...Chapter 3...
"I'm so glad you made it, Lilly." John said, sitting down in his seat. "Where are you staying at?"
"Vince, Mom, Chloe, and I are staying at the Angel Square Hotel." she looked down. "But I really don't want to stay there."
"Why not?"
Lilly looked back up. "Because of Chloe's bitchy ass. I have to share a room with her."
John chuckled. "I may have a solution to your problem."
"What solution?"
"Well." John went into his desk and pulled out a set of keys, then put them in front of Lilly. "One of the things that Paul left you in his will, was his apartment. He lived in the same building as me, but I'm on the seventh floor and he was on the fifth. It's all yours, if you want it... I mean, everything is paid for."
"But... I know there's a but in there."
"But." he nodded. "The only thing is, it'll have to be in my name, until you turn eighteen."
"That's not bad, it's only a month and a half away." she grabbed the keys. "Okay, cool... when can we go check it out?"
"After I put some information into the computer, then we'll go."
Lilly opened her laptop. "Alrighty, then."
...
"Here we are." John opened the door to Paul's apartment, then both of them walked in as he turned on the lights.
"This is nice." Lilly said, looking around.
"Yeah, it's a three bedroom - two bath."
"Cool." she nodded. "I'll take it... wait." she paused, sitting on the couch. "My mom isn't going to let me move here."
"Well." John sighed, sitting next to her. "You're almost eighteen and you'll be old enough to make your own decisions, but I'll talk to her about it tomorrow."
"Please, Uncle John, I need a change of scenery, and I need to start off fresh."
"Okay, okay." he nodded. "I'll talk to her... do you want to stay here tonight?" she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "I mean, if you're not ready yet, that's fine... you can crash at my place. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Lilly... it's fine."
"Okay, then." she nodded, then both of them left Paul's apartment, and went up to the seventh floor.
"Where is she, Vince?" Katey panicked. "She's not answering her phone."
"You told me earlier that she'd be fine."
"Well, she's not fine if she's not answering her phone."
"Kate." Vince started. "Regardless what we say or think, she's a big girl, and she can take care of herself."
"That may be true, but right now, she's vulnerable and emotional, and it's getting really late." a minute later, Katey's phone rang, then she picked it up, and pressed the speakerphone button. "Lilly?"
"No, sorry, not Lilly."
"Hey, John." Vince greeted him. "Where is Lilly?"
"She's with me at my place and she fell asleep... I just wanted to let you two know, so you didn't worry."
Katey let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, John... we should all meet up for breakfast in the morning."
"Sounds good. When I wake up, I'll text you with the place. See you then." John told them, then hung up.
Vince gave Katey that 'I-told-you-so' look and she groaned. "Alright, fine." she put her phone on the night stand. "You were right."
"What?" he put his hand to his ear. "Could you say that again? I didn't quite here you... I was what?"
Katey laughed, then hit him with the pillow. "Oh, shut up."
It was after midnight and James couldn't sleep. He'd toss and turn or count sheep, but nothing seemed to work for him. A few minutes later, his phone rang. He grabbed it and pressed the talk button. "Hello?"
"Hey."
"Oh." he frowned, wishing it was someone else. "Hey, Starr."
"Are you busy right now?"
"Why?" he asked, rubbing his eye.
"Well... Cole and Hope is spending the night at Marty's, so that means we have the apartment to ourselves."
An image of Lilly popped into his head, then he took a deep breath. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check... I have an early class in the morning, so I'm just gonna go to sleep."
"Oh, okay." Starr said, sounding disappointed. "I'll just see you tomorrow then... bye James."
"Bye, Starr." he told her, then hung up his phone, and he stared at the ceiling, thinking about Lilly.
A/N: Yeah, peeps this is a short chapter. Actually, all of this was supposed to be in chapter 2, but I forgot to add it there. Well, just think of it as a filler chapter. Yeah, that works. But enjoy it anyway and don't forget to R&R! Next one will be longer... Scouts Honor!
