just for now

 Ch.1

“I have to do this. For me..” I was trying to end this, “No, I’m not doing this for my mom’s sake. Its for me. I can’t stay here any longer. I love you and always will.”
 I began to bury my face into his shoulder as we both began to sob. He repeated my last six words trying not to choke. There it was the silence that would be between us forever. So I made the first move and turned toward the car with his cold, dark stare on my back.
 My mom seemed confused to what to do as we both sat in the moving car. I just sunk back into the passenger seat and drifted off.

 As I walked into the quiet, beige room music began to play. I started towards the stereo that sat on a wooden desk on my left. I stopped the slow and dainty music and turned around. My turn didn’t make a complete 90 degrees as I bumped into a mystifying dark figure. “W…,” before words could form, a finger was pressed firmly on my lips. The figure turned into a guy that seemed awfully familiar. He started to press his lips against mine with an urgency. My mind began to swirl with confusion and thoughts as a cold draft rushed in.

 I woke up in a quick panic with my heart racing. I forgot where I was until my mom laid her cold hand on my shoulder and wondered, “ Honey, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
 “Nothing. I’m fine. It was just a very strange dream,” I stated. Then I came back to reality and noticed all the green trees surrounding the road.
 It all seemed as if it was another dream. Majestic could be a word for it. The way the trees arched over the dark, gray road. Spots of fields in behind the trees. My peculiar dream seemed to be forgotten, but just for now.
 I didn’t stay enchanted for long though. As I laid back into my seat, my left hand found something in my jacket pocket. Out came a note from Michael. Just looking at the note reminded me of how he looked as we departed. His beautiful face filled with sadness and unspoken words. For once, he didn’t look so strong, but weak and about to fall. The note was overflowing with his voice.

 “Dear Lilly,
 I understand that staying in Hartford is painful for you and your mom. And I am sorry for what happened with your dad. What I am trying to get at is, if moving makes you happy, then I’m not going to stand in the way. That’s all I want for you, Lilly-pad. For the past two months you have been like a zombie. It was like nothing was good enough for you. But if this helps, then I am all for it.
 You pushed everyone away from you. Did you think that would solve everything? It hurts to be pushed away. I don’t know, I’m not trying to be a butt hole. But you hurt me and all your friends. I know you have to be there for your mom, but being phased out isn’t good for her or you. Lilly, you have to open up sometime. And if you don’t want to talk to me, then I hope that you find someone that you can talk to. Just promise to let me know that your alive every now and then.
                          Sincerely,
                              Michael
 P.S.
  I love you and always will. Never forget that.”

 I don’t know what it is, but I didn’t feel a sting of sadness or anything. I couldn’t feel anything in my heart either. All I could feel was anger burning inside me. How dare he tell me that I’m not helping my mom out. That I pushed everyone away from me. He doesn’t know how losing your dad feels. The note became a big wad in my hand as the anger grew stronger. I didn’t even notice that we were in a small, quaint town now. All I was thinking of was no one knew what I was going through.
 “ This looks like a nice place,” my mother was so optimistic. “ It shouldn’t take no time to get to know everyone. I’m sure you’ll fit right in, Lillian.”
 “ Not quite,” of course I was the pessimistic one. “ Their probably all hillbillies and dumb.” I wasn’t quite over Michael’s note yet.
 “ What’s with that attitude? I thought this is what you wanted. To move and get a new start? Should we just turn around and go back to ….Hartford?” you could hear sorrow in her voice.
 “ No, this is what I want. What we both need actually…Mom, I-I’m sorry. It’s just…”
 Her hand reached over and touched my shoulder. “ Honey, don’t worry about it. I know this is hard on you like it is me. I just want you to be happy.” A reassuring smile flashed a crossed her face.
 She always new how to fix something with not much effort. My mom always kept herself together, even when it all happened. My heart began to ache at just the mere thought of that tragic day. Flashes of blood and his body sprawled every where. None of it seemed real. I remember wishing that he would wake up and scream “ Gotcha ya!” But I knew deep down that he was gone, forever.
 At that moment, we hit the drive way of our new home. The house didn’t seem as big as the one in Hartford. It was a two-story white house with blue shutters. A front porch that wrapped all the way around. What really caught my eye was the big tree sitting at the side of yard with one little swing attached to it. The swing was overlooking the little lake that also sat beside our new home.
 “Wow! This is …spectacular. Don’t you think so Lilly?” Mom went straight towards our new future.
 I followed glancing at the swing that seemed to look so lonely. Inside of the house didn’t look so small. As soon as you walked in the stair case sat right in front of the door. If you walked directly passed the stair case you would find yourself  in the dining room. The kitchen was diagonal from it. The leaving room was on the other side of the stair case. The color of the inside seemed so warm and cozy. A light, jay blue covered the walls of the leaving room. A beige color with a hint of medium brown warmed the kitchen and dining area. Upstairs was two bedrooms and one bath. The bedrooms seemed to be about the same size, so I took the one with the outlook view of the lake.
 The next day didn’t hold much promise. Just the usual neighbors coming over with their welcome foods. We had no need to go to the grocery. I decided to take a walk to get away from all the welcoming. As I was strolling down the sidewalk, I noticed the small town. All the people seemed friendly, well except for  the town gossipers who wanted to tell tales behind my mom’s and my back. It was actually quite funny to hear what they had to say.
 “ I heard that they are in witness protection hiding from the mob,” one elderly lady whispered.
 “Well, I heard that they are cons who have come to steal all our money,” that one was priceless.
 They just kept coming up with something and none of them were right about anything. The ladies had no idea of where my mom and I came from or why we moved. The women were seated on the front porch owned by one of them, I’m sure, all in rocking chairs, crocheting nonetheless. My quiet laughter was interrupted by a sweet chirp coming from a girl behind me.
 “Don’t mind them. We don’t get many new comers here,” the girl said as she came near me while wheeling her bike.
 I was still laughing a little when I started to talk, “ That’s alright. I was finding it very entertaining, actually.”
 Our laughter was starting to drown out the back biters. She asked if she could join me on my walk and I gladly accepted. It was nice to have someone to talk to in a strange town. Her name was Madison, well Maddie for short. Maddie was 16 about to turn 17 in a couple of weeks. Just a couple months younger than me really. She had a natural beauty about her. Dark long hair flopped up in to a ponytail underneath a tattered baseball cap. A red and white baseball shirt to go with it. Her eyes were a light blue that seemed to match the autumn sky. A couple of freckles surrounded them. She seemed like my mom with her optimistic attitude.
  She tutored me on the history of the town and of course the townspeople. The town, Grovehill, was founded in 1897. She didn’t really know much of how it was founded or by whom. Mostly of what she knew was about the present and the people who lived in it. Her and her family were actually new comers about five years ago. So she knew how it felt to feel out of place. The elderly women of the town were of course the gossipers, but if you ever wanted to know something they were the ones to go to. Their husbands usually spent their days at the barbershop. It kind of reminded me of the Andy Griffith Show. How Aunt Bee and her friends always had the scoop on someone. And how the guys lived at the barbershop or outside the jail house. I was waiting for Oppie to come around the corner any minute now. However, this was not Mayberry, so happiness and joy wasn’t all around.
 Our walk was coming to an end when we made a complete circle towards her house and mine. When I started to go on my way, I saw someone standing at the lone tree in my yard. I just stood there, shocked. The figure was just like my dream. Tall and dark with perfect posture I might add. My heart started to pound harder and harder. The dream was about to come back when I heard someone calling.
 “Daniel! Time to go,” the figure turned ever so slightly and looked at me. For a second I thought I lost my heart. Then he was gone, running towards the woman.
 I started walking again towards my house, “ Mom, I’m home.”
 “In here Lilly,” her voice came from the kitchen. The food seemed to have piled up even more. “How was your walk?”
 “Good. I met someone. Her name is Madison. She told to me to just called her Maddie.”
 “Well, that’s great, honey. Glad to hear,” she was trying her best to wrestle through all the food. “You just missed the Harrisons.”
 “Oh, is that who was just here? I saw them leave when I came home.”
 “Yeah, Helen and her son Daniel. He’s about your age, I think. He maybe a year older.”
 “Mom,” I groaned.
 “What? I’m not trying to set you up,” her laugh was so quiet. “ But they are coming back tomorrow. Helen said she would help me dispose of some of this food. Plus, she is a single mother, too, you know. Her husband left when Daniel was just a couple years old. They came here to start fresh sixteen years ago.”
 The day had came to an end and Mom and I got tired of looking at piles of food. So we decided to hit the hay. I laid in my bed looking at the white ceiling, wondering about Daniel. Was he the one in my dream? But he couldn’t be. I have never saw before. My thoughts made me tired, so I drifted off.

