AN: Thanks to IheartORANGE, princess cutie, LoliverLova24, and XLoendLOLiver4evaX for reveiwing. :) We're getting down to the wire with this one. This is part 2 of a 3 part final tear. it took a little longer to be completed than I wanted, but it's good update nevertheless. R/R always apperciated. :)
Just as Lilly had told Oliver, she was up at five in the morning, rushing around the house. She had just gotten out of the shower and had to dry her hair. There was really only one place to dry her hair at; the bed room. Lilly knew that Oliver was still sleeping, but she had no choice. She closed their door so the noise wouldn't wake up Heather.
Oliver shot up out of bed like a rocket when he heard the noise of the hair dryer.
"What the heck!?" He screamed.
Lilly turned the dryer on low so she could hear Oliver yet continue. "Sorry, uh...good morning?" She giggled.
"You could have warned me first!" Oliver said.
"Oh yeah, like you would have heard me! You were snoring like a freight train!" Lilly replied.
"I can't help that!" Oliver replied. "I didn't get much sleep anyway. I tossed and turned all night."
"I heard you get up a few times." Lilly said.
"What time is it?" Oliver asked with a yawn.
"Five-thirty." Lilly answered.
"Eh, I was going to get up in fifteen minutes anyway." Oliver replied, slowly getting up out of bed. He made his way over to Lilly, took the hair dryer from her hand, shut it off, and pulled her into kiss. "Happy Anniversary, baby."
"But it's really tomorrow." Lilly told him.
"Techincally, yes." Oliver said. "But I want to make this a whole anniversary weekend."
"You're just going all out this year, aren't you?" Lilly smiled. She stopped a moment to think. "What did you break that you don't want me to know about this time?"
"Why do you always assume that I broke something when Smokin' Oken lays on the romantic charm?" Oliver questioned.
"I don't always think that." Lilly corrected. "But you have done that before...several times."
"Well this time it's because I love you unconditionally in indescribable ways." Oliver gave Lilly a longer kiss than before. "And now, I'm going get us breakfast. Miley's going to be here soon and there's plenty left to be done."
"My hair's still soaking wet." Lilly told him. "I've got to dry it at least a little bit or it'll turn all funky on me. You don't want that to happen...trust me." She made weird, disgusted face.
"I'd love you no matter what your hair looked like, Lilly." Oliver said. "I mean, look at mine. They didn't call me 'mop head' in school for nothing!"
Lilly laughed at Oliver's comment. "And you still won't let me fix it." She took her hand and ran it through Oliver's hair.
"Just come down when you're done." Oliver instructed. Lilly nodded and when back to drying her hair.
"Poptart?" Oliver asked his wife. He was sitting at the kitchen table eating one when Lilly came down from upstairs.
"I thought you said you were making breakfast?" Lilly asked, raising one eyebrow.
"I did. Oliver replied.
"You don't make Poptarts, Ollie." Lilly explained. "All you do is put the in the toaster and push the button."
"It's the thought that counts." Oliver said, taking a big bit out of his Poptart. "And you're going to tell me that you're turning down a strawberry Poptart? You can't be my wife if you do. She loves these things."
Lilly grabbed the Poptart box from the counter and bumped it against Oliver. "Only my dorky husband would go to such trouble for me."
"Hey, the dorky husband made coffee. Give him props for that!" Oliver held up his coffee mug.
"You're so talented. "Lilly praised Oliver by kissing him on the cheek.
Once they were done with breakfast, Lilly went upstairs to do some last minute packing. Oliver still had to go get dressed and make sure he had everything he needed as well. All of this had to be done before Miley arrived, which was happening very soon.
Lilly was standing in the bathroom fixing up her hair when her cell phone went off the pocket of her jeans. It was on vibrate to keep things as quiet as possible.
"Hey Miley." Lilly answered.
"Hey Lilly. I'm just about ready to pull in your drive way. I figured I'd better call you guys to let you know so I wouldn't make a lot of noise incase Heather isn't awake yet."
