Lilly and Reed: A Kensington Family Novel

by Allie Everhart

  "Reed, I'm sorry."

  "It's okay. She always says stuff like that when she's drunk. Then she made all these comments about my dad, saying he's an ass and that I shouldn't be living with him. She said she saw him on some Hollywood show."

  "Your dad was on TV?"

  "Yeah, but only in the background. He was at a party with a lot of celebrities and one of those entertainment news shows was there and got him on camera when they were interviewing some actress. So now my mom thinks my dad's all rich and famous and she's jealous. Not just of him, but of me. She's pissed that my dad has money and I'm benefitting from it."

  "That should make her happy."

  "It doesn't. She's selfish. Everything's about her. She doesn't want other people having stuff when she doesn't. But she also doesn't want to work for anything."

  "How did the call end?"

  "She said she'd have to hitchhike to get out here, trying to guilt me into going there to get her. When I told her I wouldn't, she hung up on me. I don't want to talk about it. It pisses me off."

  "Then talk about something else." I lie down on my bed, getting comfortable because I don't plan to hang up anytime soon.

  "There was this awesome public art display downtown today," he says, his voice sounding much happier than it did just moments ago. "I wish you could've been here to see it."

  "Tell me about it."

  He does, and we stay on the phone until midnight.

  The next morning, I head to the kitchen for breakfast but stop when I hear my parents talking in a hushed tone.

  "She won't answer my calls," my dad says. "Katherine always does this when she knows she's in trouble."

  So this is about my mom. She did something to anger my dad. That's why he's been in a bad mood. I wonder what she did.

  "Even if you were able to talk to her," Rachel says, "she wouldn't admit to it."

  "She might, simply to rub it in my face that she did all this behind my back."

  "Have you heard anything from William?" Rachel asks.

  William? What does William have to do with this?

  "I called him as soon as I got up this morning. He said he can't do anything about it. In order to do so, he'd have to change the rules, but that would take months. He'd need the approval of the entire council."

  "Hey." I hear Garret behind me, then feel his hand on my shoulder. "Why are you standing here?"

  "Oh, um, I was just on my way to the kitchen."

  "But you had to stop and rest in the hall?" He chuckles.

  "Yeah. I'm tired," I say as we continue down the hall. "Your kids wore me out yesterday. And I was up late."

  "Talking to Reed?" he asks.

  "Yeah. I didn't have a chance to talk to him all day."

  Rachel whips around when she hears us coming into the kitchen. "You two are up early."

  "I couldn't sleep," Garret says, "so I just decided to get up."

  My dad kisses Rachel's cheek. "I'll be in my office."

  "Why couldn't you sleep?" I ask Garret.

  "I hurt my back playing basketball the other day. It hurts worse when I lie down. It kept waking me up."

  "You didn't tell me you hurt your back," I say, not believing his story. I think he knows about whatever it is my mom did and that's what kept him awake.

  "I just didn't think to tell you." He takes the carton of orange juice that's on the counter and fills a glass for himself and one for me. "Here." He hands me the glass.

  "You kids want pancakes for breakfast?" Rachel asks.

  Garret smiles. "You still gonna be calling me a kid when I'm in my forties?"

  "Of course," she says, opening the fridge. "I'm your mom. To me, you'll always be a kid. So what do you think? Pancakes? Waffles? Eggs?"

  "You don't have to make anything," Garret says. "We can just have cereal."

  She sets the milk on the counter. "I'll make pancakes. I know Abi and Hannah will eat them."

  "I'll have some," I say. "I'll get the flour out."

  "Hey," Garret says to me. "Before you do that, let's go outside."

  "Outside? Why?"

  He shrugs. "It's a nice morning. And I never get to talk to you without the kids running around."

  Maybe he's going to tell me about my mom and what she did that's making everyone act so strange.