 The slow music began to play. This time I didn’t go turn off the stereo, but stood there looking at it. Then I finally listened to the song. It was the Temptations. This was the same CD my dad had bought me on my 17th birthday. The day he was…..But wait, I got rid of this CD. Why is it here? Why is it on? I started to turn off the music, when all of a sudden a hand touched my shoulder. My long brown hair was shifted to the other side, I turned around and there he was. Daniel, just looking at me as he did at the tree. I started to say something, but he placed his finger on my lips. He just stared at me for a short brief moment, then placed both hands on each side of my head. His face lunged towards mine and his lips locked on mine. I started to struggle and just gave in. A beeping noise started to interrupt. What is that?
 
 I began to regain consciousness and reached for my alarm clock. It was Monday, the most dreadful day. The first day of school, how wonderful! I started to get out of bed and noticed that my window curtains were flying. My window was opened and a cold draft began to flow in. It must have got hot in here and Mom opened the window last night, I thought.
 I got ready for school and thought I would just walk. It didn’t seem really far, yesterday.  I needed to clear my head any way, especially after that dream. Maddie joined me half way there. I asked her if she knew anything about Daniel.
 “Daniel doesn’t talk to much. He keeps to himself,” She began to explain.
 “The lone tree,” I whispered.
 “He’s the most sought after boy here, but he doesn’t seem to take a liking to any girl. He would get teased and taunted if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s the best point guard that Grovehill High has saw. The only time you really ever hear him talk is in class.”
 Our conversation ended when we hit school. It was pretty big for a small town. Red brick and two stories high, wide as can be. I was so afraid I would get lost, but Maddie said she would help me find my way around. Inside seemed even bigger with all the white walls. If it wasn’t for all the students I would think I was in the movie the Shining.  I went to the guidance office and received my schedule. I only had five classes, that amazed me. Back home we had eight classes, so I was pretty relieved. Plus, Maddie and I the first two classes together. I thought first period would be pretty dull, it was U.S. History. To my surprise, it was very interesting. The teacher kept the class alive and a wake by reenacting almost everything he taught. My other two classes seemed dull after that. Lunch came faster than I thought. I walked into the cafeteria and it seemed like the hallway all over again. The students were all of over the cafeteria, with cliques after cliques at each table. For a small town, they sure were divided up very evenly. The funny thing was that they didn’t seem to get on each others nerves.
 The only person who looked out of place was Daniel Harrison. Sure he was sitting with the jocks, but he looked spaced out. Like he was someone where else far, far away from this hick-town. Then, there it was. The gazing stare I received yesterday when he stood at my tree. I finally raised one hand up and waved at him. He turned his head in disgust as if it was a disgrace that I was being friendly. The rest of the day just seemed to be a blur, even my art class. All I could think of was him and why was acting so rude and intolerable.

