WAIT BEFORE YOU READ THE CHAPTER, PLEASE READ THIS NOTE.

I have no idea if most people are coming from my first, but I recently posted an update there but I am going to post the same thing here. I started writing Regular Abnormal Life when I was 15. I was a teenager who was obsessed with the Ninja Turtles and wanted to write them romantically involved with someone who loved them back. I finished that March 2020. I was and am 22 years old. The more I think about it, the more weirded out by that Fic I get.

That fic is about minors falling in love and engaging in sexual activity with other minors. It was written by a minor, but finished by an adult. I took breaks towards the end of the fic because I was feeling really icky, and I wanted it over with so I can write about adults going through adult problems, which explains this story. I feel icky mostly because I don't like to think about people who I consider children, engaging in sexual activity, period. I don't want people to think that this is normal to find children attractive as well, especially when I am an adult now.

I was thinking about deleting it, but it was brought to my attention that I should just delete all the smut and save it from the adults like life should already be. If I should delete the Fic altogether then please let me know. I can easily start this fic over in order for it to make more sense.

Enjoy...for now, I have to see what you all think.

Chapter 17

"Didn't she look amazing?" April exclaimed, like a giddy little school girl.

Neil nodded, "She always does, but her runway debut probably opened more doors for her now than ever." He suddenly pointed over to Lillian, who was walking out of the dressing room with Luis at her side.

April sighed, "Great," She forced, through gritted teeth.

Its been a week since the last time April had seen or heard from Lillian. Well, before yesterday when Lilly texted her about being invited to the runway show. The day after the party, April went to Lillian's place to drop off her purse that she left at the lair. She was wanting to find out how and what happened when she went off with Raphael, but Luis just took the purse and told her Lillian was not available. Since then, April hasn't heard from her…

April walked up to Lillian, "You were amazing!" She exclaimed.

Lillian wrapped her arms around April, "I'm so glad you guys could make it."

Neil shook his head, "Darling, we wouldn't miss it for the world." Once April pulled away from her embrace, he gathered Lillian in his arms. "You were beautiful out there."

"I was almost having a panic attack and then when I got out on stage I saw you guys and everything was all calm." She said a giant smile on her face.

Neil chuckled, "You, nervous before going out on a stage? I thought I'd never see the day." Neil turned to Luis for a split second, giving him a nod, "Hi." He noted, Luis didn't answer him.

"Is there like an after-party you're going to?" April asked. Unlike Neil, April didn't even bother looking at Luis.

Lillian shrugged, "There is one, but I'm beat. I'm just glad everything is over."

Luis shook his head, "Lillian, you know what I said about the after-party. There are going to be tons of opportunities for you at that party." He grabbed her shoulders, "Commercial directors, fashion designers, movie directors, actors, all of these people could make you a star."

April watched him in disgust, "Well, she's already a star you just don't see it."

Luis snapped his head over at April, glaring at her before forcing a smile. "Of course she's a star. But we can make her shine brighter…" He practically growled at her.

April wished, at that moment, that she could use her powers to blow his head off his body. But instead, she did her best to bite her tongue and just look at Lillian. "Do you want to grab a pizza?"

Lillian could feel the tension between both of them, and to calm the both of them, she had to separate them. To avoid a fight later on when she got home, Lillian decided it'd be best if she sucked it up and just go to the party and do was Luis wanted her to do. "It's okay, April. You two should go on without me. It's what's best for my career."

April swallowed her whimper. 'But is it what's best for you' she thought to herself but for some reason didn't dare say it out loud. "Okay, be safe." She sighed, pulling her away from Luis and in for another hug. "Please let me know if you need anything, I'll be there." She told her, hoping she'd actually hear from her this time.

"Thank you for coming," Lillian whispered. "I'll text you when I'm home."

April watched Luis drag her away. "Now what?" She huffed. There had to be something April could do or say...but she was afraid. Not of Luis, but of Lilly.

Neil wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "At least you got a hug." He joked. "I'll take you out for people and tell you how I got used to Lillian picking Luis over me."

April chuckled, about to argue that Lilly would never but...is she doing that now? As Lillian walked away from both of them while Luis was whispering in her ear whatever he was whispering, was she choosing him over her friends? Was that how it was going to be now?

