Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana or any of its characters. I don't really wanna be sued by anyone. Thank you
A/N: Reviews are amazing and if you have any additional comments or advice feel free to send me an email. Thanx!
My Hero
"Lilly, I think we should get going now! It's starting to get dark!" Miley yelled up to her best friend who was standing on top of the half pipe.
"But I almost got this one nailed!" Lilly yelled back down.
"We're the only ones left here. We can come back tomorrow! Please!"
"Okay fine, I'm coming down." She carefully dropped into the half pipe on her skateboard and rode to a stop in front of Miley. "Wow, it has gotten dark, hasn't it?" she said looking around.
"Yeah, c'mon, let's get going."
When they reached the exit of the skatepark, they saw three men having a bit of a confrontation right outside the gate. They were about to go off in the opposite direction when one of the men pulled out a gun. When Miley saw the gun, she grabbed Lilly's hand and took off running. They heard the gun go off and they quickened their pace. When they were about two blocks from Lilly's house they finally stopped running. They stood panting for a minute before either spoke.
"Whoa, that was crazy," Lilly said leaning on her knees panting deeply.
"No doubt. I told you we shoulda left before it got dark out!"
"Oh shut up, we're fine. It was just a little brush with some danger. We laugh at danger! Hahaha!" Lilly threw her head back and laughed wildly.
Miley laughed at her and playfully punched her in the arm as they continued walking to Lilly's house. When they were within a block, they heard a loud car engine approaching them. Figuring it was just a normal car driving by, the girls paid no special attention to it until a white van pulled to a stop right in front of them. They stood there confused for a moment, until the door to the van slid open revealing one of the men from just minutes before.
"Miley run!" Lilly yelled, finding her voice.
The girls took off in different directions. The man from the sliding door chased after Miley while another man jumped out of the driver's door and ran after Lilly. Miley could hear the man getting closer and closer until she felt a strong hand grasp her ankle. She fell forward, scraping her chin on the concrete. The man roughly pulled her to her feet and led her to the van. As she walked, Miley caught site of Lilly struggling with the other man.
Lilly, still wearing her candy-red helmet, was taking swings at the man with her skateboard. After about four swings, the man managed to catch hold of the board and swing it back at Lilly. It struck her solidly in the head, knocking her off of her feet.
"Lilly!" Miley screamed out as she watched her best friend fall. She then felt something cover her face, and as she inhaled, the edges of her vision faded and her consciousness was gone.
HMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH
When she came to, Miley couldn't figure out why her bed felt so hard. When she tried to rub her eyes, she realized her hands were tied together. The memories of the previous happenings came flooding back and her eyes snapped open. Her first coherent thought was of Lilly.
"Lilly?" she called out. "Lilly?" she called again looking around the room she was in. It was dark, but she could plainly see Lilly slumped against the wall in the corner. Her head was flopped forward, the candy-red helmet still on. Like Miley's, her hands were tied together in front of her. Miley crawled over in front of her and tried to rouse her. Reaching out, she gently shook Lilly's shoulders.
"Mmmm." A sleepy like sound emitted from the small girl.
"C'mon Lilly, open up your eyes," Miley pleaded.
The small blond stirred and finally lifted her head to look at Miley. When she did, Miley gasped at what she saw. The whole left side of Lilly's face was caked in blood.
"Miley what's wrong?" she asked when she saw how her friend was looking at her.
"How do you feel Lilly?" Miley asked looking into her eyes.
"Well, my head hurts really bad and I'm tired," she answered.
"I think you have a concussion."
"From what? I didn't fall down, I've been wearing my helmet," Lilly asked confused.
"Don't you remember? Those guys were after us. One of them hit you with your skateboard. Any of this ringing any bells?"
Lilly sat and thought for awhile. Her eyes went wide as the memories hit her. "Are you ok Miley?" she asked, suddenly worried for her friend.
"Yeah I just scraped my chin. I'm more worried about you."
Before she could respond the door to the small room burst open to reveal the two men.
"Hey ladies, how are things going in here?" the larger of the two asked. Both girls stayed quiet, just staring at him. "No answer huh? Well fine then. We thought we ought to introduce ourselves. I'm Frank and this is my buddy Caleb. You, Ms. Miley Stewart and Ms. Lilly Truscott saw something you shouldn't have seen."
"How do you know our names?" Lilly asked.
The man held up her ragged wallet and Miley's pink purse. He knelt in front of them and cut the rope holding their hands together.
"What do you want from us?" Miley asked quietly, rubbing her newly freed wrists.
"Well, I just wanted to kill you, but Caleb here thinks we could have some fun first."
"What kind of fun?" Lilly asked hesitantly
Caleb smiled and pulled out a video camera. Frank smiled as he spoke to them, "Ok ladies, on your feet, and follow me."
Both girls hesitated for a moment until Frank yelled at them. His booming voice scared them into movement. Miley stood first. When Lilly stood, her head started to spin and she fell back against the wall and slid down it.
"You ok Lilly?" Miley asked kneeling back down next to her.
"I can't stand up Miles. The room is spinning too much."
"What the hell is wrong?! I told you to get up!" Frank yelled.
"She can't! I think she has a concussion!"
"I don't care if she has a damned concussion, get her ass up!"
"Ok Lils, we gotta get you up. I'll help you walk, you just gotta stay on your feet. You ready?" Miley asked, taking Lilly's helmet off her head.
Lilly closed her eyes and nodded. Miley slumped Lilly's arm over her shoulders and wrapped her arm around Lilly's small waist. Together, they shakily stood and followed an angry Frank. He led them down a dark hallway until they reached another dark room, much like the one they had just been in. After they got inside, Caleb flipped a switch and a fluorescent light blinked on.
"Take a seat ladies," Caleb said motioning to the floor.
Miley helped Lilly into a seated position and took a place right beside her. Once again, Frank stepped in front of them and began speaking.