Ch.2

 A couple of months went by and Mom was right, I did fit right in. It was like I have been in Grovehill all my life. I had friends and I was actually starting to feel normal again. I had almost forgotten all about Michael, until he called.
 “Hello?” I answered.
 “Lilly, is that you?” he sounded so amazed to hear my voice.
 “Yeah, its me. Who is this?”
 “Great, you already forgot me.”
 “Michael!”
 “There’s the enthusiasm I was looking for,” I could hear him laughing. “ Your new life is pretty great?”
 “It’s getting there. Oh, you would just love Maddie!” I just started rambling on about Grovehill and all the people. I think I had talked about two hours until he finally got a word in.
 “Wow! Sounds like you are back to normal. I’m just glad that you are happy, again. Oh, I almost forgot. Amelia, Louis, and Nina are here. They said to tell you that they all miss you and want to see you soon. So do I.”
 “Awe. Tell them I miss them too. Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t you guys come here for Winter break in a couple of weeks? Or do you guys have something planned already?”
 “No, that sounds great,” he sounded as if that’s what he called for. “Well Lilly-pad, I have to go. There’s a game tonight. I’ll…- We’ll see you in two weeks.”
 I got off the phone and was about to go upstairs when the door bell rang. “Coming!”
“Oh, hey Ms. Harrison. Mom is in the back,” I let her in and was about to shut the door when I saw Daniel sitting on the swing.
 I didn’t hesitate as I pranced outside. “Hey,” I called out to him and turned toward me.
He was about to get up and run. “Wait, don’t leave. I was just wanting to invite you to come in.”
 “Thanks, but I’d rather sit out here if you don’t mind,” I had finally heard his voice for the first time in two months. I thought I was going to faint.
 “No, not at all. That’s fine. Do you mind if I sit out here with you?”
 “It’s your place. Do what you want.”
 “You don’t have to be like that. I just wanted to talk to you.”
 “Why? So you can go tell your friends that you finally talked to Daniel Harrison? I don’t think so,” he started to get up, but I made a huge mistake and grabbed his arm. “Do you mind?”
 “Sorry,” I jerked my arm away from his. “Honest, I just want to talk. I’m not going to talk to anyone about this. I just curious.”
 “About what?”
 “Why do you sit out here and never come in the house? Why don’t you socialize with anyone?” the questions just started flowing out of my mouth.
 “Hey! What is this an interrogation? What’s next? You want to know where I was a month from today?” then he just disappeared into the sunset.
 I walked back into the house at the time Helen was walking out. “Mind if I ask why he doesn’t talk to anyone?”
 “I would love to answer that question if only I had the answer myself. He just doesn’t seem to talk to anyone. But he has been talking about you lately,” she smiled satisfied.
 “Me? But, I haven’t talked to him? Until just now,”
 “That’s why he talks about you. You are the first person who has given him space. Everyone else just ask questions like its no big deal.”
 “Well, shoot! I may have ruined that. When I get nervous I start asking a lot of questions. Well, that’s what I did, so he ran towards town.”
 “Don’t worry about it. He knows,” she left just so positive about everything.
 Her words, ‘He knows’ kept ringing in my ears. He knows what exactly? Great, now I have a stalker.
 Just like I had promised, I didn’t mention a word to anyone, not even Maddie. The two weeks were almost up and winter break was just three days away. I invited Maddie and couple of other people to hang with me and my friends from Hartford. They were all in and deciding where we should all go. As they disgust the break, I noticed Daniel sitting all by himself at lunch.
 “Hey, I’ll be right back.”
I walked towards his table hoping that he wouldn’t run away from me again. “Hey, can I sit with you?”
 “You know if you sit down, people are going to stare at us?
 “Let them stare. I don’t really care. I just want to talk and apologize about two weeks ago. I’m sorry, I j..”
 “My mom told me. You got nervous, that’s understandable,” he cut me off.
 “And I was wondering if you would want to join us for the winter break. We’re all going to go and rent a motel somewhere. Some of my friends from Hartford are coming down, too. So, would you?” I started to play with my fingernails while biting my tongue.
 He looked amused at my question. Unless, he knew that I was trying so hard not to over talk. “I’ll see if I don’t have practice. I may join you guys.”
 “Really? That’ll be great! Come by tomorrow and I should have all the information. They are trying to figure where we are going right now,” we turned to look at the mob arguing over which hotel had a better pool. We just started bursting out laughing. Then the lunch bell rang, and he got up and was about to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Nice talking with you Lilly.”
 As soon as I school was out, Maddie jumped me with questions. “What was that about? He looked to be actually civil with you.” She was as shocked as I was.
 “I just invited him to go with us for the break is all. He said he would see if there was any ball practice and get back to me,” her jaw was dropped the whole time. “Is that a problem M?”
 “No, that’s fine. Its your plans anyway. Everyone is going to be so excited to know that Daniel is coming with us.”
 “He MAY come with us. No promises.”
 The next day came plans were almost not decided.
 “Well, I think we should stay at my uncle’s cabin,” I heard Sean pronounce.
 “Uh-no! What about a hotel?” Aleecia was frantic.
 “What about you, Lilly? It was your idea. Where do you think we should go?” another person asked. I think it was Paul. I really was not paying attention. My mind was on Daniel and whether or not he was going to go with us.
 “Hello!” a waving hand was in my face. “Lilly, what do you think, cabin on the lake or hotel in the city?”
 “Huh?” I took a minute to realize I was sitting in the lunchroom just starring at my jell-o. “What was the choices again?”
 “Cabin on the lake or a hotel in the city?” Maggie repeated.
 “Cabin sounds nice. How much?”
 “Nothing at all. We just have to provide our food and necessities,” Sean was very up beat about this decision. “And make sure we don’t trash the place.”
 “Oh yeah, we are going to be wild animals. Wear lamp shades on our heads and drape sheets over our shoulders. We could use the mattresses as sleds!” Aleecia was getting to creative with her sarcasm.
 “Well, we’ve decided. So if you’ll excuse me, I have to take care of something.” I got up and walked towards Daniel’s table like yesterday. This time though, he was surrounded by the entire basketball team, even the towel boy.
 “Hey, Daniel, here comes your admirer,” one of the boys teased while the others cooed.
 “Hey! Did they finally decide on a place,” he just ignored all of them.
 I was so shocked how casual he talked to me, so was everyone else. “Yeah, actually. Sean’s uncle owns a cabin on the lake. I don’t think its to far from here. Do you have practice any?”
 “Nope, he’s Scott-free!” a tall, dirty-blondish boy yelled.
 “No practice,” he rolled his eyes at the boy. “So what time you guys meeting up? And how you all getting there?”
 “Uhm…probably around six. Does that sound okay? My friends from Hartford said that they should be getting here around 5:30 or so.”
 “Sounds fine,” the bell interrupted before he could say anything else. “Can I walk with you to class?”
 I had forgot that he had class right beside me. “S-sure.”
 We started to walk and I could feel my heart my beat faster than ever. “So, uhm.. Do you have a boyfriend down here with your friends?”
 “Why do you ask that?” I was puzzled.
 “Well you don’t seem to be close to any guy here. Well except for Paul, but you guys seem more like brother and sister.” He was right, since I had been here me and Paul hung almost as much as me and Maddie did. But he did pick on me like a brother would, by sneaking up behind me and giving me headlocks.
 “No, not a current boyfriend. Just a former.”
 “So, you have an ex coming up to see you?” He started to chuckle under his breath.
 I slapped his arm, “Why is that funny? Me and him were pretty close before I left. But I ended it because I knew I wouldn’t be going back.” the conversation grew serious.
 “So… Never mind.”
 “No. What is it? What do you want to ask me?”
 “Do you think about getting back with him?”
 Wow! That was a good question, I had never thought about it. I hadn’t even thought about it when he called me. “Really? I’ve never thought about getting back with him. I just thought that it would be nice to see him and all my other friends.” Then something hit me. “Oh no! He doesn’t… NO!.. He doesn’t think? Does he?”
 “Does he think this is why you wanted him back here? Yeah, probably.” he just kept walking casually as I was stopped in the middle of the hallway baffled. He finally noticed and came back tugging on my elbow. “Look at me. These things happen. When he comes you just have to tell him that you are with someone else. That you didn’t mean for this to get all blown up in proportion.”
 Then the words ‘someone else’ hit me. Before I could say anything, I looked up and he was already in class. What did he mean someone else? He already said me and Paul were like siblings. What did he mean?
 I was surprised I was even passing my last two classes, because I was always so distracted. Especially, today, thinking about Michael and Daniel. The fact that Michael is going to come here with his hopes up that we are getting back together. Another was that according to Daniel, I was already with someone else. What did this all mean?
 As soon as I was home, I ran upstairs and just fell right into my full sized bed.

 I woke up, but I wasn’t home. I was in an empty cabin laying in a bed that looked like two people had slept in it. I started walking through the cabin trying to figure out where I was and if there was anyone else there. “Hello! Helloooo!” I tiptoed around corners.
 “Out here!” I knew that voice. I ran outside and saw Daniel laying on the dock that led into the lake.
 ‘Did he kidnap me? Wait, did I run away? Was I drugged? What’s happening? Why am I here?’ all these thoughts rushed through my head.
 “Hey there,” he said as he walked towards me with only a pair of blue jeans on. I looked down and I was wearing his white buttoned up shirt.
 “W…” I couldn’t form any words. He was already there holding me in a tight grip against his chest while pushing my chin up to his. My arms wrapped around him involuntarily. Then, I remembered, I didn’t know how I had got there. I started to jerk away, but his grip on me was to tight. A cold drift started to fly around us and my body shivered.

 My eyes started to fly open and I was back in my room. I looked down and saw I still had my school clothes on. Then reality smacked me, it was just a dream. Just a taunting dream. I look over and on my night was my alarm clock. It read 3:45 am. I let out a sigh and laid back down in my bed. I started looking around in my room and noticed my window open with the curtains soaring.
 I walked over to the window and went to shut it when I noticed a dark figure running from my house. “Hey! Wait! Wait!” I screamed to the top of my lungs. The figure just disappeared into the darkness. I stood there staring at where my intruder vanished into the dark when my doorknob started to slowly turn. Footsteps came closer and closer to me, then I heard her voice.
 “Honey,” I could feel her eyes on the back of my neck, “are you okay? What’s wrong? Who were you yelling at?”
 My hands slowly left the window seal and found their way to my hips. “Someone was in my room.” I turned at looked at her. The memory started to come back in haunting tones.

 Everything seemed to stand still. Silence covered the house. It was strange, because Dad was always typing on his computer. He usually worked late anyway, but he had to leave my party early to finish up this big project. Mom and I had just placed all my presents down on the island in the kitchen. We started walking towards the hallway. It seemed to grow longer and cave in on us as we reached his study. Mom was at the door first. Then a loud shriek left her tiny body. I looked over her shoulder and saw him. He was laying there as if he had fallen asleep on his laptop. The only thing different was the blood splattered all over his desk and him. Then, I noticed the window wide open with the curtains flying free. Mom ran towards him screaming until she had no breath left. I remember her holding me and trembling all over as the E.M.Ts carried my dead father away.

