So, another chapter...I know that I should actually not concentrate on the story but on my essay, but...I'm just trying to avoid writing that essay. I haven't even started, yet, and I got only three weeks left...I'm busted!

Have fun reading!

Please review!

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Wanted: Reassurance

Closing the window the monitor of the computer showed her, Lilly let her eyes wander over the garage. From her desk, she had a good view on pretty much each activity happening within the working area and the drive. Of course, she could not see the backyard, yet, she had figured a long time ago that watching all of the visitors playing around in the pool or entertaining themselves in every possible way, would only distract her even more from work.

In the office, there was her computer and her desk, simply because the pc was used for nothing but her paint programmes and in the drawers of the desk was nothing but all kinds of pens, pencils, crayons and markers which, evidently, belonged to the girl. She was always eager to save each of her files as soon as possible after having drawn them on paper beforehand, due to her knowing that, once she did not keep up with it, she would lost track of her designs or it would be so much to type in that she no longer felt like doing so.

It was 4:54 in the afternoon, Tej's Garage had shut its gate for customers 54 minutes ago, nonetheless, by judging the noise coming from the backyard, Lilly guessed there still had to be about fourty people around, not willing to leave.

The next day would be Sunday, this meant no work for the crew, however, the guys usually used the time to work on their own cars. Diego had asked Lilly, if she would come to spray his car and the blonde had agreed, after all, Brian had not forbidden her to do her job. She would just go to Tej's, spray the car and return home. No fun, only work.

Nothing the bastard can worry about, Lilly rolled her eyes, hating the thought of being grounded for doing something for the first time that he knew of, when she was aware of the fact that Brian had, more than once, even gone so far to drive races while being drunk. She considered it unfair. She did not understand why her older brother forbid her to do things he was doing right in front of her without her complaining – most of the time. Normally, the girl would tell him that it was not alright to drive races when not being completely focused.

Talking about Brian being a 'rolemodel'. Hell, I'd never get to see the outside of our apartment, if I decided to behave the way he does all the time. He just has this damn attitude! He shall fuck his bloody knee! I don't care for what he says, I didn't do anything wrong and tonight, I'm so gonna go with Mouse to Phoenix to have some fun! Brian will be at the races, therefore, he won't come home before two or three o'clock in the morning. Enough time for me to sneak out and back in. And the ballet course tomorrow won't be a problem, either. Brian always sleeps till it's afternoon. Class begins at nine and ends at twelve. But going to Mona's afterwards might be tricky. I'll go there with Marisa and Sugar, who'd both drive me home, I guess. So, if we stayed at Mona's for an hour, I'd be home a little after one o'clock. Of course, I gotta lock my room and leave through the window for Brian not noticing anything, but otherwise than that, she shrugged, I am a very lucky girl that my brother is so busy with the races and showing Rome around and them finding the proper place to open up a garage. This makes getting away so much easier for me, even easier than it already was before! Although, I really need to think about something considering Monday and Tuesday. I got ballet on Monday and I actually wanted to go to Salsa on Tuesday. And, of course, the basketball match in the evening! This will be tough but I'll manage, I always did before and I'll do now. My only problem right now is Brian. I'm mad at him, mad like I haven't been for some time, but I can't do anything against it! I'd like to piss him off so very much, right now, however, this would only equal more grounding! I swear that, if I don't get to let my anger out by dancing every day from now until Wednesday, I'll do something to him he's gonna make me pay for. I can't wait for the glorious day when I will finally turn eighteen and be able to live on my own. Well, I guess I'm already able to live on my own, just not allowed. Big difference, there, cause, although being able to do pretty much everything necessary for survival, I'm not allowed to do it. Because of Brian. My big brother. The bastard who grounded me.Grounded me for doing something he does himself each week! The blonde girl picked up her bag lying on the floor next to her desk. She looked into it to check whether or not the contents were still the same than they had been this morning. So far, Lilly had smoked two cigarettes, today.