"So, as you know, we went through your stuff to figure out who you are. At first, neither of you were familiar to us. Just a couple of young girls. But then, after thinking for a little bit, we realized that we do recognize one of you."
Lilly and Miley quickly looked at each other, thinking that the men knew Miley is Hannah. Much to their surprise though, this was not the case.
"Lilly, how do you pronounce your last name?" Frank asked.
"Truscott," she pronounced for him.
"Truscott, is your daddy in jail?" Frank continued.
"Yeah, he is," she said shutting her eyes as she knew Miley was now looking at her.
"What's your daddy's name?"
"Adam," she answered quietly.
"Adam Truscott. Yep, you were right Caleb. This is his kid," Frank said turning to look at Caleb. He turned back to look at Lilly again. "Your father has caused us a great deal of pain."
"Whatever he did has nothing to do with us though. I haven't seen or even talked to my dad in five years! He belongs in jail! I hope he rots in that place!" Lilly yelled, getting worked up.
"Well that ain't gonna happen because he ain't in jail anymore," Caleb remarked.
"What?" she asked suddenly quiet again.
"You didn't hear? He broke out about four months ago."
"That can't be true. You must be lying."
"Sorry to say it is true. Now I'm sorry to be cutting this short but we gotta get some things set up. Smile now," Frank produced a Polaroid camera and snapped a picture of them. Then the two men left the room, shutting the door behind them.
"Lilly, what's going on here?" Miley asked when the men were finally gone.
"My dad went to jail when I was 10. He used to hit me. It was just a little at first but it got pretty bad. One night, my mom was at work late so Sarah, my babysitter, was over. My dad came home really drunk. He started his usual routine of tossing me around. But when Sarah saw him she tried to fight him away from me. She backed him to the front door using a turkey carving knife from my kitchen. We thought he was leaving when he suddenly attacked Sarah." Lilly stopped for a moment to wipe her eyes. "He took the knife from her and shoved it through her neck. Sarah died instantly." Lilly was crying freely now.
Miley could do nothing but lean over and wrap her arms around her best friend. They stayed that way until they fell into a restless slumber.
HMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHM HMHMHMHMHMHMH
Robbie and Jackson were sitting on the couch of their house when Robbie checked his watch for the time.
"Where are Miley and Lilly? It's dark. They should be back from the skatepark by now," he said to Jackson.
Just as Jackson was going to answer, the doorbell rang so he got up to answer it. When he pulled it open there was no one there. He was about to close it when he noticed Lilly's skateboarding helmet on the step. He leaned down to pick it up and brought it inside.
"Dad!" Jackson yelled, running to him with the helmet.
"What now Jackson?" Robbie asked frustrated.
Jackson handed the helmet to his dad. Inside was the Polaroid the men took of Miley and Lilly.
"Oh my God," he said pulling the picture out. Behind the picture was a folded up piece of paper with a note written on it.
"Mr. Stewart,
We have your daughter and her friend. We have not hurt them much yet, but trust me, we will. If you ever want to see these young ladies alive again, get in touch with Adam Truscott. His phone number is on the photo. Invite him to your home, tell him what's going on. DO NOT INVOLVE THE POLICE OR ANYONE ELSE! If you do, we will know, and they will die. You have half an hour to get Mr. Truscott into your home. If you fail to accomplish this, there will be consequences. We will be in touch again in an hour. Remember, we are watching."
"What do we do dad!" Jackson asked, very scared.
"We're going to do what they say."
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Back in the room, Lilly and Miley we awoken by the harsh fluorescent light blinking back on. They looked up to see Frank and Caleb looking down at them.
"So Miley, we sent a little message to your father with specific instructions. Sadly, the instructions have yet to be followed so now there has to be some consequences. Can you both please stand up." Frank spoke slowly to them.
They both stood, Lilly with a bit more difficulty than Miley, keeping an eye on Caleb who was setting up a tripod with a video camera attached to it.
"Now Miley you're going to stand over there with Caleb. If you try to move or say anything whatsoever, the consequence will be worse. You understand?"
"Yes," she replied quietly.
Caleb took her by the arm and they stood behind the tripod. Frank slipped a black ski mask over his head and turned to the camera.
"Sorry hun," he apologized looking directly into Lilly's eyes before turning to the camera. "Hello again. Well, your half an hour is up and as promised, here are the consequences." Frank moved out of the frame to reveal Lilly standing alone and looking timid.
The scene had a brief stillness for a moment. The calm was suddenly broken, though, when Frank's fist shot out and connected squarely with Lilly's stomach. She immediately bent in pain and began coughing. Before she had any chance to recover, Frank hit her again, this time in her face. The force of the second blow sent her crashing to the floor, still coughing. Frank continued his assault on her small form. He drove his heavy boot into her again and again until she finally fell unconscious.
"You understand that we are serious now," Frank said, now turning back to the camera. "It is exactly 10:30 PM. You have until midnight to get Adam Truscott to your house and call the number written on this dvd." Frank moved out of the frame and zoomed in on Lilly's unconscious form. "I suggest you hurry."
Caleb shut the camera off and let Miley go. She had tears streaming down her face as she ran to her best friend. Frank gathered up the camera and left the room. Caleb set two bottles of water by the door and followed Frank out, locking the door behind himself.
When she was sure they were gone, Miley got up and grabbed the water. She then sat down and pulled her best friend into her lap.
"Lilly wake up. It's ok now. It's over. They're gone." She pleaded with Lilly to wake up.
Lilly groaned in response. "Miley?"
"That's it Lilly, open your eyes." Miley spoke quietly, still crying.
Lilly opened her eyes slowly. It took her a little bit to remember what had just happened. When she did, she was suddenly overcome with pain. Her face cringed and contorted.
"Lilly?" Miley asked when she saw Lilly's face.
"It's ok, it just,…hurts," Lilly reassured quietly.
"You want some water?"
"Yeah, I'm so thirsty."
"Ok, let's sit you up."