They walked out of the venue, April's mind racing. She felt like she had just got Lillian back and now she's losing her all over again. April was scared to say something because she didn't want to end up like Ian, casted out. But the more she thought about it the more she realized she was being casted out anyway! She heard less and less of her, not even a text! April couldn't even speak up in front of Lillian now without Luis barking at her like some deranged dog.

Neil gave her a little squeeze, "Don't keep it in. Tell me what you're thinking."

April shook her head, "It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine." She said quickly. "Where did you want to eat?"

Neil pressed his lips together, looking at her like a parent would a child. "April, you're my friend now, you can tell me anything."

"Do you like Luis?" April asked quickly, catching Neil off guard. "I mean, I know I'm supposed to support everything Lillian does and I do and I love her but… I get these…feelings around people who aren't necessarily good people and I get that feeling around him."

Neil blinked for a moment, his mind catching up with what she said. "Um…" He shut his eyes to process the first part. "I do not like him, no."

"So you get it!"

"That you're a psychic and you get a feeling around him?"

"I know that's weird but-"

Neil shook his head, "Believe it or not I grew up in a superstitious and kind of religious household. Although I may not be as gullible as I was when I was a child, I believe in things like that. Especially in women."

April breathed a sigh of relief, "You don't know how much of a relief it is to hear that." For some reason, talking to Neil about Lillian, felt like she was doing something shady behind Lillian's back. It didn't feel right because he had a direct line to Lillian. "It seems wrong talking to you about your best friend."

Neil tilted his head to the side, "Whatever you say stays between us, my dear. Confidentiality is key to trusting people sometimes."

'This man was too perfect to be real,' April thought to herself. She flashed him a smile, "It's just...when I first called Lillian, Luis answered, told me they were married and then never told Lillian I called. Then, just last week when I went over her place, he threatened me if I-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, he did what?" Neil stopped her. "I knew he never changed. I knew it! When he started dating Lillian a while ago, he did the same to me! Told me if I ever tried to take her away from him, I'd never be able to find work."

"That was the same thing he told me…well, the second part. About me being just a clerk for the rest of my life." April groaned in frustration. "Man, I wanted to bash his teeth in."

Neil chuckled, amusingly. "I bet you could too."

April rolled her eyes, "Of course I could. I've taken on bigger and worse men than him."

"Let's go into a restaurant just a couple blocked from here and just talk about what's been bothering you. I'm buying." Neil offered, slowly wrapping an arm around April's shoulders.

April smiled, just happy that he was pulling her in this close to him. "You had me at 'restaurant'."

"It seems like you and Lillian have had your fair share of adventures. She never told me she was here for the invasion..." he blinked. "Actually, she didn't tell me anything about living in New York."

"Nothing? Not even her mother's ex-boyfriend John and how horrible he was to both of them?" April asked.

"No. Lillian didn't talk about her life before she met me."

They both sat at a table near the window, talking so much about Lillian that they nearly forgot to order food. But once they did, they talked freely, or at least, April felt like she could.

"I don't know why she's so secretive with you but...I think it has something to do with Raph." She pointed out.

Neil scrunched his face and shook his head, "The ex from New York? I don't think so. I think she's just like that. I mean, she hasn't even told Luis that I'm her ex."

"She hasn't?" It seemed that that was the best decision because of Luis saw the way Lillian and Neil still love each other, it would almost grantee the end to Neil and Lillian friendship.

"I guess, telling him I'm gay and that I had a boyfriend was easier. But even then, he's a fucking dick to her."

April nodded for a moment, before holding a hand to her mouth. "You're gay?"

Neil smiled, "No, but I told Lillian to tell him that so he'd let her see me."

"Oh," April suddenly gasped, "Wait, he wouldn't let her see you knowing how much you guys mean to each other?"

"It...it was back when he was drinking. He treated her real bad. Almost like now, except I don't know how much of a change he's had." Neil shook his head and sighed. "Long story short, we weren't allowed to see each other but we did and one day he caught us talking and he started yelling at her. I almost threw a punch...but Lillian stopped me and told me to leave."

