Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: A special thanks goes to dcjp, who did the beta-reading for me.
Secrets
Chapter One
Fingernails scraped along the old wooden surface, a slender hand pressing firmly against it without producing any sound. A sharp noise echoed from somewhere in the dark, making the lone figure cringe and turn its head in an attempt to see the source of the disturbance. A black shadow appeared above the trees, its wings spread out, rising against the dark sky that was now a red and orange blur.
Just a stupid bird. Lilly's posture relaxed and she let out the breath she'd been holding. The fields were hidden in the dark, but she could still smell the Tennessee farm air. She scrunched her nose in disgust, letting her hand fall back down to her side for the fifth time. There was absolutely no way she could do this. Why on earth had she let her mother persuade her into doing a student exchange? "You have to meet new people and make some friends." That's what her mother had said when Lilly had tried desperately to convince her that this was a bad idea. She'd screamed and begged on her knees, but her mother had insisted.
Lilly wiped her clammy hands on her washed-out jeans and blew the bangs out of her face, but they fell again over her eyes, blinding her vision. Her hoody stuck against her back like a second skin, making her feel uncomfortable. "Stupid anxiety," she cursed under her breath. There was no chance she could make a good first impression looking as if she'd run a marathon.
Inhaling deeply, she raised her hand again and froze in mid air. Good! First step already taken. The only thing she had to do now was move her hand forward and knock on the stupid door. That couldn't be so hard. Knock Lilly, just knock. How could such an easy move suddenly be so difficult to do? With every passing second, she felt her courage dwindle. A flight back to her home felt more and more tempting and when she turned around to drag her heavy suitcases back down the stairs of the front porch, the door jerked open. Lilly jumped in surprise and spun around, the grip around her suitcases loosening and they fell with a dull thud against the wooden floor next to her feet.
She found herself face to face with a girl. An amused twinkle flickered in one of the girl's eyes as she observed Lilly. And after a moment, her lip gloss coated lips curved into a toothy, radiating smile.
Lilly remembered the day she'd received an e-mail from the Stewarts. A picture of the same girl had flickered over the monitor screen and she'd just sat there for a while, not able to avert her gaze. This time it was different. Worse, she'd say. The sight nearly left her breathless.
The girl's hair was braided into two long pigtails, hanging over either side of her shoulders. A hairpin, in a shape of a flower, was tangled in her bangs, preventing them from falling into her face.
Lilly was mesmerized, nearly forgetting that this time she wasn't looking at a picture, but the real girl."I-I'm Lilly," she said, startled at how high pitched her voice sounded and she was even more startled when the girl pulled her into a sudden hug. It was one of those short but awkward hugs. Before she was even able to consider hugging her back, the girl let go, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her inside. A dull light engulfed her, glowing from a ceiling light that looked like something her grandmother would love.
"I know who you are. I'm Miley," she chuckled softy. "I watched ya for quite a while. I thought you were goin' to stand there all night long and I couldn't wait any longer."
So Miley was spying on her while she acted like the biggest dork ever. That was just great! Lilly felt the sudden urge to slap herself. Could it get any worse?
"Bud, that's enough. Ya wanna scare the girl away before I get a chance to meet her?" A handsome, middle-aged man appeared through the door to her left. "I'm Robbie Ray. Miley's dad," he greeted and smiled kindly at her.
"It's a p-pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stewart," Lilly said. Again this stuttering. What was suddenly wrong with her? She'd always been very shy, but she had never been the person to stutter. Mr. Stewart offered her his hand and she'd no other choice but to take it if she didn't want to come across as impolite.
"Please, call me Robbie Ray. And you don't have to be embarrassed. Miley has always been too curious. She doesn't know when to stop invadin' other people's privacy." Lilly watched sheepishly out of the corner of her eye as Robbie Ray wiped the hand he'd used a second ago to greet her on his shirt.
Miley grabbed the man by the arm, pushing him gently away. "Daddy, the things you tell about me - always so flatterin'." She turned again to Lilly. "Please, don't listen to him. The man doesn't know what he's saying. I'd introduce you to my brother Jackson, but he's apparently still working at the farm." She tried to look outside the window, probably to search for him, before she realized the curtains were closed. "Or either too lazy to come down. But I'll promise you you'll meet him at supper. He'll never skip that. For now I'm carrying your suitcases upstairs."
There had always been this painful weight, pressing on Miley's chest. A sensation like there would never be enough air to fill her lungs. But suddenly something had changed. When she had come upstairs, she'd let go of the suitcases the moment her bed came into view and not able to stop herself, she had thrown herself onto it and was now giggling like a madwoman into the mattress. It was several long minutes before she was able to stop. And as she lay there thinking, realization sunk in. She knew what made her feel so happy. She was finally able to speak to someone else than her brother or dad. It had been a long time since that had happened.
The sound of something falling caused her to look up. Lilly had fallen over the suitcases and had landed head first on the floor, one leg still draped over one of them. Miley couldn't help but let out a childish giggle at the sight in front of her before heading over to Lilly and pulling her up by the hand. "Sorry for laughin'. That looked really painful. Are you okay?"