"Yeah, she's still sleeping." Lilly said. "Go ahead and park. I'll tell Oliver you're here, and he'll let you in."
"Ok. Thanks." Miley replied.
"Oliver?" Lilly called out from the top of the steps. "Miley's here. I told her you'd let her in so Heather wouldn't be disturbed."
"Ok." Oliver responded.
Oliver opened the front door and held it like that for Miley.
"Morning Miley." Oliver greeted.
"Hey Oliver." Miley replied, stepping in the house. Oliver quietly shut the door behind her. "Where's Lilly?" Miley looked around for any sign of her best friend.
"Coming!" Miley heard Lilly's voice form upstairs.
"She's been up there forever." Oliver explained, yet whined at the same time. "Last minute preparations my foot!"
"She's a woman, Oliver. We all do that." Miley told him. "Haven't you figured Lilly out by now?"
"Yeah, Oliver. Don't know you I like to look my best for you?" Lilly joined in the conversation as she descended the stairs.
"Didn't we have this discussion this morning?" Oliver asked. "Did I not say that I'd love you no matter how you look?" He paused for a brief moment, studying Lilly. "Although you do look amazing."
"You guys only argue over who loves the other one more." Miley said with a laugh. "It's too cute."
"I always win." The Okens spoke simultaneously. Miley kept laughing. "The perfect couple." She smiled.
"Well now that you're done doing whatever it was that you were doing up there," Oliver began. "I'm going to start lugging your billion bags out to the car."
"I don't have a billion, I have six!" Lilly announced.
"We're only going to be out for two days!" Oliver must have said that sentence a million times and in everyway possible ever since he had first told Lilly about the trip.
"Hey, six isn't bad for her!" Miley added. "I've seen much worse."
"You're not helping." Oliver replied, glaring at Miley. He bent down to pick up one of Lilly's suitcases. "What's in these things!?" Oliver asked, struggling to lift the bag. "You're not bringing your whole shoe collection, are you?"
"You're getting weak in your old age." Lilly replied. She walked over and grabbed the bag from Oliver's hand. "I can take this for you." Lilly showed off how light it was to Oliver by lifting the bag over her head.
"You take that one, and I'll get the other five." Oliver muttered while on his way to the car. "Like always."
"Oliver made coffee if you want some." Lilly told Miley as she was heading out the door with one of her bags. "It's in the kitchen."
"I'll have a cup." Miley replied. "If you two are still alive I know it's safe to drink."
Before Miley could make her way to the kitchen, she heard Heather's voice calling out from her bedroom.
"Mommy!? Daddy!?"
Heather came running out of her room with tears streaming down her face. She stopped in shock at the top of the steps when she saw Miley. "Aunt Miley, where's mommy and daddy!?"
"They're putting their bags in the car." Miley explained. "Why are you crying?"
"I want mommy and daddy!" Heather ignored Miley's question. Oliver had heard his daughter's cries and rushed back in the house.
"Heather?" He called out.
"What's the matter, honey?" Lilly asked coming back inside as well.
Heather ran down the stairs and clung on to her parents as soon as she saw them. "Don't go." She sobbed. "Don't leave me."
"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, pushing back Heather's hair.
"I...I had a bad dream." Heather explained through tears.
"Aww, what happened?" Lilly asked.
"You...You left..." Heather sniffled. "And you never came back!"
"Oh sweety, you know we always come back." Lilly comforted.
"But you didn't!" Heather fought. "Not this time!"
"Heather," Oliver said, bending down to her level. "Mommy and I will always be there for you no matter what happens. Just because we're going away on a trip for a few days doesn't mean that we're leaving you forever."
"I'm still scared!" Heather replied.
"We'll all be safe." Oliver continued. "Me and mommy will and so will you."
"I'll miss you." She looked at her parents with adorable brown eyes and a broken smile. Her lower lip quivered.
"We'll miss you, too." Lilly said. "We won't be too far off. Just a phone call away if you get lonely. I'll have daddy call as soon as we get there, too, ok?"
"Promise?" Heather asked, wiping her eyes with her hands.
