The day was coming to its end, darkness taking over the city and being broken as the street lights turned on. On a sidewalk near Palomino St, a blonde girl walked alone; her hands into her pockets and a cigarette in her lips. This place was popularly known as "East Park"; one of the most beautiful places in town. In the day, the perfectly shaped trees along with the pink flowers alongside the paths made it look like those incredibly beautiful anime gardens. In the night, the chinese lamps along with the little lights on the roofs illuminate the place with a beautiful sight.

Lily took a drag of the cigarette, held a few moments and then let out a cloud of smoke. The time was 21:00 hours; too late to be outside but too early to go to bed. Maybe she should go home, get in her room, lock the door and blast the music through her headphones, at least until she's asleep. Maybe she should go see Bonnie and spend the night with her; Bonnie was her girlfriend, and sometimes she and Lily sleep together when the Loud girl was having problems with her family or when Bonnie's parents were not at home. She took out her cell phone and tried to contact her.

"Hey Bonny-Bun" Lily typed the nickname she gave to her friend, then pressed the send button, and after a couple of minutes she received a reply.

"Hey, Lily-loli, what's up?" Bonnie replied.

"Lily-loli? Hahahaha what's that?"

"Shut up! I still can't find a name that fits you."

"And I don't think you will."

"Whatever. What's up?

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"You mind if I bunk with you tonight?"

"I would love it, but my parents are home."

"Oh, I see…"

"Don't worry love, I'll hang with you tomorrow, kay?"

"Ok, good night."

"Sleep well."

Lily put the phone away. It looked like she'd have to sleep in her house, nice.

She didn't let that fact ruin her moment; the park was a very beautiful place in the night, with decorative Chinese lamps hanging from the ceiling and the people around walking close, holding hands and laughing. It was really nice, that place made her feel like there were still good things in this joke called reality. However, she could not stay there, or sleep there, and that made her sad.

She walked for about twenty minutes, noticing how the sky went completely dark as she arrived at a place where she didn't want to be. She hated her house for many reasons, and one of them was that every time her mother comes home from work, she comes with a bottle of wine and with a face that told her that things would get bad. And whenever that happens, it also means that she would be the one in charge of making dinner. Lily was resented with her sisters and her mother, but deep inside her, buried in a tomb of sadness and bitterness was the love that she felt for her family. That was the only thing that kept her from escaping this place.

The car was parked on the driveway, mom was in the house. Lily stood in front of the door, preparing herself mentally for what she knew was coming. With a heavy sigh, she placed her shaky hand on the knob and turned it to open the door.

The house was as quiet as usual; the smell of alcohol was floating in the air along with dust. The witch is already in her room drowning her sorrows in alcohol, good. She headed towards the kitchen to hurry and get that over as soon as possible. The kitchen was messy, with dirty dishes in the sink and stains all over the tiles. Lily sighed and opened the fridge to see what she could work with, but just as yesterday she saw there was nothing but eggs, milk that expired this morning, and some leftovers of yesterday's dinner.

"I told that bitch to buy more food..." She said bitterly, taking some eggs and closing the door. Then, she walked over the shelves to see if there was something else she could make, and luckily there was a can of beans.

She placed everything on the counter and sighed. It came to her mind the time when they were a family, when her mother actually loved her and when her sisters weren't selfish assholes. Those memories were all she had from her family, because her sisters and brother left her life so fast she barely remembered how they were.

She cooked the eggs in no time, and then continued with the beans; she didn't like beans, but after spending the evening smoking she was hungry, like, really hungry. Besides, she couldn't buy more food until tomorrow so she couldn't be picky now.

She opened the can and then she emptied the content in the hot pan; the smell of cheap cooking oil and high-processed food hit her nose and made her wince. She grabbed a masher and proceeded to prepare the beans. After some minutes she was done making the dinner, and after serving herself on a plate she ate in silence.

The peace and quietness occasionally interrupted by the sound of the fork hitting the plate was something she was already used to; just like always, none of her sisters nor her mother ever joined her at dinner, not that she wanted, though.

She took her time at the table, taking bites and mostly playing with her food. I don't need them. She thought to herself. All the times she expected them to come and eat with her, just to end up alone eating cold food had teached her that. She's done a lot for this family in the times of need, and none of them would reciprocate. That's why she is the way she is. It was their fault for not being there for her, and not her fault for expecting some affection of her family.

The hunger suddenly vanished, leaving instead a feeling of hollowness aching in her chest. She got up and tried to put the plate in the sink, but it was so full it seemed if she put another plate everything would fall down. Eh, just leave it aside. It was not her job to wash the dishes anyway.

She walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs.

"You're late again." a voice came from the couch. Lily came to a halt, not even bothering to turn and talk to Lola face to face.

"And you were supposed to wash the dishes." She responded. "Did you do it?"

"No…"

Lily didn't respond. Instead, she continued her way upstairs. "Dinner is in the kitchen, go serve yourself."

On the second plant, she went to the room she once shared with Lisa, at least until she left the house at the age of fourteen when she was selected for some kind of governmental program. Now she lives in Florida with a bunch of bitch-ass nerds with an ego just as big as hers.

Her hand was already on the knob. Just before she could open the door, someone called her.

"Were you smoking again?" It was her sister Lana, who just came out of her room.

"Yeah, why?" Lily responded.

"Lily…" Lana wanted to say something else, but the words died on her mouth. She let out a sigh. "Nevermind…" The blonde said before going back into her room. Lily did the same, closing the door behind her.

Her room was the same as it was years ago when Lisa still lived there. But this time it had some parts where the paint was falling. Posters about bands and many other things she liked hung from the walls along with some of her own art. It was kinda messy, like it hadn't been cleaned for days, but it was still perfect to walk around without stepping on something. She sat on the bed as she took out her shoes and tossed them aside. It has been a long day, her feet ached and her body overall felt heavy.