  Wanting answers, I take my orange juice and follow him outside. It's early but the sun is bright so it already feels warm out. We sit on the lounge chairs by the pool. Garret leans back on his, putting his feet up. I sit on the side of mine, facing him.

  "So what's going on?" I ask.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Why'd you make me come out here?"

  He smiles. "Are you saying you don't want to talk to me?"

  "I do, but you usually don't take me aside like this to talk to me. And I know something's going on. I heard Mom and Dad whispering in the kitchen."

  "That's why you were standing in the hall? You were trying to listen in to what they were saying?"

  "Yeah," I say, avoiding his gaze.

  "And what did you hear?"

  I'm surprised by his question. I thought he was going to lecture me on how I shouldn't be eavesdropping.

  "They said something about my mom. It sounds like she did something that made Dad really mad. Do you know what she did?"

  "No." He lies his head back on the lounge chair, closing his eyes to shield them from the sun. "But when it comes to Katherine, anything's possible."

  "Is that why Dad was so angry yesterday?"

  "I don't know. I guess."

  "Garret." I nudge him so he'll look at me. "Tell me the truth. I know you know what's going on. You were here all afternoon yesterday talking to Dad and Mom about this. So tell me what you know."

  "Dad was just upset because he had a meeting in New York that didn't go well."

  "What kind of meeting?"

  "It was just a meeting with one of the guys who handles some of Dad's investments. Dad thinks he might've stole from him."

  "Oh." I ponder that for a moment. That would definitely make my dad angry, but then why was he talking about my mom? "So you don't know anything about what my mom did?"

  He shakes his head, then lays it back on the lounge chair and closes his eyes. "Don't you love this weather? It's so much better than when we were growing up in Connecticut."

  "I guess it is, but sometimes I miss the seasons."

  "You think you'll stay here after graduation?"

  "Probably. I don't know where else I'd go. Plus, I don't want to move away from my crazy family." I smile.

  "Or Reed," Garret says. "I assume he wants to live in L.A. after he graduates?"

  "He says that now, but he might change his mind. It's too early to say."

  "If he moved, would you go with him?"

  Garret's eyes are still closed and he's talking in a casual tone, but it's clear he's fishing for information. Did Dad put him up to this? Or Rachel? Rachel seemed concerned when I told her I plan to marry Reed someday, so maybe she asked Garret to talk to me about it. My parents do this all the time. They use Garret to get me to talk. And when it doesn't work, Garret sends Jade to talk to me.

  "Who put you up to this?" I ask.

  He opens his eyes and looks at me. "Up to what?"

  "This interrogation about Reed and me. Was it Dad?"

  "I'm not interrogating you. It was just a question. I want to know if my little sister's thinking of moving away. Because if so, I don't want you to go."

  "I won't. I'd miss you guys too much. And what would Abi and Hannah do without their Aunt Lilly?"

  "What about Miles and Ethan? Did you forget about them?"

  I laugh. "They don't sit still long enough to notice I'm even around."

  "That's not true. They love you." He pauses. "So if Reed wanted to leave California, are you saying you wouldn't go with him?"

  "I haven't thought about it."

  "You guys haven't talked about the future?"

  "We have a
little, but I usually stop him because I'm not ready for that."

  "Ready for what?"

  "To talk about getting engaged. Or married. We're too young. I can't believe you and Jade got married at my age. Why didn't you wait longer?"

  "At the time, it just seemed like the right thing to do. But it's not right for everyone. You have to give up stuff when you get married that young."

  "Like what?"

  "Dating other people." He laughs. "I know it sounds funny when I say it like that, but it's important, especially if you haven't dated much. You can't really be sure of what you want in someone until you've had some dating experience, which I had plenty of before I got married."

  "But Jade didn't."

  "Yeah, but, come on." He points to himself, smiling. "Why would she need to date around when she already had this?"

  I roll my eyes.

  "Seriously, though," he says. "You also give up doing the stuff people your age normally do, like go to parties. Jade and I went to a few in college but they just aren't the same when you're married. And single people that age don't want to hang out with married people so you lose some friends when you get married that young."