April shook her head in disbelief. "You didn't, did you?"

"I felt like if I didn't, I'd end up fighting Luis and Lillian would never forgive me for that. So...I did. And later on that night, Lillian came to my place, sobbing and bruised."

April felt her blood boil, she almost had the right mind to...to make this man's head pop like a balloon if only she could do that. How could Lillian ever go back with a man that had put his hands on her? After everything, she saw her mother go through? After everything Lillian herself went through how- "You know, if I told Raphael this...you know he'd kill him right?"

"I wouldn't blame him. But Luis's family are very powerful people, Raphael should be careful with them. I mean, isn't that what money does? Luis has been this spoiled little rich kid his entire life and the only reason he won't let go of Lillian is that she's the only one that ever called him out on it." Neil frowned deeply. "Lillian is also the only one to love Luis and not his money."

"But why? Why Luis? This guy is freaking trash!" April almost whined. "I don't understand how the same girl I remember from high school turned into this woman now."

"I think because they've been together for so long, they've sorta...trauma bonded," Neil explained, he felt himself growing more and more uncomfortable. Almost like he was coming to a new realization when in fact, he's always known. "She tried to change his addiction. They always have fights. He's controlling and slowly slipping back into his old ways."

April felt disappointed at Neil. "How do you see this and not intervene?" How can he say he loved her so much and watch her stay with something that could potentially be dangerous to her life?

There is was, what Neil feared. Confrontation about how he failed to protect the one person that meant the world to him. Neil looked at April, seeing the respect she had for him fade from her eyes. "I..." he began, looking for the right thing to say. His mind flashed to Lillian's family for a moment. "I saw how Ian tried to get her away from him. But Luis's grip on Lilly was..." Neil, feeling himself get emotional, took a deep breath, and cleared his throat when he felt it tighten. "Ian meant the world to Lillian. And I watched Luis convince her that Ian was trying to tear both of them apart. Lillian's parents were vocal about their disapproval so...it wasn't hard to believe that Ian didn't want them together."

April sighed, feeling guilty she asked him a question when the same thing applied to her now. "I...I don't want to lose her."

"I don't fight with Luis anymore because I'm scared of doing just that. I'm scared of losing her..." he let out a puff of air as if he'd been holding it in for a while. "I don't know..."

She had never felt so helpless, it almost felt like she was being restrained while watching a person she loved being hurt in front of her. The one person she knew that had the answer to everything was Donnie, and as much as she wanted to ask him, the answer probably wasn't as simple as she would hope. "She has a lot of people who love her… All I think we can do is remind her that we love her."

Neil nodded in agreement, pursing his lips in thought. "I need to confess something to you and…" he stopped, seemingly deciding quickly whether he should trust April. "It's not fair to ask this of you, but… I am asking you to not tell Lillian."

April nodded slowly, "It seems fair,"

"Well, no it doesn't once I tell you what I'm going to tell you."

Now, she was scared… "O…kay."

Neil took a deep breath, mustering up all the courage he could before speaking. "When Lil' and I were together, I became very close with her family. I mean…her mother didn't like me but…" He shook his head. "Anyway, I was particularly close to Ian. It was a running joke that he was my first boyfriend instead of Richard." He chuckled.

"Is that-"

"No, it was just a joke. Love the guy but not like that." He said nervously. "Where I'm going with this is, I am still in contact with Ian and we talk like every other week."

"You...wait why doesn't he call Lillian?"

"He says it's like she changed her number. He's asked me for it, but I don't think he's called her yet. Maybe soon." Neil sighed in frustration. Every time he met up with Lillian, he was hoping that she'd tell him Ian called. "He hasn't heard anything from her since she told him Luis proposed. He didn't even know she was in New York. He said she left her past here and never looked back."

April nodded, that is exactly what Lillian did. She left everyone and never looked back. But Luis made the mistake moving Lillian here and forcing her to face her past. This time, April wasn't going to let her leave without a fight, because this time, Lillian had the choice to stay or leave. April was going to do everything she could to convince Lillian she was better off staying in New York with her and the guys.

"He asked if she mentioned you or your friend, especially that one guy…the high school sweetheart?"