Lilly nodded and tried to sit up on her own. She got about halfway up before pain exploded in her stomach and she fell back down into Miley's lap, clutching her ribs.
"It's ok Lils, I got you." Miley wrapped her arms around Lilly and slowly pulled her into a sitting position against the wall. She then knelt in front of her, opening a bottle of water and holding it up to Lilly's lips. Lilly managed to drink a few gulps before choking on it. She winced as painful coughs wracked her body. Miley did all she could to comfort her friend. When the coughing subsided, Lilly looked up and gave Miley a weak smile. Miley smiled back until she noticed a crimson spot forming on the sleeve of Lilly's green hoodie.
"You're bleeding!" Miley exclaimed looking at the spot.
"Yep, looks like I am," Lilly said looking at it herself.
"We should make sure you're not bleeding anywhere else."
Lilly nodded in agreement.
Miley slowly and carefully removed Lilly's hoodie. When it was off, she examined Lilly's arms. There was a few bruises and a large scrape, which was the source of the blood on the sleeve. Going further, Miley reached out and lifted up the bottom of Lilly's t-shirt. The sight made her eyes go wide and a gasp escaped her mouth. She lightly ran her fingers over the delicate flesh. Where it was once flawless and white, it was now a deep purple.
"Wow, this looks pretty bad Lilly."
"Funny, it feels pretty bad," Lilly joked taking a ragged breath.
Miley looked at her seriously. Seeing the blood caked face of her best friend pushed her emotions over the edge and a single tear slid down her cheek. Lilly reached up and carefully wiped it away.
"It's ok Miley, I'll keep you safe. Don't worry. We'll be just fine. I promise."
Miley smiled at her friend's bravery. She took the sleeve of Lilly's hoodie and soaked it with water. Carefully, she washed the blood off her face. When she was finished, she looked back into Lilly's face. Although her eye was puffy and bruised and there was a large cut down the side of her face from the skateboard blow, Miley still saw her beautiful, strong-willed friend. Despite her pain, Lilly smiled her biggest smile and Miley smiled back. Sighing quietly, Miley turned and sat against the wall next to Lilly. As she leaned her head back to the wall, she felt Lilly's head rest on her shoulder, and she actually felt calm.
HMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHM HMHMHMHMHMHMH
Back at Miley's house, Jackson was sitting on the couch staring blankly at the television. His attention turned when Robbie walked into the room, cell phone in hand.
"You get a hold of him yet?"Jackson asked.
"Not yet son," Robbie replied.
Before Jackson could say anything else, the doorbell rang again. They both raced to the door and yanked it open. There, on the doorstep, was a small cardboard box. Robbie picked it up and they took it inside to open it. Inside was nothing but a dvd. Jackson put the dvd into the player and they sat down, watching intently. As the beating of Lilly played out on the screen, Jackson had to turn away. When it was all over, Robbie took the dvd out and looked at it.
"Poor Lilly. I'm gonna kill that guy!" Jackson said, fists clenched in fury.
Robbie said nothing. He dialed his phone again and placed it up to his ear. His eyes went wide as someone on the other end answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Adam Truscott?" Robbie asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"My name is Robbie Ray Stewart and I'm calling about your daughter."
"I don't got no daughter," the man answered harshly.
"Sir, Lilly is in deep danger. She and my daughter Miley have been kidnapped. The men are demanding that I get in touch with you. They have already beaten Lilly once. Please Mr. Truscott."
"Lilly's been hurt?"
"Yes. And if you don't come over to our house they've promised it will get much worse."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"I promise you I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, you can come watch the dvd."
"The dvd?"
"Of Lilly's beating."
"You really are telling the truth aren't you? Oh God. Ok, how do you get to your house?"
Robbie proceded to tell Adam how to get to the house.
"I'll be there in ten."
Those were the most agonizing minutes of Robbie's life. Finally, there was a knock at the door. Jackson quickly ran to answer it. A man in a dark hooded sweatshirt entered the house.
"Adam?" Robbie asked.
"Yeah, that'd be me," Adam said pushing his hood off.
"Thank God you're here. We have to call this number now," Robbie said picking up his cell phone again. He quickly dialed the number from the dvd and waited as it rang.
"Mr. Stewart."
Robbie instantly recognized the man's voice from the dvd. "We want our daughters back!" he yelled fiercely.
"Calm down cowboy, your girl is fine. Ms. Truscott is a little worse for wear however."
"I'm gonna kill you if you hurt my girl anymore!" Adam shouted.
"Adam, so good to hear your voice again. Right now, we're gonna play a little game. Turn your TV to channel 13072."
"That channel doesn't even exist!" Jackson argued.
"Trust me, it does."
Jackson sat down on the couch and changed to a channel he was sure they weren't gonna get. But to his surprise, a picture popped up on the screen. It was Miley and Lilly sitting at a table. Miley's left wrist was duct taped to Lilly's right wrist. Both looked very scared.
"So this is how the game works – I ask Adam a question, if he gives me the answer I want, nothing will happen. But if he gives me an answer I don't like, I'm going to break one of his daughter's fingers. When I'm bored with the fingers, I'll shock her with a taser. Since Ms. Stewart is touching Ms. Truscott, she will also feel the shock. So, let's get this fun game started."
Robbie and Adam joined Jackson on the couch.
"First, do you know who you are speaking with Adam?"
"No," Adam replied plainly.
"I'm sure you know. We were partners for so long. C'mon Adam, don't you recognize my voice? It's Frank and Caleb. Maybe you don't remember us since you screwed us over!" Frank got so angry he brought a hammer down on Lilly's left thumb, breaking it. She immediately screamed out in pain.
"Hey!" both men yelled in unison.
"Do you remember us now?"
"Yes," he said quietly.
"Good. Do you remember what you did to us?"
"I didn't do anything wrong to you," Adam answered.
Another swing of the hammer was followed by another cry of pain.
"Wrong answer Adam-boy. After our last job together, you shot us both and left us for dead."
