Lily sat by Mason's side. He still hadn't woken up and looked worse than he had when she first found him. His blonde hair wasn't even blonde anymore and his tanned skin was covered with dirt and blood. Sweat trickled down from his forehead, and his face looked worn out, even though there was no way he was tired.
"Please wake up for me, Mason…" Lily said softly. She was sick of the grief stricken face Beth had, and the lies that Olivia was told. She was only four, there was no way should comprehend what had happened.
"Hey. How's he doin'?" Rick asked as he took a seat next to Lily.
"The same," she sighed. "How's Beth?" when she came into the house, Beth was yelling at Rick, blaming him for what happened, much like Lily had.
"As good as she can be…I guess. Still really angry with me," Lily nodded. She was following the rule of 'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all'. She wanted to tell Rick that Beth was right, that it was his fault the Mason laid unconscious and Daryl was stuck with a screwed up ankle. But, she figured she'd gone off on him enough, and by the dark circles under Rick's eyes, he was taking care of the job just fine. "Surprised you haven't yelled at me…again."
She gave a nervous laugh and looked over at him, she had literally just had the same thought. "You're doin' enough of that for the both of us," he looked at her curiously. "Rick, the circles under your eyes are darker than I've ever seen, on anybody."
He gave a nonchalant shrug and sighed, resting his head in his hands. "Beth's right, and so were you. I should've put them first…I should've-"
"If you play this game, you'll never get any sleep. What's done is done and no matter what, we'll all have to move on."
"Lily-"
"I'm going to go," Lily left the room without another word. She went to her house. It was quiet, being as it was still morning and Emily was asleep. She went to down the hallway by the kitchen. There were only two doors. One led to the bathroom, the other to the basement. Lily opened the door that belonged to the basement and walked down. She grabbed a gallon of red paint, and one blue. They didn't already have purple so she'd have to make some. She got to work on finding the right combination.
"Mommy?" a childish voice called.
"Down here," she called back. There was footsteps on the stairs and Emily stood behind Lily. "What can I do for you?"
"I just didn't know where you were."
"Oh."
"What are you doing?"
"Getting paint together for your room."
"We're finally gonna paint it!?"
"Yep."
"Can I go wake daddy?"
"He's asleep?" it was odd for him to be asleep this late in the morning.
"I think so. He's in your room with the door closed."
"Why don't you go to your room and move anything that you can into the middle of the room, so it's not up against the walls."
"Okay."
Lily and Emily both went up the stairs. Emily to her room, Lily to her and Daryl's. She didn't bother knocking, she just opened the door. Daryl wasn't on the bed or balcony. That's when Lily noticed the bathroom door was closed. She could hear the spray of the shower. She knocked once on the door before opening it.
"The fu-Oh, it's jus' yew," Daryl said, as he realized Lily was the one opening the door.
"Yeah, it's me. Do you feel up to painting Emily's room? She really wants it purple."
"Reckon so."
"Good," Lily made her way over to the sink and started brushing her hair. "I'm gonna need your help reaching the high stuff. It's not good for me to reach above my head."
"Why?" Daryl asked curiously.
"Well, technically I'm allowed until I'm five months, if I reach above my head, I could wrap the umbilical cord around the baby's neck."
"We can't have that. Looks like yer gonna make an injured man do all the work," Daryl poked his head out from behind the curtain and grinned.
Lily scoffed. "If I remember correctly, that 'injured man' was making a pregnant woman undress him yesterday."
"That maybe so but-" Daryl was actually at a loss for words at the moment. He couldn't come up with a good come back.
"I win!" she exclaimed happily. "I'll be in Emie's room painting. Come in when you're ready."
Lily walked down the carpeted hallway to her almost daughter's room. She may not have given birth to her, but without Lily, Emily wouldn't be alive.
"Can we paint flowers on the walls when we're done?" the emerald eyed girl asked.
"Yes, we can paint flowers on the walls," Lily smiled as she got a roller and a pan out. She let Emily use a small paint brush, not wanting her to mess it up, but still allowing her to feel included.
"Can we sing too?"
"What do you wanna sing?"
"I don't know. What's something your mom sang to you?"
"Hm…there was a song that she used to sing to Mason and me all the time. I used to not understand it, but I think I do now."
"Sing it!" Emily jumped up and down excitedly.
"Your little hand's wrapped around my finger and it's so quiet in the world tonight. Your little eyelids flutter 'cause your dreamin' so I tuck you in and turn on your favorite night light. To you, everything's funny. You've got nothin' to regret. I'd give all I have honey, if you could stay like that.
Ohh, Darlin' don't you ever grow. Don't you ever grow up. Just stay this little. Ohh Darlin' don't you ever grow up. Don't you ever grow up. It could stay this simple.
I won't let nobody hurt you. Won't let no one break your heart. No one will desert you. Just try to never grow up. Never grow up.
You're in the car on your way to the movies and your mortified your mom's dropping you off. At fourteen there's just so much you can't do, and you can't wait to move out and someday call your own shots. But, don't make her drop you off around the block. Remember that she's getting older too. And don't loose the way you dance around in your PJ's getting ready for school.
Ohh, Darlin' don't you ever grow. Don't you ever grow up. Just stay this little. Ohh Darlin' don't you ever grow up. Don't you ever grow up. It could stay this simple.
No one's every burned you. And nothing's ever left you scared. And even though you want to just try to never grow up. Take pitures in your mind of your childhood room. Memorize what it sounded like when your dad get's home. Remember the footsteps. Remember the words said. And know your little brother's favorite songs. I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone.
So here I am in my new apartment in a big city they just dropped me off. It's so much colder than I thought it would be so I tuck myself in and turn my nightlight off. Wish I'd never grown up. I wish I'd never grown up.
Ohh I don't wanna grow up. Wish I'd never grown up. Could still be little. Ohh I don't wanna grow up. Wish I'd never grown up. It could still be simple.
Ohh, Darlin' don't you ever grow. Don't you ever grow up. Just stay this little. Ohh Darlin' don't you ever grow up. Don't you ever grow up. It could stay this simple.
I won't let nobody hurt you. Won't let no one break your heart. No one will desert you. Please try to never grow up. Never grow up."
Lily head slow clapping behind her. She turned to see a freshly showered Daryl. He grinned at her.
"I know, cat in a blender," she chuckled softly.
"No," he tried to keep in his laughs. "It was pretty good."
Lily just shook her head and went back to painting. With the support of Daryl's crutches, he began to help.
"How long were you standing there?"
"Most a the time."
"Of course," she sighed.
AN: Okay, should I kill off Mason? Also…this story is going to be ending soon…I need a little help…should I end it as like an epilogue where it skips forward so many years? Should Lily die? I don't know…just any ideas for what should happen would be fantastic. I don't know how to end it at all. Endings are my least favorite part to come up with. Please, please, please leave me a review…I really need some…Plus, if you review, I'll be more motivated to write…as of right now, I have four other stories that I'm actually working on besides this one. So again REVIEW. Thanks for reading. By the way, the song was "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift.