Chapter 5

Lex laughed gleefully as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. She smiled as she flipped onto a nearby tree and continued through more.

"Where to go..." She mumbled to herself, gazing around at the homes that were scattered around. Lex continued her hopping, following the path of street lights that were placed here and there. She eventually realized how far she was from the suburb and looked around curiously to see where she ended up. Her big violet eyes widened at the sight of a gorgeous park she was in. It was huge clearing with tons of trees and flowers, a cute playground, benches lining a cobblestone pathway, and a pond filled with lily pads.

"Awesome sauce." Lex muttered. (Killing the mood, Lex) She gracefully fell from a tree and lowered the hood on her suit so she could see better. By day, the park would probably be filled with kids and parents enjoying their day. By night, it seemed almost like a fantasy world to Lex. She beamed and walked down the path, gazing at the beauty of the park. At the end of the path, Lex noticed a giant oak tree next to a small field of lilies surrounding it. Her eyes widened more at the sight of it and her lip quivered. She slowly made her way to the tree, a frown etched on her face the entire time. Once she was next to it, Lex touched it gently with her gaze locked on a little message engraved high on the trunk.

"I'll love you forever, my lily." Lex read quietly, tears threatening to slip from her eyes.

*Flashback!*

6 year old Lex giggled from her hiding spot in the top of the oak tree in the park.

"Lex, where are you?" Lex stifled her laughter and peeked out from the branches to see a tall woman with long black hair and bright violet eyes looking around. Her mother.

"C'mon, my lily, you'll have to come out here sometime!" Her mom said with a warm smile. Lex giggled again and hid back in the leaves. Her mother turned to the tree and noticed a bright shade of red among the leaves. She smirked and slowly walked around the tree, being as quiet as she could. Sneakily, she climbed up and sat on a branch behind her daughter, who was trying not to laugh out loud.

"Found you!" Her mom finally said, grabbing the child and tickling her. Lex squealed and laughed harder than ever, her mother doing the same.

"Okay! Okay! Stop mommy!" Lex gasped.

"What's the magic word?" She asked in return, not stopping her tickle attack.

"Please! Please!"

"Okay sweet pea." Her mom smiled again and went down the tree with her daughter in her arms.

"You need a better hiding spot of you're going to wear that." She gestured to a giant, red bow in Lex's hair.

"At least I was trying!" Lex said with an adorable pout.

"Yes, you tried." Her mom ran a hand through Lex's wavy hair.

"Are you done yet girls? We're just about ready to leave!" Lex's dad called from the park.

"Yes Charles, we're done!"

"But mommy! I want to be it this time!"

"You'll be it next time. Right now we have to go home and eat dinner." Lex grinned, showing off a missing tooth, and skipped over to her dad with her mother in tow.

"How was you're game, Alexandria?" Charles asked with a kind smile.

"Good! Mommy found me every time though!"

"That's because mommy is supposed to be good at finding things!" Charles chuckled as he opened the car door for his daughter.

"That's because detectives find clues! Hey mommy, did you ever miss a clue?" Lex asked as she hopped into her booster seat.

"Nope!" Her mom said, climbing into the passenger seat as her husband started the vehicle.

"Everybody makes mistakes, so you're blind to have missed at least ONE thing." 9 year old Mordea said in an annoyed tone from her seat next to Lex.

"I would've been notified if I had." Mordea rolled her eyes and stared out the window as the car moved.

"Hey sissy, why do you act grumpy all the time? Frowning isn't good for your face." Lex remarked innocently. Mordea gasped and glared at her younger sibling, looking as though she wanted to smack her. Their parents laughed from the front seats and Lex looked around in confusion.

"What? That's what she says all the time! Frowning is bad! You should smile more, sissy! There's no need to be grumpy!"

"Oh, I'm about to give you a reason to frown you little–"

"Mordea!" Their mom said.

"What?! I can't let her talk to me in such an insulting manner!"

"Sweetheart, she's six."

"So? I didn't talk like that when I was six!"

"Yes you did! Olivia, remember that time when she said your job was icky and weird?" Charles asked.

"Can't forget it."

"I can't believe you're siding with the baby!"

"I'm not a baby!"

"You're six."

"And a half!"

"Calm down you two!" Olivia laughed.

"Look, it doesn't matter. I also doesn't matter how many times you insult each other because you're still family and nothing can change that."

"Disownment can." Mordea muttered, but Olivia ignored her.

"The point is we'll love each always and no matter what." Lex smiled, and continued to the rest of the ride home.

"C'mon mom! I'm gonna beat you!" Lex called as she ran to the tree from the working lot.

"Wait up my lily. You know she can't run much anymore." Charles said gently.

"Oh yeah." Lex slowed down, looking back at her mother every so often. Lex was very concerned for her mother's health, due to the fact that it had been deteriorating recently and at a fast rate. Although Olivia said she was perfectly fine, Lex and her father knew better. Much to Lex's anger, Mordea never seemed to care though. It often led to more fights than usual between them, a few ending in Mordea's hair being pulled and Lex being scratched with her fake nails. Lex bit her lip at the thought of something bad happening to her mother. She was closest to her and she was the one Lex looked up to. Her hero. Everyone made it to the tree and set up a small picnic, complete with the basket and checkered blanket. They calmly at until Mordea spotted a friend and left them, Charles following her so he could watch her.

"This is nice. Being outside with my family, enjoying a picnic." Olivia sighed, smiling toward Lex.

"Hey mom."

"Yes sweet pea?"

"How sick are you?"

"I'm fine. Nothing this fresh air can't fix." Lex sighed and sadly looked at the grass.

"Mom, you haven't been able to move without hurting, you had a vomit session yesterday, and you've been getting paler everyday. I don't define that as fine."

"Alexandria, I promise you that I'll be alright. Even if it was that bad, nothing in this world could stop me from spending time with you all."

"Even Mordea?"

"Even Mordea." She chuckled, but she started coughing badly.

"Mom!"

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Lex frowned, seeing the apparent pain in her mother's eyes.

"Let's go home." Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but Lex was already standing up.

"Okay." She sighed and stood up, ready to follow her daughter. Lex saw her go to the tree, but didn't see what she was doing. Olivia only managed to take a few steps when she suddenly collapsed with a fit of violent coughing.

"Mom!" Lex ran to her mom's side and tried to help her up. Olivia had her eyes shut and seemed like she was struggling to breath.

"DAD! It's mom!" Lex yelled, tears brimming her eyes. She saw her father running toward them with Mordea following reluctantly. A few passerby stop and stared in shock, one taking out her phone and calling an ambulance.

"Olivia?! OLIVIA?! Stay with me! Your going to be alright!" Charles said, his voice cracking horribly. Lex couldn't see a thing due to the tears that blurred her vision, but she distinctly heard the blaring sirens as the ambulance approached.

*end flashback!*

By now, Lex was crying as if two waterfalls were coming out of her eyes. She hurriedly wiped her eyes and looked away from the tree.

"Mom…" She sobbed almost soundlessly. "Why can't you just come back? I'm a wreck!" She sat down and cried under the moonlight. This continued on until she fell asleep, a tear still trickling down her face.