 For a second, it felt like she was holding me again, trembling. My consciousness gained control and I realized I was the one trembling. I looked at her and it was like she had the same flash back. “Are you okay? Did anyone touch you?” she said as her hands laid down on each of my shoulders. Then, she ran to the window looking for the trespasser.
 “Their gone, Mom. Whoever it was is gone,” I heard the window slam shut. The next thing I know is that everything got very blurry and black.
 The next day, I woke up to Helen and Mom talking about Dad’s murder. I tried to block it out, because the flash back was enough for me. I tried my hardest to go back to sleep, but then I felt a hand brush my hair. I was about to open my eyes so see who it was, but then I heard his voice.
 “Will she be okay?” Daniel softly spoke so not to wake me.
 “Yeah, she will be fine. I think it was just too much for her to take in. I don’t know if she will be okay to go on the trip today though.”
 “I’m going,” I heard footsteps come my way. I opened my eyes and Daniel was sitting right beside my head, just looking down at me with a slight smile.
 “Honey, how do you feel?” Mom frantically rushed over me.
 “I’m fine. Just a little headache, but Tylenol should take care of that,” I said with a smile as I sat up.
 “Be careful,” Helen then rushed over me, “you may have a concussion. You hit that wood floor pretty hard, your mom said.”
 “The intruder!” I had just remembered my mysterious guest.
 “The whole town is out looking for whoever it is. Just worry about yourself,” Mom and Helen said in unison.
 Daniel just seemed to sit there looking at me. Then, I noticed, my hand was in his. He saw where my eyes were stopped at, “You just grabbed my hand when you were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you, so I just left it alone.” He released my hand with a sense of sadness. “So, are you all ready for the trip?”
 “Oh, shoot! I was so tired yesterday, I didn’t get anything done. What time is it?”
 “Just about 2 o’clock. You still have some time and I can help you.”
 “Really? Great, come on!” I jumped up quickly and jerked him towards my room.
 “Easy now, Lillian,” Mom was shouting behind me.
 I bounded up the stairs with Daniel behind me, leaving our mothers to their conversation. “So how long were you here, anyway?”
 “Well, your mom called my mom around 7 o’clock. She’s been here since then, but me, I came about an three hours ago.”
 “Oh, goodness. I’m sorry… uhm, about me holding your hand.. I..”
 “Don’t worry about it. So, this is your room?”
 “Yeah, this is it.” I held the door open.
 “It’s very plain. I would have figured you would have some kind of boy band up or male models,” he chuckled.
 “Haha, very funny. But, yeah it is very plain. I just haven’t got around to fixing it up.”
 “Well, I could help you, whenever you decided to, you know, fix it up. I’m actually a pretty good artist,” he raised his half closed hand to his mouth and blew on his fingers.
 “Conceited are we?” I laughed. “If you don’t mind, that would be nice.”
 “No problem, just tell me when. Right now though, you may want to start packing.”
 “Oh yeah! I almost nearly forgot. Good thing you are here,” we exchanged smiles.
 We finished my packing and had some time to spare. So we decided to get a jump on decorating my room with some color. Daniel began drawing a portrait of me on the wall and drew one of him. His looked professional; however, mine looked like a stick person compared to his. I knew that of course, but he started making fun of it. So, when he turned to add finishing touches on his drawing, I took a purple permanent marker and drew on his neck. I thought it was pretty dang funny and he did after I had been marked on too. That did it, a war was started. All you could hear was laughter and running around. Finally, our mothers came up to check on us and my room was very colorful, especially us.
 “Do we even want to know?” our mothers asked at the same time. We exchanged glances and laughter. “I’m going to take that as a no.” Helen looked curious.
 “Honey, its close to six, you may want to clean up,” Mom informed us as they walked away.
 “Wow, time has gone by fast,” I looked over at my alarm clock on my night stand.
 “Yeah, it has. You know your mom is right, we need to clean up.”
 “Well, I don’t know. I kind of like being the color of a rainbow,” I began examining my skin. “You don’t look to bad yourself, Daniel.”
 “Thanks, but I’d rather not look like the horse of different colors. I’m going to go home and clean up. I’ll be back in 20 minutes.”
 “Ok, then.”
 He started to walk towards the door, when he suddenly stopped. “Did you ever figure out what you were going to do about your problem. You know the whole ex-thing?”
 “I’m just going to tell him that I want to be friends. I know that is cold, but it’s the best thing,” silence was shared for the first time that day. “Hey, Daniel.”
 “Yeah?”
 “What did you mean by saying that I should tell him that I was with someone else? Who is the someone else?”
 He nervously looked at the clock and back at me. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes.” Then he just left.
 I wanted to just lay on my bed to wonder what he meant, but I caught a glimpse of myself in my dresser mirror. My hair was even colored and sticking out in a billion of places. I took his idea and started getting ready.
 By the time I had finally finished getting ready, he had already been there for more than fifteen minutes standing at my window. “Slow much?”
 “Hey, you’re a guy. It takes longer to get ready for a girl.”
 He turned around and looked like he was about to say something, but I bet him to the punch.
 “Tell me now. What did you mean by someone else?”
 “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he tried to look so innocent.
 “Yes, you do. I’m not so crazy that I’m imagining things. What did you mean?”
 “They’re here!” he ran downstairs and I followed.
All my friends were already downstairs waiting for us, even Michael. He was the first person I saw, standing in the doorway, just looking at me.
 “Okay, then. Everyone seems to be here. Lets hit the road,” I said after having a short reunion with them all.
