Page 4 of Lily
"Have y'seen her?" Xander asked again, and Lily didn't miss the slight slur to his words. Her eyes strayed to the bottle of whiskey that was over half empty and she swallowed hard, edging toward her bedroom. She had to get changed and out the door for her performance; there was no time for whateverthiswas.
"I don't know where Ashley is," Lily answered Xander. She hesitated in crossing the room and turned back to him as concern filled her. "Is she okay?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Some guy kidnapped her the other night, though."
"What?" Lily yelped. "What do you mean, kidnapped. Did you file a police report?"
Sarah's shrill laughter filled the room. "Oh my god, he's not serious. Don't be crazy."
Lily shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"He means her boyfriend."
"There's no way that guy was her boyfriend," Xander blurted out with a jab of his hand. "He practically dragged her out of here, and he tried to beat me up."
Sarah nodded, pouring herself another measure of whiskey. "That much is true."
"There's no way he isn't a criminal, or in some gang," Xander insisted.
"A gang?" Lily asked weakly. She was suddenly worried for Ashley. She was a sweet girl with her head always buried in her sketchbook and she had always been kind to Lily. Was she safe now? Who was she with, and why had Xander called the man a criminal?
"Yeah, a gang," he said, sitting up straight and flicking a finger at the door. "Dude was a monster, like crazed when he was in here. Bad news, for sure." Xander sank back against the chair he was sitting in and shook his head. "I'll be surprised if he hasn't done something to her."
Lily swallowed hard. "Done something?" She didn't like the sound of that. What if Ashley was hurt, or worse?
"What are you, a parrot?" Sarah asked, making a face and wiggling her fingers at Lily. "Repeatin' everything he says like some wide-eyedlittle girl."
Lily flushed at the other woman's words. She didn't know how close to the truth she was, but there was no need to explain herself to anyone, especially her roommates. "I'm going to my room," she said and turned on her heel.
"If you hear from Ashley, lemme know!" Xander yelled after her.
Lily shook her head and kept walking. If she did hear from Ashley, she had no intention of letting Xander know, even if there was a gang member involved. She opened her bedroom door, and immediately, her attention was caught by a piece of paper that was tucked just inside. Lily bent and picked up the folded paper to see a note scrawled inside.
Staying at a friend's. Call me if you need to get away.
Lily stared down at the letter in puzzlement. If Ashley had been taken by a gang member, or kidnapped by a criminal, or whatever it was that Xander was saying happened, why would she be offering Lily a place to go? A thud behind her and heavy footsteps in the hallway had her rushing to close her bedroom door behind her with a slam. It was only when the door was firmly locked that she was able to breathe. She turned back to the note and rubbed her temples before she took out her phone and fired off a text to Ashley.
Are you okay? It's Lily, btw.
She sighed as she thumbed through her music until she found a song she liked. Turning up the volume on her Bluetooth as high as it could go, she sighed happily when it drowned out the sound of her roommates' voices. After another hopeful look at her phone, she tossed it on her bed and crossed the room to her wardrobe in search of an outfit flashy enough for her performance that night. She hesitated when she saw her overnight bag sitting on the floor. She debated packing it on the off chance that she would hear from Ashley while she was getting ready, and maybe just with some luck, she might not even have to come back to her apartment tonight. Her heart rose at the thought of being able to spend her night somewhere else than with Xander and Sarah for company. A crash from the living room had her uttering a silent prayer that she would get a message from Ashley and get a break from the chaos of their apartment.
She closed her eyes for a moment and worked to calm herself. She would not give in to the anxiety that threatened to pull her under from wondering what her roommates were destroying. It was not her mess. This was all temporary for her anyway, because she was not staying here with them. The thought was enough to slow her pulse back down, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She would not be staying here, not by a long shot; she would cross this off her to-do list in the near future. Lily blew out a deep sigh of relief and sucked in another calming breath before she opened her eyes and nodded at herself. She could take care of herself. She could do this.
Lily focused on the music that was playing, the bass beat of it working to drown out her roommates as she dressed for her return to the stage. She had chosen a flowy white dress with a deep V at the front of it that she hadn't gone near in months. The front was generous in showing off her cleavage, meaning it left nothing to the imagination and belonged to a woman far more comfortable in her own skin than Lily was, but that hadn't always been true.
"And things can change, go back the way they were," she told herself while she applied her makeup, a classic but dramatic look made complete with crimson red lips and big lashes. She smiled at herself. It wasn't a true smile, but it was close enough for anyone who didn't know her. When she smiled like this and wore these clothes, she could pretend that she was the same girl she had been before.
It was almost as if the past few months were just a bad dream; that is unless Lily looked closer. When she did that, she saw the smile that wavered, the eyes that were dimmer than usual, the nervousness in her limbs.
"Enough," she whispered, turning away from the mirror and striding forward to get her synth packed. She would need to bring her computer as well, and that made an overnight bag a bit much to carry. She could go without for a night, with everything she was planning on carrying for her performance. She was not going to dwell on negative things, not tonight. She was banking on luck, on hope, on not spending the night here, which meant she would get to cross one to-do item off her list:talk to Ashley.
When her synth and computer were packed, Lily stood shifting nervously from foot-to-foot in front of her door. She wrung her hands in front of her and stared at the door for a beat before she snatched her bags and yanked on her leather jacket. She was going out the front door and she was not going to be deterred by her roommates. She held her breath as she quietly closed the door behind her before casting a cautious glance down the hallway. She didn't see anyone, but she could hear the low murmur of voices coming from the living room. There was music now too, which only heightened her anxiety about leaving her apartment, but she kept walking until she was in the room and saw that Xander and Sarah were no longer alone. There were three other people she had never seen before, all men, and they turned to look at her when she entered the room.
"Hey, baby," one of them purred, winking at her. He nodded at Xander. "I thought you said you only had the one hot roommate."
Xander raised an eyebrow, looking in Lily's direction. She hated the appraising look in the man's eyes as he looked her over. "I did, until now. Hey, Lily, where you off to?"
"Out," she replied and started forward again toward the door. She focused on the door and tuned out the voices. She would not answer them; she would get out the door and on her way.
