Lilly: A Kensington Family Novel

by Allie Everhart

  "By yourself?" He uses his concerned big brother tone.

  "No. With Reed. His mom showed up here and she was really drunk so he had to drive her home. I followed him so he'd have a way back. His mom was a mess. I felt so bad for him."

  "Lilly, are you sure you want to be part of this?"

  "Part of what?"

  "Part of this guy's life. It sounds like he has a lot of serious shit going on. You're in college. You're supposed to be having fun. What you did yesterday doesn't sound like fun. Maybe you should give this guy some space until things settle down in his life."

  "So now you're on Mom's side? Telling me to break up with Reed?"

  "No. I'm just saying I don't want your college years spent helping this guy take care of his drunk mom. That's not your responsibility and it's not how you should be spending your time. You're only 18. You should be going out, having fun."

  "I do have fun. I've been swimming more. And I've been hanging out with Willow and Taylor and some of the other girls from my floor. But I also like being with Reed. And I don't want to push him away just because he has family problems. That's not his fault, Garret. He doesn't want his life to be this way."

  "I get that. But he doesn't have a choice. You do. I'm not saying to not hang out with the guy. I just think you should stay out of his family problems. You don't want to get involved in that."

  "You're the one who taught me to help people."

  "Yeah." He chuckles. "I obviously did too good a job. Why don't you guys come down here some weekend? We'll grill out and hang out by the pool and maybe Reed can talk to Jade."

  "I don't know if he's ready to talk, but we could still come down there. I'll talk to Reed and see what weekend would work."

  "Let's get back to you. Are you okay? Do you want me to come up there?"

  I pause, thinking that maybe I do. It's been weeks since I've seen Garret and I really miss him, but I know he's busy so I don't want to bother him.

  When I don't answer, he says, "I'll head up there. We'll go for a swim and have lunch."

  "Doesn't Jade need you there to help with the kids?"

  "Mom will help her. She just got here. She's going swimming with the girls and then they're doing some craft project."

  "That sounds fun."

  "Would you rather come here?"

  "No. I'd kind of like some big brother time."

  "Sounds good. I'll be there soon."

  I love Garret. I'm really lucky to have such a great brother.

  I call Reed.

  "How'd it go?" he asks.

  "Not good."

  "Are you coming over?"

  "I can, but not for very long. Garret's on his way up here."

  "Then maybe I'll just see you at dinner. I have to make up some hours at work. The professor emailed me a list of stuff that needs to be done. I was thinking of doing it now to get it over with. "

  "Yeah, go ahead. I'll see you tonight."

  An hour later, Garret arrives. He hands me a loaf of bread. "A gift from Mom."

  I sniff it and smile. "She made me banana bread?"

  "Actually, she made it for the kids. She brought two loaves, but when I told her I was coming to see you, she told me to bring you one."

  "I've missed Rachel's banana bread."

  He sits at my desk. "Why do you keep calling her Rachel? Why don't you just call her Mom?"

  "I call her Mom sometimes."

  "You should call her that all the time. It would make her happy. She thinks of you as her daughter."

  "I know." I set the banana bread on my desk. "And I think of her as a mom, but when I call her that, I feel bad, like it's not fair to my real mom."

  "Katherine isn't even around. She'd never hear you say it."

  "But I might slip up and call her that and then my mom would feel bad."

  "She's an adult. She'll get over it. Stop worrying about Katherine."

  "So what's Dad up to today?"

  "He's golfing with one of his friends. After that, he'll probably look over the spreadsheets I gave him last week. We're going to meet tomorrow to go over them."

  "Oh, I keep forgetting." I open the top drawer of my desk and take out the card and hand it to him. "This guy loves your store and said he'd be in one of your commercials if you're interested. I met him on parents' weekend. He's friends with Taylor's brother."

  "I've heard of this guy. He's one of the up-and-comers in golf that everyone's talking about. He likes WaveField, huh?"

  "He said it's his favorite store."