"You were gonna shoot me!"
Two more swings, two more cracks of broken bones, two more screams of pain.
"Did you or did you not shoot us and leave us for dead?"
"YOU WERE GONNA SHOOT ME!!"
This time, Frank brought the side of the hammer down on Lilly's hand. Unstoppable tears flowed from her eyes as she stared down at her newly broken hand.
"Let me refresh your memory a bit. We went to the Star Motel to divide up the money from our last job. We had a little argument and Caleb pulled his gun on you, but he didn't shoot. In fact, he put it away. After the money was all divided, we were gonna leave when you pulled your gun on us and you did shoot. You put three bullets into me and four into Caleb. Then you left us there to die. But ha, jokes on you, we survived. And now here we are. You remember now?"
"That's not how it went!" he tried to defend himself.
"That's exactly how it went asshole!"
On the screen, they watched as a baton taser was produced.
"So what did you do with our money Adam?" the voice was now Caleb's.
"It's my money," Adam answered cooly.
Caleb shook his head as he pushed the taser into Lilly's side. Both girls let out a yelp of pain as the current rushed through their bodies.
"Wrong. What did you do with our money Adam?"
"It's my money!" he answered again.
The taser was brought back to Lilly's side and the girls' bodies tensed and they let out another anguished yell as the current once again invaded them.
"You gonna let him continue like this Mr. Stewart?"
Robbie turned away from the screen to look directly at Adam. "They're just girls Adam. They're 15 year old girls. They have so much life left to live. They don't deserve this. No one deserves this. Please Adam, just tell them what they want to know." By now, Robbie was close to tears.
"That's very touching Mr. Stewart. So Adam, what did you do with our money?"
"I buried it," Adam finally replied quietly.
"Buried where?"
"On an island, off the beach."
"Off the beach here?"
"Yes."
"It's still there?"
"Yes."
"Then you will bring us out there to get it."
"No I won't."
Caleb pushed the baton back into Lilly and instead of pulling it away, he left it against her.
"Yes you will." Caleb said harshly, glancing over at Lilly, who was hollering in pain in unison with Miley. Suddenly, while straining against the duct tape, Lilly's arm ripped free from Miley' and Miley slumped forward against the table, panting deeply. Lilly, however, stayed tense and groans of pain continued to escape her mouth. "All you have to do is agree to take us there and this will stop Adam. I know you don't want to see your daughter suffer like this."
Adam stayed silent as he kept his eyes glued to the screen. Blood began to ooze from his daughter's ear and her body started seizing uncontrollably. Adam shut his eyes and finally answered, "Yes."
"What's that?" Caleb asked, still not moving the taser.
"Yes, I will take you there. Please just stop. She's just a kid."
Lilly's body went limp after Caleb moved the taser away from her side. He gave a little chuckle and spoke into the phone.
"I'm glad you made such a good decision. We'll meet you at 2AM on the beach near Rico's. You know where that's at?"
"Yeah, that's right across from the island," Adam replied.
"Good. Don't be late. And if I see any cops, both girls die." The camera switched off and the call was dropped.
Robbie looked at his watch. "I guess all we can do now is wait."
HMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHM HMHMHMHMHMHMH
Back in the room, the table and chairs were gone and Miley and Lilly lay back on the floor. This time, it was Lilly that regained consciousness first. The first thing she was aware of was the horrible pain in her broken hand.
"Miley, time to wake up now. C'mon Miley." Lilly said loudly, shaking Miley's leg.
"Lilly!" Miley bolted upright and hugged her friend.
"O w ow. Calm down Miles, were ok."
"I thought you were dead. You were shaking like crazy and then you just stopped moving. I was so scared Lilly! Why did you pull your hand away from mine? It made the shock worse!" Miley said slapping her arm.
"Because I knew the pain you were in and I said I would protect you," Lilly explained quietly.
"But it's me that should be protecting you. You've been through so much already."
"I need to protect you Miles!"
"Why are you so intent on protecting me Lilly?"
"I just need to do it," Lilly said quietly, leaning back against the wall, cradling her broken hand.
Miley saw this and leaned in to take a closer look at her smashed hand. After looking at it, Miley grabbed the discarded bloody hoodie and ripped two strips off the bottom.
"Sweetie, I'm gonna wrap your hand up to bind the broken bones. It's gonna hurt, but if you ever wanna use your hand again, you should let me do this," Miley spoke quietly to her friend.
Lilly looked from her hand to Miley to the floor. Closing her eyes, she nodded and held her hand out.
Miley took Lilly's hand gently in hers. "Just keep breathing ok? I'll make this quick."
As promised, Miley worked quickly. She wrapped the first strip tightly around Lilly's fingers and hand. Then she took the second strip and wrapped it around her wrist and again around her hand. When she was finished, she looked up to see tears streaming down her best friend's face.
"It's finished Lils, you did good."
"Thanks Miley. How do you know how to do that?" she asked wiping her tears away.
"When I was camping once with girl scouts, a girl fell and crushed her hand. There was no way of getting help for at least a week, so our troop leader bound her hand just like that. Never thought I'd do something like that though."
Miley laid down on the floor, using the hoodie as a pillow. She felt Lilly lay down behind her and snuggle in close, putting a protective arm around her waist.
"I'm sorry Miley, this is all my fault. If we would have left the skatepark when you wanted to, none of this would be happening."
"It's not your fault. You didn't know this was gonna happen. No more talking like that."
"We're gonna be ok though," Lilly reassured.
"Promise?"
"Promise," Lilly snuggled even closer.
Miley could feel Lilly's warm breath on the back of her neck and she felt a sense of calm. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard Lilly speak again.
"I love you Miley."
Her eyes popped open at these words. "Well I love you too Lilly."
"No, I mean I really love you. Like more than friends, more than best friends even. I truly love you."
Miley sat up and turned around. She looked directly into Lilly's eyes. They were full of sincerity and vulnerability.