"Raphael…"

Neil snapped his fingers, "Yup, him. If that guy meant so much to Lillian, why hasn't she mentioned him or anything? I mean, I know they broke up but… Was he bad to her?"

April picked up her fork and began to jab at her food, suddenly feeling no appetite. "They both couldn't get enough of each other. I think the whole 'breaking-up' part is what really hurt her. She could've been with him forever." She jabbed a piece of lettuce, "I always envied how much they loved each other."

Neil smiled at her, "Don't you have a love of your own?"

"Yeah," April nodded. "But their love was different…"

Neil reached across the table for April's hand, "Are you happy, sweetheart?"

April took his hand hesitantly, she felt her cheeks warm at him calling her 'sweetheart'. She smiled, "Of course I am. Donnie means everything to me. I could go as far as to say that I...I love him. More than anything..."

Neil sat back in his chair, "Is that the first time you've said it?" April nodded in response. "You haven't told him?" She shook her head. "How long has it been?"

"Almost a year. It's complicated to explain why it took me so long..."

Neil shook his head and hands to stop her, "Every relationship is different. It took me two months to tell Lillian I loved her, it took her almost ten; took me a month to tell Dick I loved him. Everyone is different."

April smiled, feeling validated. She took a deep breath, "Almost feels too good to be true sometimes."

"Yeah, I know..."

Lillian threw herself onto the bed, feeling more exhausted than she's been in a while.

She hated the after-party, although she did make friends with some of the models, most if not all were very kind. Luis was moving her person to person, having her flirt with this guy for him to swoop in and give them his card for his ad agency, or talk to this person who was either a director or a photographer. She really wanted to take out her phone and call April to see where she went.

Lillian felt guilty for leaving April to go with Luis even after she made the effort to come out and see her last minute. She wanted to text her while she was at the party and apologize, but it just felt like she had to do what Luis said. She wanted to...she thought.

Lillian held out her hand above her, inspecting the giant ring Luis told her to wear as soon as she could, especially while they were at a party where there were men. She knew that relationships had to have compromise, so it would be selfish to complain about anything right? Her mind went back to the party, Leonardo's words echoing in her mind. The words were so small but they impacted her in a way she didn't think they would.

'You only get married once, right?'

She never pictured herself getting married in the first place...to Luis anyways. Maybe to Neil...definitely to Raphael... She took the ring off and inspected it. Why did that bother her so much? Of course, she was only going to marry once... She didn't have to get married if she didn't want to. And she wanted to. Why wouldn't she?

As far as anyone knew she had a perfect life...

"Perfect..." she sighed softly, sliding the ring back on her finger.

Luis stumbled into the room, laughing and talking on the phone. "Oh, babe, I know I just got home but I'm gonna head out to this other...you know James, the director I introduced you too? He wants me to come over his place to look at the movie he has in the works. Did you want to come with? Or..." he asked before tossing her purse on the bed.

Lillian shook her head, "I'm really tired, baby. Just be safe okay?" She said before reaching out for her purse to dig for her phone.

Luis nodded, "Okay," he came over to her. "Don't wait up for me."

Lillian lifted her face and let him kiss her. "I'm knocking out, don't worry."

"Bye," he said before walking back out of the room.

Now, she was going to call April to see if she was mad at her for leaving with Luis. But before she could dial April's number, her phone began to ring and an unknown number flashed on her screen. Although she didn't recognize the number, she recognized the area code... It was San Diego.

Her finger hovered over the end button for a moment, but something inside of her screamed at her to answer it. She did tell Michelangelo she would call her family but never did. She answered, slowly placing it up to her ear, "Hello?"

It felt like an hour before someone answered on the other line, "Hi, Lil'..."

Lillian clutched her chest and tugged on her shirt, "Ian..." she breathed, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

"I...Neil gave me your number... A long time ago actually but I guess it took Christine yelling at me to finally work up the nerve to call." He explained, chuckling softly, nervously.

Lillian could barely believe she was talking to him. Her throat began to tighten with emotions. She could barely breathe, let alone talk.