 We had to take two vehicles, so we decided to divide up. Girls were in the Tahoe and the boys rode in the Suburban. The ride didn’t seem to take long, of course I didn’t pay attention to any of them. I just sat in the back trying to figure out what he meant. Nothing seemed to be adding up and my dreams were so real.
 Door slams and voices started to interrupt my thoughts. “Come on, Lillian. We’re here!”
I jumped out of the Tahoe and took in the beautiful scenery around us. The winter sky was just breathtaking with its white clouds spread all over the blue. The snow that covered the lake and bare trees. It all seemed like a dream. Just like the first day when I entered Grovehill.
 We seemed to settle into the cabin pretty nicely. There seemed to be room left in there to put an elephant or two in a room. Everyone seemed to pair up quit nicely. Maddie was with Louis. Paul and Amelia hit it off pretty well and Sean and Nina became an item. Aleecia grew very fond of Michael, for which some reason bugged me, but he wanted give her the time of the day. I figured now was the time to talk to him.
 I was right too, now was the perfect time to talk to him. Maddie, Louis, Aleecia, and Daniel all went for a hike and the others were out back in the hot tub. “Hey Michael,” he was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace.
 “Y-yeah,” he seemed to be thinking of something pretty hard. “What’s up, Lilly-pad?”
 I went and sat down on the other side of the couch. “You do know that me and you are just friends right? I mean, Aleecia has been flirting with you since we’ve been here and you brush her off. I just hope it’s not because of me.”
 “Lilly, I know how you feel. It’s fine. Besides, I figured you were with that Daniel guy anyway. You know he doesn’t talk much, what could you see in him?”
 “HEY!” I jumped up from the couch. “I’m not with anyone for your information. And Daniel does talk to, just leave him alone. What is it with people telling me I’m with someone. How come I don’t know about this? Huh? Tell me, Michael, since you seem to be so in tuned with me?”
 He got up off the couch and came towards me, hands up. “Lilly, calm down. I just thought. Well,” he started to rub his neck and look uncomfortable, “since you both came down from your room together. I just thought…”
 “Exactly, you just thought! I can’t believe this. I’m sorry I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have said anything to you. No actually, I shouldn’t have invited you to come.”
 “Wait. Stop right there. I’m, glad you invited me down here. I wanted to see you and I am glad you told me we were just friends. Because, well, I was going to try to get you back. Well that was until I saw you with … him.”
 “He has a name. It’s Daniel. And no, I don’t want to get back together, least right now I don’t.”
 “So there is hope?”
 “I didn’t say that. Stop putting words in my mouth,” I smirked my lips at him and turned to sit down on the couch. He seemed to have followed me and very closely I might add. He sat right next to me. So close, I thought he was about to sit in my lap.
 “Lilly,” he placed his hand on my shoulder, “I’m sorry. I know that was out of line for me. I respect your wishes. Just friends, for now.”
 “Thank-you.” I stared at the flames in the fireplace for the longest time. Then I finally turned and looked to my right. Michael had scooted over and gave me back my space. Relieved I turned back towards the flames.
 I woke up the next morning wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. I just lay there thinking, that maybe I screwed up and needed Michael back. Maybe I was just in a horrid place right now and need to stay away from guys for a while. Even Daniel. That thought stung and settled in the front of my mind. I must have laid there for at least a half hour, until I heard footsteps coming towards me. That person just moved my feet on top of theirs legs and sat down.
 “So, you and Michael have a nice talk last night,” it was Daniel. But how did he know me and Michael talked last night?
 “E-excuse me?” I sat up just a little.
 “I came back early from the hike and heard you guys talking. I wasn’t ease dropping, I promise.”
 “How much did you hear?”
 “Not much. Just the last part about you saying you didn’t want to back together with him, at least not right now. Is that what you really meant. That there was a chance you would get back with him?”
 “I-I don’t know,” I laid back down and just stared at the ceiling.
 “How do you not know?”
 “I just don’t know. Okay? I don’t know.”
 “Is that what you want? I mean seriously?”
 I just laid there trying to figure out what I wanted. Truthfully, I didn’t know. I guess he just got sick of the silence, so he walked away. For most of the day, I laid on the couch having a battle with my mind.  Nothing made sense. Why did he care what I wanted anyway? Why did Michael care? Just so he could tell me the same thing he said in the note? I had almost forgotten about that. About how rude he was by basically telling me that I was punishing myself and everyone around me.
 I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to get out. I got dressed and headed out towards the lake. The scenery really helped by clearing my head. All I could think of was how beautiful the lake looked with it covered with white snow. The mountains were so blue in the background. Then, my thoughts were erased when I heard my name.
 “Lilly!”
 I turned around and surely enough it was Daniel. He was running to me like I was a lost puppy of something.
 “What? What’s wrong?” I stopped dead in my tracks.
 “We didn’t know where you were. I mean, I’ve looked every where for you.”
 “Daniel! What is wrong?”
 “It’s Michael. He was on the lake, ice skating by his self. Well, he found some thin ice and fell in, Lilly. He is on his way to the hospital right now.” I fell to my knees and started to bawl. “Its all right, Lilly. The paramedics said we found him in time.”
 “It’s all my fault. If I didn’t ask him to come down here, he wouldn’t be an ice cube.”
 “No Lilly its not your fault.”
 I fell into Daniel’s arms and just sobbed. Nothing was right and it was all my fault. Daniel had to carry me to the Suburban so we could go to the hospital. I cried the whole way there thinking that I could have done something to prevent this. There was nothing.