And only because of Brian! After having taken the carrier of the bag over her left shoulder, she switched off the computer and was about to leave the office when she saw a person approaching the little room.

Speaking of the devil, she thought, eying Brian how he walked into the working area of the garage. By now, his gray trunks had dried and he was wearing his orange shirt again.

Lilly shut the door leading into the office from the outside, waiting for his reason to come over.

"Hey",he stopped a yard in front of her, "you done with work?"

"Yeah, almost",she replied, her voice indifferent, "I still gotta talk to Tej about some things."

"Okay, so",the man shrugged, "you'll just do that and go home, then?"

The blonde bit her tongue, knowing exactly what her brother had implied. He had not only asked her, if she would just do that and go home, then, no, he had asked her, if she had nothing else to do before going home, like apologizing to him.

"Yeah",she said while beginning to stroll lazily into the direction of the backyard, "I'll just do that and go home, then. Why?"

"Nothing",Brian narrowed his eyes the moment he followed her.

So, she's still pissed and she doesn't want to apologize to me. Great! I bet she won't approve when I want to go home together with her. Oh man, I know her well enough, she needs some more time. Maybe this evening or tomorrow, she'll realize that I'm right on this. She's sensible enough for that. It was just the surprise that made her angry at me, I guess, cause I didn't say anything when we came home this morning. At least, she's not really bitching around, she's merely acting like some one who's pissed off, she'll come down soon, though. I hope, Brian watched how his sister entered the backyard, immediately searching for Tej still sitting on one of the white chairs, yelling through his megaphone at the people on the jet-skies.

Slowly, Lilly went over to her employer, whereas Brian looked around, seeing many others having their eyes on his younger sister's body.

Today, she had tucked her hair underneath a baseball hat, therefore, the curves she had to offer were not covered the way they were when she wore her hair open or braided.

Several men eyed her as though she was prey and they the predators. The blonde did not appreciate them lusting after her. Several women began to whisper things to each other, aware of the fact that the guys were no longer paying attention to them but to the teenager, even if it was only for the split of a second, because nobody wanted it to become too obvious what they were truly thinking of the girl. They were afraid. Of Brian. Each of them knew just how protective he was about his baby. The women did not dare to talk shit about her due to them not wanting to lose their chances with him, while the guys were fearing the older brother's wrath. He would definitely kill anybody messing around with his baby.

Eventually, Brian saw Lilly stopping next to Tej who pulled her onto his lap by taking one of her hands gently ino his. He put down the megaphone he had been holding and, all of the sudden, Lilly smiled at him.

Brian frowned. He had not seen his younger sister smile only once today and now, she was giving Tej one of her most charming and happy ones which Brian had not been receiving for over a week.

Apparently, Tej must have said something amusing, the young man could merely see his friend's back, but his younger sister cracked up in a fit of laughter.

Somehow, this picture made Brian feel strange. He could not quite put his finger on it, yet, there were definitely some emotions moving inside of his chest. Not being able to categorize them, the man tried to push them aside and joined his friends.

"...so I'll come tomorrow to spray Diego's. Don't worry, ya know that I'll write down the paint I used for it",Lilly told Tej.

"Ah, drop it, Chica, my crew, I dona worry",Tej grinned, "I really like that hat o yars, ya know? Kinda Urban, Hip Hip, suits ya well."

"What do you want me to do for you, Parker?"The girl leant forwards, the weigh of her upper body supported on her arms. She was pushing herself off the arm rests while raising one of her eyebrows questioningly.

"I want nothing but a happy Chica",he responded.

"Yeah, right",Lilly rolled her eyes, leaving the man's lap, "I'ma go home, then."

"Got yarself a date at yar party? Alright,"his dark eyes sparkled.

"Maybe",she smiled again, "see ya."

"Soon, girl",Tej watched the girl walking back into the garage, past her older brother whom she did not even seem to acknowledge. The blonde came over, sitting down on an empty chair standing next to Tej's.

