Saving Lily

Our Tree

"Hey." Mason said, his smile fading once he saw my face.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing." He said concerned.

"I..fell down the stairs. I'm so tired from prepping for Sophia's birthday party that I just lost my footing." I lied.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be." I nodded.

"I have something I wanna show you." He said.

I looked at him hesitantly for a moment.

"Come on, I'll help you." he said, his voice hopeful.

"Alright." I said reluctantly.

Mason smiled as though he had just won the lottery, and that's what made it so hard for me to say no to him.

Like always he reached in to help, and I winced in pain as he pulled me up.

He took my arms and I held my breath as the pain raged inside with every move I made.

As I wiggled myself through window, I wrapped an arm around his neck while he helped me to my feet and together we headed toward the creek. As we approached the little clearing that led to the water Mason stopped and turned to look at me.

"Close your eyes." he said.

"But how am I going to walk if I can't see?"

"Do you trust me?"

I nodded.

"Alright then." He said, taking a step behind me.

I stiffened as he aligned his body with mine, covering my eyes with his hands.

"Now." he said.

"You walk and I'll lead." I nodded and did as I was told.

"Mason, what's going on?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Almost there." He whispered.

I nodded and took several more steps forward.

"Here we are." he said, removing his hands as we stopped.

I opened my eyes to realize I was standing in front of a tree just to the side of the creek. It had initials carved into it. MC+LM.

"What do you think?" he asked after a few seconds.

"You did this for me?" I smiled.

"Yep!" he said proudly.

"Look, it's our initials, Mason Cole plus Lily Mahoney, best friends forever. This is our tree now." He beamed at me.

"I love it! Thank you."

"You're welcome." he smiled.

He paused, looking at me for a moment with so many questions in his eyes. I flinched as he raised his hand and gently brushed his thumb across the cut on my lip.

I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath before putting my hand over his and opening my eyes again.

Mason's eyes met with mine, and I felt hot with embarrassment.

I didn't want him to know what was happening to me at home, and at the same time, I wanted to tell him everything. But I knew I couldn't.

So Instead I gently moved his hand away before going to sit down by the creek. Mason followed.

He had his knees bent in front of him and his arms rested on top of them as he picked at the grass.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"My mom." I said.

Mason was quiet for a second before he spoke again.

"Have I ever told you about Madelyn?" He whispered.

"Madelyn?" I repeated.

"My twin sister."

Mason's eyes fell. "She uh, died when we were five."

"We both got a bad case of pneumonia, I got better and she didn't."

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry Mason." I whispered.

He shrugged. "It was a long time ago."

"Still." I said, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"What do you miss the most about your mom?" He asked, changing the subject.

I thought for a moment.

"There's so many things that I miss. Her laugh, her smile, her hugs. But I really miss her tucking me in at night."

Mason listened without saying a word.

"She would always recite her favorite poem for me before I went to sleep. The modest rose puts forth a thorn, the humble sheep a threatening horn."

Mason spoke up

"While the Lily white shall in love delight, nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright," he finished.

"You know William Blake?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah we studied him in literature last year, it's one of my favorites of his." he said, looking out over the water.

I nodded and wiped a tear from my eye. "Mine too."

"What do you miss about Madelyn?" I asked after a little while

"I don't know." He said thoughtfully.

"I guess how she would always jump out from behind places and try to scare me." He laughed.

"Sounds like she was a lot of fun." I smiled.

"Yeah." He said, looking back out over the water.

Since graduating last year and getting more involved in his family's business he seemed a lot more guarded, sometimes distant.

He didn't like talking about it and I didn't want to push it. But it had to do with collecting debts or something is all he would ever say.

"So." I said, a sly smile crept across my face.

"What?" he said, looking over at me.

"You're it!" I yelled, shoving him over and jumping up through the pain to run away.

"Hey!" He called, jumping up to run after me.

I ran as fast as I could pretending I wasn't in pain, just barely able to stay out of arm's reach.

"I'm gonna get you!" he called from behind.

"No you won't!" I teased. Just as he reached out to tag my shoulder he fell, pulling us both to the ground. Tumbling through the tall grass, Mason just above me as we came to a stop laughing.