"I love you too Lilly. I understand how you feel because I feel the exact same way. You being my best friend, I've spent so much time with you and it's made me realize how special you are."
Lilly, with much difficulty, sat herself and faced Miley. "Really? You really feel that way Miles?"
"Yes really. I, Miley Stewart, am in love with you, Lilly Truscott."
Lilly smiled the biggest smile Miley had ever seen from her. Miley leaned forward and hugged her as tightly as she thought was safe, so she wouldn't hurt her smaller friend. The hug continued until Caleb and Frank entered the room.
"Sorry to interrupt ladies, but it's time to go," Frank addressed them. "Now come here so I can tie your hands. Don't want ya trying to run away."
Frank pulled Miley's arms in front of her and tied them with a thick scratchy rope. Caleb went to Lilly and yanked her wrists together behind her back. She yelped as Caleb's rough hands sent waves of pain through her broken bones.
"How come my hands are in front of me but hers have to be behind her back?" Miley asked with anger.
"Because I know you won't try anything, but she's definitely a fighter."
Once their hands were tied, they were led back through the dark hallways and out into the white van they were first kidnapped in. Frank opened the sliding door and shoved them inside. He slammed the door shut behind them. Moments later, the engine rumbled to life and they felt themselves moving.
"You okay Lilly?" Miley asked trying to see through the darkness.
"Yeah," came a quiet reply.
Miley noticed the shudder in her voice. "What's wrong?"
"I'm lying on my hand and I can't get off of it."
"Hang on, I'll help you," Miley crawled on her hands and knees, feeling around. After a few seconds one of her hands bumped a small shoulder. She carefully twisted her friend off her back and pulled her into her own lap. "Better?"
"Much. Thank you." There was silence between them as they listened to the engine of the van rumble.
"Lilly, what if this is our last time together?"
"What do you mean Miles?"
"I mean what if we die tonight? What if this, right now, is our last time together?"
"Don't worry Miley, I'm gonna keep you safe."
"But look at you Lilly! You have a crushed hand, probably some broken ribs, you're bleeding, and I'm sure you have a concussion."
"But I'll give my life to protect you."
Miley was shocked. No one had ever suggested such a thing. 'Lilly would die for me?' she thought. 'She really does love me.' At that moment, Miley could not control herself. She took a hold of Lilly's face and brought their lips together in a loving and soft kiss. Much to her surprise, she felt Lilly not resisting, but kissing back. But then, Lilly suddenly pulled back. Afraid that she may have freaked her out, Miley began apologizing.
"Lilly, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I just got caught up in the moment and I couldn't help myself, and…"
"Miley," Lilly tried to interrupt.
"and I don't want to ruin our friendship and…"
"Miley!" she yelled.
"What?"
"Will you go out with me?"
"Are you serious? You really wanna go out with me? Like date me?"
"How about dinner and a movie this Friday night? Which would be tomorrow?" Lilly said smiling.
Miley was so happy and excited that she couldn't answer. Instead, she simply threw her arms around Lilly and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'll take that as a yes," Lilly said happily.
"Of course it's a yes! I love you Lilly!"
"I love you too Miles."
Their moment was once again cut short when the van slammed to a harsh halt. The rumbling engine quit and they listened to the front doors opening and closing. Footsteps approached the sliding door and it was wrenched open.
"It's show time ladies," Frank said smiling a sinister smile.
He reached in and roughly pulled Lilly out and onto her feet and Caleb did the same with Miley. As they began walking, they Miley and Lilly realized they were at the beach near Rico's. They were led down to the water where Lilly had surfed in too many time to count. There, tied to one of the docks was a small boat.
"Daddy!" Miley shouted when her dad emerged from the boat, followed by Jackson and Adam.
She instantly tried to run to them but was restrained tightly be Caleb. She saw Robbie's face turn to a look of complete fright and panic then she heard two loud clicks. Slowly turning to look at Lilly, she saw what her dad was gawking at. A shiny gun was being held to Lilly's head. As she turned her head back she became aware of what felt like the barrel of a gun against her own temple.
"Hey there guys. Adam, it's so nice to see you again. I bet you never thought this day could be possible. Well here it is buddy," Frank snickered. Now how bout you bring us to that money now."
"Not until you let those girls go," Robbie said sternly.
Frank roughly shoved the gun deep into Lilly's side causing her to yelp in pain. "I'm no exactly giving you a choice. Now let's go get up into that boat with your daddy hun," he untied Lilly's hand s and pushed her forwards. Caleb did the same with Miley and within a few minutes they were pushing off into the ocean. Miley sat on the floor tightly next to Lilly.
"You guys are gonna be okay bud. We got you now." Robbie spoke comforting words to them as they rode deeper into the darkness.
Miley nodded and closed her eyes, putting one arm around her new girlfriend, pulling her closer. Lilly, in return, laid her head on Miley's shoulder. They rode like that for what felt like an eternity. With Adam directing them they soon came upon a small island.
"That's it," said Adam pointing.
"Now all you gotta do is show us where it's buried and you can have your daughter and her friend back. But not til we have that money in our hands," Frank said bringing the boat up to the island.
"No, we compromise. You give us our girls and we'll all walk with you to get your money," Robbie demanded.
Frank and Caleb shared a look. "Sounds reasonable," Frank agreed. "Now everybody out. We got some money to be getting' to."
They all filed off the boat onto the dirt of the island. Adam led the way with a big flashlight. He was followed by Frank who held his gun pointed at Adam's back. Miley and Lilly, still side by side, walked behind Frank with Robbie right on their heels. Last was Caleb, carrying a shovel. Just as Jackson was going to follow, Caleb turned to him.
"You stay here boy and make sure our boat don't go nowhere."
"Okay," Jackson said scared.
"And boy, don't do nothin' stupid," Caleb warned.
Jackson stepped back, nodding in understanding.
The group walked through the trees, deeper and deeper into the woods of the island. They finally came to a stop in front of a small cabin like house.
