Lonely girl (a Tony Perry romance)

chapter 9

Tony was woken up in the middle of the night by Lily screaming in the other room. He ran to her as fast as he could, gently taking her into his arms and rocking her to calm her down.

"I'm so sorry" she sobbed.

"Why?" he asked.

"For being such a pain and a burden" she cried.

His heart broke at her sad words.

"I wanted you here, so that for once you would be treated properly. I knew you were ill and that didn't matter. I just want you to get better" he said, still rocking her. She fell asleep in his arms, so he gently lay her down on the bed again. As he got up he heard her whisper "please don't leave me."

He lay back down next to her, holding her in his arms and fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke up to find her gone from her bed.

"Lily?" he called.

"In the bathroom" he heard her voice say.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, won't be a second."

She slowly walked back in and sat down on the bed. Tony saw she had been crying.

"No tears. Please" he whispered.

"I feel so revolting with no hair though" she sobbed.

"It'll grow back very soon" he whispered to her, pulling her in for a hug. To him, she looked beautiful. Hair or not, her eyes, her face were beautiful.

"You're beautiful face is the same, those green eyes that shine like emeralds" he said, tilting her face up to him. He desperately wanted to kiss her but didn't want to scare her after all she had been through. She blushed and he guessed she hadn't had many compliments off Bryan.

The moment was broken by his phone going off in the other room. He jumped up to answer it. She could hear him talking but couldn't make out what he was saying.

He came back in and asked her if she wanted to meet the other guys in the band. Technically she hadn't even met Vic, being as she was asleep when he came. She nodded shyly.

"Would it be ok for me to have a shower?" she asked.

"Of course. You don't need to ask. The towels are already in there."

She went to her bag to get some toiletries and clean clothes. She had next to nothing in there.

"Is that all your stuff? It's all Vic said he could find" Tony asked. She nodded sadly at him.

"After your shower I'm taking you. clothes shopping" he said, hugging her.

"No, I'll be fine" she sighed, not wanting to waste his money.

"No, you've hardly anything in there" he protested.

"Well, can we go back to Bryan's house on the way. There's a few more things there of mine" she asked, quietly.

"Sure" he replied, holding her hand.

She went into the bathroom, clutching her meagre pile of clothes.

Tony got one of his hoodies for her to wear and left it on the bed, while she showered. He went downstairs and put the kettle on before going back up to his own room and dressing.

She was just coming out of the shower when he came out of his room. She was so thin, but after not eating proper food in almost a month he guessed that was to be expected.

He picked her up and carried her down the stairs, knowing she was still weak. She snuggled into his chest and he carefully placed her on the sofa.

"Do you want some breakfast?" he called through from the kitchen.

"What have you got?" she asked, wandering in.

"Cereal, toast, eggs, fruit or yoghurt" he answered.

"Yoghurt sounds good" she said. He passed her a couple and she picked one with raspberries in. She managed three quarters before stopping.

"I guess it's going to take you some time to get your appetite back" said Tony, passing her a mug of coffee.

They finished breakfast and went out to his car. They had the radio on as they drove to Bryan's house and she was singing along softly to Evanescence.

He pulled into the drive she pointed out to him and using the key Vic had used she went in. She took a deep breath and walked to the kitchen. She opened a cupboard door and from the back pulled out a box of washing powder. She rooted through it and pulled out a bag containing some money.

She replaced the box then went to the bedroom where she pulled a box out from under the wardrobe. She quickly opened it and her beloved photos were still there. She had had to hide them from Bryan for fear of him destroying them. There was a bit more money in there and also in one of his wallets that he had left in the bedroom. Altogether, a few hundred dollars. She pulled the front door closed behind her and walked back to Tony's car. He smiled at her as she climbed in and she smiled back, a real smile, for the first time.

They got to a near by shopping centre and she headed straight for the cheapest shop there. She had her own money now but it wouldn't go far. She went to the sale rail and found some jeans, a couple of pairs of leggings and a plain black hoody. Further around she picked out some sale price pyjamas and underwear and some t-shirts. She got to the checkout and it came to just under $100. She pulled her money bag out before Tony could do anything and handed her money over.

He scowled at her, inadvertently scaring her. He realised straight away and hugged her to him. She relaxed slightly. They stopped in another cheap shop so she could get toiletries and she saw a little turtle toy which she got as a thank you for Tony looking after her. He had been so good to her, caring for her.

She gave him the turtle toy, making him smile.