Ch.3

  There he laid, in the white hospital room. He seemed so lifeless, hooked up to those machines. Tears would have came, but I think I was cried all out. The doctors said that he was fine and should be out in a day or two. That still didn’t ease me any. I stayed at the hospital over night sitting beside the bed holding his lifeless hand.
 I was on the icy lake searching for Michael. I was calling out his name, but there was no answer. I was shivering and scared. Michael was no where to be found. Where was he? Then I heard something behind me. I turned around and there he was. He was so blue like the winter sky. He was drenched from head to toe. I wanted to say something. To ask where he had been. To know why he was so wet. I just stared at him.
 He just slowly walked towards me. I grabbed and hugged him as tight as I could. His body seemed so cold. I didn’t care, though. I had Michael. He pulled his hand to my head and just moved his hand up and down in my hair. “You know,” is all he said.
I woke up by the slight movement of Michael’s hand. He was awake and stroking my hand. I was just so overwhelmed by him being awake, I had forgot all about the dream.
“Hey,” he smiled very weakly.
“Hey,” the tears had came back.
“Are those tears I see?” he slowly reached his hand to my face.
“Yeah. I’m so sorry. I should…” he placed his tear soaked hand on my mouth.
“There was nothing you could have done. So don’t blame yourself. Okay?” I just looked at him, dumbfounded. “Promise me you won’t try to blame yourself anymore.” More blank stares. “Lillian, promise me.”
“I promise,” I finally spoke. “I just….”
“You promised,” he smiled and this time I exchanged it. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I was so surprised by how fast that came out.
He had finally went back to sleep after we talked for awhile. I couldn’t sleep though. I just sat there, looking at him like I had done hours before. This time, he didn’t look so lifeless. He looked like Michael, again. His beautiful skin gaining its color back. His shaggy, golden hair just laid there. I did love him, but there was something there keeping me from really loving him. It was just so unexplainable.
 It was so cold, but I wasn’t giving up. I had to find him. Where was he? I was walking along the frozen lake looking for him. I kept trying to yell. Nothing seemed to come out. Why couldn’t I scream? Then I heard something coming from the woods. I thought it was him. I walked towards the forest and saw someone standing there. I tried to talk, but my voice still didn’t work. So I just walked towards the person, but they backed away from me. I couldn’t make out a face. Just the dark figure. The words “You do know” came from the figure. I knew that voice. That was the voice I was looking for. I began to run to catch up to him, but I was to late. He was already gone.
“Lilly!” I was being shaken. “Lillian!”
I came to and saw who was shaking me. It was Maddie. “What’s wrong?”
“You were having a nightmare, I think. You were freaking out whatever it was,” she seemed pretty concerned.
“I-I’m fine,” I looked in front of me and the hospital bed was clear. “Where’s Michael?”
“Oh, the doctor is letting him go. He told Michael that he should be fine and to go finish his winter break out of the hospital.”
“Should? He doesn’t really know?”
“Calm down. He is fine. Right now, he is getting a couple of last minute scans to confirm it some more. He is fine, Lilly. Don’t worry. Come on now,” she jerked me out of the uncomfortable chair. “Lets go get you something to eat while we wait.”
 Well, she was right. Michael was just fine. He insisted that we go back to the cabin and finish off the winter break. As much as I protested he said that he wasn’t going to ruin the rest of the vacation.
 “You’re so stubborn,” I wheeled him to the Suburban.
 “I learned from the best,” he slightly turned his head so that he could see me.
 “Haha, funny. Okay, in you go. Easy, now.”
 “I’m fine. Chill,” he held my hand just for a second after he was in the vehicle. All I could do was stare at our hands and feel Daniel’s eyes on us.
 After we all settled in to both vehicles, on Michael’s request, we headed back to the cabin. The whole time I couldn’t stop thinking about Michael and me. Was there still a Michael and me? Did I still have feelings for him? What about Daniel? What was I suppose to do? Nothing made sense just as usual.
 My thoughts came to an end when we came to a complete stop. I looked out the window and there it was. The frozen, snow covered, lake. A death trap.
 As I was getting out of the Tahoe, I noticed Daniel and Michael walking together. They seemed to be in a deep conversation about something. I wonder what it was? I have never saw them be so pleasant to one another.
 “Lilly, come on!” a voice screamed at me.
 “Huh? What’s happening?” I turned around and saw all the girls standing on the porch.
 “We are all going out tonight to celebrate Michael’s brilliant recovery. Come on now, silly. We need to start getting ready,” Aleecia ran towards me and started dragging me inside the cabin.
 They all started to jabber about what they were going to wear and for whom. Clothes began to fly across the two rooms. Jewelry and makeup was scattered all over dressers. It was all so chaotic and nothing I really seemed to care about. So I escaped with great success. Of course none of the them were paying attention anyway, unless I had something they wanted to wear. I went out into the cold and continued my walk along the lake. It was so peaceful, yet frightening. The fact that Michael almost fell to his death in this frozen beauty. How could everyone act as if nothing really happened? Why all of a sudden was Michael and Daniel best of buds? My head started to spin, so I finally decided to take a seat on the boat dock. The same thoughts were starting to come back with a few more by their side. Then I heard a voice broke through it all.
 “You must be freezing out here,” a warm jacket was thrown over my shoulders.
 “I wasn’t really paying much attention to the cold,” I continued to look straight.
 “I didn’t think you were,” Michael sat down right beside me. “I noticed you sitting out here from the window. You know you shouldn’t sit out here to freeze to death.”
 My head turned instantly to look at him. I was about to say something when his warms hands shocked my cold face. His lips found their way to mine. For some reason, I didn’t fight it. This felt right. Right where I was suppose to be, with him. My frozen hands found their way to his neck. I didn’t want to let go and neither did he. Then the rustling of feet caught our attention. I looked up and there stood Daniel. It was odd, though. He didn’t seem to be very surprised. Almost like he knew this was going to happen.
 “Daniel!” I screamed and tried to scrabble to my feet.
 He just stood there for a moment, then his lips finally moved. “The girls were looking for you. They told me to come looking for you and to see if you were ready, yet. Looks to me, like you are just fine,” He turned and moved as quietly as he came.
 My heart all of a sudden felt ice cold and incomplete. I started to move with him, when a hand caught my arm. “Don’t go. Just let him be. He knows that your mine, anyway.”
 “Excuse me!” I jerked my arm out of his stronghold. “I am not YOURS!” I started running the opposite way of the cabin. The tears that dripped from eyes froze on my face like ice cycles. I didn’t want to go back and see Daniel or Michael. What did I get myself into? I never had any intention of getting back with Michael. I told Daniel that to. Now he probably thinks that I am nothing more than a liar. My world just got more confusing.
 I walked for the longest time, until my feet began to drag in the snow. The drizzle of snow turned into a blizzard. I tried to turn around, but found myself turning in circles. Finally, I spotted a deserted cave, well least I hoped. I went in just a few feet in and began to watch the ground be covered with more white. By now, every part of my body was numb and my body fell tired.
 