"What are we stoppin' for?" Frank asked angrily.
"The money is buried in the basement," Adam replied motioning to the house.
"Oh, very clever Adam! Let's get in there and get it then," he said shoving Adam forward.
Everyone continued into the house. Adam navigated through the house like he had lived there his whole life. They walked through a very narrow hallway and down a flight of creaky wooden stairs. The basement was just one big room with a dirt floor. Adam walked to a trashcan that sat upside down in the middle of the room.
"It's exactly three feet under here."
Caleb handed him the shovel. "Dig it out then."
"You guys want the money so bad, you dig it out," Adam replied sticking the shovel downinto the dirt.
Before anyone could move or even say anything, Frank's fist shot out and struck Lilly in the stomach. A pained yell flew from her mouth and her body crumpled. But before she could hit the ground Miley's hands geld her tightly under her armpits. Coughs wracked her small broken body.
"Hey! C'mon man, haven't they suffered enough?" Robbie yelled.
Ignoring him, Frank asked Adam, "ready to dig now?"
Adam reluctantly picked the shovel back up and started digging. He dug quickly and within fifteen minutes the shovel banged into something solid. Scraping the dirt off the top of the object he pulled a wooden clothes trunk out of the hole.
"Look at that Frank, our own buried treasure!" Caleb exclaimed.
He snatched the shovel from Adam and used it to break the lock off the front of the trunk. Flipping the lid open revealed stacks and stacks of one hundred dollar bills.
"Man, look at that," Caleb said dropping the shovel.
Frank, awestruck by the money, went to stand next to Caleb. "we're rich Caleb. This is all ours." The two men just stood there gawking at the money. Adam saw this as his chance to strike. He charged full speed at their backs. The collision sent all three men to the ground. They rolled around a bit until Frank gained the upper hand and got to his feet.
"You want me to kill them?! Cuz I will! Don't tempt me Adam!" Frank yelled, pointing his gun at Miley and Lilly.
"You know what, I really don't care anymore. Yeah sure, go ahead and kill them," Adam answered.
"You can't be serious!" Robbie exclaimed.
"Actually I am. I thought by seeing Lilly again I would re-realize some kind of love for her, but I look at her and feel nothing. I never wanted a daughter. I wished for a son, but instead I got a dainty little girl. I've hated her since she was born so why should I care if she dies?" As her father spoke, tears formed in Lilly's eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. Miley just clutched her tighter to her side.
"Well if you don't care, then we might as well get rid of them so they can't tell the cops on us," Frank said releasing the safety on his gun.
But before he could fire Robbie charged him, knocking him back to the ground. Adam saw this as a new chance to run. As he sprinted past the girls, Miley lifted a brick from the floor and crashed it down on his head. Adam lost consciousness and his body went slack as it fell to the floor.
"Miley, Lily, run!" Robbie yelled, struggling with both Frank and Caleb on the floor.
Miley grabbed Lilly's good hand and raced up the stairs. When they got to the top, they ran together back through the house and out the front door. But once they were on the front steps, a gunshot rang out, followed by five more.
"Daddy?" Miley yelled, turning back to the house. No noise answered so she raced back inside. "Daddy!" she yelled out again. Lilly was right behind her. When she got back to the top of the stairs she just stood there looking down, trying to see what was happening down there. Just as she was going to yell out for a third time, she heard Lilly screaming her own name. She spun around to see Adam running straight at her. She closed her eyes and prepared herself to be thrown backwards down the stairs. But instead, her body was shoved to the side and she fell hard on her shoulder. Despite the pain, she quickly looked up just in time to see Adam run into Lilly, who was standing where she had been moments ago, and both go tumbling down the stairs.
"No," Miley whispered. Getting up, she went back to the top of the stairs. At the bottom was a tangle of body parts. She took the steps down two at a time. Using all the strength she had she tried to untangle Adam and Lilly's limbs. After several attempts to lift the heavy body off of Lilly, she dropped tp her knees exhausted. Looking to her left she spotted her dad. He was unconscious and blood was spreading across his pant leg.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed scrambling over to him. "Daddy wake up," she begged, almost in tears.
"Miles? Why aren't you running away?" he asked looking up at her.
I heard gunshots so I ran back in to see if you were okay and Lilly followed me but then her dad was gonna push me down the stairs and Lilly shoved me out of the way so he pushed her instead and now she is unconscious with her dad crushing her," she explained all in one breath.
"She needs to get to a hospital. She's real banged up bud."
"Well let's help her then."
"We will but first you gotta help me. One of those guy shot me in the leg and I need something to wrap around it so I can stop the bleeding."
Miley looked around the room and spotted Frank and Caleb lying lifeless a few feet from where Robbie lay.
"I'm sorry, I had to shoot them. They said they were going to kill all of us."
"It's okay dad. Thank you for saving our lives," she began taking off her outer shirt. When she began lifting it over her head, pain shot through her shoulder and she yelped in pain.
"What happened darlin'?"
"I fell when Lilly pushed me out of the way of her charging dad," Miley explained as she tied the shirt tightly around her dad's leg.
"Okay now we gotta get Lilly outta here," he said getting to his feet with the help of Miley.
Together, they went over to where Lilly and Adam were tangled. Adam was unconscious but Lilly's eyes were screwed shut and she was crying quietly to herself.
"Lilly, sweety, it's okay now. We're here for you,"Robbie spoke kindly to the weeping girl. "Me and Miles are gonna lift him off of you alright?"
She did nothing but nod in acknowledgment and continued crying. Robbie did most of the work as they pulled Adam off Lilly's small body and rolled him off to the side. The first thing Robbie noticed when he looked back to Lilly was the very awkward angle her leg was bent at.
"Darlin', does your leg hurt?" he asked hesitantly.
"I can't feel my legs!" she cried back.
"Can you move them for me?"
"I can't!" she cried even harder.
