Disclaimer: See the Introduction please for all information regarding this story. Thanks! Oh yeah, please read and review!

The sound of loud music drifted through Lily's consciousness as she lazily rolled over and hit the button on her alarm clock. As the music stopped, she stretched her arms and yawned widely. Pulling back the blankets of her small bed she set her feet lightly on the floor and made her way slowly over to her window. When she opened the curtains, the sunlight hit her eyes, and she squinted slightly as she looked out over the city. A small smile lit up her face as she saw the way the sun hit the rooftops. She turned slightly to get a good look at her alarm clock and sighed deeply as she saw that it read 9:25 am. She took in a deep breath and made her way into her small bathroom to take a quick shower.

20 minutes later she emerged from the bathroom with a small amount of steam escaping from behind her. Opening her dresser she chose a baby blue t-shirt, and a pair of khaki shorts. She slipped them on quickly and turned to her door.

She opened it quietly and looked down the hall, the door was open and she breathed a slight sigh of relief. If the door was open, it usually meant that her godparents had left for the day. She took her time down the stairs and entered the kitchen soundlessly. Just as she had taken out the cereal box from the cupboard she heard the phone ringing from the other room. She set the box on the table and ran to pick it up the phone. As her hands gripped the receiver she tried to prepare herself for the barrage she was about to receive from her godmother, Diane Fontaine.

She picked up the phone and, as she predicted, a flow of words spewed from the phone. "Who do you think you are! I've been calling all morning! And locking your door! How dare you, and in our house! What's wrong with you!" Lily bit her lip out of nervousness and pulled the phone a little ways away from her ear. From the other end of the phone, Lily could hear her godmother explaining the yelling she was doing, to her boss. "It's just my goddaughter, she's been such trouble lately. You know how it is?" She heard Diane laugh in her fake tone and then there was silence. When she began speaking again, it was in a harsh whisper. "Explain yourself now or there is going to be hell to pay when Eric gets home." Lily openly cringed at the mention of her godfather's name. She remembered, vividly, the last time she had done something to anger Eric, she still had the scars.

"I didn't realize I h-had locked the door" Lily stuttered. A cold laugh came from the other end of the line. "Don't lie to me. I know you're not an idiot, far from it. I want the truth!" Her voice raised a little at the end and Lily shuttered. "I really did f-forget. I'm so s-sorry I didn't mean to, really!" Her voice picked up as well and she heard a sigh escape from Diane. "You had better be telling me the truth, little girl. If not, well, it won't be good for you." Diane hung up the phone and all Lily now heard was the sound of the dial tone. She let out a breathe she didn't know she had been holding and headed back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, while she was eating her cereal, Lily distinctly heard the mailman at the front door. She looked over her shoulder but went back to eating instead. After washing, drying and putting away her bowl and spoon she made her way outside into the warm morning. She could surmise quickly that it was almost eighty degrees already, judging from the heat waves that seemed to be coming from the tar. She took a step onto the stone landing and turned to the mailbox. She removed its contents and took another step to go back inside. However, before she made it through the threshold, she noticed a letter on the doormat. It was tilted to one side and one of the corners was dented, almost as if someone had thrown it at the door. She laughed lightly to herself as she thought of someone throwing a stupid letter at the door, she figured the mailman must have dropped it when he delivered the other letters. She picked it up and was about to drop it into the mailbox so that the mailman could deliver it later to whoever's it rightfully was, when she noticed the green ink seemed to catch the sun and shine at her. As she examined it more closely she noticed that it was her name that had been written with the green ink.

Lillian took in her breath sharply and looked over her shoulders suspiciously. She only had one real friend, and she knew that Charlotte wouldn't write a letter to her when she could use the phone. Besides, Charlotte didn't even own green ink.

She turned her attention back to the heavy piece of parchment in her hand and looked at it closely. All it read was:

Ms. L. Fontaine

The smallest room in the house

11 Stewart Street

Lafayette

Louisiana

For a moment Lily just stood there staring at it. She turned it over and all she saw was a dark red wax with a strange stamp on it. Her hands were shaking slightly and her breathing was becoming somewhat shallow. She laughed a mirthless laugh and went into the house. As she walked to the kitchen she had a feeling of detachment from the world. She sat down heavily and continued to stare at the letter. She memorized every detail of the entire envelope before she turned it over and placed her fingers on the wax. Just as she was about to break the seal, the phone rang. Lily jumped lightly in her seat and she gasped. She looked once more at the envelope before setting it on the table and getting up to get the phone.

She lifted the receiver and a large smile spread across her face as she recognized Charlotte's voice from the other end. "Hey, I thought we were going to meet at the park?" Lily hit herself in the forehead with her palm and laughed. "I'm really sorry Charlie. Do you still want to meet?" She heard a loud laugh and smiled wider. "Of course I do, what else do I have to do today?" "Alright I'll be there in 10 minutes. Oh, and hey, I have something I want to show you, okay?" Lily noticed that her voice was shaking slightly. Charlotte's voice faltered as well. "Sure Lily, are you okay? Did something happen?" A small amount of rage escaped in Charlotte's concern. "I'm fine Charlie, really." "Alright" Charlie answered with apprehension. "Well, I'll see you in 10 minutes then" Charlie said somewhat unsurely. "10 minutes, I'll be there." Lily hung up the phone and turned to look back into the kitchen. She walked over and snatched the letter off the table. As she picked it up she noticed something she didn't notice before. There was a slight weight coming from the corner of the envelope. She frowned at it slightly and shook it. The paper inside rustled against something as she held it up to her ear. She brought it down again and slipped it into her pocket. She turned to her left and looked at the clock on the television V.C.R. and hesitated slightly before heading for the door. 'As long as I'm back by 1:30' she thought to herself as she made her way quickly down the street, leaving the slight click of the door as it closed shut behind her.