"Aha, anyways, I called because Neil told me you were in New York. Christine and I came down here because she wanted to expand her salons since she's been...missing this place a lot and I was wondering if you had time to grab a bite to eat. Not today, it's almost midnight or past midnight... Whenever you're free, we're here for a while, so...I mean if you want to."

Lillian's mind flashed back to Mikey telling her to call him. He didn't say to go see him. And Luis would almost certainly be more than mad at the fact Ian even called in the first place. This was a risk, just talking to Ian...was it worth it?

Lillian swallowed, "Um... I don't..." she took a deep breath, shutting her eyes so she could focus on what she was going to answer. "Okay..."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I was... There's a café that I go to a lot. I'll send you the address." Lillian cleared her throat when her voice cracked. "Can you do Sunday?"

"I can do whenever you want, is one o'clock okay?"

Lillian nodded but quickly realized she had to answer verbally. "I-yeah..."

"Great I'll be waiting for your text."

"Can I bring someone?"

"I...don't know if I can-"

"It's not Luis."

"Then bring whoever you like... As long as I can talk to you, see how you're doing."

Lillian quickly wiped a tear that fell from her eye. Her chest felt so warm at his voice. She couldn't believe she was talking to him. It made her sad... How long has it been since she had heard him? "Okay...bye..."

"See you then," Ian said softly before hanging up.

When the corners of her vision began to darken, Lillian finally reminded herself to breathe, gasping for air. She turned to her open bedroom door and opened her mouth to call out for Luis...but stopped herself, realizing he was probably already gone or it would do more damage than good.

Looking back at her phone, she quickly called the only person she wanted to talk to. April...

"April," Donnie asked, noticing April's leg nervously bobbing up and down. He placed a hand on her thigh. "Are you okay?" He had originally come over just to hang out and watch a movie as April invited him over to do. But something in the pit of his stomach said April wanted to do more than just watch a movie. Something was bugging her.

"Yeah, why?" April asked, her leg ceasing under his touch.

"You haven't been still since I got here." He pointed out, his hand moving from her thigh to her hand. "Is something up?"

"Maybe..." she mumbled.

Donnie sighed, she was going to make him drag it out of her. "Does it have something to do with Lillian? I know you went to see her walk and have yet to tell me how it went."

April pouted like a child, crossing her hands over her chest. "That's because I don't want to talk about it." She huffed stubbornly.

Donnie frowned, "That's okay," he said in defeat. "I'll be here when you want to."

April stood up from the sofa, groaning in frustration. "God, it's just that freaking guy she's with won't even let me within two feet of her. And he's constantly telling her to do better when she's the best she's ever been right now! I want Lillian to be happy, but I also want her to be safe and Neil, he took me out for a bite to eat because Luis practically forced her to go to this party and I don't know why she went. Neil told me he saw what Lillian did to Ian for Luis and that was the guy that raised her! Who are we? Nothing!"

Donnie's eyes widened for a moment at her sudden outburst, but soon he just relaxed and watched her pace back and forth in front of him, listening.

April shook her head, "I just got Lillian back. And I feel like she's leaving again. And I want to tell her don't go. I want to fight her, make her open her eyes, and see that she deserves better! She deserves someone who will show her she's already perfect not that she has to improve! I mean, what is that? Who does that? I remember being in high school and Raphael couldn't be without Lillian for too long. I mean you could see how much he needed her and the only thing I saw is how much Luis wanted to use her. 'Go meet some directors. Mingle with some actors' for what? Lillian is a dancer!"

"Modeling is her career."

"Only because she has to! It's her only source of freedom. She fought to get this job, but she doesn't want to. Get this..." she chuckled. "Her boyfriend won't let her. WHAT?"

Donnie narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Lillian?"

"Lilly! The little girl who would never let Raphael raise his voice at her. What happened? Why him? Why not..."

"Raphael?"

April sighed, "I was going to say 'someone better' but now that you said that...Raphael would never treat her the way this guy does." April shook her head in disgust. She bit her bottom lip, contemplating whether or not to tell Donnie. Of course, he could keep a secret, but maybe not one as big as this one. "I want to tell you something."

Shifting himself in his seat, he cleared his throat and prepared himself for whatever she was about to tell him. "I'm listening,"

"But you can't tell anyone. And I'm only telling you because I..." she swallowed. "Trust you more than anyone."