"It's okay, it's okay. We're gonna get you to a hospital now. They'll fix you up real nice. Now I'm gonna have to carry you back to the boat."
He waited for her to respond before swooping his arms under her knees and lifting her up bridal style. She let out a pained moan before passing out in Robbie's arms.
"C'mon Miles. Grab that flashlight and let's get out of here. She needs a hospital and I don't know how long my leg is gonna hold up."
Miley quickly got the flashlight and went up the stairs. Instead of looking back at her dad, she just continued forward, focusing on making it back to the boat as fast as possible. They made it through the house and into the woods in record time. But once they were out in the darkness of the night, Miley panicked.
"Dad I don't know which way to go!"
Robbie looked around but could see nothing through the darkness. "You just gotta go with your instinct then."
"But what if my instinct is wrong?" she asked worried.
"Just trust yourself."
She stood, still looking into the dark woods. Then suddenly a small smile spread across her face. "Jackson! Jackson if you can hear me yell back!" she yelled out.
They stayed perfectly silent until they heard Jackson's faint voice yelling back. Instantly Miley took off following the voice. "Jackson keep yelling, we're coming!" she yelled out again to her brother.
As he was instructed Jackson yelled continuously. Miley ran as fast as her tired legs would carry her, following Jackson's yells. His voice began getting louder and louder until they burst out of the woods and onto the beach. Jackson, taking in the sight of his bloody legged dad carrying a limp Lilly, had a bewildered look on his face. "What happened to Lilly's dad? And the bad guys?"
"Don't worry about them son, can you drive this boat?"
"Definitely."
"Good. Get us back to the mainland now."
Jackson started up the engine and turned the boat around. He drove the boat at its top speed. He sun was just beginning to shine over the horizon when they banked up on shore. Miley, who had fallen asleep, awoke when they hit land. Quickly regaining her wits, Miley jumped off the boat and onto the sand of the beach. She ran up to Rico's and climbed over the counter to the phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the operator asked.
"My dad has been shot and my best friend is hurt real bad," Miley blurted out to the woman.
"Are you in a safe place?"
"Yes we are. We got away but they're hurt and need help right now!"
"Okay help is on the way. Would you like me to stay on the line until it arrives?"
"No, I can hear the sirens already. Thank you so much." She didn't wait for a reply before dropping the phone back on the receiver. Running back to the beach, Miley saw her dad laying in the sand and Lilly laying right next to him, still unconscious. "Help is on the way daddy. Don't worry."
"It's okay. I'm doin' fine bud. It's Lilly that I'm worried about," he said looking sadly at Lilly's frail body.
"I love her dad. I mean I really love her. Not just as friends, as something more," she said quietly as she stroked Lilly's hair.
"I know bud. I see the way you two look at each other. I was just waitin' for you two to realize how you felt. Honestly, I thought it would happen sooner."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm happy for you. And I love both of you so much!"
"Thanks daddy."
Just then, Jackson came running up with two paramedics following close behind.
"What do we have here?" one of them asked.
"Help this girl first, she's hurt real bad. Definite concussion, broken bones in the hand and leg, most likely some broken ribs," Robbie rattled off to them.
"What about you sir?" the other paramedic asked him.
"Shot in the leg. But I'm alright for now. Just help her."
"Her name is Lilly," Miley informed them, trying to help.
"Okay Lilly, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes or show me that you can understand what I'm saying?" Like magic Lilly stirred slightly and slowly opened her eyes. "Good job Lilly. Now you gotta try and stay with me now. Can you tell me where it hurts?"
She licked her lips and spoke very slowly, "My stomach hurts so bad I can hardly breath. And my head feels like it's really going to explode." Her words were slurred and difficult to understand. She turned her head and Miley's soft eyes met her own. "I love you Miles," she whispered before her eyes slid shut and her head lolled to the side.
"What happened?" Miley asked quickly.
"Her concussion is causing complications."
"What – " Miley was cut off as Lilly's body began convulsing uncontrollably. "Oh my God, what's happening?"
"She's seizing and going into shock. We've got to get her back to the rig now. Jeremy I'm gonna carry her back and get out of here. I'll send another rig for him."
"But what about spinal cord injuries?" his partner asked.
"We're gonna have to risk it to save her life. Tyler will call a second ambulance for you. Just sit tight okay."
"Okay, tell them to hurry though."
"Can I come with you?" Miley asked eagerly. "She's my best friend, my everything."
"Yeah you can come with but you gotta stay out of the way."
"The medic lifted Lilly into his arms and Miley followed him to his ambulance. When they were in and had the doors closed the man told Tyler, the driver, to get going and to call for a second ambulance.
"What's your name hun?" the man asked as he began working on Lilly.
"Miley."
"Hi Miley, I'm Juan."
"Juan is she going to be okay?"
"She's gonna be just fine kiddo," he said looking up and smiling at her.
She remained silent for the rest of the ride. She just gripped Lilly's good hand in her own as tight as she could and prayed that Juan was right.
"Miley you have to let go now." Juan was pulling her away and she realized she was out of the ambulance at the hospital still holding Lilly's hand as doctors surrounded her.
"I want to go with her," Miley protested as they began wheeling her away.
"You have to let the doctors do their job. Come with me. I'll find you a nice place to wait," Juan placed a hand on her injured shoulder and she hissed in pain. "What's wrong with your shoulder dear?"
"I forgot that I fell kinda hard on it."
"Let me take a look." Juan lifted her shirt off of that side and examined the shoulder, probing it a bit with his fingertips. "Well it's not broken but I'll bind it up so it won't hurt so bad. It'll be sore for about a week or so though." He began wrapping her shoulder tightly. When he was finished he grabbed her by the hand and led her into the hospital. They came to a stop in a private waiting room. "I gotta go now but a doctor will come update you on your friend."
"Where are you going?"
"I gotta go do my job. Other people need saving dear," he smiled and left.