"Have ya seen the shit she did to Shane's ride? That's some tight, dawg, blowing off, I tell ya, gonna get lotsa looks",Tej sensed the tension in his friend, therefore, he tried to ease it somehow by talking about a topic certainly being able to distract the other man: another reason for him to be proud of his younger sibling. Brian just loved to show her off, his pride always seemed to grow whenever somebody would mention her having done a good job.

"No, man, haven't seen it, yet",the blonde rubbed his hands, eying the jet-skies.

"What's it with ya guys, today, man? She ain't like that only cos she's red."

Brian shook his head no. "Ya wouldn't understand, man, ya got no younger siblings. She's my sis, I know her, I'll manage."

"If ya say so",Tej shrugged, taking a sip of his Corona, "she got me 25 at Rigo's, today. Marco said dey had some new rides, man, some Chica might like."

"So?"The blonde looked at him as though he was waiting. "Why ya telling me? Her ride, her choice. She never wanted anything different."

"Whoa, bruh, y'alrigh'?"He eyed the other one suspiciously. "Am I talking to Bullitt, here? The man who would get'er a toy in a sec? The man who's been about to win a fucking car for over ten damn times? That Bullitt?"

"Yeah, man, y'are",Brian cracked a half-hearted smile, "but there are no good rides around town, right now. Just your everyday shit that ya can't get around the next best corner, nothing special there."

"Waiting for the goodies, righ'? Our girl deserves some special, though."

Well, man, you don't know that my baby's grounded. As for the deserving part, maybe in a week or so, after she made up for the mistake, then, I can think about getting her a car, again. I gotta get her something special, though, something unique. If I got her a car now, she would only get the impression of me being sorry for the grounding, but I ain't. She didn't follow the rules, so there she goes.

"I'll give it some time, now that Shane's got his own, she might want one, too",Brian leant against the back rest of his chair, "she won't wanna stay behind, ya know?"

"Ai, I know that, man",Tej grinned, "have ya heard about the action earlier? When Suki's bro was giving her some fire?"

"Yeah, Jimmy told me. Seems like he got her quite mad."

"That kid was getting everybody mad, dawg! But he backed off after she's done with him. Big boy's been all nice and silent, then. Fortune is, we got done with his baby, today, so he won't be freaking on us on Monday."

"Yo, he riding tonight? I could use the cash",Brian's eyes gleamed evilly.

"Yeah, man, he's in the fith."

The blonde looked at his watch, then around to see the party in Tej's backyard slowly dying down.

"I gotta go, bro, catch some sleep for the night, ya know?"He rose from his chair.

"Gotcha, dawg, see ya later",Tej watched the other man leaving, before picking up his megaphone standing next to his right ankle.

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Home sweet home, Lilly rolled her ice blue eyes while climbing up the stairs to the apartment, he's better not annoying me here, too. I still gotta figure out how to get to Phoenix. I'll just send Mouse a message. It was a good move not to tell Brian anything about me owning a cell phone, that way, he can't forbid me to use it!

The girl was about to open the door of their apartment, when something caught her attention: a package standing on the floor right in front of the door.

She frowned and looked around before bending down.

On the packet, there was her name written in straight letters. Apparently, it was a hand writing, yet, it seemed like a professional calligrapher had formed the straight letters with black ink.

Holding the package in her hands, Lilly weighed it. It was not all too haevy, not even a pound. It was the size of a shoe box. She shook it and heard some rattling on the inside.

"Wht the fuck...?"The blonde eyed the item suspiciously. It was addressed to her, however, there was only her name written onto it, not her actual address and she could not recall ever having seen this hand writing.

"Who would send me a gift?"She murmured while unlocking the door. "Who would send me a gift? It ain't my birthday, I don't think I won anything, either, so what is this?"

By now, the girl had reached her room. After having locked her door to prevent Brian from coming in, she let her bag fall down to the floor, kicked off her shoes, took off her socks and sat down on her bed, the package in her lap.

