OK all, here it is. I'd like to thank all who reviewed ::passes out muffins:: I have to give two to my friend God because she guessed Lily's secret. Oh! Big merci to MaureentheDramaQueen because of her nice e-mail. Go read "Friendship is thicker than Blood" and review. Still don't own 'em except for Lily and her parents. Happy New Year!
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"Always"
The car slowed to a stop and he roused her. They went up the stairs and Collins staggered into the bedroom. He could not even reach the bed, but collapsed into the recliner beside it fully clothed. Lily and Angel went into the bathroom and washed of their makeup, then changed into sleep clothes. Angel let Lily borrow one of Collins' enormous T-shirts. They both climbed into the bed and he closed his eyes.
"Angel?" she whispered when she was sure Collins slept.
"Mm-hm…?" he mumbled.
"I love you."
He kissed her and opened them again.
"I'm so glad you didn't forget me."
"What! How could I forget my baby cousin? That's impossible."
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, look at you. You're doing wonderfully. You're in love and you've got this bunch of really great friends. I feel like such a small part of your life now. God, your life's going so great. And mine…mine's going down the crapper."
Now Angel was worried. He'd never seen her like this before.
"Why, Lily? Why is your life going so bad?"
Lily screwed up her slippery courage and began to tell him the truth. It was harder than she'd ever imagined. But she looked into his soft eyes and saw that it would be all right.
"Oh, Jesus Christ, where do I start? Ah, well, remember how I told you I was vacationing? Well, I kind of lied to you. I ran away from Connecticut and I'm living with a few people I met over the internet. At first they were okay but now…"
And the words erupted out of her like a volcano. She told him everything, her room mates' bad treatment, the drugs, the sex. When she'd finished, Angel was leaning on his elbow with his mouth hanging open. His mind began to play every horrible thing that could have or had happened to her. But he was determined not to get upset. She was obviously reaching out to him and if he got too worried he wouldn't be of any help.
"You did all this to find me?" he asked stupidly and she nodded.
He drew a deep breath.
"Why'd you run away, honey? Did something happen to you?"
Tears filled her eyes. She tried to tell him, but all that came out was a soft sob. He pulled her close and rocked her in his arms.
"It's okay, baby, it's okay. Just relax and tell me all about it."
"Will it make a difference between us?" her voice was terrified.
"How could anything ever make a difference?"
Her big green eyes searched his face and found only kindness and love. She gulped back her tears and whispered:
"I'm a lesbian, Angel."
To her immense relief, he nodded slowly. He nestled her closer and she inhaled that peaches-and-cinnamon scent as he buried her face in his warm soft chest. Warm tears tumbled from her stinging eyes.
"Have you told your parents?" asked Angel.
She shook her head.
"After what happened to you I felt that if I didn't want to live a lie, then I had to leave. God knows if I came to them they'd just throw me out anyway. I knew if I found you you'd understand."
Angel did understand. His family was the biggest bunch of chauvinists. If they found out their precious Lillian was a dyke their reputation would be in jeopardy.
"And there's one last thing…"
"What, sugar?"
"Well, my friends needed me to get a job so I could chip in for the rent. The only one I could find was…well…I'm a dancer at The Cat Scratch Club. I got the job about four days ago. I didn't want to do it, but they would have kicked me out."
Angel could hear the shame in her voice. He knew that she really felt disgusted with herself.
"The stripper job's only until I can get my own place and get settled here. I don't ever want to go back to Westport."
He looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't fooling around. She was willing to be abused and alone as long as she didn't have to go home.
"Honey, you can't stay in the city," he sighed. "I know you're mature but you're only fifteen. You've got to go home."
"Why? Aren't you happy to have me here with you?"
"Of course I am, but this isn't about me. I'm concerned about you. There are a million reasons why you can't stay. For one thing, you've got to go to school-"
She cut him off.
"I'm gonna enroll in PS 211. It's only ten minutes from my building."
"For another thing, those people you're living with are hurting you."
He wiped a tear from her bruised face.
"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew you were being abused and I could protect you."
"It's all worth it," she assured him. "If I get to be with you then I'll be able to deal."
His mouth fell open again. He couldn't believe the devotion with which she said this.
"My beautiful Tiger Lily," he whispered.
"You'll still love me no matter what happens, won't you, Angel?" she asked.