"Ouch." Lilly scrunched her face in pain. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Miley studied her eyes, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. She'd known Lilly for only a few minutes but already cared so much for her that she was starting to question her mental health. No matter what, she was determined she wasn't going to screw anything up this time. This time she wanted to make everything right. But her mind was again too slow to prevent her from reaching out and brushing Lilly's bangs out of her face. "Really? Are you sure?" Her fingertips brushed over the red scratch on Lilly's forehead, causing Lilly to wince slightly. "Looks like you need a band aid or somethin' like that."
"No. It doesn't hurt." Lilly spluttered out so fast, Miley was afraid she'd crossed the line.
"You really sure?" she asked nevertheless.
Lilly gulped and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't like people being so close. It always made her feel uncomfortable. Although she wasn't able to see more than a hazy red light through her closed eye lids, she could still feel the light touches of Miley's fingertips on her skin.
A short period of silence passed where neither of them said anything. Finally Miley spoke. "D'ya want me to show you around the farm?" She asked as she realized Lilly wasn't going to answer her previous question. Everyone loved animals. And if Lilly had fun, Miley hoped they would become friends.
"Okay, why not." Lilly shrugged.
Miley grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her down the stairs. "We've twelve chickens, three horses, two dogs and one cow and five cats and, oh, there're also a few mice in the barn, but I dunno if they count." The words spilled so fast over her lips that Lilly wasn't able to understand a single word, but Miley didn't care. She was too excited to show her around and hopefully make a new friend.
The deep voice of Robbie Ray reached them in the corridor before Miley could step through the front door. "What're ya two up to?"
"I want to show Lilly the animals," Miley said.
"Nah, bud. Supper's ready and it's already dark outside. I'm sure you'll have enough time tomorrow to do that."
Miley sighed heavily and led Lilly to the kitchen, right next to the stairs. The room was large; every corner was stuffed with dark oak furniture that looked as ancient as everything else in the house. Robbie Ray and a boy who Lilly figured had to be Jackson were already sitting at the round table where there were four plates with pancakes piled on them, syrup spilling over them and forming puddles on the plates. "Mmm, nice." Miley flopped down on a seat and Lilly took the seat next to her. "My dad's the best cook. Trust me, you're not going to be able to stop once you've tasted his pancakes. They are super delicious."
Robbie Ray draped an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her into a half-hug. "That's my baby girl. She knows how to give me compliments."
Miley squeezed her eyes shut and giggled in embarrassment, the curls of her hair swinging up and down. "Aww, Daddy!"
Jackson was already bent over the table, munching noisily, the tip of his nose almost touching his plate.
Miley was about to complain to her dad but after a quick glance to her right she decided against it. Lilly was slouched in her seat, a few strands of hair hanging into the syrup. Miley found herself laughing. "Let me fix that for you," she said, pulling the strand of hair out of the plate.
"Mmh?" Lilly looked up and then down at her syrup-sticky hair. "Uh-Oh." Her gaze was instantly fastened on the plate again, a light pink coloring her cheeks.
Another throaty laugh left Miley's mouth. "Don't be embarrassed."
Lilly kept on staring down at her plate, not daring to look up anymore as the dinner continued, hearing the clattering of knives scratching against porcelain and soft laughing and talking. She wasn't really concentrating on what they said. She was already sure they were making fun of her.
Then someone said her name.
"Huh?" Lilly swallowed her half chewed pancake, the slice was still too big and it was almost painful as it slid oh-so slowly down her throat. She hesitantly cast her gaze upwards, realizing that Robbie Ray was looking expectantly at her. "Are you lookin' forward to your sophomore year?" he asked again.
"Well, yes. It's going to be fun." No, it definitely wasn't. In fact her whole body was so tense, she thought she'd have a muscle ache tomorrow.
"Miley could take an example from you. For two days she's been wailing about nothing but that she doesn't want to go. It's also her first year at this school, you see."
"So she attended a different high school last year?" Lilly asked.
"No, there's only one school in town. I was homeschooled during freshman year," Miley interrupted.
"Homeschooled? That's awesome. My mom would never allow me to do that. We wouldn't be able to afford it anyway."
Miley put her knife down, a furrow forming between her brows. "It's not as great as it sounds. You're always at home. You don't meet people and you ain't able to make friends. It actually sucks big time."
"But you did it anyway?" That didn't make sense.
"Yeah, I did. But that's only 'cause…well…"
"'Cause Miss I get everything that I want wanted to," Jackson mumbled, a piece of chewed pancake falling out of his mouth and landing on the plate below.
"Jackson!" Miley glared at him. "Of course I wanted to be homeschooled. But it's not like I really had any choice. What I want to say is that... uh... it's complicated. Look, I can't..." Miley looked at Robbie Ray, her eyes pleading for help.
He seemed to understand the hint, easing himself up and smacking his palms together. "Finish up girls. It's already past your bedtime."
Jackson threw a glance at his wrist watch. "But dad, it's ten o'clock. And, hello, it's not even a school night."
"Lilly has had a long journey today. I'm sure she's exhausted."
Lilly was more confused than anything else. What was this homeschooling all about? What was it that Miley didn't want to tell her? She risked a short look to her right. Miley really did look upset. What did she do wrong? Maybe she really was a person who didn't get along with people easily.