Eventually Lilly was carrying me to the airport, I agreed to this when I realized I had lost the feeling in my toes. It was then at the airport that I realized I didn't bring any money. I grimaced and pushed the heel of my hand to my forehead. "Oh no," I groaned.
"What?" Lilly asked worried.
"I didn't bring money. I'll have to use the ATM machine," I sighed walking across the airport lobby. I was hoping the remaining money left in my "college fund" would be enough for two tickets to Seattle, at least there I could sneak home and borrow some money from Charlie. I frowned at the thought of having Charlie pitch in for something that everyone would think I was crazy for.
I reached into my pocket, hoping to find my credit card when I felt my hand grasp a wad of paper. I wondered why I hadn't felt it before. I took it out and froze in place as I looked at the multiple hundred dollar bills that were rolled up neatly, and held together by a rubber band. Realization suddenly dawned on me, bringing anger with it. How could he leave this much money in my pocket and not tell me? Was he completely out of his mind!? I stiffly unrolled the bills and counted quietly to myself. Ten thousand dollars. Yes, he was utterly and completely out of his mind!
I hadn't even realized I had clenched my teeth when Lilly tapped my shoulder, "Bella are you okay?"
"Wonderful," I snapped, stomping angrily to wait on line for tickets. My foot tapped as I tried to control my new found rage. How could he?! That was more then half the amount that had existed in my college fund before I blew it on motorcycles. And he could just slip it in my pocket like it was nothing! He was unbelievable…
"Can I help you?"
"Wha—Oh um, yes, I'd like two tickets to Italy please."
And we were off, halfway across the world to Italy. Maybe I was the one that had lost my mind.
Lilly sat next to be and she looked like she was all about ready to spring out of her seat. She was pointing out the window as the plane ascended above the clouds, her mouth shaped in a tiny "o" and her eyes wide. "Can you believe it, I'm on a plane!" she squealed, "Ninety-six years on this Earth, and this is my first time on a plane."
I looked around us for any listening ears. Lilly's appearance would do her no justice if an eavesdropper happened to hear her talk about being born in 1912. Nobody seemed to be snooping, and who was I to ruin Lilly's fun?
"Look at that!" she gasped. We watched as the earth beneath us became a geometric pattern of green, white and blue as a new morning began to dawn. And for once, surely since the first time I met her, Lilly was speechless.
The question had been burning a hole in the back of my mind all day. I know it was childish, and probably rude, but I couldn't contain my words as they slipped out quietly. "Lilly, you don't have to tell me, I know it's your own business but – why exactly were you changed into a –" I looked around for eavesdroppers again. A gangly man with a salt and pepper beard in the seat behind us looked a little suspicion so I stuttered, "A you know…"
She giggled, "Of course I'll tell you Bella. What part do you want to know?"
"Well I know the mechanics of it and everything, but Edward told me that most people are only changed because they're on the verge of death."
She nodded, quiet serious now, gazing out the window for a moment before turning back towards me.
"You don't have to tell me," I assured her quickly.
"No, no," she mumbled, her eyebrows knitted together and I've never seen her become so serious, "I want to tell you." She took a deep breath, "Edward's right, I was on the verge of death." She looked down at her hands as she told me the rest. "My mother passed away when I was eight, she had a rare disease, the doctors couldn't even pinpoint the cause, or what exactly the disease was. It was like the doctors said she had a cold one day, and by the next week… she was gone." Lilly turned her furrow expression to the window as she whispered, I leaned closer trying to hear her soft flow of words. "My father thought it was my fault, thought I brought some kind of disease home from school and poisoned the whole family. My baby brother Thomas was next. He went over night, we hadn't even known he was sick." I heard Lilly gulp softly, and I took her cold hand in mine. "My father was an alcoholic. So, when it was only me and him left, he beat me a lot. Said it was my fault that Mommy and Thomas were in coffins in the lonely graveyard instead of at home." I cringed slightly as she continued, " One day, I came home with a cold. Nothing like my Mother had had, just a little cough when I forgot to drink enough water. Well, my father came home drunk that night. When he heard me cough from my room, he got mad. He came in and started throwing around my furniture, mumbling things about how I was the devil, sent to ruin him. He started to hit me, and I told him to stop. He told me that I was going to die anyway. That's when he opened our apartment window and threw me out." Lilly was quiet for a few minuets, her face impassive as her eyes followed the rows of trees in an orchard we were passing over.
"That's when Tanya found me. I had passed out from the lose of blood, and didn't wake up until the fire started." I became rigid in my seat, remembering the feeling of fire in my veins, all to well when James had bit my hand. Lilly didn't notice, she went on, "I told her it burned, and she told me that I would be okay, and that she was taking me somewhere safe, and in a few days, the fire would stop."
Lilly fell silent, and I hadn't realized the sky was now fading from it's ebony darkness. I didn't know what to say, I wasn't sure if there were words in the English language that would suit this situation. So I did what my mother did to me when I was little. I gently wrapped my arm around Lilly's back and pulled her head to rest against my shoulder. I smoothed down her hair as she tried to smooth out the wrinkles that penetrated her small forehead.
"Bella, promise me something," she said thoughtfully after a while. The plane was almost completely light now, the rising sun was just now sending an angelic pink glow across the world.
"Anything, Lilly," I whispered, pulling closer her icy skin.
"When we get to Italy, don't let them take you away. I want you to come back to Denali with me. Please? Can you promise me?"
The conversation with Edward the night before rang in my ears. The idea of promises, and how well they are kept. I could feel Lilly, so small against my shoulder, her body solid like stone, waiting for my answer. "Yeah, Lilly," my voice was painfully hoarse from trying to choke back tears "I promise."
Sorry, i'm really trying to make my chapters longer! Sometimes it just feels like the right time to stop, and who am I to go against instinct:) Anyway, that chapter gave you alot of backround on Lilly's life. I hoped you liked it and it wasn't too sad. Next chapter will definatley be moving on with the story, I just felt like all the readers should get to know Lilly a little bit more, considering she's becoming a big part of the story :) Well thank you all! Review, please!