Page 81 of The Masks We Wear

WHEN WE ARRIVEat the school, I reluctantly part ways with her and promise to meet her tonight after my celebration dinner with my dad.

The dinner is nice but depressing as hell without my mother. He didn’t want to get her since it was her first weekend there, deciding to let her settle in and calm down. My dad spends the whole time talking, excited about the future, while I push around my food, taking small bites here and there. I try my best to smile when needed and maintain at least a semi-content mood. But after spending three months as a family, to have it disappear in twenty- four hours… it didn’t really mesh well with my chicken marsala.

Still, I try my best to wear a smile, nodding my head when needed, mutter thanks after compliments and answer questions in full sentences.

When we get home, I shed the dress clothes at my door, tugging on something comfortable, and drift to the window. Lily’s light is off, and I wonder vaguely if she crashed earlier, still tired from being awake all night.

I open my window, and the smell of damp earth and ozone blows inside. It’s hard to see in the dark, but heavy clouds hang overhead, painting the black sky with fluffs of gray and hues of purple. I contemplate just letting her rest and texting her tomorrow when I hear it.

It’s low at first, muffled through the brick exterior. But then it comes again, even louder.

Was that a scream?

Just then, fissures open up the sky, drowning our backyards in a blanket of white as lighting rips through it. The rain pours through, pummeling to the ground as if its plan is to drive right through to the core.

I grab my phone and call Lily, a sudden overwhelming sensation of dread works its way up my spine into the darkest part of my thoughts.

No answer.

Calling again, I shove on boots and grab my windbreaker, pulling on the hood.

No answer.

Another crack of lightning pierces through the sky, stretching its electric fingers in every direction.

Fuck.

I leap from the window, ignoring the harsh winds slapping across my face on the way down.

Sirens.

Fuck!

I’m through the back gate, around the side, and in the front door within seconds. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

Lily is against the wall, holding her stomach and sporting a fresh raw bruise on the right side of her chin. Her mother, the head custodian at Falls High, is on the ground, screaming in Spanish, struggling under the knee of a... she looks like an older version of Lily. Her long blonde hair has streaks of white that whip back and forth as she struggles to keep her down.

Her big brown eyes flash to me, then to Lily and back again. She yells through the screams of Mrs. Conley. “Spencer, I need you to take Lily. Now!”

I jolt upright, not thinking twice, and scoop Lily in my arms, cradling her to my wet chest, and push out the back door.

The rain thrashes against me as I run to the closest place I know will make her feel safe. I somehow manage to climb up the wobbly stairs and into the treehouse.

Shuffling on my knees, I take her to one of the beanbags, but as I set her down, she clings to me, shivering violently. “Lily, I have to get you some clothes.”

She shakes her head against my chest, bunching my jacket’s soaked fabric in her tiny hands. I relent, rocking her back and forth, waiting until her breaths are even.

The storm rages on outside, the sirens sailing through the air for what feels like forever until finally, they stop. That’s when Lily releases me, leaning back into the beanbag, one hand still wrapped around my jacket. Her face is puffy, eyes rimmed in a deep red, and mascara streaks down her face. My heart aches for her, anger and confusion swirling around my chest as I work out what the fuck I just witnessed.

I damn sure don’t ask, though; instead, I unzip my jacket. “I’m not going to leave you, but at least let me get you in a blanket. Do you still have some in the crate?”

There was a chest we used to keep under the sealed window for our sleepovers out here. It also had some battery-powered lanterns and dishtowels for any spills. The chest is still there, but the new paint job makes me wonder if it houses the same items.

She nods.

Thank fuck. I move quickly, opening up and pulling out all the contents. The lights are set up in seconds, and when I turn around, Lily is already coming out her clothes.

I suck in air, heat creeping up my cheeks. Part of me wants to look away, but the other part...

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