior; but more than any of that, he just wanted to hold her. Even though she was not his sister by blood, she was embedded in his heart.
“God, Lily. I was so worried about you. I’m so, so sorry for keeping everything from you. I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought keeping it from you was the best thing to do . . . you have to believe I never wanted to hurt you, Lil.”
Lily looked up into the eyes of her brother. “It’s okay, Leo. I don’t care about that—or any of it anymore. I just want to forget about all of it.”
“You can’t stay here,” Aiden stated.
Reece grabbed Aiden by the neck and slammed him into the wall with a force that rattled the room. “I should kill you. It wouldn’t take much, a slight twist of my wrist.”
“Try it,” Aiden grunted.
“Stop it! Both of you!” Lily yelled. Within seconds she had positioned herself in front of Reece, his hand still gripped around Aiden’s neck. Lily placed her hand on the arm holding Aiden. “Reece, please let him go,” she pleaded. One look into her eyes and his resolve melted, his grip loosened and Aiden fell to the floor, rubbing his neck. Lily knelt down to check on him. “Are you okay?”
Aiden just nodded and shrugged her away. “Aiden,” Lily called, but it was too late he was already out the door. “Let him go,” Reece stated.
Lily was in his face in seconds. “What the hell is your problem? He has done nothing but keep me safe. He has been there for me through all this, helping me. Which is more than I can say for you!” She shoved him as hard as she could, he didn’t flinch, instead his hands grabbed onto her arms, pulling her so that her body was flush against his. “You know nothing about me or what I have done for you and this team. Your precious little boy toy isn’t so innocent, he has secrets as well. Perhaps you should ask him about it before you go around saying things that you don’t have the whole truth about.” For a moment she thought he might kiss her again, something she couldn’t decide if she wanted or not; before she could think it through he released her and stalked off into the living room.
“What is his problem?” Lily asked.
“Reece is, well he’s complicated. Let’s not talk about him, let’s talk about you. How are you? How long have you been here? Why did you leave?” Leo questioned.
“Leo.” she sighed. “You know why I left.”
“No. No, I know why you claimed you left. Come on Lil, I know you better than anyone. Why’d you do it? What did he tell you to make you leave?”
“Where are Sam and Nate?” Lily asked.
“Oh no you don’t, you don’t get to change the subject. Tell me what happened, Lil.”
She sighed. “Look, I don’t know, okay. I don’t know why we had to leave. Aiden just said that it was important that we leave, that I was in danger and to trust him. Which I did, so I left.”
Leo didn’t respond, instead he just shook his head and walked off toward the living room. Ugh! I feel like I’m dealing with a bunch of hormonal women. Lily took off after her brother, she found him sitting on the couch next to Reece. They both appeared to be deep in thought so she plopped down in the chair opposite them.
“Sooo . . . where are Nate and Sam?” she asked as the front door opened.
“Aww, I missed you too beautiful.” Nate winked at her as he and Sam entered the room. Nate wasn’t shy at all; he walked straight to her, plucked her from the chair and deposited her on his lap. Lily knew her mouth was hanging open but she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just sat there staring at him. “What?” Nate shrugged. “It was either here or over there next to those two and you’re way prettier, so it was an obvious choice.”
Lily just shook her head and laughed. “I’m going to find Aiden,” she stated as she climbed off of Nate’s lap.
“I’ll go with you.” Leo jumped up.
“No, I’m going by myself,” she stated.
“Lil.” Leo started to plead with her, but she cut him off.
“Don’t Lil me. I’m a big girl, Leo. I can take care of myself.” She crossed her arms.
Reece stood up. “Is that so?” He stalked toward her.
Lily’s confidence wavered slightly as he approached her, but she stood her ground. “Yes,” her voice sounding a little shakier than she wanted it to.
“So, if I were to come at you right now, you would be able to stop me?” He continued to walk toward her.
“Look, I don’t have time to play your stupid little games. I have to find Aiden.” Lily turned and started for the door, she had only taken two steps before she found herself pinned to the wall on the opposite side of the room. Reece’s face hovered near her ear as his breath tickled her neck.
“You think this is a game? You think that those who seek to harm you will care what you want?” he whispered, causing goosebumps to rise all over her skin. Lily closed her eyes, trying to maintain her composure.
“Get off of me Reece,” she said quietly.
“Make me, Lilian.” He taunted her.
“Stop calling me that.” She struggled under his grip.
“Let her go, Reece,” Leo shouted from across the room.
“Stay out of it, Leo. That’s an order,” Reece stated with authority.
Leo sat back down, Nate laughed. “Dude you got any popcorn?” Leo socked him in the arm, which only made him laugh harder.
“So what are you going to do, Lilian?” Reece continued to test her.
Lily struggled to break free of Reece’s hold, but he was too strong for her. A thought occurred to her; human bodies are made up of mostly water. What if she could manipulate that water, cause it to move where she wanted it. She focused on his fingers, calling to the water inside of them fueling his muscles. Reece drew his eyebrows together, looking at her with confusion as his fingers began to lift on their own. A mixture of pride and confusion laced his face as suddenly one by one his fingers released their grip. He didn’t attempt to try and regain his hold he was too fascinated. Once free Lily turned around to face him, a smile spread wide across her face.
“Impressive.” Reece smirked.
“Holy shit! How did you do that?” Nate shouted from across the room.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Reece obviously let me go.” Lily crossed her arms and scowled at Reece.
“No, no that was all you darling.” He smiled. “Seems our water boy has taught you a thing or two.”
“Aiden didn’t teach me that. I don’t even know what that was, or how I did it.”
“Oh I’m quite sure you knew exactly what y
ou were doing. You’re smart and very capable, it seems. A fine asset to our team.”
“Whatever.” She shrugged. “I’m going to find Aiden.” She turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
Reunited
The air outside was cold, nearly freezing as it assaulted her face. Lily wrapped her arms tightly around her chest, wishing she had grabbed a jacket. “Aiden,” she called out into the darkness. “Aiden, where are you?” She walked into the yard passing by his car; he couldn’t be far. A noise to her left caused her to turn, she couldn’t make anything out. She could vaguely see some bushes and perhaps a tree. It really was dark out here, nothing like the city. “Aiden, please come back,” she shouted.
A loud thud caught her attention and she turned in time to see Aiden hop down out of a large tree to her right. She placed a hand over her heart. “Jeez Aiden, you scared the crap out of me.” He didn’t say anything, just stopped right next to her and stared. “Are you okay?” Still no response, she sighed. “Aiden, please.”
“Why, Lily? Why after everything, after all we went through . . . why didn’t you just stay put? You didn’t know what or who was at the door,” he said, as he ran his hand through his hair.
“I knew who it was, Aiden. I heard Leo’s voice.”
“What if it was a trap! What if it was a trick Lily! Damn it, I can’t keep you safe if you don’t listen to me.”
Lily sighed. “Look . . . Aiden I’m sorry. Okay, you’re right I didn’t know. But, but I had to find out. I missed him, okay. I missed my brother.”
Aiden pulled her into his arms. “God, of course you did Lily Pad. Damn it, I’m sorry. I over reacted, I . . . I just don’t know what I would do if something happened to you. You’re . . . you’re important to me.”
Lily closed her eyes and allowed the comfort of his embrace to calm her. “I know Aiden, I feel the same way.” And then his lips were on hers. It was different this time, the emotion she felt more than anything else was guilt—guilt for kissing Aiden when she Reece was inside, guilt for allowing Aiden to kiss her, when . . . well when she wanted it to be Reece.
Discovering Shadows Page 7