Chapter 2

Lily tip toed out to the Stewart's living room, hoping to cry in private. Seeing the balcony door she opened it and stepped outside into the cool breeze. She looked out towards the beach and let the emotion come out. Finally unable to stand any more, she made her way to the seat. Putting her head in her hands, she managed to muffle the noise of her wails. The last thing Lily wanted was to wake up the family and have to lie to them.

Though unfortunately, someone realised she was out there. Lily gasped as she heard the door open behind her. The balcony light came on, revealing the tired figure of Jackson. Trying to hide her face, Lily turned away from him. She wished that he would just go away.

"Lily what are you doing out here?" Jackson had sat down beside her, a look of concern on his face. "Are you crying?"

"No, now leave me alone Jackson." Lily snapped through sobs.

"Not until you tell me why you've been crying." Jackson placed a compassionate hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort Lily. He offered her the glass of water in his hand.

However, the sensitive action sent Lily into an angry fit. "Don't touch me! Don't ever touch me!" She slapped his arm away, causing the glass to fly and break a few feet away.

"Lily calm down." Jackson held her shoulders, she shoved him back roughly.

"I told you to leave me alone!" Lily snapped again, her face turning red. "I hate you Jackson! You're a loser and I hate you!"

Jackson stepped back like he'd been shot. He didn't know if he was more shocked or hurt by what Lily said. Lily looked at him with teary eyes before breaking into a run towards the beach. Jackson hesitated, thinking that Lily needed the alone time, though he couldn't ignore the part of him that was worried about her. Against his better judgement, Jackson ran after her.

From a distance, Jackson watched Lily collapse down on the sand. He walked over and sat beside her, leaving a gap between them. He found himself unable to stop staring at Lily, wishing that she would talk to him. Giving up on that idea, Jackson turned to watch the waves roll in as well.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Lily finally broke it. "Why did you follow me here?"

Jackson shrugged his shoulders. "To bring you back home, it's not safe out here by yourself."

Lily glared at him through tears. "Don't pretend like you care."

Jackson couldn't hold in his anger anymore. "Well, as a matter of fact, I do care. Though I have to say I wish I didn't, seeing as you have absolutely no appreciation for anyone. If this is what I get for trying to be nice, I'm out of here."

Realising that Jackson was clearly still hurt and uncomfortable Lily stood up and followed him. Grabbing his arm, a fresh lot of tears fell down her face. "I just want you to know I didn't mean anything I said. I'm sorry Jackson."

"Lily, its okay I forgive you. Come sit back down." Jackson sat down on the sand, motioning for Lily to sit beside him. "We'll just sit here for awhile if that's what you want. So are you going to tell me what's been going on for the past month? Why you seem sad every time I see you."

"I can't lie to you Jackson." Lily answered, sitting down. "I don't think I'll ever be okay. I can't stop crying. I don't know what to do."

The look of concern reappeared on Jackson's face. He slowly reached out and brushed a hair from Lily's eyes, wiping a tear away in the process. Lily, in desperation, threw her arms around Jackson, knowing that she could trust him.

"Jackson, I'm scared." Lily confessed. "I didn't mean anything I said to you. I don't know why I said it and I'm sorry I did."

"It's okay. You've already said that. I know you didn't mean it." Jackson replied, stroking Lily's hair. "I'm just worried about you. What's scared you so much?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you. That's the problem." Lily broke from Jackson's hug and looked at him.

"Listen, I know we rag on each other a lot, but we've had our talks too." Jackson sighed as he let his sensitive side take full control. "The point is Lily, I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Lily smiled for the first time in days. She turned to Jackson and looked him in the eyes. "It seems like you're the only one who does care about me."

"Don't be stupid, there are plenty of people that care about you." Jackson slowly put an arm around Lily. "You've just been making it very hard, because you've been pushing us all away."

"I know, but you know I care about you right?" Lily asked, wiping the remainder of her tears and calming down at last. She let her head rest on Jackson's shoulder, feeling the comfort of being able to talk to someone.

"Most of the ladies can't help but care about me you know." Jackson said, in an attempt to make Lily laugh. He also felt nervous about the moment that their conversation was heading for.

Lily rolled her eyes and managed a giggle. "One thing's for sure, you can always make me laugh. Half the time you don't even have to try, because you my friend are so naïve."

Jackson turned to Lily, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just glad to see that you are feeling better." He stood up and offered his hand to help Lily up. For a few seconds, they just stood there. Instead of letting go of Jackson's hand, Lily just held it. Feeling a little awkward both of them let go and blushed.

"We should probably be getting back now. Dad and Miles may have woken up." Jackson started walking back towards the house, glancing at Lily and letting a smile creep up on his face.