  "Well, I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon so I don't have to worry about that."

  "But you and Reed have talked about marriage?"

  I nod. "More than once."

  "Is that what you want? To marry him someday?"

  "Yes, but I'm not in any hurry."

  "Because you're not sure he's the one or because you're just not ready for marriage?"

  I lie back on my lounge chair, staring up at the sky. "Why are you asking me this?"

  "Why won't you answer the question? Is it because you don't know the answer?"

  I sigh. "I'm not ready for marriage. That's my answer."

  "So Reed IS the one. You're sure of that?"

  "Right now, I'm not sure of anything. I'm too young to plan out my whole future. But I know I love Reed and I can't imagine not having him in my life. So does that mean he's the one?"

  "Is that rhetorical or are you asking me?"

  "I'm asking you."

  "Only you know the answer to that. I can't tell you if Reed's the one. But I can tell you that if you're not a hundred percent sure that he is, then he might not be."

  I'm quiet after that, needing to think about what he said. Why did he even say it? I told him I wasn't getting married anytime soon so what is he so worried about? Why does he care if Reed is the one or not? And why is he making me question myself?

  I think Reed is the one, but now Garret has me wondering if maybe he's not.

  What am I saying? I know he's the one. I love Reed. He's my best friend and I love him more than anything. And when I think about my future, he's always in it. Just because I'm not ready to marry him doesn't mean he's not the one. So why is Garret making me question myself?

  I feel like Garret is involved in whatever our parents were talking about, or at least knows about it, so why wouldn't he admit it? What is he hiding?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Katherine

  Phillip sits down across from me at the table. We're in a private dining room at a hotel in Beverly Hills owned by one of the members. The room is soundproofed and secure, which is necessary because today we'll be having a conversation that must never be heard by anyone, even the other members. This is between Phillip and me. And Mr. Ashford when he arrives. He'll be here shortly.

  "Are you sure about this?" Phillip asks, slowly tapping his pen on the table.

  "Of course I'm sure! You're not changing the plan on me now. He'll be here any minute."

  "It's just so..." He pauses, his eyes moving to the left, then back to me. "Evil. Even for you."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I glare at him. "You think I don't deserve revenge? Pearce killed my father!"

  "And you killed his father." He sets the pen down and leans across the table, his forearms resting on it. "You can deny it all you want, but we all know you did it."

  "I was set up! William made me do it. And I KNOW Pearce was somehow involved."

  "Pearce would kill his own father? I find that hard to believe."

  "Pearce hated his father. He would've killed him himself if he wasn't such a coward. But instead, he made ME do it."

  "He didn't make you. You willingly did it, and used William to help you. That is, if you were telling the truth about that. But I guess we'll never know."

  I slam my fist on the table. "How dare you question me! I did not lie about that. And stop taking Pearce's side. Your loyalty belongs to ME, not him!"

  "I wasn't taking sides. I was simply correcting your statement. You killed Holton. No one forced you to do it." He sighs. "It's such a shame. I always liked Holton. He was a brilliant man."

  "And what about my father? Your father-in-law? He was a far better man than Holton ever was. And you're not the least bit upset that Pearce killed him?"

  "I'm not surprised that he did," he says casually. "And given the reason he killed him, I'm wondering why you want to do this. That's why I'm asking if you're certain about this. Pearce killed your father because of what Leland tried to do to Rachel. And now you're attempting it again. You're not concerned he'll come after you?"

  "He won't know it's me," I say, sitting back and crossing my arms over my chest.

  "He'll know you're behind this. You've made your hatred for Rachel obvious to everyone. And if Pearce figures this out, he'll assume I was involved and I'll have to kill him before he kills me." Phillip shoves away from the table and stands up. "This is going to be a fucking disaster. I don't know why I ever agreed to this."