"My lips are always sealed."

April went back to her seat, tucking her legs underneath her. Donnie turned his body towards her, feeling a little nervous. "When Luis was drinking, Neil told me that Luis didn't like Lillian hanging out with Neil even though he has a boyfriend and Lillian is faithful. Luis came home when they were secretly hanging out, and flipped out. Neil said he was ready to fight him but only left because of Lillian begging him to leave."

"He left? I don't care what reason she gave him, I would have stayed and kicked his ass."

April grabbed his hand and smiled, "I would too. So he leaves," she continued. "Later on that day, Lillian came over to his house because Luis had kicked her out."

Donnie raised his eye ridges in shock, "Kicked her out?"

"That's not even the worst part!" April squeezed his hand, "I don't know why...she went back to him but... Lillian was kicked out and he said she had bruises all over her."

"Are you serious?" Donnie gasped.

"Yes," April said, her voice cracking. "This man is not good for Lillian. Neil said he's changed since he stopped drinking but it looks like he's going back to his controlling ways. Don," she said softly, bringing his hand to her cheek. "I don't know what to do."

Donnie cupped her cheek, his heartbreaking at the cracking of her voice and the tears filling her eyes. Sighing, he pulled her onto his lap and held her. What was he supposed to say? There wasn't a right answer... Well, there was. Lillian is safer if she left but... It's not up to April or anyone for that matter, but Lillian, to leave this man.

April was just frustrated and scared. All she wanted was to be heard and be held. She was lucky to have that but as much as she wanted to think about how safe she felt in his arms, she couldn't help but worry about Lillian.

"I think the only thing you can do is remind Lillian that she has somewhere to go and that you love her. With relationships like this it's important to let Lillian know, no matter how she thinks, she will always be our family." Donnie comforted, his hands rubbing her back. "You are a good friend for worrying. Don't doubt that."

"I feel like I'm not because she's not safe and I'm not saying anything."

Donnie looked down at her, "Then you should tell Lilly how you feel. If she loves you she'll understand."

"But she loved Ian! And look-"

Donnie's shushed her, "I know it feels like a risk, but if you feel a certain way you should tell her. I know she'd tell you if she felt any type of way about anything."

April wiped her eyes and pulled away from him, sitting back on the couch. "I wish I were as brave as you think I am."

Donnie scoffed in disbelief, almost angered by that comment. "April, you levitated a truck and threw it at the shredder. You are brave."

April pulled her legs up to her chest, sniffing softly. "Donnie,"

Donnie smiled, she looked like the young girl he fell for. "What's up?"

She looked at him, "I love you,"

Donnie straightened his posture, a little shocked but then again, this isn't the first time she's said this to him...first time sober, definitely... He smiled, his heart flipping in his chest while every muscle in his body tried its best not to melt. "I love you, too."

April wanted to compose herself and then jump into his arm, but before she even thought of that, her phone in her back pocket began to ring. She pulled it out, gasping when she saw Lillian's number. "It's her." She said before answering. "Hello?"

"April, I have to tell you something but before I do I want to say how sorry I am for leaving you and Neil alone just to go to some stupid party I didn't even want to go to in the first place."

April smiled, sighing in relief. "I know you didn't have a choice. It's okay. I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Oh... Then you go first."

"Huh? No, you called me, you talk."

"Okay, well...Ian called me."

April choked, reached her hand out to smack Donnie in the arm. "What?" She gasped.

Donnie winced, holding her hand to stop her from hitting him. "What happened?"

"He called me and he told me he got my number from Neil. He's..." Lillian chuckled. April could tell she was emotional by the underlying whimper in her voice. "He's in New York and wants to meet up."

April snatched her hand out of Donnie's grip just to continue smacking him in his chest, mouthing the words 'oh my god'. "He is!"

"Ow, what happened?" Donnie whispered sharply.

"Yes, and... I wanted to say no because I know Luis is not going to like me seeing him. But-"

"Lilly, I know your relationship with your family is a little broken right now, but Ian practically raised you. He loves you more than anything. I think that bond should be repaired." April argued. Donnie finally gasped when he understood what was going on. Squeezing her hand for a moment before kissing her knuckle, he decided to get April a drink. April cupped his face before he left.