It was a real question. She needed his reassurance. He planted a kiss on her face and lowered her head onto his chest.
"Yes, mi amore, always. Now, you need to sleep. Things will look better in the morning."
Lily sighed contentedly. Lulled by the sound of Angel's heartbeat, sleep overtook her.
************************
"Look, I don't want your excuses, detective! My only daughter has been missing for four weeks!" Nikki Dumott screamed at the officer assigned to Lily's disappearance.
"Mrs. Dumott, please try to understand, these things take far longer than a month. You have to give us time to get more evidence."
The argument was interrupted when Mr. Dumott entered the living room. His face was pale and drawn. In his trembling hand he held a one subject notebook.
"Nikki," he whispered. "You have to read this."
He sat down on the couch and opened the book to the last entry and read aloud.
"February 1, 1997
Five minutes to liberation! Smack's gonna be here soon and then I'm gone. Fuck Westport! I'm headed for the East Village. I'm not gonna grow up a snobby yuppie scum bitch. This'll be the first day of the rest of my life."
He finished and Mrs. Dumott let out a wail.
"My baby's run away!"
Her husband put his face in his hands.
"How could this have happened? How the hell does a fifteen year old girl get to New York City by herself?"
"Okay, so we've deduced that she's gone to New York," the detective said taking out a notepad. "Any idea why she chose that particular location?"
The parents racked their brains.
"No," they both murmured after a moment.
"Did she hint at anything to either of you?"
Another "No."
"Were there any changes in personality to suggest she was hiding something from you?"
They looked at each other.
"We didn't really speak much with her," Mrs. Dumott said. "We're very busy, you know, what with my husband's job and my social obligations. She'd always been left in the care of a nanny. But she did several very odd things to her appearance before she left."
"Such as?"
"Well, she sold away all her clothes and bought an entirely new wardrobe-"
"-Mostly black leather and denim."
"Yes, and she started wearing a lot more makeup too."
God, these people have really forgotten what it's like to be fifteen, the detective thought. These are just acts of regular teenage rebellion.
"But the most recent thing was when she dyed her hair."
The officer rolled his eyes and flipped through the pages.
"Yes that's here.
January 18, 1996
I have had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!! It happened when I went to CVS today to pick up a tube of black lipstick. So I'm walking through the store and I see this killer orange hair dye. I had this vision. Me with that as my base color with black streaks. So, what's black and orange and makes me feel good all over? Tiger lilies, duh! It's Angel's birthday next week. I think I'll dye my hair by then to remind Mom and Dad."
There was another short silence. The parents looked dumbfounded. Obviously they had found their answer in this entry.
"Do you think that's where she is?" Mr. Dumott asked. "With…him?"
"Well, last she heard he was living in the East Village, so it could be."
"You think you might know where she is then?" the detective asked.
"Possibly," the mother answered. "You see, my sister's child…that is my sister's ex-child, she disowned him a few years ago because he was-" She broke off and looked around as though someone was watching, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "-A homosexual."
She shook her head sadly. The detective fought the urge to ask, "So what?" The mother went on.
"He moved to New York City after that. Lillian was devastated. She and he had been very close. They furtively wrote each other for a while, for we had forbidden her to remain in contact with him. We were only trying to protect her you see. So when we found out, we had no choice but to confiscate the letters. We think she may have gone to see him."
"I see. So what do you intend to do?"
Just then, the phone rang, interrupting their conversation.
"Hello," the maid answered in her thick Spanish accent. Then she turned to them.
"Sir, it is Mr. Coffin. He says he must be speaking with you."
"Tell him it's not a good time, Rosa."
She complied, and then turned again.
"He says it is about Miss Lillian."
The father immediately got up and ran to the phone.
"Benjamin."
"Sam, how are you? Listen, I was in New York yesterday checking on a few tenants and I ran into your daughter."
"Oh, dear god, are you serious?"
"Yes. It seems she's staying with your…nephew? I couldn't get her to come with me but I was thinking that if you…"
"Yes, yes, of course. Listen; can you give me his address?"
"I'm going back there tomorrow. I'll take you and Nikki if you'd like."
"Yes." The father sounded on the verge of tears. "Of course. Thank you, Benjamin."
OK there ya go. Michelle, now you may attack Benny. In fact, I'll join you. ::pulls out spork:: Review please! ::runs off::
