“Fuck you. Stay the fuck away from my sister.” He says, pushing against me. I can feel my temper creeping up as the urge to flatten him creeps along my arm until my fingers are curled in a tight fist.
“Harry!” Lilly shouts at him.
“Can’t do that.” I tell him. “Now, fucking let go of her.”
He releases her, only to then try and shove me backwards. I stand my ground, and reach behind me, taking Lilly’s hand. I pull her to the side, out of the way. Tempers are high, and I don’t want her caught in the cross fire. “You say you love her, yet you bring nothing but grief to her. You cheat on her and break her fucking heart…”
“Harry!” Lilly shouts again, and tries to move between us, but I hold her off.
“Then you decide to go and poke around in her past, a past that I have been working for years to get her away from. Now, you’ve brought it right to our door-step. Stay the fuck out of her life!” He shouts. His fists are clenched, and his stance is rigid. I manage to keep calm. Everything he says is true. I was genuinely trying to help, but with secrets lurking in every corner of Lilly’s life, how am I supposed to know what the hell is the right thing to do? I thought she had told me everything. Hell, she could have told me this. I would have protected her. What’s worse is that her mother obviously banked on the fact that she knew Lilly wouldn’t tell me. Otherwise this blackmail scheme of hers wouldn’t have worked.
“Harry, enough. You don’t get to make that decision for me.” Lilly grabs his arm until he looks at her. Their eyes meet, seeming to convey something, a wordless exchange that only the two of them understand. His expression softens, the anger ebbing away in the face of his sister. “I keep you safe Lill’s, it’s what I do. He just endangered us both.” He turns away from us both and folds both hands behind his head. “God damn it. Eight fucking years we’ve been running Lilly, and he just brought her right to our door.” I get it, I do. If it were Cat and I in the same situation, and Cat had a boyfriend, well…I’d be a damn sight less tolerant than Harry is being right now. I can’t begrudge him wanting to take care of Lilly. I’m glad. It’s that dedication that has got her this far, and I have no doubt in my mind that without Harry’s help, she would not have made it to become the person she is today. He sacrificed a lot to save her. I can’t help but have the utmost respect for that.
“Look, I know it’s not great but…” She says to his retreating back.
He huffs a laugh. “Not great…everything we worked for is all fucked. We’re going to have to run again Lill’s.” He turns around. “We’re going to have to change our names…”
“What?!” I almost shout. Is he fucking serious? “You are not running. I can fix this.”
Lilly wordlessly moves away from me and goes to the liquor cabinet. She pulls out a bottle of vodka and takes a gulp straight from it. Shit. She can’t run, not now, after everything we’ve been through. “Lilly, I can fix this.” I say desperately.
I move and stand in front of her. She says nothing as she takes another swig from the bottle. A slow tear silently slips down her face. “Lilly.” I whisper. “Please.”
Her eyes meet mine, such a vibrant shade of green. “I killed him.” She sniffs. “Harry just helped me get rid of the body. I can’t let him go down for something I did.”
I swipe my thumbs under her eyes, wiping away her tears. God, her tears tear me apart. “Baby, he raped you.” I rasp. “Anyone would have done the same thing.” She closes her eyes as fresh tears stream steadily down her face.
“You are my safe place Theo, and I love you so much, but you can’t protect me from this, and I wouldn’t ask you to. Harry can, he’s been doing it for years.” She cries.
I can’t just accept that. In the short time I’ve known Lilly Parker, she has turned my world on its axis. She’s all I want in life, and if I had nothing else, I would feel like a rich man for having her. I’ve experienced life without her, and I can’t go there again. It’s a brutal torture. “You want to run sugar? I’ll run with you.” I say sincerely.
She narrows her eyes, studying me. “You have your business, your houses, your money…You can’t run and keep all that.” She counters.
I smile and brush a strand of hair away from her face. “Do you remember I once told you that I would give up everything I have for you?” She nods. “I wasn’t lying Lilly. Nothing is worth having without you.” I strip back everything and expose my beating heart to her. If she doesn’t want it, then she might as well cut it out.