  "Maybe I can sign him up as a spokesperson before he becomes famous and starts demanding millions of dollars." He puts the card in his wallet. "I'll talk about it with Dad at our meeting tomorrow."

  At the mention of my dad, my mind flashes back to that dream. Why do I keep thinking about that? It was just a stupid dream.

  "What's wrong?" Garret asks, because I haven't said anything.

  "You ever have strange dreams?"

  "I don't really remember my dreams. Why?"

  "I keep having this dream."

  "About what?"

  "About..." I glance down. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. It's just a dumb dream. But I keep having it and I don't know why."

  "What's it about?"

  My eyes go back to Garret's. "Dad."

  "What about him?"

  I sigh. "I don't want to tell you."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I feel bad that I'd even think these things about Dad. I know I can't control what happens in my dreams, but still."

  "Lilly, just tell me."

  "You won't tell Dad?"

  "No. Now what is it?"

  "I had this dream the other night. We were living at the old house. I was young, maybe five or six, and it was the middle of the night and I was in my room but couldn't sleep. I heard the front door slam and went out in the hall and looked through the railing and saw Dad in the foyer. He was..."

  "He was what?"

  I close my eyes, picturing it. "His shirt. It was covered in blood. He was—"

  "Lilly." I feel Garret's hand wrap around my wrist and I open my eyes. Garret looks surprised and a little panicked. Why would he look panicked? He clears his throat. "It was just a dream."

  "I know. But it seemed so real. And I've had it before. And I've had ones where he was talking to Grandfather, yelling at him." I pause. "About you. They're always fighting about you."

  He lets go of my wrist. "That's because I didn't take over the company. That's why they were always fighting about me. Grandfather wanted me to take over Kensington Chemical and when I refused, Grandfather blamed Dad. They fought about it until the day Grandfather died."

  "I don't think that was it. I think they were fighting about something else. And why did Dad have blood on his shirt? He was on the phone and said something about killing—"

  "Lilly!" He sets his hands firmly on my shoulders. "Look at me." He waits for my eyes to meet up with his. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real."

  "But why would I dream that? And why do I keep having those dreams?"

  He takes a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't know. Maybe you're watching too many scary movies."

  "I never watch scary movies. And even if I did, why would I make Dad the bad guy?"

  "Because it was a dream. Dreams never make sense. Just forget about it."

  "But I feel bad thinking about Dad that way. I don't understand why I would even think those things about him." I look down, then back up. "He's never...done anything bad, right?"

  "Lilly, what the hell?" Garret raises his voice and his body tenses up. "It was just a damn dream. Stop acting like it's real."

  "Sorry," I whisper, feeling ashamed of myself. My head drops and I see Garret's feet step up in front of me.

  "I didn't mean to get upset. I just don't want you thinking of Dad that way. It was just a dream."

  "I know," I say quietly. And yet the dream seemed so real, almost like it really happened.

>   "Come here." Garret holds his arms out and I hug him. "Let's forget about your mom and your crazy dreams and whatever else is worrying you and do something fun, okay? We'll go swimming, have lunch, then maybe go to a movie."

  "You can't be here all day, Garret. You have to get home."

  He lets me go. "Says who?"

  "Jade. Your kids."

  "The kids are fine. They've got Grandma keeping them busy. And Jade told me to stay as long as I want." He lifts my face up to his. "Is that why you never ask me to come here? You think I'm too busy?"

  I glance down. "It doesn't matter. I'm supposed to be on my own now."

  "Lilly, if you want to see me, just call. It's only an hour's drive. That's nothing. Freshman year is tough, especially the first semester. So don't ever be afraid to call me. I'm here whenever you need me."

  I smile and roll my eyes. "I don't need you. I just miss you sometimes."

  He slings his arm over my shoulder. "Because I'm awesome."

  I laugh. "And conceited."

  "Hey!" He laughs and squeezes me into his side. "You know I'm awesome. Who snuck you all that candy when you were a kid?"

  "If Mom had caught you, you would've been in so much trouble."

  "Like I cared. I was hoping she'd catch me just to piss her off. It wouldn't have stopped me. I still would've snuck you candy."