"Promise." Oliver made an 'X' over his chest with his pointer finger.
"Ok." Heather sighed.
"Good girl." Oliver praised. "Now mommy and I have to get going for real now."
"Bye mommy. Bye daddy." Heather said sadly. She gave them both a hug and kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too" Lilly replied.
"Don't worry about a thing, baby girl." Oliver reminded. "We'll be home soon."
"Be good for Aunt Miley." Lilly told her daughter.
"I will." Heather assured.
"You do exactly what she tells you to do." Oliver furthered Lilly's instructions. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun this weekend."
"Hey Heather? Want to eat some cereal and watch cartoons with me?" Miley asked, walking back in from kitchen holding a box of cereal.
"Ok." Heather answered. She still didn't sound too thrilled that her parents were leaving, but was more ok with the idea than before.
"Well lets get going, honey." Oliver said to Lilly. "We're going to need all the time we can get."
"Ok." Lilly answered. She turned to Miley. "Any problems, just call, but I'm pretty sure you'll be ok."
"I've got everything under control." Miley said. "Now go out and have a great anniversary. No worries here."
"Thanks again, Miley." Lilly smiled. She and Oliver made the way out the door and to the car.
"Have fun you two!" Miley called out.
"I love you!" Heather called out and waved to her parents as Oliver and Lilly headed off down the road.
The Okens were on the open road. They had several hours of driving to go before their anniversary date could really start. Oliver was very excited to do all of this for Lilly. He tried to plan this the best that he could and hoped nothing would spoil their weekend getaway.
The sun was a soft orange glow when they left their house in Malibu. All that was soon changing. They were heading up to the northern half of California. Some people clam it's like a whole other country, and Oliver could feel the changes. No more six lane highway, toll roads, or inter-states. Suburban living was being replaced with skinny and winding secondary roads that hadn't been treated in years. Palm tress turned to pine, and the air felt cooler and crisp. Fall actually meant something in this place.
Oliver didn't think fall came with stormy weather...
The further north he drove, the darker it became. Gray and black clouds were rolling in. Fog formed and hung low to the ground. It wasn't mid afternoon yet, but Oliver was forced to use his high beams. He watched as one rain drop escaped from a cloud above the car and landed right in the middle of his windshield. Oliver decided he better switch on the windshield wipers. It was a good thing he did, because seconds later there were showers; slow and steady...but that only lasted a brief moment.
The rain staring pouring harder and harder as Oliver drove. He hoped the noise wouldn't wake Lilly, who had dozed off not long ago. As long as there wasn't any thunder Oliver thought she'd be ok. Lilly had been afraid of the thunder ever since that horrible storm they had the night her father abused her and she came running to Oliver. The faintest rumble or a single flash of lighting caused painful memories to flood Lilly's brain and she'd get incredibly upset. Now was not the time to have that be brought back to life.
Conditions on the road got worse with the weather. Nature's fury was coming down hard on the Okens. Wind, rain, thunder, lighting and fog; all hazards that Oliver wished would just disappear. He was so caught up in the moment that he missed a turn, and was oblivious to it.
A crack of thunder boomed in the distance and startled Lilly.
"Huh!?" She sat up in shocked from the noise.
"It's ok." Oliver took on hand off the wheel to comfort Lilly by rubbing her arm. He did this without looking over at her.
"Where are we?" Lilly asked, trying to look out her widow, but she couldn't really see much. She wiped down the window which had steamed up. "I can't see anything."
"We're on...uh..." Oliver squinted. There was a sign coming up on his side of the road. He scooted up in his seat and desperately tried to read what the sign said, but the raging elements made it impossible. "What did that sign just say?"
"I couldn't make it out, because of the rain and fog." Lilly told him.
"Oh." Oliver said. He was starting to get uneasy. "That's, uh, fine. No big deal..I guess..."
"We're lost." Lilly hit the nail on the head.
"Lost? We're not lost!" Oliver replied. He was trying to cover his mistake. "We're just...temporarily off track." He laughed nervously.