"I don't know... I don't want to hear the reasons why I shouldn't be with Luis. I am going to marry him and that's that." She spat.

April felt her heart drop, the feeling of maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell her how she felt smashed into her like a ton of bricks. She shut her eyes and placed a hand over her heart. "Okay..." she whispered. "M-Maybe, he just wants to see what you're up too."

"I hope so. But...I need you there with me. I know it may be last minute because it's this Sunday, but I really-"

"Say less! Of course, I'll be there with you. Let me see how Ian looks now that I'm of age." She joked playfully. Donnie winced before turning around to glare at her, "I'm kidding, D. You're my one and only, you know that."

"Oh shit, you're with Donnie? I'm so sorry. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." Lillian added quickly. "I'll let you go."

"No, no...we were just watching a movie and talking. Nothing was interrupted." April told her. "Lillian, I've been wanting to talk to you but I don't want you to get mad."

"Get mad? Why would I get mad?" Lillian asked.

Donnie returned from the kitchen, quickly rushing over to the couch without spilling the drinks in his hand when April waved him over.

"Listen..." April sighed, grabbing a hold of the drink. "I know you don't want to hear this and I am not trying to dictate your life, but I just want to know if you're okay?"

Lillian chuckled, "Okay? Of course, I am. I'm a little shook from that call from Ian but that's-"

"I wasn't talking about Ian." April took a deep breath, looking over at Donnie for some encouragement. "I was wondering if you and Luis are okay. If he's been okay with you…"

Lillian was silent for a while, "Why?"

April frowned at her tone, she sounded angry, but she didn't want to assume… "Well, because I don't hear from you regularly, I mean, last time I heard from you was yesterday when you told me where to go see you walk. I was just worried that-"

"That Luis wasn't letting me talk to you?"

April shook her head, staring helplessly at Donnie. "I'm just wondering-"

"Well, if you're trying to say Luis doesn't want me to talk to you, you're wrong. I have a busy schedule, April. I'm sorry I don't talk to you as often as you think I should-"

April held a hand to her forehead, "No, no, I'm not saying you should talk to me, I'm just-"

"Luis doesn't talk about you believe it or not. And everything I have, everything I am right now is because of his sacrifices. He's even thinking about quitting his job, so he can be my manager full time." Lillian defended.

"Lillian, I'm sorry-"

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I don't talk to you a lot, but I have a career. It's me, not Luis."

April sighed, her voice trembling in fear. "Please don't be mad at me. It was only a stupid thought of mine." Donnie began to shake his head at this, reaching over to grab her phone but April moved away, standing up from the couch. "I'm sorry… Forget I ever said anything."

Lillian sighed, "I'm not mad… Luis may be a lot of things, but he's not a bad guy when you actually get to know him."

April groaned internally, the last thing she wanted to do was get to know him. Her gut was never wrong, and it was yelling at her every time she was near that man. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Donnie whispered. "You're not doing anything wrong."

"It's okay, April. I'll forget about it. Do you still want to come on Sunday?"

"Of course I do. I'll see you then."

"Bye…"

April clutched the phone to her chest, "Damnit!" She yelled.

Donnie grabbed the cup of juice out of her hand, it didn't seem like she needed anything to drink anyways. He set the cup on the table before heading back to April, gathering her in his arms right before she could break down. Donnie wanted to call Lillian back and in all honesty...yell at her! Yell at her for making April feel this way, for making April doubt her feelings were even logical or valid! She shouldn't be crying just because she was worried about a friend.

April knew this was going to happen. She knew it and she still went along and told her anyways. Why was she so terrified to lose someone who's left her before? Why was she crying over Lillian? Now she knew for sure just how Lillian would react if she were to tell her about her true feelings towards Luis...it would push Lillian away...

Why was she so scared to lose her?

uh-oh, at least Ian is back right? Anyways, let me know how what you think of the chapter and if you read my note about the prequel to this, let me know what you think about that too. I won't be posting as often since I am a full-time student now and I want to get the hell out of here so that is my main focus. I'll post whenever I get some free time but until then, see you later!