Scared, worried and all alone, Miley curled up in one of the hard chairs and closed her eyes. The image of Lilly getting kicked over and over played in her head repeatedly. She tried to turn and run from the image but every time she turned around the same scene was playing out there. Knowing she couldn't get away from it, Miley sank to her knees and screamed.
"Miley wake up. It's just a dream Miles." She could feel someone shaking her.
Her eyes shot open and she jumped to her feet. "Where am I? What's going on?"
"It's alright Miley. We're at the hospital and you were dreaming."
"How are dad and Lilly?"
"Dad is fine. We can go see him if you want."
"But what about Lilly?" she asked.
"She's still in surgery. C'mon, let's go talk to dad," he stood up and pulled her with him.
They walked down the hall and into a room where Robbie was laying in a bed. He was awake watching a basketball game on TV and when we saw them he waved a big hello.
"Hey guys how ya doin'?"
"We're just fine dad. How are you? How's that manly leg of yours?" Jackson asked.
"It's fine Jackson. Doc said it'll be okay to walk on in a few weeks. But there was no major damage done so it was fixed up real quick."
"Have you heard anything about Lilly?" Miley asked.
"Not yet, but the doctor said he'd let me know right away since her mom is out of town for a month." They all looked to the door when a man in a white jacket entered the room. "Well speak of the devil. Kids, this here is Doctor Meyers. He has been tending to Lilly. How is she doc?"
"She's out of surgery. The extent of her injuries is pretty major I'm afraid. She has a large gash on the left side of her forehead that we stitched up. Her left hand was shattered and we did our best to repair the damage but I'm afraid that it will never be how it was. After it heals she may have trouble gripping things and bending her wrist in some directions. Her right leg was also broken but it was a less severe break and so it will heal just fine. Three of her ribs broke and caused some internal bleeding but we fixed that too. Other than some cuts and bruises, that's everything.
"Can I go see her?" Miley asked impatiently.
"She's still asleep, but you can go see her if you want. I'll walk you there."
"Thank you so much!"
Doctor Meyers led her down three rooms to Lilly's room. Miley peered in and saw the broken form of her best friend. The sight broke her heart. Slowly, she crept into the room and sat in the chair next to Lilly's bed. She grabbed a hold of Lilly's hand again and began to cry.
"I'm sorry Lilly. Everything that happened to you happened because you were trying to protect me. It should be me lying in that bed right now. Not you. I'm so sorry," she started sobbing uncontrollably and buried her face against hers and Lilly's hands.
Just then, she felt a squeeze of her hand and her head shot up to see Lilly gazing down at her.
"Lilly!" she yelled out jumping to hug her friend.
"Woah! Slow down there girly. You got a very fragile friend here right now." Lilly laughed.
"I'm sorry about everything Lilly and I'm gonna help you get better and I'm gonna keep you safe forever and - " Miley's rambling was cut off when Lilly's lips embraced her own. When they parted Miley blushed and sat back down in her chair.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything Miles. In fact I should be thanking you because you are the reason I'm still alive. You saved me Miley. I love you so much."
"I love you too Lilly."
"Ahem," a nurse cleared her throat from the doorway. "Sorry if I'm interrupting but Miss Truscott needs her meds and you are being requested in Mr. Stewart's room. Tell your girlfriend goodbye and you can see her later," the nurse smiled.
"Goodbye girlfriend," Miley said giving Lilly a quick peck. "I'll see you later." She walked back down to her dad's room where Jackson was sitting watching an old football game with their dad.
"Hey darlin', how's little Lilly doin'?"
"She's okay dad. About as good as you can expect after being through all of that."
"Good. Well, Jackson is gonna take you home so you can sleep for a little while and you can come back later on tonight. Sound good?"
"Sounds good daddy," she smiled and followed Jackson out.
Once they got home Miley went straight to her room and got into bed. After the night she had, sleep came easily. She slept hard for a long time. When she woke up the clock read 4:49. She decided to get up so she could go back to the hospital. Miley grabbed some fresh clothes and jumped in the shower to clean the grime and dirt off from before. When she was done she got dressed and went down stairs. There, in the living room, Jackson was watching some wrestling show on TV. He looked over at her when she came in the room.
"Hey Miles you ready to go back?" he asked her softly.
"Yeah thanks Jackson."
"Okay, lemme go grab my keys," he got up and went to his room. When he returned he went straight over to Miley and gave her a big hug. "I love you little sister. I was so scared that I'd never see you again."
"Aw, I love you too Jackson," she said hugging back.
"Enough of this now, let's go see our family," he laughed, breaking the hug.
The ride back the hospital went by quickly and they rushed into Robbie's room. They said their greetings and exchanged hugs again.
"Lilly's been asking for yah un. You should go sit with her for awhile." Robbie suggested smiling at her.
"Thanks daddy," she said running out of the room. Instead of going in the direction of Lilly's room though, she went in the other direction, towards the dining hall. Down there she picked out two boxed dinners and some juice and pudding. The workers there put the food in a paper bag for her and she paid for it. Leaving the dining area she took the food over to the gift shop where she purchased a little fuzzy teadybear and a copy of The Lion King. Excited she left the gift shop and made it up to Lilly's room as fast as she could.
"Hey Miley!" Lilly lit up when she saw Miley enter her room with her arms full. "Watcha got there?" she asked curiously.
"Well, remember how you asked me out on a date for Friday night? Dinner and a movie? It's Friday night now so, I brought dinner," she pulled the boxed food out of her paper bag and set it in front of Lilly. "And, a movie," she waved the movie in front of Lilly's face, "and I brought you a little friend to sleep with." She handed the bear to Lilly.
"Wow, this is amazing Miley!" Lilly was so excited.
"It's all for you babe," Miley said putting the movie into the dvd player on the TV. She climbed up onto Lilly's bed next to her, careful not to hurt her, and they enjoyed their dinners together.
"Best date ever," Lilly smiled when Miley rested her head on her shoulder and drifted off to sleep.