 I found myself back where I was turning circles. Then I suddenly stopped when a strange, dark figure was walking towards me. I tried to run, but I couldn’t move my feet. My mouth opened but not a single noise came out. The figure just kept getting closer and closer. The closer the figure was, the blurry it became. The wind began to blow and my name was carried in a whisper. I turned around to see the cabin just 25 feet away from me. My feet tried to move towards safety, but they remained frozen.
 “Lilly! No!,” someone screamed, making me turn back around. The darkness was by my feet. It reached out for my hand. Then the whisper came back.
 “Lilly,” breezed by my ear. My hand slowly reached out towards the darkness.
 “NOO!,” the person screamed again. “Come back to me. Please, Lilly. Come back…” the voice began to fade.

Warmth began to cover my body. My mind wondered what was happening. My right hand started to move feeling another hand in mine. Followed was my left hand feeling the same thing. Finally, my eyes opened to find that I was in a white room. Flowers covered the room, along with all my friends. Michael and Daniel were on each side of me. I wanted to hit both of them in the head, but something restrained both my arms.
 “You’re awake,” a plump nurse came in. “How are you feeling?”
 “Confused, can you tell me what happened?” my voice was raspy.
 “They said they found you in a cave nearly hanging on. You are very lucky to have such a great guy,” she smiled. “Oh, he is waking up now,” she said as she left the room.
 That still didn’t help me any, they both woke up at the same time, along with the others. People crowded around my bed, before I could speak a word. Their voices surrounded the room. Not a single one made since.
 “Hello!,” I  managed to get out.
 Their voices started all over again, with more noise added.
 “Wait, stop,” I waited a couple of seconds. “Good, now who found me. Only one person please,” I sat up.
 All of their eyes began to wonder. One by one they left, except for Daniel and Michael. Finally, a voice spoke.
 “We all went looking for you, when you didn’t come back after an hour. And well, as much as I wanted to be your hero, Daniel was the one who found you,” Michael looked down at my hand.
 My eyes shifted towards Daniel. “Thank you, but you should have left me there. I feel awful after what happened.”
 Daniel just looked at me with sorrow filled eyes. His face looked as if a million words were flowing through his mind, but none would be spoke. A few moments passed as Daniel and I spoke to each other through our eyes.
 I could hear Michael mumbling something under his breath.  “I’m sorry. I should have picked a better vacationing place. Next time, we are staying away from cold places, with frozen water,” I looked over at Michael. “So, when can I get out of here?”
 “The doctor said as soon as you wake up he would see how you were. If you were stable, then  maybe today,” a smile seemed to break on both of their faces.
 “Great! After I’m out of here, we are so packing up and leaving the cabin. It’s beautiful and all, but I believe we should go somewhere else and spend our vacation. That sound okay?” I started to get out of bed, but the IV’s held me in place. I just fell right back in place. Snickers came from both of my sides. “Oh, so you two think this is funny?” I smirked.
 “Yeah, actually we do,” Daniel finally spoke. “Maybe we should admit you into a hospital more often. You can’t move much and if you talk our heads off we can run out of here,” Daniel sat back down, but this time on my bed. A few silent seconds passed by as Daniel held my hand rubbing the back of it. “Make me a promise.”
 “What am I promising?” I looked down at our hands.
 “Just promise me you will never do that again. Scare me like that. Promise?” his eyes met mine.
 “You worried about me?”
 “You sound so surprised.”
 “I thought you were mad at me.”
 “My anger is nothing compared to my love,” his eyes laid back down on our hands.
 “I’ll be outside,” Michael interrupted. “I think I need to leave you two alone for now.”
 Neither of us paid attention to him. I just tried to figure out what was just said to me and how I should react. “Your love?” a smile broke on my face.
 “I said to much,” he tried to pull away.
 I quickly grabbed for his hand. “No, you haven’t. Your little words mean quite a lot to me. So, tell me, just so that I’m clear. Your love?”
 A smile quickly filled his face. “You already know.”
 “I know, but I want to hear it.”
 “I love you,” he sat back on my bed.
 “I love you, too,” I touched his face with my left hand. “Now…”
  His hand smoothed the left side of my face as his tender lips kissed mine. There was something about that kiss. Like it had happened before. I knew those lips. Then our lips seemed to be separated and my unfinished sentence blurted out. “..was that so hard?”
 “No, it wasn’t,” he leaned back in for another kiss.
 A few miserable hours later, I was released from the hospital. As planned, we all packed up from the cabin and pitched in for a couple of hotel rooms. The drive to the hotel seemed so short. Especially with all the questions about my love triangle.  Aleecia seemed pretty happy to know that Michael was now single. She held a grin on her face ever since the time that I told everyone that I was with Daniel. I was just imagining how the ride was going for the boys. They were probably giving Michael trouble for trying to start trouble. The vehicle began to slow down and pull into the Lake View Hotel.
 Standing right in front of us was a massive building built out of white stone. In the middle of the parking lot was a marble statue of two kid angles. For some reason, seeing those statues made me feel even safer here. Inside was even more magnificent. There was two fireplaces back to back in the middle of the lobby. The walls were a perfect marble color. Paintings by extraordinary artists were hung on each wall. Plants were in every other corner. The rooms were even more amazing than the downstairs. Each room had two beds, a couch, a mini-fridge (of course), microwave, television with satellite, and a walk out balcony. Everything was just so breath taking I didn’t want to take my eyes off of it, until Daniel came to the room. Then he was the only thing my eyes fixated on. I had several questions for him, but I figured they could wait until we were safely home.
 

 
 

 

Reviews

[Rena]

tht was amazing. i love a story tht i have to read all the way to the end. this is one of them!!! :)