  "You DO know why. And if you back out now, I'll tell Caroline about us. I'll tell her about how all the times I came to visit her, you snuck out of her bed at night and into mine. I'll tell her that those long and painful fertility treatments she had were all for nothing because you had a vasectomy before you two were even married. Because you never wanted children, but told her you did because it's what she wanted to hear. I'll tell her—"

  "Enough!" he yells, racing back to the table and slamming his palm down on it as his eyes lock on mine. "I never said I was backing out of this. But if this doesn't go as planned, I am not going to be the one paying for it."

  "Are you threatening me? Because I know for a fact you wouldn't hurt me, Phillip. We have too much history together. And you need me. Both in and out of the bedroom."

  He sits down in his chair. "Let's just get this over with."

  I give him a smug smile. "Continue."

  "So I tell Mr. Ashford who the real target is, but I tell the committee the target was someone else. Rachel was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

  As Phillip goes over the plan I feel a rush of excitement. I always get a thrill when talking about this.

  When he's done, he pauses a moment, then says, "This is far too risky. Pearce has an agreement with them. They told him she'd be safe. If anyone finds out I did this, I'll be—"

  "No harm will come to you, Phillip, because what is about to happen is not your fault. You just need to stick with the story. You instructed Mr. Ashford to kill an associate who couldn't keep their secrets, and oddly enough, she looks eerily similar to Rachel. They were there at the same time, so it's easy to see how a mix-up could've occurred. Mr. Ashford should've been clearer in the description he gave the freelancer. But it's a forgivable mistake. If anyone is killed over this, it'll be the freelancer."

  Phillip grits his teeth. "This better fucking work."

  I slowly smile. "You need to keep a positive attitude, Phillip."

  He checks his watch. "He'll be here any minute now. You need to leave. We'll talk when it's over."

  I get up and go out the side door. It leads to an office, which is where I'll be waiting until they're done. In the room where Phillip is, there's a camera in the ceiling and a microphone under the table so I can see and hear what's going on. The camera is linked to an app on my phone whi
ch is what I'll be watching as the meeting transpires. I have an earpiece for the audio.

  "Can you hear me?" Phillip asks.

  I text him 'yes' on his phone.

  He sees the text, then sets his phone down and adjusts his tie. There's a knock on the door and the guard opens it. "Are you ready for him?"

  "Yes," Phillip says. "Let him in."

  Phillip stands up as Dean walks in. He's wearing a better suit this time. A more expensive one that actually fits him.

  "Good to see you again, Mr. Ashford." Phillip holds out his hand.

  "You as well." He shakes his hand, then sits down across from Phillip.

  "So...what's the next assignment?" he eagerly asks, because he knows the assignment will be accompanied by a large sum of money. He shouldn't act so eager. He has no idea what he's in for. His last assignment was easy. The next one will be far more difficult. But with risk comes reward. A reward I know he'll find to be very appealing.

  "Before we begin," Phillip says, "would you like some tea?" He points to the teapot that's on the tray next to the table.

  "No, thank you."

  As Phillip pours himself a cup, I see Dean becoming more nervous, fidgeting with his hands.

  "Are you sure you don't want some?" Phillip asks, still holding the teapot. "It might calm your nerves."

  Dean nods. "Fine. I'll have some."

  Again, Phillip takes his time pouring it, then sets the cup in front of Dean.

  "Before we begin," Dean says, "I have a question. I know you said not to ask questions but—"

  "Go ahead," Phillip says, sounding annoyed.

  "Why didn't you tell me Pearce Kensington was part of this?"

  "Why would I tell you that?"

  "Because I know him! My son is dating his daughter."

  "Is that so?" Phillip cocks his head. "I had no idea. What a strange coincidence."

  "You really didn't know?" he asks.

  "How or why would I know such a thing? I don't keep tabs on the children of my fellow members, especially the love interests of their teenagers." He chuckles.

  "It's more than just a teenage crush. It's serious. Reed wants to marry her."