Mr. and Mrs. Carter: The One

Chapter 11

December 15, 1995 Tampa Florida
LILI'S POV
I open my eyes and groan. I see sunlight peeking in through my bedroom window onto my bed.

I get up, cheerfully, before everything from last night comes crashing back. I had a nightmare and Nick was there.

Shit. He knows. I mentally screamed, and prayed that Nick wouldn't remember it. I go into my bathroom to shower and I see my reflection in the mirror.

Holy crap, my eyes are puffy as hell. I brush my teeth then jump in the shower. I hope the water can take away the puffiness, but when I get out and look again, it's still there.

Goddammit.

I dry myself off and apply cherry blossom scented lotion.

By the time I come out of my room, I feel almost human again. I walk downstairs, hoping that Nick is still asleep.

Thankfully, he is. I start getting stuff ready for breakfast. I think I'll make an omelet. I'm so engrossed in getting eggs and cheese out that I don't realize that Nick is watching me in the kitchen.

I turn away from the refrigerator, holding four eggs, and he's right behind me.

"What the hell?!" I shout, nearly dropping the eggs.

"Nick don't sneak up me like that!" I said annoyed.

"Sorry." he said, embarrassed. I ignore his apology and take out the rest of the things I need. I can feel Nick watching me and it makes me uneasy. The dreaded moment comes.

"Lili." Nick says.

"Hmmm?" I reply, as I turn on the stove and place the pan. I'm about to put the butter in the pan when Nick speaks.

"Last night...are we going to talk about that?" he asks, softly. I dump with butter in the pan with more force than necessary.

Great. There it is.

"No." I grab an egg and crack it in the bowl.

"But Lili-" Nick starts, but I turned around and cut him off.

"But nothing Nick. I'm sorry I woke you up. But I'm fine now. I don't want to talk about it."

With that, I turn back to the counter and crack a second egg into the bowl. I hear Nick sigh and come up behind me.

"I want to help you." he pleads.

You can't help, what's done is done Nick.

A tear rolls down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away.

"You can't help me Nick. It's too late. It already happened. All of it." I pick up the whisk and start to mix the eggs.

"Please Lili. Talk to me at least." Nick sounds like he's about to cry. I turn off the stove and face him. I look at his face, he seems to genuinely care. I turn off the stove and grab his arm and lead him into the living room and we both sit on the couch.

I describe my fucked up childhood, from the first memory to today. I tell Nick how my father forced me to pleasure his clients.

When I was 10, I was allowed to go to school. I cooperated with the clients, as I didn't know it was illegal. When I was 11, in school we had a sex ed session.

That's when I learned what my father did for a living. I wanted to die when I learned what I was being forced to do.

After that, I vowed to never pleasure a client again, and that's when the hitting began. Almost every night, my father would hit me for not pleasing the clients.

One night, I heard talk that I was going to be sent to New York for my father's business. I knew I had to run away. Somehow, I managed to escape. God gave me an opportunity. I was 12 years old and had a dream to become an actress.

I snuck on a plane that was flying to Florida. After days, I ended up in Tampa. I broke into a home and washed up. I heard about a movie casting and I auditioned and got the part.

After that, I did five more movies in a year. They were all huge hits in Europe and I used the money to buy this home.

Since I was 13, the agent wasn't going to let me buy it, but I offered double cash. So he let me have the house.

So now I'm trying to become an actress. I just need to finish university first.

Those were my dreams.

I told all of it to Nick. By the time I was finished, a whole hour had gone by. I look at Nick, who looked shocked yet amazed at the same time.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Lili." Nick says, sadly. I don't answer, but I look at Nick with gratitude. I've actually been happy since I brought him here. I enjoy his company.

Nick had been nice company ever since he was here. It's been a week and two days, and I've felt happier these last two days than I've ever felt in my life. I gaze at Nick, and notice for the first time that his eyes are a pretty ocean blue.

"Friends?" I ask.

"Best friends." Nick answers. I look at him, overwhelmed with emotions.

Suddenly, I reach out and hug him. I feel his surprise, but he hugs me back.