  "And you used to take me out all day in the summers even though Mom told you I couldn't leave the house."

  "I took you to the movies. The park. The ice cream shop. Sometimes I even took you to another town." He chuckles. "Katherine had no idea."

  "She's still mad you taught me how to swim. She blames you for why I quit ballet."

  "You didn't even like ballet." He picks his keys up from my desk. "Let's get out of here. You want to go swimming first?"

  "Okay. The pool's usually empty on Sundays."

  "I know." He smiles. "I went here, remember?"

  I punch him. "Smart ass."

  "I left my stuff in the car. Come with me to get it."

  As we're walking to his car, girls on campus are staring at him and smiling at him. This happens wherever he goes. Girls are always flirting with him. It doesn't bother Jade. She's used to it now and she knows he'd never cheat on her. He loves her more than anything.

  Garret and I swim for an hour, racing each other in the pool. He always wins but I still like to race him. For lunch we go to a deli across from campus that Garret always went to with Jade. After that we go bowling. That was my suggestion. We hadn't been bowling for a while and it sounded fun.

  "You're wearing me out," Garret says as we walk back to my dorm.

  I laugh. "I'll let you go home now."

  "I'm just kidding. Do you want to go to dinner? The Mexican place downtown is really good."

  "Maybe some other time. I told Reed I'd eat dinner with him."

  He nudges my arm. "You're ditching me for your boyfriend?"

  "Yeah, pretty much."

  Garret opens the door to the dorm and Reed's standing there. "Lilly, I was just looking for you. Hi, Garret."

  "Hey. Lilly said you had to work today."

  "Yeah, I just finished. I didn't know you were still here. I'll come back later."

  "No, it's okay. I was just leaving. I just need to get my gym bag out of her room."

  I unlock my door and Garret and I go in my room while Reed waits in the hall.

  Garret hugs me. "You good?"

  "Yeah. Thanks for coming. I needed this."

  He steps back, his eyes on me. "I was serious when I told you to call me anytime. Even if it's during the work day." He smiles. "I own the company. I won't get in trouble."

  I walk him to the door. "Tell Jade I said hi and give the kids a hug for me."

  "I will. See ya later. Love you."

  "Love you too." As he leaves, he says to Reed, "Make sure she swims. She's getting slow."

  "Garret!" I yell as he goes down the hall. "I heard that!"

  "Good!" he yells back. "You needed to."

  Reed comes into my room. "Your brother's funny."

  "When you guys were surfing, he didn't tell you any embarrassing stories about me, did he?"

  He shuts the door. "Yeah, I got a lot of good stories."

  "Are you serious?" I ask as he puts his arms around my waist. "What did he say?"

  He kisses me. "Let's talk later."

  "I have to know. Tell me what he said."

  "I can't remember. I'd have to think about it. Now would you just let me kiss you? We spent all day in the car yesterday and today I had to work. I feel like I haven't kissed you for days."

  "Then kiss me," I say, closing my eyes.

  He presses his lips to mine, his hand cradling my head. He's right. It seems like days since we've been able to do this. Or even just be alone. Without distractions. Without family drama consuming our time and our thoughts.

  Right now, my thoughts are only on him. We make our way to the bed and our kisses heat up, clothes slowly coming off. But as usual, he doesn't take it beyond what we've done before. He's never once pushed me to have sex or made me feel guilty for not doing it with him. And I don't think he ever would. It's just another reason why I like him so much and why I feel like he's the perfect guy for me.

  "Lilly." I feel Reed's warm breath on the back of my neck. I'm snuggled up against him with his arm around my middle. "We fell asleep."

  I check the clock. It's two hours later. We must've fallen asleep after making out.

  "I think we were both tired from all the driving yesterday," he says.

  "We missed dinner."

  "You want to just order a pizza?"

  "Sure." I climb out of bed and pick my t-shirt up from the floor.

  He grabs his phone from the table and orders the pizza. Then his phone rings. "It's my uncle," he says, setting his phone down.