She lay on the bed and stretched her body until her back cracked. The time was 21:58; She rolled on her side and let out a sigh. Maybe she could draw something to keep her mind busy, so she sat and opened the drawer of the nightstand. Taking a pencil and resting a sketchbook against her lap, she tried to draw whatever came to her mind.

Or at least she tried. Half an hour later and the paper was still blank. After staring at the sketchbook for some moments, she put it back into the drawer. Maybe watching something on the internet would do. She took her phone, swiped her finger across the screen to unlock it, and then tapped the YouPipe app. There was an interesting video about an artist drawing something, she tapped on it and started watching. In the middle of it, the screen went black. She tried to turn it on back, but the battery was dead.

Great.

Maybe a smoke would do. She reached to her pocket and took out the cigarettes, then, she found the special ones. She had smoked tobacco several times inside the house, but weed? never. She put it between her lips, took the lighter and then blazed it.

The first drag was long; she held the smoke inside for a couple of moments before letting it out with a soft cough. The effect took a few seconds to kick in, but more drags after, her body felt lighter and her mind began to feel kinda fuzzy. This was not the first time she got high, but it was the first time she got high in the house. Her sisters didn't like the smell, so she'd be forced to smoke away from the house by Lola, and would often be told to stop smoking by Lana. Her mother didn't even care; she either was working or was in her room emptying the perfume bottles.

She put her arms behind her head, looking at the ceiling and feeling her body just as light as the smoke floating around. The sea of thoughts inside her mind vanished, leaving nothing but a thick haze that washed away her worries. A small laugh escaped from her lips, remembering the time her sisters found her smoking. It happened six months ago, she was with Bonnie in the park until suddenly Lola and Lana met them coming from the mall with a bunch of bags. Lana didn't say anything, but the reaction of Lola was priceless. Bonnie didn't know what to do; she wasn't on good terms with Lola and Lana after they found out she and Lily were a couple, she just looked away with embarrassment.

Out of nowhere, she remembered. She wrote that down in her notebook.

The notebook was a very precious object for hers; that's where she writes her deepest feelings and thoughts, just like a diary. Maybe she got that habit from Lucy, and to be honest, now she understands why her sister…

Sister… That wouldn't be the word she'd use to describe her relationship with her; in fact, she wouldn't use that word to describe her relationship with any of them. She barely knew her siblings, like she just knew a few things here and there, but just that. Nothing special.

Lily got up from the bed, killing the remainder of the blunt in an ashtray and putting it into the drawer with the sketchbook. She got up pretty quick, which caused her head to spin as she lost the balance. Fortunately she fell back on the bed; maybe it was a good idea to wait until the effect wears off.

After a few minutes she attempted again, managing to keep the balance and walking slowly towards a corner. She kneel in front of a small box covered by a white sheet, removing the latter and revealing an old chest, the kind Lucy would have in her room. This old piece of wood contained her most precious possessions, locked away from the judging eyes of the world. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a key, which she used to unlock the lid. It was full with some of her most valued possessions; a couple of t-shirts, a drawing tablet, a pipe, and the notebook

Lily grabbed the notebook along with a pen. Now that she had everything she needed, she was about to close the coffin, but then, she saw something that reminded her not about any of her sisters…

But her brother.

It was Bun-Bun, Lincoln's old stuffed bunny. She didn't even remember when she got it or how, but something inside her began to ache. She grabbed the stuffed animal and held it in her hand, feeling its softness and watching how the color had faded as years passed. Last time she held it, it almost covered her entire hand. She watched Bun-Bun for some moments, trying to stay afloat in the sea of memories it unleashed.

"You and Lincoln used to be very close, even more than Lola and I." Lana said, standing at the door frame. Lily quickly turned her head as she tossed the stuffed animal back into the coffin, then slammed the lid.

"I don't remember anything." Lily said coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"The smell told me you were…"

"So what if I'm doing it!? You're gonna stop me!?" The little blonde said with a daring tone.

"Lily, I know we've made many mistakes in the past, mistakes that hurt you. We cannot change things, but you don't have to act like this. You don't have to do this, you're better." Lana said in a comprehensive tone and walking towards her sister, placing her hand on her shoulder. Something inside the latter wanted to take away her hand, but something even stronger wanted to hold her, hug her, cry on her shoulder. That stronger part wanted things to be like they used to be in the past, where they were a real family.

Unfortunately, Lily wasn't a person who would forget things that easily.

"You said it, you can't reverse things, but none of you are doing anything to make it up for what you all have done either, and that's even worse!" Lily said getting up and facing her sister.

"Lily-bug, I…"

"Never call me like that again!" Lily yelled, surprising Lana for her sudden change of attitude.

"I'm sorry Lily, I didn't mean to…"

"Get out of my room now!" The little blonde said with anger on her voice as she pointed at the door. Lana knew things would get worse if she stayed, so, with her head down and sorrow on her face she walked out of the room. Lana looked clearly hurt, but at that moment Lily was too angry to notice that. She locked her door and leaned against it; that name was the one that her brother had given her in the time when they were close, but now it was like a blade right at her heart, slashing it and hurting her. And unintentionally, Lana poured lemon juice to that wound.

Lily walked towards her bed with her fists closed tight and clenching her teeth in an effort to keep her tears from coming out, but failed as one managed to escape, running down her cheek and falling to the floor. The effect of the weed passed moments ago, and soon Lily felt as many more tears were coming. The moment when she realized that she was crying, she gave up; falling on her knees, she began to sob harder.