"Why me and why now? Did I forget about anything? No, I didn't. Ah fuck",Lilly began to unwrap it, only to reveal a cream white box. The girl lifted up the cover.

"Now that's strange",she frowned. Within the box, there was a pair of shoes. A pair of black high heels. Black Manolo Blahnik high heels. Lilly gasped when seeing the silver imprint in the soles. So far, the blonde owned only two pairs of Manolos due to her knowing how expenisve they were, however, her Manolos made her feet look great and she could dance forever on them without her feet killing her.

"But who the hell would send me Manolos!"They even were her size!

Suddenly, the girl noticed a letter lying on the ground of the box. She putthe shoes aside before opening the letter.

Inside of the envelope, she found nothing but a folded paper and a little note saying 'Congratulations'.

Still confused, Lilly unfolded the other paper which was a copy of her report card.

"O.Kay",she laid the papers back into the box, "this is definitely more than strange."

She eyed the shoes.

"Definitely more than strange, but then again, you can't put Manolo Blahniks into a category. Damn these are some hot! Yet",Lilly felt her inner Brian lecturing her. You shall not accept any gifts, if you don't know where they come from.

"So what am I supposed to do? And how did this person get a copy of my report card? The only people having seen it are the guys, Suki, the others at school and...no, that was it, nobody else. Why would anybody want to get my report card? Who would have the possibili...",a thought occured to the girl's mind, however, she shook it off, "no, this can't be. It cannot be him, he ain't even out. He's in jail, his trial is in a coupla days, he wouldn't risk anything", Lilly bit her lower lip hard, "it cannot be him...but then again, he always sent me clothes...no, it can't be, no. The guy's outta my life. He's far away, locked up behind some iron. No, no, no",all of the sudden, the memories of Carter Verone touching her appeared in front of her inner eye", no, no, no, it can't be him, no! I'm only imagining this. Don't freak, Lilly, come down. Breath. Calm down. And even if it is from him, he only did it to get you react like this. He would want me to freak, so come down. Cool, now, come down, come down."

Lilly took several deep breaths, then, she put the shoes back into the box, closed it, folded the wrapping paper together, laid it on top of the box and picked everything up to put it down to the left of her bed, where the bed was not standing directly next to the wall but there was an empty space of about twenty inches between the bed and the wall because, at times, Lilly liked to sit down there for sketching or reading.

So, she just put the box there, not willing to worry about it right now.

I have to get rid of it, she thought, later, when Brian's not around to notice. I ain't gonna keep anything might coming from him. Who does he think he is! I'll go to that trial, give evidence and that pervert's not gonna see the sun for some time...I hope. I know that he's gonna come out, one way or another. Brian knows it, too, but he doesn't talk about it in front of me. He wants me to feel safe. Ha, 'safe'! I'd feel safer, if Brian decided to discuss things with me. As a former cop, he still knows better about such things than I do. I should talk to him about it...later on.

Lilly leant back against her pillow when she heard the door of their apartment being opened and shut.

Brian had come home.

She listened.

He walked into his room, then, a little later, into the kitchen. Some glass rang, so she guessed he had taken a bottle out of the fridge. Several steps. Silence. The TV was switched on. Again, several steps. The sounds of the TV changed. What the girl supposed to have been a commercial changed into the sounds of revving engines and spinning tires.

He must be playing Need For Speed, then, Lilly started to take out the bobby pins holding her hat in place, laid them on her nightstand and did the same with her baseball hat. She felt tired.

I better set my alarm before I don't get to write an SMS to Mouse in time, the blonde girl leant over to her alarm clock, it's almost half past five, we won't go till eleven. We might ride at eleven, but we'll still go into some bar before to Phoenix, I guess. So, let's say I sleep till seven or eight...yeah, that's enough. Coupla Cokes afterwards and I'm on. Yay, sleep, yay.

Lilly pushed the tiny buttons, set the alarm and cuddled herself into her bed.

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That's it!

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Thanks for reading!