Chapter Thirty Six

New life

Later that day, we arrived at Rose's family estate. As in the past, Mira was extremely accommodating and I appreciated her help since I could not move well. Within a week, the kids were settled in and I prepared to leave. From the back porch of their new home, I watched the younger kids play hide and seek in the trees. My heart felt full of happiness as their shrieks of delight filled the air. I wished I could do something to thank Mira for her aid. Before I could finish the thought, Blake burst through the door and dropped a backpack in my lap.

"What's this?" I asked.

He plopped down on the stairs next to me. "Open it."

I pulled out the book they made me for Christmas. "Where did you get this?"

"Ari brought it to me. He asked me to keep it safe. I figured you should have it back."

A stack of pictures slid from the cover and spilled onto the porch. My vision clouded when I spotted a picture of me with Blake. I had my arm around his neck. He was trying to pull away with an annoyed expression on his face. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and peeked into the bag. It was filled with knick knacks and gadgets I acquired in Charlestown.

"I want you to keep the stuff still in the bag."

His eyes lit up. "Really?" His attention turned to my bandaged leg. "Why don't you see the doctor here? Why do you have to leave?"

"The doctor here can't fix this," I said. I grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me. "Listen, tough guy. This isn't goodbye forever. I will be back. We will see each other again someday."

"When you say it like that it sounds like we won't." Tears rolled down his face. "I don't want to be the tough guy anymore. I want to go with you."

A sharp pain spread through my chest. I scooted closer to him and hugged him to my chest.

"I know you do. You need to stay here. Enjoy your childhood. Go to school. Play soccer. Pick fights with guys over girls. When you turn eighteen and if I am living somewhere else, we'll talk about it."

He pulled away and peered up at me. "Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

Rose poked her head out the door. "We need to go. It'll take us twice as long to arrive at the train station with you hobbling along."

"It's not my fault we can't drive to the train station from here," I responded and used the crutches to stand. "I'll be right there."

Blake leaped up and embraced me again. "I'll miss you."

I squeezed him in a one-armed bear hug. "I'll miss you, too, kiddo."

Blake held the door so I could go in to say goodbye to everyone else.

We walked to the front room and a mop of black and red hair jumped up from an armchair.

"Kira!" I exclaimed.

Kira rushed to me and clung tightly. "Lily! You ARE still alive!"

I grimaced as she accidentally bumped into my leg. A short cry of pain escaped my lips.

"Sorry, are you OK?" she asked as she hopped away.

"Yep," I squeaked. I focused on deep breaths until the twinges lessened.

Brian tended to his exhausted mother, who laid on one of the couches. Kevin had lounged back on the love seat at Kira's exclamation and cracked a faint smile.

"Kevin, how did you make it from Philadelphia so fast?" I inquired.

Kevin leaned forward and answered in a monotone voice. "Noah sent me a letter a week ago so I went AWOL."

Kira went back over to him and rubbed his back. "When the news circulated about the Peacekeeper who was killed, members of the Police Force stopped going to work. Some packed up and left the city altogether."

My stomach clenched. "Was there a message broadcast?"

She nodded. "I went to the Church, as usual, to clean up after the service and saw mobs of people crying. The broadcast came over the television, the radio, and the PA proclaiming Charles Payne and the Church had drugged everyone in order to force them to do their bidding. It called for new city leadership and equality for all citizens."

I clenched my teeth and shook my head slowly. "Stupid."

"I had to climb out of a window to escape the riot. Luckily, Noah found me in the streets and brought me home." Kira's voice cracked. "Why would someone say they are doing what's best for the city and cause so much destruction?"

Rose stepped in from the hallway. "I told her, no, we told her what we thought would happen. She chose to ignore us. She either did it on purpose or did not believe us. I can't say for certain."

Kira gasped. "Why would she do that on purpose?"

Rose shrugged. "Revenge for her sister's death or so she can save the city from itself when things were at its worse. They did not tell us everything."

I stared off out the window. Dorothy destroyed everything I worked so hard for. Just like that.

Ari startled me as he wrapped an arm around me. "Are you OK?"

If one more person asked if I was OK, I was going to scream. "No, I'm not. I just hope Alain and his wife weren't at Church."

He tightened his grip. "I know. The good people in that city didn't deserve that."

Heavy footsteps echoed behind me. I turned as Noah came into the room and leaned on the back of an armchair.

"Rumor is Charles is on his death bed. The Payne family barricaded themselves in their mansions to shield themselves from the demonstrations. We left shortly after," he said.

I shifted my weight on the crutches. "They were all puppets too. Who knows what will come to pass."

"Why did it happen like this?" Kevin wondered. "Everyone knew the system was not fair. But we realized change does not transpire overnight."

"Perhaps it could if planned correctly," Rose said. "Change had to come fast. But the leader of the group, the same one who came up with the communique, she was not from Charlestown. She did not understand the city. I doubt she even tried."

I stared down at my feet. "I'm sorry Kevin. I tried to tell her about your ideas. She rejected everything I said."

"There is nothing we can do now but wait. We may need to go back in the future. Maybe then you will accept your position as the leader you are, Lily."

My face burned and I refused to look at him. Why did he still think that?

"I know this has been a short reunion," Rose said. "And Noah, you just got here, but we need to leave so we do not miss the train."

"You're leaving already?" Kira demanded. Her gaze met mine and she glared before looking back at her brother. "You're just going to dump us on these people?"

My breath hitched in my throat. Did she blame me?

The color rose in his cheeks. "I told you from the start, I need to return."

She leaped to her feet and stepped to the center of the room. Her face reddened a brilliant shade of crimson. "Right. The kid who no one has heard about until now."

"Kira, let him tend to his business," Mrs. Spencer said softly.

Kira stumbled back. "Mother, what about..."

"Enough. Leave him be."

Her arms went limp at her sides. She made her way back to me and pulled me close. "Take care of my brother," she whispered in a thick voice.

I placed one arm on her back. "The best I can."

She pulled away without looking at me. Kevin had come up behind her so she slumped into his arms. He nodded to me which I returned with a weak smile.

Mira had called the kids inside. A horde of crying children swarmed me when they realized I was leaving. I choked back my emotions and assured them it wasn't forever. At least that time I got to say goodbye.

***

On the train, Ari and I got comfortable in a private passenger car together. He had his arms around me while we looked at the landscape passing by. I interlocked my fingers in his. I was tingling all over. I did not want anything to screw up our life, which meant telling him what I did.

"We're actually going," he said.

A wide grin formed on my face. "Yep. Are you worried?"

"No, not worried."

"It is a great big world."

"And we'll see it together. My Lily among the thorns. So is my darling among the daughters," he said, then pulled my face to his. "There is something I've wanted to ask you for a long time."

"What is it?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

I laughed. "No one's ever asked me that before." An intense prickling moved down my left arm. "I need to tell you about the years before I came to Charlestown."

"Let's not worry about the past right now and enjoy the moment."

I peered deeply into his sparkling blue eyes. "Are you sure?"

He gently ran a finger along the contour of my face. "Well? Are you going to answer my question?"

"Oh, yes. Of course, yes."

He grinned and pressed his lips against mine.