  "You're not going to answer it?"

  "I'm not ready to talk to him. I'm still pissed at him for not helping my mom."

  "Reed, she stole his car. And it sounds like she's always causing problems for him."

  "Yeah, but—" He sighs and rubs his face. "Shit, I know. I shouldn't be mad at him. He's doing what's best for his family. But that leaves me stuck babysitting her, and I don't have time."

  I hand him his t-shirt as he gets out of bed. "Are you going to call him back?"

  "I will later. I don't want to ruin our night." He pulls me toward him. "I'm feeling really good right now and I want to keep it going." He gives me a kiss. "I don't know how you do it."

  "Do what?"

  "Put me in such a good mood. After yesterday, I should be feeling like shit but I'm not." He pauses. "You know, this could be bad for my career."

  "What do you mean?"

  He half smiles. "You making me happy all the time. I'm an artist. I'm supposed to be moody and angry. Sad and depressed. That's what fuels good art. If I'm happy all the time, what am I going to paint? Unicorns and rainbows?"

  I burst out laughing so hard I start coughing.

  "You think that's funny? This is my career we're talking about. This is serious." He says that, but he's also laughing.

  When I'm able to speak again, I say, "Actually, I think you could make a decent living painting unicorns and rainbows. My nieces would definitely buy your work. Of course, they don't have any money so maybe it's not such a good idea."

  He grabs me around the waist as I go past him. "You're not very concerned about this."

  "Nope." I kiss him. "Because I don't want you to be sad and depressed. I want you to be happy, even if that means your art will suffer. Mine will too, because I'm also really happy."

  "Then I guess we'll be drawing unicorns and rainbows together."

  "I can't wait."

  We watch TV until the pizza arrives.

  "I'll go get it," Reed says.

  "Wait." I go to get my wallet. "Let me pay this time."

  "No, I got it." He leaves before I can give him the money. He keeps insisti
ng on paying. Since we met he hasn't let me pay for anything, not even the gas for my car on our drive to LA.

  He comes back with the pizza as I'm getting the drinks.

  "Now that I'm smelling this, I'm starving," he says, setting the pizza on my desk.

  "Me too. Here." I hand him a paper plate.

  As we're sitting on the floor eating our pizza, his phone rings. "It's my uncle. I'll call him when we're done." But then his uncle calls again a few minutes later.

  "You better answer it," I tell him. "Maybe your mom's in trouble."

  "Which is why I don't want to answer. I don't want to know." His phone keeps ringing so he finally picks it up.

  "Hey, Uncle Rob. What's going on?" He listens, his face turning serious, almost panicked. "That's not possible. It was three years ago." As his uncle talks, Reed jumps up from the floor. "What? When did this happen?" He runs his hand through his hair. "Shit."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  "What's wrong?" I whisper as I stand up. "Is it your mom?"

  He shakes his head. I keep quiet and let him talk to his uncle.

  "No, I swear I didn't." Reed looks at me. "Well, I told Lilly but she—" He stops and I hear his uncle yelling through the phone. "No, she'd never—" He stops again as his uncle yells at him. He turns and walks away from me. "You don't know who did it so stop saying that. Did you tell anyone? Did you tell Lori?" He listens. "Then I don't know who it could be. But if they don't have evidence, they can't prove anything." As his uncle talks, Reed sighs and drops his head. "When will you know more?" He nods. "Okay. Call me if you have any updates. Otherwise I'll call you in the morning. Bye."

  He ends the call and shoves his phone in his pocket. "Fuck!" He rubs his hands up and down his face.

  "Reed, what happened?"

  He turns and looks at me with a pained expression.

  "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "I'm not." He quickly glances away. "I'm just trying to figure this out."

  "Figure what out? What did your uncle say?"

  "Someone knows." He gazes at the floor. "Someone knows, and they told the police."

  "Knows what?"

  "About the accident I caused when I was 15. A witness came forward."

  "What witness? I thought you said nobody saw what happened."

  "Apparently someone did and they told the police what they saw."