"We are lost, Oliver! Admit it!" Lilly demanded.
"Lilly relax." Oliver told her.
"I thought you knew where you were going!" Lilly's angry continued. She was never very calm in crisis. "You said you had this all planed!"
"I do know and I did have a plan!" Oliver started to fight back. "How am I supposed to control the weather!? I mean, look at it!"
"Exactly! It's too dangerous to be driving right now!" Lilly tried wiping off her window again to see, but the results were the same as before.
"How long have I be driving!?" Oliver asked a rhetorical question. "I think I can handle this."
"Well I think you need to pull over and wait this storm out." His wife suggested. "It's just not safe."
"Who are you, my mother!?" Oliver said disgustedly Lilly scoffed in response. "You're really starting to tick me off, Lills. Now hush up!"
"But you're being ridiculous!" Lilly disobeyed Oliver's command and continued to vent. "You never take my suggestions or listen to what I have to say! It's always all about you! If you really loved me, you'd-"
"If I loved you!?" Oliver had reached a breaking point. His hands had the car's steering wheel in a death grip he was so mad. "What the heck are you saying!? You act like I'm doing this just to spite you or something! I love you more than anyone on this Earth ever has and ever will! How can you go off on me for this!?"
"Then start acting like you do!" Lilly shouted. "Pull over and get your head on straight so we can get out of this mess."
"Why won't you trust me to keep driving?" Oliver asked. "How could you not trust me!? I thought out of all people you would believe in me, but I guess I was wrong! How do I know you even want to be going on this trip with me!? How can I be sure you haven't lied to me this whole time!?"
"You're walking on thinking ice, Oken!" Lilly warned Oliver sternly.
"Yeah, well you're drowning in the icy water as far as I'm concerned!" Oliver replied.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes. This was really the first fight they had ever had. Tensions never ran that high between them and stress never hindered. However, this particular moment in time was different. Boiling point had been reached, passed, and now the final explosion was about to happened. Three words were forming in both of their mouths. The brain was livid, so it couldn't stopped their tongues from blurting it out together:
"I hate you!"
"You didn't!?" Oliver took his eyes off the road to glare at Lilly when she spoke.
"And I mean it!"
As soon as those words escaped Oliver's mouth, there was a bright purple-colored flash right in front of their car. It had struck a tree, and the tree was falling fast in the Oken's direction. It was going to smash head on if Oliver didn't do something. Luckily, he had caught sight of the falling tree out of the corner of his eye. He managed to swerve away to avoid it just in time, but the danger wasn't over yet.
The road Oliver was driving on was narrow and slick. When he swerved, the car pulled too much towards the right and skidded off the road. Momentum was not a friend to Oliver and Lilly, for too much force flipped the car over and sent it rolling down the side of a hill. It didn't stop until it hit the bottom. When it did, the passenger side of the car was on the ground. Lilly had been pinned in that position.
The horrific scene only lasted seconds and caught Oliver so off guard that he was clueless as to what had happened. He still couldn't see, but it wasn't from the rain. Blood was dripping from his cracked opend head into his eyes. It burned worse than anything he had ever felt before.
"L-L-Lil-"
Oliver tried to call out to his wife, but he couldn't speak. The pain was just too much. He blinked, making the burning sensation worse, but he was hoping it was all a dream.
"L-Lilly?"
Now Oliver tried to undo his seat belt to reach Lilly, but he just couldn't gather the strength to move. He wasn't sure if his arms or legs were broken and he didn't care.
"Lilly!"
Oliver just wanted Lilly to answer, but no such luck. Before he could say or do anything else, everything Oliver saw faded to black.
BEFORE you start freaking out at me, this is NOT the end, so DON'T worry too much just yet! Oliver hasn't cried the fifth tear. No, I didn't like writting a nasty fight between Oliver and Lilly, but makes for great drama and suspense. I'm working very hard to get the ending out by this weekend, so be on the lookout for it. Hang in there, guys! I'll write fast, but I won't sacrifice quality for speed.
-drummer8907